With only one studio recording available, you would think it would be difficult to gauge the style, skill, and general feel of a band, but Porchlight by The Dan Drake Ensemble demonstrates the genius and sheer virtuosity of the band. Porchlight is an epic, with multiple parts, awkward time signatures, and shouted vocals. Here’s my review of the song and an interview with Dan Drake.

Review

“Porchlight”
It starts with a staggering drum beat and a bunch of dudes shouting. How can you not already love it. Subtle delicate guitar part in the background <3 THEN IT ERUPTS. Shouting. Horns. Insane flutter of drums. Then back into the groove with the accordion taking a bigger, more wonderful role. Then again out of control. The drum work is ridiculous. The next section is particularly dreamy. There’s a bit of a jaunty section. Then back into the groove. The instrumentation, shouting, arrangement, lyrics, everything is excellent. This song wasn’t just written. It was dreamed of and then orchestrated.

Interview

How did you get into music?

I started playing guitar and piano when I was 11. I started taking guitar lessons around middle school. Then from there I just started taking a bunch of lessons and then I started teaching lessons.

What are your influences?

Modest Mouse is my favorite band. I really like folk music. I listen to a lot of stuff. I kind of stopped listening to mathier things to be honest.

How did your other projects, Monster Machismo and The Dan Drake Ensemble get started?

Sam Judd, who now plays in Cattle Drums, used to be the drummer for Monster Machismo. We went the same middle school and high school. We just started playing together. We were in a couple bands together and after those broke up we formed Monster Machismo. We were just trying to further our playing ability. When college came, he stayed and I went away, so we couldn’t play together. I just started writing music that wasn’t necessarily for a band format. I wrote whatever I felt like having musicians play. That’s how the Dan Drake Ensemble formed.

Have you always written this sort of mathematical type of music?

Not everything I write is mathy or complicated, I just have the most fun doing that in a large band format. I write a lot of simpler stuff as well. My whole goal is to make everyone feel awkward with my music and keep it catchy. When you listen for music, you are listening for patterns and repetition. I like toying with the audience.

Is the ensemble a set group of people?

Not really. We play a lot on campus. It’s a nine person group. I write all the music by hand on paper and then I find people to play it with me. We haven’t played out a lot, because we’re all full time students and it’s a lot of work to get everybody out to a show, but we did play on campus a bunch. This past summer I did a month long tour with Cattle Drums as my backing band. It wasn’t exactly my ideal backing band, it was more rock and roll.

Will you ever tour with an ensemble?

It would take a lot of resources to do that. Trying to find people that would come along would be really hard to do.

Are you working on a full length album?

I’ve been writing one forever, but I need to find someone who can record. Someone who has the same modus and mindset that I do. It takes a lot of time and money and I don’t have either of those.

Is there a general theme that runs throughout your music?

I would say no. All my songs are about me being a shithead pretty much, me being repetitive. That’s just what happens when I try to write a song. That’s always the first thing that comes to mind when I’m singing.

For example, “Life Away from the Garden” layers his guitar with snappy drums, soft and echoey synths, and a shaker accompaniment. All of the things crescendo into a delightful chorus that feels like the sun coming out of the clouds.  These songs stretch out very well, which makes for tunes that you could really search through. One notable thing about Damien Jurado is that he is a very smart guitarist and vocalist. In the song “Working Titles,” he picks a very soft acoustic guitar to compliment his soft falsetto. “This Time Next Year” features a strong guitar which compliments the steadfast vocals.

It’s undeniable that Jurado is a very smart musician, and was always noted for his “found sound” techniques that add atmosphere to his songs. The atmospheric elements, like the rain in “Maraqopa”, add something really unique that brings a freshness to these songs. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what these songs need. The first song, “Nothing is the News”, is really just a stereotypical sounding psychedelic blues song with echoey guitars riffing improvised solos, stretching organ chords, and trance inducing drum beats. Sure, Jurado brings something new to these songs, but in the end they feel really familiar. “Museum of Flight” even sounds kind of like watching an 80′s movie.

This isn’t ground breaking stuff on this album, but it is mostly enjoyable to listen to. It starts a lot stronger that it ends because he never strips down the album into just guitar and vocals, and I really was hoping for that. By the end, the album really feels one-note and uniform.

