The Ironic Mullet :: Lee Ann Westover

Extraordinary Joe

Published in Downtown Express, Chelsea Now & The Villager

Cast members from the Public’s Central Park summer production of “Hair” will reprise their roles on Oct. 12 with “Be-In: A Night of Music and Love.” Extraordinary Joe Celebrating 10 years of musical diversity at Joe’s Pub By Lee Ann Westover Ten years ago, downtown Manhattan’s venerable Public Theater transformed a corner of their grand Lafayette Street edifice into a glamorous music club, bar and restaurant. After a decade of operation, Joe’s Pub finds itself one of New York City’s hippest nightspots and a sought-after stage for musicians around the world. Beginning this month, Joe’s Pub will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a gala fundraiser, 10 free concerts, and four months of performances from artists for whom Joe’s Pub has served as a creative springboard. Of the vision for this series, Joe’s Pub director Shanta Thake says, “Not only is this a great time to celebrate what we are but also to show New York and the world how far Joe’s Pub has come in just 10 years. We want to tell the story of the diversity that we program…and that we are committed to being a mirror to New York and the country at large.” Unlike so many nightspots around Manhattan, Joe’s Pub’s velvet booths and mood lighting did not come into being as a money-making venture.” When a lot of people think of Joe’s Pub, they think we are a regular music venue,” says Thake. “What they might not understand is that we are a non-profit program of the Public Theater and that we don’t subsist on earned income alone. Although we have been successful for so many years, you just can’t take it for granted, especially when clubs are closing down all over the city.” In a duel fold mission to gather some of those precious operating funds while sharing the best of Joe’s Pub history, the gala dinner and concert on Friday, October 10 is the anniversary season’s first official event. Judy Collins herself, as well as musical luminaries Mary Gauthier, Shawn Colvin, Eric Anderson and others, will interpret Collin’s extensive songbook while shedding a little light on her history as both a performing artist and longtime mentor to fledgling performers. On October 11 and 12, the free “Ten for the Tenth” concert series showcases Joe’s Pub’s diversity with a roster of artists from all over the musical spectrum. Anyone can reserve free tickets at JoesPub.org until Sunday, October 5. The events start early with a family concert at 11:00 am on Saturday the 11: “Baby Loves Salsa” with Joe Conde. At 2:30 p.m., Raoul Midon continues in the Latin theme with his New Mexico mix of R&B, soul and pop – all accompanied by flamenco-tinged acoustic guitar. Jill Sobule will add some sparkle to John Wesley Harding’s “Folk Noir” at six, followed by soulful songbird Imani Uzuri’s “Mosaic” at 9:30. At ten, the Budos Band’s bombastic afro-soul will send the audience dancing into Sunday. Sunday morning (October 12) the party begins again, as singer and pianist Allen Toussaint takes the stage for a New Orleans brunch at 11 p.m. Brooklyn’s playful genius Roy Nathanson lends his saxophone to ’80s diva – and fellow Jazz Passenger’s alum – Debbie Harry for a 2:30 p.m. set of mind-bending music. At six, musician and absurdist comedian Reggie Watts performs with the hilarious Kristin Schaal – best known as the adoring stalker-slash-fan on HBO’s “Flight of the Conchords.” A cavalcade of stars, including Michael Cerveris and John Cameron Mitchell, will interpret the witty and city-bitter “Stew Songbook” at 9:30 p.m. Songs from Stew’s recent Broadway production “Passing Strange” will doubtless be included in the evening’s program. The Public Theater’s Central Park production of “Hair” ended up being the hottest ticket in town this summer. Members of the astoundingly beautiful and talented cast will reprise their roles with “Be-In: A Night of Music and Love” at 12:30 a.m. In talking to her, it’s clear that Thake is proud of what Joe’s Pub has become over these last 10 years, and that she intends to further the legacy over the next decade. She emphasizes that a hardworking staff takes as much credit as she does in producing over 800 shows per year in the space. What she would love to see, however, is more of a melding of the Public Theater and Joe’s Pub in the public eye. Says Thake, “My big goal is to really be the Public Theater, and together that is what we are working towards…not just on the Joe’s Pub side but the Public Theater side as well. We want for this to be perceived as one great institution. I mean, the Public is New York’s theater. We want to be New York’s venue.” See the schedule of anniversary concerts, reserve free tickets for the “Ten for the Tenth” free concert series (must register before October 5) or purchase tickets for “A Tribute to Judy Collins” gala celebration at JoesPub.org

