Ball of Wax 53 Songs: Levi Fuller – “Scott Pruitt Must Die”

Posted on July 20, 2018 by Louis O'Callaghan

In Scott Pruitt’s home state of Oklahoma, the concept of “castle doctrine” – the idea that you can protect your domicile with deadly force without fear of prosecution – extends outside the home, in the form of a “stand your ground” law. Along with those of 26 other states, Oklahoma’s stand your ground law indicates that a person cannot be charged when committing homicide “if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another.”
That said, Levi Fuller’s “Scott Pruitt Must Die” is neither a call to assassination nor to justifiable homicide. From the chorus:

Scott Pruitt must die, as must we all, and the world we’ll leave behind
Will barely be fit for human life and that’s his fault and yours and mine

So while Trump’s most cartoonishly corrupt former cabinet member has been enthusiastically bad for this country and the world, Levi reminds us that we must all confront our own complicity in environmental degradation. Similarly, Oklahomans and other Americans who own a firearm are much more likely to be injured or killed by that firearm (or to themselves use it in a crime) than they are to use it effectively in self-defense. There are no easy answers.

Levi Fuller & the Library will play this and other songs at the Ball of Wax 53 show on Friday, August 3rd. Be there!

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Ball of Wax 53 Songs: Caroline Keys – “Supplies”

Posted on July 19, 2018 by Julia Massey

If you’re like me, and pride yourself on being able to accurately judge a song within the first ten seconds, then I recommend throwing that out the window with Caroline Keys‘s “Supplies.” As soon as the track began I thought, “wait, what kind of a ride am I about to get on here?” It turned out to be, in equal parts: catchy-as-hell, funny, and hungry for watermelon, whisky, and wasabi. Just listen. You’ll understand. Enjoy.

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Ball of Wax 53 Songs: Meade Krosby – “Never a Sure Thing”

Posted on July 18, 2018 by Levi Fuller

Longtime Ball of Wax listeners may remember Meade Krosby’s voice https://www.arabfinancials.org/بيتكوين and spellbinding guitar playing from way back on Volume 16, when her band Secret Highways shared their song “Ortolan” (which I think you can maybe still hear on Myspace? Or you can just buy yourself a copy of BoW 16.) Meade has been busy being a climate scientist and raising a child in the past several years, so we haven’t heard much from her, but I was able to get her to pick up the guitar and record a song for this volume of Ball of Wax, as it was on a theme close to her heart. “Never a Sure Thing” is an achingly beautiful meditation on the bittersweet nature of love in a (probably) doomed world. Meade lays out various likely (but not certain) unpleasant scenarios about our planet’s future, but no matter how awful things get, comes back to “I’ll love you anyway,” and reminds us that none of this has ever been a sure thing – our love, the human race’s survival, or, conversely, the bleakest predictions of our planet’s future. As a husband and parent, this speaks directly to me. The fact that it’s a beautifully written and performed piece of music certainly doesn’t hurt either.

Meade will perform this song (and more, I hope) at the Ball of Wax 53 show on Friday, August 3rd.

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Ball of Wax 53 Songs: Isaac Castillo – “Someday I’ll Be”

Posted on July 17, 2018 by Patrick J Gibbs

Isaac Castillo’s “Someday I’ll Be” is a fast paced, fingerpicking exploration of the post-life experience. The ever-expanding journey that Isaac takes us on in under two minutes reminds me of the iconic short film “Powers of Ten.” In his afterlife, the narrator requests in verse that we offer to him an earthly grave, then a burial at sea, and finally to cast him up into the stars. Each final resting place is exponentially larger and grander than the one before it.

Isaac offers glimpses of what could be chilling scenes of decomposition, but he does not give us time to wallow.  Each new death bears fruit of a new existence.  Even if there was not light at the end of Isaac’s tunnel, the upbeat, up-tempo bluegrass keeps us tapping our toes and moving along our life’s journey by way of his song.

“Someday I’ll Be” does not ask the question, “To be or not to be?” According to Isaac Castillo, we are, and someday we will be something far greater than discarded bones in the ground.

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Ball of Wax 53 Songs: Chris Poage – “What a Gas”

Posted on July 16, 2018 by Lattney B. Jones

Duane Eddy may have invented the reverbed tremolo twang, but Chris Poage opens up a whole new Ball of Wax with “What a Gas.” Busting out of the gate at an allegro clip, Chris (and what I believe are a few of his Panda Conspiracy cohorts) firmly stake themselves in the Tex-Mex-by-way-of-Washington territory of roots rock, complete with trumpet, trombone, and loads of twang.

Chris’s voice is not unlike that of fellow Americana veteran Alejandro Escovedo, a slightly dry hail with a pleasant range that was practically designed for laments on the futility of environmental stewardship in this age of increasing dependence on outdated fossil fuels and exponential carbon footprint growth. Heavy stuff? Well, yes, and perfectly suited for ushering in Ball of Wax 53. Poage’s lyrics call us out on our every sin whilst comparing the west coast to burnt toast and offering a tsk-tsk for the failure of our leaders and captains of industry to put real consideration into alternative fuels and sustainable energy.

I’m down with the message, but any who have read any of my reviews know that I’m all about the arrangement and the accompaniment (full disclosure: I’m not very intelligent, so most lyrics go over my head) and Poage and his band have laid down a groove and progression so enjoyable that I had to pull out my dusty six-string and play along. Bonus: Katie and Liana Green not only carry the tune along, they get to show off their horn talents with a trumpet-and-trombone break that’s got to bring down the house live. (Make sure to catch Chris and friends at the Ball of Wax 53 show on August 3rd!)