Rating: 6.3/10
Recommended Tracks: “Life Away from the Garden”, “This Time Next Year”, “Working Titles”, “Nothing is the News”
RiYL: psychedelic folk, relaxing music, singer/songwriter, falling asleep on a rainy day, J Tillman, Horsefeathers

Hello, Django Reinhardt. Half jazz guitar virtuoso, half mustache growing virtuoso.

John Oates, your mustache makes our dreams come true.

Does Andre 3000 bare resemblance to Jimi Hendrix himself? Either way, ‘scuse me while we kiss your mustache.

Little known fact: Luigi (of Mario Bros. fame) played bass for Hüsker Dü back in the 80s.

Edvard Grieg’s main inspirations for composing Piano Concerto in A Minor for Peer Gynt: his mustache.

What are your favorite mustached musicians? We wanna hear all about it.

The Radio UTD Mustachin’ Dance Party is happening tomorrow night (Friday, Feb. 17th) in the Galaxy Rooms from 8:30-11:00pm. Come while supplies of pizza and swag exist! Unlimited amount of dancing all night, though, we gotcha back. RSVP on Facebook. See you and your ‘stache there. Wear your dancing pants.

Your instrumentation is so unique, do you see yourselves or want to be seen as a mainstream band or more a niche brass band?

SR – Mainstream

Does that represent the audience that you try to appeal to, a mainstream audience?

SR – Yes

What about your newest album made it different and successful?

SR – Over the years we have been able to merge jazz, hip hop, reggae, R&B, and funk. This album artistically is a combination of those years of work. We also finally have a major producer that can get us the record deal so that the music can get out to the world. The other labels were independent labels so the scope to get it to mainstream listeners was limited. Our sound has always been evolving, and I’d have to say it was a combination of the talent and the business that made this probably one of our most successful pieces to date.

We noticed that the soul rebels have opened up for some pretty prestigious bands, like Metallica and Jimmy Page. Who among those bands have you most enjoyed hanging out with or playing with?

SR – All of them. All of the artists are so talented and an honor to perform with. Obviously the Metallica show is one our major accomplishments, Robert Plant, Bootsy Collins, great legends like that. We have to always cite as being people who you and I heard growing up, but to be able to share the stage with those people, we never dreamed we could, but we’ve been able to. It was an honor on both levels, giving our all on stage and then being able to, in downtime, visit with Metallica and get to know them.

During some songs and concerts you employed an electric guitar in your band, do you think that adding more commercially popular instrumentation to your band helps you express you music or dilutes it?

SR – He played with us for some shows, but he is not a member of the band. We do different songs that showcase the guitar. It enhances on certain thing, but it does take anything away from the band without it.

Some of you went to some pretty reputable large colleges, how do you think that college helped develop your music skill after high school?

SR – That’s the difference between us and every other brass band, ever. Dedication, man, is the key to everything. We read and write music, and know theory. Compare that to people that learned by ear, we learned by ear too but the educational side of it pushed it to another level. That’s something that some guys just don’t understand.

On that note, what do you think of the state of music education in public schools? Especially like high schools and middle schools right now?

SR- I think in some cases it has diminished to a certain degree. That’s why you don’t have as many musicians coming out that really know what they are doing. That is limited in itself. Back when we were in school musicians were basically born and bred like football players, but now it’s far and few in between. For example, band students in middle school now, 8 out of 10 are not going to be doing it after high school. We were fortunate enough in New Orleans to grow up in a musical environment from the elementary environment on up. It was really a vehicle for college education for us. Each guy went to college and played music on that college level. As we said the music education was the key, but the extracurricular arts were so fundamental. It’s diminished a lot, I know that’s due to economic structure and things, but it used to be fortified more. It can help someone just as much as sport to be a professional.

We like a lot of songs on the album, but out of all of them, which ones do you like the best?

SR – We like them all. I don’t know, they all have a different feeling and story.

Do you prefer creating your own works or covers?

SR – I think that this band, from a professional point of view, has as many originals as they do covers. You’ll find a lot of bands that are limited; we could play three sets of originals, while you could find other bands that play 5 or 6 originals and they’re done.