Under the spiegeltents, all the Seaport’s a stage

BTW: The Ironic Mullet is still on vacation! Until September am hiding in the mountains...xoxo

         

Published in Chelsea Now, The Villager, Downtown Express | August 15 - 21, 2008

      

SPIEGELWORLD
       Through October
       South Street Seaport’s Pier 17

    

      

    

    

      

Photo by Joan Marcus
       

“Absinthe” features a breathtaking performance by The Willers, the roller-skating acrobats Jean-Pierre and Wanda Poissonnet.

Adventurous roster of musical and theatrical entertainment

By Lee Ann Westover

Through the early part of the 20th century, itinerant theaters crisscrossed Europe—not unlike the Broadway road shows of today. Velvet-draped, teak-trimmed “spiegeltents” brought vaudeville-style entertainment to the public in portable opulence. New York’s own spiegeltent extravaganza, Spiegelworld, returns to Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport this August and September. As patrons stroll past the seaport’s industrial surroundings, through the manicured beer garden and into a tent’s low wooden doorway, they enter a world of Weimar-era sensuality that bursts with the energy of modern New York.

Last year, all Spiegelworld events took place in a single tent—“Le Salon Perdu.” Due to the volume of acts on the bill this year, Spiegelworld has added a new tent for 2008, “The Deluxe.” Ross Mollison, Spiegelworld impresario, explains: “Having a second venue allows us to incorporate so many fantastic things.” Programming will indeed reach chaotic levels. In addition to two theatrical productions that are exclusive to Spiegelworld, visitors to the site can enjoy an adult-themed comedy show six nights a week, “The Gazillionaire’s Late Night Lounge,” as well as a concert series, three weeks of programming for the New York International Fringe Festival and nightly DJs in the garden. Mollison adds, “I’m a bit allergic to the word festival, but I really like the idea of a carnival…a summer carnival.”

Throughout the season, the two theatrical productions form the backbone of Spiegelworld’s programming. After enjoying a nearly sold-out run in 2007, the vaudevillian celebration “Absinthe” brings back many beloved acts from previous seasons, as well as a bevy of new faces. According to Mollison “the world’s greatest variety show” will feature all manner of circus and musical performers from as far afield as the Ukraine and Russia. “We’ve brought in a lot of artists that we have found in our travels over the last twelve months. We’ve got a lot of surprises for people this year.”

Mollison and his partners created a new word to describe the particular brand of theater featured in “Desir”—“Theatrobatic.” Company director Wayne Harrison, choreographer John “Cha Cha” O’Connell (“Enchanted,” “Moulin Rouge”) and music director Josh Abrahams (“Moulin Rouge”) have created an interpretation of life backstage at the “greatest nightclub the world has known.” Mollison describes “Desir” as being loosely based on the 1950’s film “La Ronde.” In celebration of the French jewelry house (and show sponsor) Boucheron’s 150th anniversary, “Desir” is also intertwined with characters from the company’s long history. As if to underscore themes of indulgence and exclusivity, Boucheron will host a jewelry boutique onsite. Of the show, Mollison says, “People are going to be surprised at how sexy it is. There are no words, even though the script is more than 40 pages long.”

On the nights when “Desir” and “Absinthe” go dark, a series of concerts will feature a stylistically adventurous roster of musical entertainment.

On September 16, singer Martha Wainwright interprets Edith Piaf—a Spiegelworld exclusive—and the Montréaler’s authentic accent and intense, plaintive tone will surely do justice to her inspiration.

