That’s What Ballard Was Missing: Sax at the Hattie’s Hat Back Room

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Bart Cameron

I got stopped on the street and told about Prawnyxx. Saxophone, drums and heart, I was told. This band’s playing tonight at the newly up and running Hattie’s Hat back room.

This, to me, could possibly make up for the loss of the Bop Street Records stage. (Also, WTF happened to that store!!!)

This is a Prawnyxx video I found:

Opening the night is an underage cover band, Los Gentlemen, with arguably the greatest bassist in the history of rock.

Wednesday, September 21. Hattie’s Hat. FREE! Show starts at 7 PM. Thank you to Nick who grabbed me on the street.

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Oh Ho! oh lo lo

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Levi Fuller

New band alert!

Long-time listeners to Ball of Wax Audio Quarterly (and I do mean looooong time) might remember a singer-songwriter known as Kelli Hanson and her song “Risk Free” from Volume 2. Kelli released a fine album called Lullaby for an Astronaut back when Ball of Wax was new, and followed that up a couple years later with Our Buildings. You might be forgiven for thinking she’d fallen off the face of the earth, as her musical output has been minimal of late. She’s been very busy though, first getting married and thus changing her name to Kelli Faryar, and then working year-round to help make the Northwest Folklife Festival the wonderful, vibrant institution it is today. I have missed hearing her singing voice, though, so I was very excited to hear that she had joined forces with drummer Mike Bundy (first heard in these parts playing with Kelli and our pal Mark Johnson in Yeek Yak Air Force, most recently heard as Bundy on Ball of Wax 24), and her husband, guitarist John Faryar of Amateur Radio Operator, to form a new rock band, called oh lo lo.

The band is so new that they don’t have any recorded material yet, but these videos from their very first show at the Mix in Georgetown definitely bode well. The sound quality is less than perfect, as is usually the case with such things, but it’s enough to make me want to hear more and hope I can make their next show. Riffs and drone and Kelli’s soaring vocals combine most compellingly. Have a listen for yourself:

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Lonesome Shack: “Sexual Release”

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Levi Fuller

Why haven’t I talked about Lonesome Shack here before?I have no excuse. Despite the fact that they don’t have the correct number of members, according to Indie Rooney, the local duo of Ben Todd and Kristian Garrard have been crafting their dirty, low-fi, electric blues for several years now and satisfying audiences thoroughly. Last year they released the excellent full-length Slidin Boa, which you can listen to in its entirety via Bandcamp and then purchase on vinyl (really the best medium for listening to Lonesome Shack) from our friends at Knick Knack Records.

In the meantime, watch Chris Todd’s video for the song “Sexual Release.” The video, like the band, is ramshackle, gritty, cool, transgressive, and hilarious. I hope Kristian uses this in his demo reel when he applies to So You Think You Can Dance.

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Now Playing: The Pica Beats – Better in Color

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Levi Fuller

Fans of Ryan Barrett (heard on Ball of Wax Volume 25/Songs about Books) and The Pica Beats (heard on volumes 8 and 18) should be thrilled, as I was, to hear of the release this week of their new album Better in Color. I’ve already listened to it three or four times in the past couple days (just started number four or five), and I really think it’s the finest, most fully realized expression yet of Ryan’s songwriting, production, and arranging prowess, and the understated precision of his band.

In the interest of getting this in your earholes sooner rather than later, this isn’t a proper album review; merely a notice that this excellent album now exists, and you should pony up the 10 bucks right now and make it the soundtrack to the last couple weeks of summer, a task for which Better in Color seems to be tailor made.

Listen/buy:

[wp_bandcamp_player type=”album” id=”2438247323″ size=”grande” bg_color=”#FFFFFF” link_color=”#4285BB”]

Posted in Bands You Should Know, Recorded Music | 3 Comments

Blog of Wax Legal Corner: WSLCB Proposes Loosening Up a Bit

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Levi Fuller

This is very exciting news for musicians who perform in Washington State. If you’re neither a musician nor a Washington State resident, I beg your indulgence for a minute.

For years now – I don’t know exactly when it started, only that enforcement has been more and more stringent over the past few years – there has been a rule in effect courtesy the wonderful folks at the Washington State Liquor Control Board stating that musicians (or any entertainers) may not imbibe alcohol while performing on stage at any venue in the State of Washington. The rationale for this, as I understand it, is that while performers are performing on stage they are “employees” of the venue, and of course employees should not be drinking while on duty. This sort of makes sense, except for the fact that it doesn’t make any sense at all. I don’t need to tell you the many ways in which the band up on stage is different from the guy taking your money at the door, or the bartender, or the sound guy.

Almost everywhere else in the country, since the end of prohibition, it has been customary for performing musicians to have a beverage of their choice to sip from in a responsible manner between songs. Any irresponsible behavior that might result from over-imbibing is covered by existing state law, and this prohibition has done nothing over the years to improve the safety or quality of life of performers, venue staff, or concert attendees. This rule has managed to make Washington seem even more puritanical than my home state of Massachusetts (where until recently you couldn’t bowl and drink at the same time), and that is not easy.

It is long past time for a change, and I am beyond pleased that the Liquor Board is considering said change. (I will gladly buy a drink for whichever liquor licensee initially petitioned the WSLCB for this change.) Needless to say, the first time I play a show after this rule is changed, I will happily raise a toast (in a nondescript container, of course) to the WSLCB. Read the text of the proposed change here, and if you support it send an e-mail to rules@liq.wa.gov by October 12th.