Guided by those reverbed tremolo twang guitar licks, this works great as night-driving music . . . especially fitting for these times when we’re so close to permanently blocking out the sun.

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Ball of Wax 53: August 3rd at Substation, for the Benefit of 350 Seattle

Posted on July 11, 2018 by Levi Fuller

Ball of Wax 53
With Levi Fuller & the Library, Poor Neighbors, Chris Poage, Danbert Nobacon, and Meade Krosby
Friday, August 3rd, 8pm
Substation, 645 NW 45th St.

$8 cover includes copy of BoW 53 CD
All profits to 350 Seattle

Since it’s been about a year and a half since our last volume of protest songs, I figured it was about time to issue a new collection, this time with a selection of music specifically talking about (and inspired by) environmental issues. Ball of Wax 53 features new and newish music from the above-listed artists as well as Matriarch, Isaac Castillo, climate scientist Judy Twedt, Kaeley Pruitt-Hamm, and many more. It also features brand-new music from some old friends of Ball of Wax, such as Joshua Morrison‘s band Poor Neighbors, and Meade Krosby of Secret Highways (also, by the way, a climate scientist).

We have collectively chosen to support 350 Seattle for their vital work on this front right here in the Puget Sound. All profits from this show and compilation will go to them, so help us make it a big night!

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Submit Environmentally-themed Songs for Ball of Wax 53

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Levi Fuller

Photo credit: NASAWith my usual dearth of proper planning, I have decided that Ball of Wax 53 will be devoted to songs about the environment/earth/climate/etc., and it will be released on or around August 4th, the date our Dear Leader announced the US’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.

I welcome strident political statements, fatalistic lamentations, hopeful ballads, and everything in between, above, below, and around. (Climate change denialism or free market apologism will be rejected out of hand.)

Deadline: June 24th (early submission encouraged!)
Guidelines and more info: Here
Questions? Drop me a line (or comment on this post)

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Ball of Wax 52 Songs: Patrick Wurzwallner and Kole Galbraith – “Hi friend, Good Morning!”

Posted on May 11, 2018 by Levi Fuller

To close Ball of Wax 52, Seattle multi-instrumental dronemonger Kole Galbraith and Austrian drum-pummeler Patrick Wurzwallner bring us 5 or so minutes of joyful, improvised noise. I always think it’s funny when people use the term “noise rock” to describe bands that have singers and choruses and song forms, but just turn up pretty loud and enjoy the use of dissonance. This, my friends, is noise rock. Wurzwallner seems to hit all of his drums all at once all the time, but maintain an artful cohesion all the while. Galbraith plays barely a discernible note, wrenching unholy combinations of feedback, pick scrapes, and other noises from his instrument with gleeful brutality and merciless precision. Wurzwallner and Galbraith’s sonic explosion makes Lightning Bolt sound like AC/DC. (No insult intended; I love Lightning Bolt. And AC/DC.)

This performance was recorded live in Austria, so I have no idea if we’ll get to experience this delightful ruckus live here in Seattle any time soon, but if you keep your eyes and ears peeled you’ll probably see or hear Kole playing somewhere before too long.

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Ball of Wax 52 Songs: Ambrosia Bardos (Morher) – An Excerpt from the Official Soundtrack for jonCates’ Ghosttown

Posted on May 11, 2018 by Levi Fuller

I’ve been trying to get Ambrosia Bardos on a volume of Ball of Wax for a while, and at last the stars have aligned! For this volume, Ambrosia has chosen to share an excerpt from their work on the soundtrack for Ghosttown, glitch artist jonCate’s “queering of The Western, an in progress deconstruction of the history of cinema.” As with Darryl Blood’s scoring work that appeared earlier on this volume, this piece is rich with detail, and whether you’ve seen the film in question or not, the mind races to create narratives for it all. We start with sparse, wet noises, gradually gaining in frequency as layers of sound are added. Then a crashing sound (waves? rocks?) is added, its slow delay bringing rhythm to the piece. The human voice, deeply processed and manipulated, makes an appearance, hints at a melody, all with a sense of foreboding. Are we walking our horse down an almost-dry creek, warily eyeing the sagebrush, the strange birds crying in the trees? The sound grows in intensity and about halfway through, foreboding turns to outright menace. Something awful is happening, but we can’t turn our eyes (or ears) away. After a while we drop off a cliff, it all breaks down to one sustained note. A body lies motionless in the desert, clothing licked by the wind. One last sung note rings out plaintively, and we fade to black.

Or, you know, probably not, but that’s what I hear. Regardless of imagery, this is a gorgeous composition by an uncompromising artist more than worthy of your attention.

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Ball of Wax 52 Songs: A.F. Jones – “a charter”

Posted on May 10, 2018 by Levi Fuller

The multi-faceted sound artist A.F. Jones makes his Ball of Wax debut with “a charter,” a sound collage created from audio gathered on a fishing charter. We start off with the motorized drone that must be a constant companion on such trips. Soon more sounds are added – water, a clanking steel door, and other, less identifiable sounds. Despite the mundanity of the source material a dark, sinister feeling gradually creeps up on us. Distorted, echoing voices in multiple languages layer over each other, and then a pulsing bass note fades in, pushing that sinister subtext to the foreground. And then, like a cloud blowing past the sun, it’s gone. We hear a hushed, informal conversation, engines and water. We’re on a boat. It’s a lovely afternoon. Everything is fine. A.F. Jones manages to pack a lot of story and dramatic tension into one small audio package. Do yourself a favor and get your ears on a copy of four dot three two one, the album from which this track was extracted.

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