On August 10th, Aussie diva Meow Meow and Justin Bond of NYC’s own Kiki and Herb opened the series with a show entitled “Heavy Petting.” Based on the past work of both performers, the night was expected to juggle the entertainers’ vocal excellence with a truly naughty sense of humor.

The cabaret theme continues throughout the summer, with performances from the glamorous Ute Lemper on August 26th. You’ll have to wait until September 16th to hear Martha Wainwright interpret Edith Piaf—a Spiegelworld exclusive. The lovely Montréaler’s authentic accent and intense, plaintive tone will surely do justice to her inspiration.

As much as vintage burlesque and Bertolt Brecht seem to ooze out of every corner of the spiegeltents, Mollison has taken great care to stay innovative in his programming as well. Tortured Soul will bring their unique set of live house music to Spiegeltent on August 31st. On September 23rd, don’t miss Travis Sullivan’s 18-piece Bjorkestra as they perform songs from the genre-bending singer’s career in riotous splendor. Tickets will likely go fast for rare intimate shows from the Latin-funk combo Antibalas! On October 5th and strange little spitfire Nellie McKay on October 12th.

Spiegelworld isn’t just for the grownups, however. Before the pasties come out on September 20th, The Sippy Cups will spit out a set of authentic and hilarious rock and roll—much to the ecstatic enjoyment of little ones and parents alike.

Perhaps the strangest of all events will take place each Thursday night at 9pm, as Pier 17 plays host to New York City’s first ever Headphone Disco. The kick off party will feature Time Out NY Nightlife Editor DJ Bruce Tatum, after which DJ Peter Munch will take over the turntables as resident spin doctor. Mollison says of the event, “Imagine two DJs, two separate channels on wireless headphones, a thousand people dancing, and absolutely no sound…apart from the crowd singing along. It’s hilarious to watch and fantastically fun to participate in.”

With such a varied world of talent on two small stages, it’s hard to decipher what common thread ties it all together. When I ask Mollison what he wishes for Spiegeworld audiences, he responds without missing a beat, “The whole environment is about enjoying live entertainment in an unstructured way… and mixing genre. When you are a kid, going to the carnival is so exiting. I really want to make Spiegelworld as exciting for a 45-year-old as it is for that little 5-year-old.” From the looks of it, he is already succeeding brilliantly.
      
       For more information and a complete listing of all Spiegelworld events, go to spiegelworld.com

Brass band of brothers: The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble

PUBLISHED IN THE VILLAGER | Volume 78 / Number 2 - June 11 - 17, 2008

The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is comprised of nine brothers (one honorary) who play instrumental music that draws from hip-hop, soul, funk and jazz.

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
June 13th at 12:30 am
The Blue Note
131 W. Third St.
($15, 212-475-8592, bluenote.net)

By Lee Ann Westover

Almost every afternoon, lucky crowds of New Yorkers and tourists gather en masse around the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, pulled in by their bombastic brand of instrumental music that draws from hip-hop, soul, funk and jazz. Though critics have, in passing, compared the group to New Orleans brass bands with a similar line-up, these nine brothers (one honorary) take inspiration from their own musical genes. They are a part of the cacophony of urban life they witness in their afternoons spent busking on New York City subway platforms.  Since 2005, Hypnotic has held court underground, but on Friday, June 13, they will step out and up with their late- night show at the Blue Note.

The genetic brothers (Gabriel Hubert, trumpet; Saiph Graves, trombone; Tycho Cohran, sousaphone; Amal Baji Hubert, trumpet; Jafar Baji Graves, trumpet; Seba Graves, trombone; Tarik Graves, trumpet; Uttama Hubert, baritone) were born in Chicago. Their father, Phil Conran of the Sun Ra Arkestra, raised them in a home that pulsed with music. The oldest brother, Gabriel, recently sat down at Union Square’s Coffee Shop to tell me more. “We were taught by a man who taught most of the people in Chicago,” he said, “and who was taught by the old-school cats. Every night I would hear music. My father had a theater right in our house. Because of that, by the time I turned five, I wanted to play trumpet. It happened like that with each one of us. After two or three of us showed interest in music, another one would come down the line. My father would put ’em right into band.” 