Does everyone in the band write music?

SR – Yeah, the table is open for everyone. It’s not closed down so that if someone brings a song, he doesn’t want any input, no, we will all build from it.

Our show name is Yolo Solo, which stands for you only live once so live on. How you all live your lives to the fullest?

SR – Doing what I love to do, and taking care of our responsibilities by doing what we love to do. That’s the best way to live life, instead of being forced to live like you don’t enjoy, that’s like bondage. We all left our jobs, I’m the last one about to leave my day job, can’t go back because we book too much. This is what we all want to be doing because it’s a passion that we have and an avenue of expression, being able to get people’s attention. Life is a journey; always live that journey like it’s your last day. Never leave any stone unturned. You can’t go on that stage just doing half. I’m sitting here thinking about how Whitney Houston just checked out. We did a gig in Lafayette, and the guy that had played previously did a show, and then died on the stage. Right after his solo he collapsed and died right there after his final note. You have to take everything for what it’s worth; you don’t take anything for granted. Time don’t stand still for nobody. The crowd feeds off the band, so we try to bring them to our level of enjoyment. If we are enjoying ourselves then the crowd will enjoy it that much more, that’s where the crowd interaction comes in.

Why haven’t there been more brass bands to try to play like you do, seeing your success?

SR – Freedom of change. They are afraid to change. As long as you’re in your element, your cool and can say what you want, but when you get out in front and the cameras are on you, you have to man up. People are afraid to do it; they are comfortable with the street style of brass band and not moving on to other areas. They are afraid to develop their own identity; they are satisfied with mimicking each other so the blame will never go to them. We try to be a trendsetter and raise the bar to where brass bands should be. There is the other element of them not being able to do what we do, you can only do what you can. One of our greatest attributes is exploring, you never know till you try. Our mission is clear, we want to change the whole atmosphere of the brass band, and we have to in order to get on the main stage. Brass bands have been around for centuries, the early 1900s. In order to get in the main stream you have to play with the big boys on the same field, not at the front gate before the folk come in to see the main show, we want to be the main show. We did that for many years, playing on the outside for people waiting to go see the main show, I’m tired of being those clowns.

Foxy Shazam, initially an emo-influenced, hardcore-influenced, punk-influenced, arena rock–influenced, Cher-influenced band that made absolutely no sense when you listened to them, have definitely changed their style. They’ve matured past their early works into an 80′s throwback rock band (Cher, Queen, Foreigner, bands of that ilk). I was very upset with sudden change in their release of their self-titled album and revolted against it. So when I heard that The Church of Rock and Roll was coming out, I was not at all excited. So when I started listening to the album, I admittedly went in with a rather bad thought of how it would turn out. Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried, I could not hate it.

The album starts out with a somewhat pretentious sounding introduction song that is silly, but still infectious. The second song “I Like It” (the single) was what made me not want to listen to this album initially, but in the context of the album I found myself tapping my toe and singing about how “that’s the biggest black ass I’ve ever seen, and I like it a lot” (the lyrics, for the record). Leading right into “Holy Touch“, this album keeps a very steady pace of lovely sing-alongs that are worthy of the most drunken nights at the karaoke bar. Eric Nally’s voice is able to shine familiar light on their nonsensical album Introducing and their boring self-titled album, and make a perfect balance of shrieking and melody. This is very similar to his lyrics in this album. Although silly at times, like in the song “I Like It”, they get serious in the song “Forever Together” and show Eric Nally as family man that feels bad being on tour all the time.

Although still a bit silly, the lyrics still have a home in the heart and they make you sympathize with this strange little mustached man with freckles painted on his face. These happy sing-alongs are great, but to say that they are derivative is probably the biggest understatement to ever grace the earth. Each song sounds like a rip-off from another artist. Be it the cowbells on “Last Chance at Love” or just about everything in “Holy Touch”. If you’ve ever heard of 80′s rock, you’ve probably heard this entire album before. But this is where Foxy Shazam shines: cheesy, derivative rock. No matter how much I want to hate this album, whenever the triumph of “Freedom” comes through, I can’t help but sing along. Despite all of the déjà vu you’ll experience when listening to this, it’s still worth a listen and a sing-along.

