Ball of Wax 26 Available for Streaming and Pre-order!

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Levi Fuller

In just a week and a half we’ll be celebrating the release of Ball of Wax Volume 26: A Tribute to the Anthology of American Folk Music with a wing-ding of a show at the Columbia City Theater. (And boy, do I have a lot of silkscreening and gluing to do between now and then.) But you can get yourself in the mood early by listening to most of the album* right now over on the Ball of Wax Bandcamp page. And if you’re not going to be able to make it to the show, you can pre-order your own copy to make sure you get one before they’re gone.

Enjoy!

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*Two of the songs on the compilation are not traditional/public domain. We purchased mechanical rights to include them on the CD, but streaming and download rights are a whole ‘nother kettle of fish, so we’re not going there. You’ll have to get the actual CD to hear Sokai Stilhed and Cait Olds’s wonderful contributions.

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[glocal scene] Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Phil Heron

Everybody Dance Now - Songs from HamiltonEvery year the college radio stations of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada gather their music directors together to concoct a compilation showcasing the local talent. Everybody Dance Now is in its 6th year, with 93.3 CFMU FM & INDI 101 FM proving that the city houses no shortage of tunes and styles.

The Everybody Dance Now compilation is available for free download here (hosted by the Hamilton-based label Hidden Pony).

Hamilton, for those who don’t know, lies between the biggest city in Canada (Toronto), and one of the most popular tourist destinations in North America (Niagara Falls). It is neither part of the Greater Toronto Area (the suburban sprawl of the big city) nor is it connected to anything to do with wine country or casinos or horseshoe shaped falls, leaving Hamilton to carve out a name for itself. Continue reading →

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Back in MY Day: Andy Rooney

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Indie Rooney

Bah! Kids today don’t know who Andy Rooney was, but several generations of Americans, including my own, grew up watching him complain about things every Sunday at the end of 60 Minutes. His name became synonymous with the word “curmudgeon,” and he was funny. When I adopted the moniker “Indie Rooney” for my own attempt at a curmudgeonly series of humorous essays about indie music, my intent was surely understood. By anyone over thirty!

Andy Rooney and the music world didn’t intersect much, but they did at least once, notoriously, when Kurt Cobain committed suicide. Andy’s essay the following Sunday was full of judgment and vitriol toward the singer and his fans. It was not pretty. He was not exactly wrong, but he also wasn’t right, and the public’s reaction resulted in one of the rare on-air apologies of his long career.

An old man can be forgiven for not understanding a young person’s perspective, and I for one — an old man and Nirvana fan myself — don’t hold it against him. You can’t spend several decades expressing your opinion in public without ruffling a few feathers. You also can’t do it without being able to admit when you’re wrong.

I’ll leave it to others to describe the man’s extraordinary career and his impact on writing, journalism, culture, and humor. I will say that even if I hadn’t watched 60 Minutes in many years, it was nice to know Andy Rooney was still around, doing his thing. It’s sad now that he isn’t.

Posted in Indie Rooney | 3 Comments

Appetite

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Levi Fuller

A new (to me) artist has crossed my radar, and I couldn’t be more pleased. Appetite is the Sacramento-based project of one Teddy Briggs, who appears to have been obsessively making music since picking up the drums at the age of 13. Something about listening to the tracks on his Soundcloud page and reading his bio makes me think we in the States might finally have our own answer to Chad VanGaalen – and it’s about time; that guy’s been making us look like lazy bores for way too long.

There are a lot of different sounds, textures, and rhythms going on in these tracks, but combined they give the impression of a restlessly creative artist who is not about to settle into any kind of creative rut any time soon. He’s also got a great knack for covers. How many people can record fresh, inspired versions of songs by Johnny Cash and Seal, seemingly without a hint of irony? I’m looking forward to hearing his record Scattered Smothered Covered. Oh hey, it’s out now! And it’s on Spotify! Off I go.

In the meantime, check out the aforementioned covers or go get the record and check that out.

Fiery ring by Appetite

Heidi’s Mine (KFAR) by Appetite

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Just Because: The Way It Is – “Fell in Love with a Carbomber”

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Levi Fuller

Just because I was listening to this song last night with some friends and was reminded – as I am every time I hear it – of just how goddamn good it is, and how great a songwriter Michael Sanchez (The Way It Is) is . . . here. Listen.

The Way It Is – Fell in Love with a Carbomber

Now go buy the album. I don’t care if it’s five years old, it will be fresh and new to you until it is a warm familiar friend.

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The Ball of Wax Spooooky Halloween Playlist

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Levi Fuller

On my Hollow Earth Radio show yesterday, I predictably decided to play a set of all dark, scary, Halloweenish music, and I found myself playing a number of tracks from the Ball of Wax archives. So I figured today would be a fine occasion to post some of the creepier tunes that have graced BoW over the years. Enjoy!