Gabriel explained that Hypnotic got started “when some of the guys were in their senior year of high school. Tycho got the notion that since they were playing songs in the high school band, they could play some of these songs on the street and probably get paid. He fumbled around with it and finally convinced Seba and Tyrik to go out with him. They made, like, 70 bucks a piece! They did it for about a week, secretly. Then, they started going shopping and it was like, ‘Ok, where’s this money coming from?’ The older brothers were out working, and the younger ones were still in high school. We were just trying to find a way to not have to work conventional jobs and make a living playing music. Slowly but surely the rest of the bros started coming down to where they were playing.” Eventually, the eight brothers cemented their identity as Hypnotic Brass Ensemble with the addition of drummer Christopher Anderson.

Not long after the millennium, Hypnotic came to New York to play the Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night. Gabriel said the experience gave them a small taste of what playing in the city would be like. After a second visit a couple of years later, Hypnotic returned to Manhattan for a trial run in 2005. They brought along 1600 CDs, and gave themselves a week to sell all the discs from their peripatetic bandstand. They achieved this goal, said Gabriel, “with three or four days to spare.”

A permanent move to New York followed soon after. Gabriel continued, “I mean, there are seven million more people here than there are in Chicago. Here, you can be playing somewhere on the street and somebody will be walking past and take you to the next level — just like that. That happened with G-Star and with Mos Def” — with whom Hypnotic has since collaborated. “I mean, 14th Street...everybody walks up and down 14th Street. Times Square? Everybody moves in and out of Times Square.”

Years spent busking have started to grate a bit, as the band continues its upward trajectory. “Sometimes it’s cool, like when we did the Apollo for the James Brown Tribute. To go from the red carpet to the street...I mean...this is the type of stuff we do. But after going on a world tour for six or seven weeks, seven or eight countries...to come back here and go back on the street? It becomes frustrating. To go from where people are holding you like this...” (Gabriel raises his hand high up above his head) “...to back over here where you gotta worry about police popping you. When we are on the road we don’t have to do that. We forget that we have to deal with that B.S.”

The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble won’t have much longer to worry about police and bad tippers. After the show this week, they’ll head to Europe again for balance of the summer. Gabriel shared that, following their return, Hypnotic will be on its way to retiring the street performances. “In a club, you’re going to see Hypnotic more relaxed...with our hair let down. Onstage you already paid for it.  Out on the street you got people who love our music and have a million dollars in the bank getting out nine pennies and feeling that’s sufficient. We made good money on the street, but think about people who didn’t make nothing, and they might be great musicians. I mean, this is how people show their love.”

Hot town, summer in the city

         

PUBLISHED IN THE VILLAGER, CHELSEA NOW & DOWNTOWN EXPRESS
June 4 - 10, 2008
              West and East Village, Chelsea, Soho, Noho, Little Italy, Chinatown and Lower East Side, Since 1933

         

                   

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	Photo by Roberta Bayley              Mary Weiss and her band will appear on July 18.

         

By Lee Ann Westover

Though all of New York City seems to ring with music in the summertime, Downtown is fast becoming the epicenter of a varied and vibrant outdoor concert scene.

The gargantuan River to River Festival sits like a matriarch overseeing its conglomeration of smaller festivals, as well as some programming of its own. Downtown Alliance began River to River after the events of September 11, 2001 in hopes of infusing vitality into an emptying Lower Manhattan, and the fest boasts some of the most inspired performance spaces in town, from the South Street Seaport’s pier of tall ships to Castle Clinton National Monument.

The acts on this year’s roster are as varied as the population of the city itself. Among big-ticket performers like Sonic Youth (July 4), River to River dedicates much of it’s programming to bringing both classic and fresh-from-the-edge bands to Manhattan ears.

Chicago Soul legend Otis Clay adds a honeyed note to the lineup on Wednesday, June 11. His smooth chops first made their appearance on gospel recordings in the ’60s. Since then, he has toured consistently around the US and as far away as Japan.