Rating: 6.8/10

Recommended Tracks: Holy Touch, I Like It, Last Chance at Love, I wanna Be Yours

RiYL: cheesy 80′s rock, singing to music REALLY loud, and karaoke

Last year, Reptar opened for Foster The People and Phantogram on both respective tours. They’ve recently released Oblangle Fizz, Y’all and the only objective is to make one simply dance. The band shares aspects across the spectrum from The Talking Heads to Animal Collective. With tunes that’ll be stuck in your head for days, it’s no wonder what one of the tracks off Oblangle is named “Stuck In My Id.” It’s bound to be a party at The Prophet Bar on Friday, February 24th.

Lucky for us, our friends at Tactics Productions has generously given us a pair to give away. And we want you to win!

Here is what you have to do:

1. Tune in to Wizards Know with Brandon Baldauf TODAY, late Thursday (2/16), or technically Friday between 12:30am and 12:45am.
2. Wait for an announcement to call into the radio station or IM us at IAMRADIOUTD.
3. Dance your face off.

Reptar will be here at The Prophet Bar with Quiet Hooves on February 24th. Tickets are still available over at Tactics’ website or at Good Records for a nice price of $10. Better put your dancing pants on.

We’ve pulled up a good video to tell you what you’re in for. Late win tonight but it’ll be worth it:

Radio UTD is extremely proud to present our showcase at 35 Denton with Mikal Cronin, Bleached, Final Club, and Old Snack! This growing festival has been making waves in the community for years, and the 2012 fest is no exception. With hundreds of bands–both local and national–35 Denton brings a breath of fresh air to the North Texas community every March. Stay tuned for the next few weeks as we detail our favorite locals to watch out for.

Mikal Cronin, Bleached, Final Club, & Old Snack at The Labb on March 8th, 2012.

Mikal Cronin 12:30a – 1:30a | Bleached 11:30p – 12:15a | Final Club 10:30p – 11:15p | Old Snack 9:30-10:15p

Mikal Cronin

Bleached

Final Club

Old Snack

You can find the 4 day schedule alongside 4 day passes and daily wristbands through 35denton.com.

See you in Denton!

Sonic Architectonic is an exhibit on display in the Visual Arts building at UT Dallas through February 18th. Curated by Lorraine Tady, the show explores “the architecture of sound in art” through various mediums ranging from experimental and interactive noises to visual representations of the impacts sound can have. One of the artists, Robert Ortega, was kind enough to share his time for an email interview and relate his thoughts, inspirations, and some of the artistic processes involved. As with most pieces, this work is better seen in person, so make it out to the Art Barn before the show closes!

Tell me a little bit about your past experiences and schooling, and how they got you where you are now.

Robert Ortega: I’ve always been drawing. I had the same teacher from when I was 5 until 17. Her name was Jacqui Von Honts. She was a student of the muralist David Alfaro Siquieros. I learned ink drawing, intaglio, lithography, acrylic painting and welding. As her students, when we drew a figure, from a photograph, we’d have to superimpose the muscles and skeleton on top. I’d have to paint with my brushes tied to 3 foot dowels to learn control. She was serious and crazy. She just died. For various reasons, I went to SMU, and met Lorraine Tady. I never trusted SMU because it lacked a metric for criticism—you could get a way with whatever you could get away with—but I did learn that an art making practice spills over into the rest of my life and that everything I do should be regarded as an art making practice; every act should be considered. That was the most important thing I got from SMU, and it mostly came from my professor Philip Van Keuren. As soon as I could after SMU, I moved to New York. This was in ’97 and the internet was exploding and NY was exciting and expensive, so I learned the Adobe CS programs and did print design for 13 years. After a while I wanted to go from 2D to 3D and went to Columbia’s Graduate Architecture program, but at this point I had a kid and a mortgage and had to go back to work after only a year. I’ve always had a studio and continue to make work. Lorraine Tady remained a friend and she invited me to be in this show.

The Sonic Architectonic exhibit is “exploring the architecture of sound in art.” How do you contribute to this exploration?