Lys Guillorn – Banks of the Ohio

There are a couple of fantastically spooky numbers on the forthcoming Ball of Wax tribute to the Anthology of American Folk Music, but I don’t think I’m ready to leak those just yet. In the meantime, here’s Lys Guillorn‘s take on the murder ballad “Banks of the Ohio,” from Ball of Wax Volume 1 and The Anthology of American Folk Music Volume 4. Continue reading →

Posted in Ball of Wax, Check Out This Song | 1 Comment

Check Out This Song: Robert Deeble – “Undertow”

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Levi Fuller

Long-time Ball of Wax friend Robert Deeble (heard on volumes 3, 4, 10, 15, and 24) has a new album, called Heart Like Feathers, coming out early next year. (See previous coverage here.) Because I’m super-awesome and donated to his Kickstarter campaign, I already have it and I can report to you that it is excellent. Because I am very generous (or, more properly, because Robert is) I will share one song with you now that The Deeble has seen fit to leak to the masses in advance of the album’s release.

Unlike many of the songs on Heart Like Feathers, which I’ve heard Robert play in various settings (and released previous versions of via Ball of Wax) over the years since his last release, this one is relatively new to me. It is, of course, beautiful, and would be even without the stirring backing vocals of local treasure Anna-Lynne Williams, but they certainly don’t hurt. Enjoy “Undertow,” a perfect song for a dark, rainy Friday such as today.

Robert Deeble – Undertow

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Iceland Airwaves Part 2: Gimaldin, Megas and Playing for Festivals

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Bart Cameron

Photo of Iceland Airwaves 2011 by Flickr user thorgilsv

Iceland Airwaves is getting big coverage in Seattle this year. Listening in, you may have a few thoughts: 1) damn, that sounds like fun, and 2) isn’t it slightly unfair that hundreds of local bands can’t get coverage, while obscure bands from a country of 300,000 can?

To which I reply: it’s damned fun. The concerts are hot and cold– you really don’t come across the soul-draining competent pop that dominates other festivals. You get stuff that will evoke possibly a viciously negative response, or a “damn that’s brilliant” response. And Icelandic musicians deserve the coverage and all the help they can get. What you don’t realize when you just chime in for a festival is that the Icelandic market can’t support its own bands. In addition, building a touring strategy from a remote island in the North Atlantic is more than a little tricky. So a number of bands who are truly great get four days of exposure to the world, then may or may not find themselves stranded in London or Denver, playing to a crowd of aged bikers who want to hear some blues or Irish rock.

All that said, any festival has its limitations. Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Live Music, Videos | 1 Comment

Blog of Wax Legal Corner: Success!

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Levi Fuller

Previously.

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Ball of Wax 26: A Tribute to Harry Smith and the Anthology of American Folk Music, 11/25 at the Columbia City Theater

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Levi Fuller

Ball of Wax 26: A Tribute to Harry Smith and the Anthology of American Folk Music
Presented by American Standard Time, Ball of Wax, and Hearth Music
Friday, November 25th, 8:00 p.m.
The Columbia City Theater
Kevin Murphy (The Moondoggies), RedDog, Kevin Barrans and Friends, Folichon Cajun Band, Pacific Northwest Sacred Harp Singers, Jeremy Burk, Colin J Nelson, Sokai Stilhed, Norman Baker, Ben Fisher, Virgin of the Birds
Plus a Harry Smith story from John Cohen, animated by Drew Christie!
Tickets $10 advance / $15 doors
Free Ball of Wax 26 CD with entry

Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly has been experimenting with the form a bit this year (see, e.g., Songs about Books), and that trend continues with the next volume. You might remember a while back I put out an open call for submissions of new recordings of songs featured on the legendary Anthology of American Folk Music, compiled by Bellingham native Harry Smith and released in 1952, spurring the great folk revival that followed. The result is a new compilation CD featuring 20 songs from old Ball of Wax friends such as Amateur Radio Operator, Pufferfish, and The Foghorns as well as many new additions to the fold, including Ben Fisher, Cait Olds, and Rory Gannon. These renditions range from the straightforward and earnest to the experimental and bizarre, a fitting match for the legendarily eccentric Harry Smith himself.

For the release show, we collaborated with Greg Vandy’s American Standard Time and Devon Leger’s Hearth Music to assemble a diverse group of artists that should make for a perfect tribute to Harry Smith and his Anthology. Several artists featured on the CD will be performing, along with more that we just couldn’t do this show without. You’ll have rootsy, folky rock and indie pop from the likes of Kevin Murphy, Jeremy Burk, and Virgin of the Birds mixed in with Cajun tunes from Folichon Cajun Band and shape note singing from the Pacific Northwest Sacred Harp Singers – and much more besides. Oh, and Greg Vandy will introduce a short film, animated by Drew Christie, of John Cohen telling a story about Harry Smith.

I certainly can’t think of anything else more worth doing on the day after Thanksgiving, can you?

Posted in Ball of Wax, Live Music | 1 Comment