Posted in Community, Legal Corner, Live Music | 1 Comment

Free Album of the Day: An Invitation to Love – Boxcar

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Levi Fuller

Not the actual album cover.

It’s no secret that Louis O’Callaghan (The Graze, Sun Tunnels) has long had an affinity for the quiet-loud dynamics, overblown guitars, and tortured vocal stylings of the musical art form known to many as grunge. Much of his output has been along quieter lines, but the grunge-love comes out here and there, and it’s always enjoyable. A while back Louis, along with Sam Jansons and Brian Massey, started a band, An Invitation to Love, in order to channel those grungey tendencies into one official outlet. The subject matter of An Invitation to Love’s songs would, of course, be that other key cultural touchstone of the early 1990s, the television show Twin Peaks.

You might have heard An Invitation to Love’s “Donna (To James)” on Ball of Wax Volume 19. For a while that was all many of us had heard of the band (especially those of us who are too lazy to go out to shows), but they have now released an EP, Boxcar, which you can listen to and/or download for free over at their Bandcamp page. Fans of grunge, the songwriting of Louis O’Callaghan, and/or Twin Peaks should be completely satisfied.

[wp_bandcamp_player type=”album” id=”674982348″ size=”grande” bg_color=”#FFFFFF” link_color=”#4285BB”]

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Songs about Books: A Couple More Items

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Levi Fuller

Hello, and happy post-Labor Day, everyone. Now where were we?

Ah yes, I had a couple things to tell you about, related to our Songs about Books project.

Thing the First: For those of you who were unable to join us for the Songs about Books release show on August 19th, there’s a small consolation prize; a slight return, if you will: Alex, Joshua, and I will be performing our songs in an acoustic setting at the Henry Art Gallery as part of their Shelf Life series this Friday, September 9th, at 7 p.m. The event is free with museum admission, and you can pick up a copy of the Songs about Books CD for cheap while you’re there.

Thing the Second: I recorded an interview with KUOW’s Jeremy Richards about three of the songs from Songs about Books, and how I realized they all had different things to say about optimism. Jeremy, an excellent interviewer and a master editor, managed to make me sound semi-articulate, for which I am very thankful. It aired last week, and is archived on their web site. Check it out.

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Friends and Family: If Only More of Seattle Were Like This Band

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Bart Cameron

Lemme preface this. I always thought The Foghorns, which is my band’s name, was the worst band name in Seattle. (We started on an island in Wisconsin, I swear it made sense at the freaking time.) But, God bless them, as perfect as FRIENDS and FAMILY is to hear and speak, it is a nightmare for a band name in the digital era. I’ve just spent a half an hour looking for decent video of this band, and seen too many creepy Aunt Marthas. The best resource I found for them was their facebook page, which is here.

Okay, that said, tonight, August 30, Friends and Family release their first full-length CD a CD of remixes at the Tractor Tavern. You should care. If you’re from here, and you haven’t heard of them, make a point to get down there.

Continue reading →

Posted in Bands You Should Know, Community, Live Music | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Submit to Ball of Wax 26: A Tribute to the Anthology of American Folk Music

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Levi Fuller

It’s been hiding over on our About page for the past week or so, but now that the Songs about Books dust has settled a bit (buy your copy now!), I wanted to officially announce our call for submissions to the next volume of Ball of Wax: a tribute to Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music, celebrating its 60th birthday next year. Interpretations of any of the songs featured on the 3 (or 4, if you like) volumes of the Anthology are welcome.

I expect a lot of the songs submitted will be acoustic and folky and whatnot, and that’s perfectly fine, but I invite and encourage submissions from all corners of the musical universe, and I hope some artists will take this as an opportunity to experiment and play with some old, weird songs, and maybe turn them into something new and weird. I hope to get a lot of submissions on this one, and we probably won’t be able to include them all. I recommend digging deep when it comes to selecting songs – you can also feel free to submit more than one to improve your odds.

The deadline for submissions is September 30th. Full submission guidelines and instructions over at the aforementioned About page. The release show will be a very special event indeed; that’s all I’ll say about that for now.

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The Foghorns Release To the Stars on the Wings of a Pig Tomorrow at the Tractor

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Levi Fuller

I am a bad friend/colleague/listener. I’ve had access to (our own Bart Cameron‘s) The Foghorns‘ excellent new album To the Stars on the Wings of a Pig for a few weeks now, and I’ve listened to it a handful of times and loved it, but I have to admit I really haven’t given it the kind of close listening that would prepare me to write a proper album review. So instead I just have to do the lazy journalistic thing of telling you that the record is good, you can listen to it yourself here (or down below, without ever leaving this wonderful blog page), and you should go to the release show tomorrow night (Saturday, August 27th) at the Tractor Tavern with The Wages of Sin, Pufferfish (conflict of interest alert!), and Casey Ruff.

It really is a good record, though. Listen the crap out of it for the next 24 hours or so and you’ll be ready to sing along tomorrow night at the Tractor. See you there!

You can listen to and purchase the digital version of To the Stars . . . via the Bandcamp thingy below. You can also pre-order the vinyl (blue vinyl! ooh!) via the superb Knick Knack Records, and receive an instant download of the whole thing.

[wp_bandcamp_player type=”album” id=”256991135″ size=”grande” bg_color=”#FFFFFF” link_color=”#4285BB”]

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