RO: Immediately, the premise of the exhibition spawned ideas. Since I hadn’t made art in a while, I went to what was most convenient; drawing. After learning new ways of line making in 3d programs at Columbia, it seemed a super natural fit. The initial idea was how would one make construction drawings of the spoken alphabet. We have typography for the symbols and phonetics, but what about the sound in terms of waves moving through space? No matter how brief, they must have some form. But an alphabet is not that interesting. Earwigs, catchy sound strings, have a way of getting into your head and never leaving, that was more interesting. The drawings became an attempt to create visual constructions of sound forms that stay with you.

What are some of your processes or techniques for creating these images?

RO: This set of drawings was done specifically for the show, but my visual concern is always related to music or sound. As you know, when you go to see live music or put on headphones there is a visceral and emotional experience that can never be matched by a painting or drawing; a painting will never make you dance. These are of course two separate mediums and each medium has its set of limits/opportunities. My interest is how close can you get these two.

I once had a drawing teacher, Barnaby Fitzgerald (at SMU) who challenged me to draw a line as taut as a guitar string. In this kind of exercise, you get to the essence of the possibilities of a medium. With this show Sonic Architectonic my priority was to demonstrate how one medium moves through another; sound waves through the ether. While this seems to be an illustration exercise, I was more trying to relay a metaphor, pulling ink through the paper and perpetuating form based on what came before. The initial ink drawing were digitized (scanned or photographed) and another more considered form was drawn on top in a 3d program (Rhino). The combinations were printed on an Epson 3880 ink jet. I don’t see a difference between sumi ink and an inkjet: they’re both ink on paper; one is synthesized and one is live, but both are drawing.

Initially I recorded myself speaking the alphabet and used those frequency charts, but ended up using the charts from parts of songs from Tom Waits, Grinderman, and Marc Ribot. I used these charts as maps to generate ink and pencil drawings. The smaller drawings I would just build on. I would consider washes to be tracks laid over each other. Some of the larger drawings I digitized and drew on top of in Rhino. The thinking was that if the drawing was the form, what would the construction (or initial parameters) have looked like to have spawned these biomorphic drawings. So there was a lot of back and forth between organic form and structure.

Do you have a preference between the synthesized or live materials and processes in your work? How much does a control or lack thereof affect how you approach the inks? Do they compete against each other?

RO: I don’t have a preference between the analog and digital methods, I don’t see them as that different; both are just tools and have conveniences and excitements. With the physical process, I’m always trying to control the outcome, but when it’s digital, I’m trying to randomize the outcome. The goal is to have a controlled but opportunistic approach. I recently a heard the musician Eve Beglarian describe her trip down the Mississippi River where she says that she knows she starting at the beginning of the river and and ending at the end, but in this path, there is an unknowable possibility.

You mentioned trying to bring the mediums of music and drawing as close together as possible. Could you expand your thoughts on that a little?

RO: Drawing doesn’t have the benefit of time, but since we read left to right, I have a few seconds on a page to play with. I wasn’t trying to replicate specific musical quotes, I was trying to create memorable instances. Richard Serra’s drawings have a presence that approaches sculpture, his sculpture approaches architecture. I always imagined making a drawing that could make you throw your arms up and shake your ass.

Would you consider some of your creative process as similar to a musical creative process? Specifically with how much technology now affects music beyond the raw instrumentation with sampling, cutting, and pitch shifting often taking the spotlight in lieu of the analog instruments or the human voice.

RO: The musical creative process you’re talking about has certainly evolved with the technology, it’s absorbed the new process as new tools to labor with. I’d like to think that my thinking has fully incorporated digital technology: Photoshop/Illustrator/Rhino are tools that I can use as freely as I can with a pencil or brush. But, from both sides of the aisle there is still a stigma between the handmade and the digital. There’s an artist I know of who makes great motion graphics, but labels his drawings and paintings traditional art. That’s unproductive.

You mentioned creating memorable instances like a hook in music. Do you connect your work at all with specific sounds or experiences you try to replicate or do you compose originally?

RO: I do try to transpose, but that’s more science than art. Even if I found a way to accurately visualize a hook, I don’t think it would translate in an engaging way. If I find a hook that I respond to, I try to replicate the response visually and use that as a seed. But I also used the sound of the trucks rumbling by studio as a starting point.