On Wednesday, June 18, Jill Sobule hosts Poetic City at Rockefeller Park. Amidst readings by Cornelius Eady, Matthea Harvey, Fanny Howe, Li-Young Lee and Kay Ryan, Sobule will perform a number of her witty and sensitive original tunes. Though “I Kissed A Girl” remains her biggest commercial hit to date, the lilting, yearning “Jet Pack” makes her loyal fans go wild.

On June 25 Orchestra Baobab will radiate heat of its own in Rockefeller Park. This Senegalese pan-African dance band began playing together in 1970. Thirty-eight years later, they are widely known as one of Senegal’s greatest musical exports. Singer Balla Sidibe’s rich tone infuses the already beautiful melodies with energy and fire. Another of Senegal’s most distinguished voices, Youssou N’dour, produced their last album, “Specialist in All Styles.”

St. Vincent takes the stage on July 10 at Battery Park’s Castle Clinton Monument. Alternating between screeching electronics and a gentle jazz sound, St. Vincent is equal parts Feist, Bjork, and Maude Maggart. She entered the national scene as a guitarist and vocalist for the Polyphonic Spree, but her multi-instrumentalist’s chops and inspired songwriting on her solo debut album “Marry Me” have set her on the road to larger fame.

The Seaport Music Festival is one of the building blocks comprising River to River’s conglomerate, but its particular flavor sets it apart in audience and tone. Founder Steve Dima has an ear for the new, and through innovative programming, manages to attract the hipster fringe to Downtown en masse. Though each season touches on popular culture as it has been, Dima has ways of plucking musicians from the musical edges to show New York City where music is going.

Hyper young things Abe Vagoda, No Age, and Telepathe will have the whole Seaport shaking off its hinges on July 11. Abe Vagoda and No Age borrow heavily from ’80s pop and punk to get the audience off their feet. Telepathe adds a little experimental girly-ness to the mix, while losing none of the edge or the fun.

Mary Weiss may have temporarily faded from pop consciousness after the heyday of her ’60s girl group, The Shangri-las, but she’s showing the Amy Winehouses of the world who they owe tribute to. With a new album, she lacks none of the rock ’n’ roll grit that made her famous in the first place. Weiss will perform with her band on July 18.

The World Financial Center Winter Garden reopened for music just last summer and returns this year for more. Brooklyn’s Defibulators will wake up the lunchtime crowd on July 9 with their rollicking western sound. Daily from July 22 - 25, Ollabelle will showcase their country-gospel harmonies in homage to Johnny Cash as they build up to an all-star tribute concert on the 26th. On that day The Big River Project: The Music of Johnny Cash will feature Ollabelle, songwriter Marshall Crenshaw, roots princess Laura Cantrell and klezmer-blues ensemble The Sway Machinery in tribute to the Man in Black.

Farther uptown, the staunchly independent Washington Square Music Festival will serenade the West Village for five weeks in June and July. In honor of the festival’s 50th anniversary this year, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has proclaimed June 1 to be Washington Square Park Music Festival Day. (Try to say that three times fast.) In addition to three weeks of classical offerings and the closing concert by the Charles Mingus Orchestra, the festival will partake in Make Music New York on June 21. As musicians take to the streets throughout the city, Washington Square Park will host a number of folk and blues ensembles including Michael Packer Blues Band, and the pub band Three Pints Shy.

Lower Manhattan’s farthest festival outpost opened for the summer with a polo match and picnic on May 31. To add to the fun, Folks On the Island, NYC’s first and only folk festival, will kick off its second season on July 5 with a performance by legendary singer-songwriter Janis Ian. Now in her fifties, Ian recorded her biggest hit in 1964 while she was still in her early teens, though Ian’s poetry, as well as her wit, have only strengthened since. You’ll doubtless hear her perform that long-ago success, “At Seventeen,” but hope that she graces us with her hilarious and sweet musing on gay marriage, “Married in London,” featured on her MySpace page.