I imagine watching the ink living and spreading on the paper to be fascinating and exhilarating. Have you ever considered using video compositions or documentations of your working process to relate your ideas?

RO: The process isn’t pretty, it’s messy and slow and layered. I wish I could say it was visceral and controlled, but there’s a lot of mulligans. In that sense the process is similar to making musical, redo and redo and redo.

How do you digest and experience music? How involved with music are you and what are some of your favorite musical moments?

RO: When I have time, I prefer to put on some headphones and listen to an album from beginning to end, as if I’m watching a play or movie. Teams of talented and careful people have labored to construct these things and it’s respectful to give it you’re full attention. Second to that is driving and listening, but driving in Brooklyn does not make a relaxing listening environment. The first thing that comes to mind is Ella Fitgerald when she fobs Mack the Knife in a performance in Berlin. She forgets the lyrics, but doesn’t miss a beat. Brilliant.

Islands is an indie rock band hailing all the way from Canada and now based in Los Angeles. Active since 2005, the band has released three albums (with 2012’s A Sleep & a Forgetting on the way), and cycled through a plethora of members before reaching its current lineup. Originally recording their first album, Return to the Sea, in Breakglass Studio and then-drummer Jamie’s Thompson’s room, the band released their debut album in England and North America in 2006. This led to their own headlining tour (just a year before they played an opening slot for indie rock band Metric) throughout Canada and the United States and plenty of acclaimed criticism.

This year, the band will be releasing their fourth album, A Sleep & a Forgetting on Valentine’s Day and appearing at Sons of Hermann just a few days later on February 18^th (that’s this Thursday!) for a seated show that’ll allow you to get close with that special someone. Who doesn’t love a little intimacy?

Idiot Glee is a one-band-man James Friley from Lexington, Kentucky.  His special use of samples, loops, and pedals has been drawing major shine and creating a new genre not usually heard of: astral-indie pop. He cites influences like Pet Sounds and the Beatles, and will be bringing his special type of pop to you at Sons of Hermann.

Fortunately, our friends at Parade of Flesh want you to see them, so we’ve got some tickets to give away!

Here’s what’s going down:

1. Like @Radio UTD and @Parade of Flesh on Facebook
2. Click “Attending” on the Islands / Idiot Glee Facebook event
3. Write a sentence with an Island song in it (“I sure do hope ‘This Is Not A Song…’”) and tag Radio UTD

That’s it! We’ll choose the winner randomly and contact them! The contest ends Thursday, February 16^th at 5PM, so get to workin’! Tickets are still available, but we know how much you like free stuff. Bring a friend who likes scoring big and see what happens!

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks are an indie rock band born and based in Portland, Oregon. The band was founded in 2000, almost immediately after Malkmus’ previous project—the influential 90s band Pavement—went on hiatus. The band’s first album, “Stephen Malkmus”, was released a year after, with Pavement band member Bob Nastanovich acting as band manager. The band’s second effort, Pig Lib, was released with 2003 and was followed by the band’s first North American tour as an opener for Radiohead. 2005’s Face the Truth was mostly recorded by Malkmus alone in his basement, with some help from other Jicks band members. The band recorded their fifth album, Mirror Traffic, in 2011 with Beck Hansen while Malkmus was on tour with Pavement. Now they’re headed to the Granada Theater to serve up some indie rock fun with also Portland band, Nurses.

Also hailing from Oregon, Nurses is a experimental, psychedelic folk pop trio born in 2009. They released their first album, Apple’s Acres, in 2009 and their second album, Dracula, in 2011 to esteemed reviews.

Our friends at the Granada Theater don’t want you to miss out when they come to Dallas, so we’ve got some tickets to give away!

Here’s what you have to do:

1. Follow @granadatheater and @RadioUTD on twitter.
2. Tweet a sentence with the following: the show, the date, and Granada Theater and Radio UTD tags. (ex: “Hey @RadioUTD and @granadatheater, give me those Stephen Malkmus 2/21 tickets, I want ‘em!”)

And that’s it! We’ll pick the winner randomly and contact them! The contest ends Friday, February 17th at 5PM so work fast. Tickets are still available, but time flies! It’s best you and yours try to score them from us. Bring a friend!