My favorite discovery of this festival season will step out on Governor’s Island on July 19. The five young members of Bearfoot met as summer music camp counselors in their native Alaska. In their few years together, the band has won a loyal following in the US roots and bluegrass scene. While their roots are indeed deep down in traditional song, their alternating sweet and soulful harmonies are unmistakably modern and absolutely electric.

          

The Raveonettes’ popularity soars

Published in THE VILLAGER | Volume 77 | Number 42 | March 19 - 25, 2008

Raveonettes Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo

The “Lust! Lust! Lust!” musicians open up about their flight                  

By Lee Ann Westover

Since the release of “Whip it On” in 2001, The Raveonettes have skirted a line between being an odd act on the fringe and being an “it” band on the point of blowing up. The buzz surrounding this once-indie group’s debut threw them up to the top of critics’ buzz lists everywhere, and into the studios of Sony/Columbia Records. Seven years later, the Danish-born duo has fulfilled their two-album contract at the big label, and have gone indie again with the release of their latest album, “Lust Lust Lust,” on Vice.

I had the chance to speak with bassist and singer Sharin Foo about their new CD as she prepared for the first of their 13 shows at Austin’s SXSW Music Festival last week. Of the mutual decision to cease relations with Sony, Foo explained, “We just weren’t commercial enough for them. It was time to work with smaller labels around the world—to choose our collaborators—so that we felt like the people we were working with were genuinely excited about the music, and not that they had been told by headquarters that they had to release it. The majors are not the right place to be for a band like us.”

On “Lust! Lust! Lust!” Sune Rose Wager (guitar, vocals) and Foo once again sing their androgynous, Everly Brothers harmonies over a shape-shifting pad of distorted guitar fuzz, Buddy Holly backbeats and electronic noises that push their sound into something utterly modern. In the past, the band’s albums had been constructed around a concept. “Whip it On,” for instance, included only songs lasting less than three minutes played in the key of B-flat minor. “This time around,” recalled Foo, “I said to Sune, ‘You know, you should be really personal.’ Everything that we’ve done previously has been very fictional. They are like little screenplays for little movies.” Wagner writes all the tunes, and Foo acts as a sort of editor to help him pare down and choose what they will eventually include on a CD. “You know, the title says ‘Lust.’ It’s the dilemma of being torn between the primitive part of you and the very intellectual, romantic, sentimental…profoundness. It’s about trying to find a balance with those things.”

The theme of balance is particularly apt for The Raveonettes at this point in their career. “We were so naive when we started out,” says Foo. The exhaustion that comes from a relentless tour schedule reduced the once-vibrant artists to shadows of their former selves. “In retrospect we were just kind of lost. We were drinking too much and partying too much. We weren’t professional. Onstage we just weren’t present anymore. That’s sort of sad to think about.” Because of the burnout, it took some time for the duo to create material for a new album. “It’s been three years since ‘Pretty in Black.’ We pretty much toured from 2003 until 2006—a lot really. We needed to be at home and cook and shop and have a regular life again for a little bit.”

Regular life for Foo is in Los Angeles, while Wagner makes his home in New York City. When The Raveonettes finally began working on a new album, their physical separation didn’t get in the way of their creativity. As Wagner wrote the songs, he would send them via the Internet to Foo. Sometimes they would meet and record vocals in a traditional studio, but more often than not the recordings would grow as each Raveonette added their own layers to a ProTools file (industry standard recording software) and then send the track back across the continent for more listening and tweaking. Said Foo of their recording process, “You have the comfort of being yourself, and the comfort of not feeling the pressure of being in a super expensive studio and having to perform. We’ve mainly done it DIY and at home. It’s been very spontaneous. You get little mistakes in there, but there’s something very charming about that too.”

The live show this time around follows the lead of the CD. Where their previous tours featured a more traditional five-piece line-up, The Raveonettes are now traveling as a pared-down trio. “The set up is basically me and Sune playing and singing and a drummer playing a really minimal upright kit with a floor tom and a snare. We have all the electronic sounds on a hard drive. It’s really not that different from the recordings—especially this album, because it’s been so minimal from the beginning.” She continued, “When we started doing shows like this, both me and Sune were like ‘Wow! Why haven’t we tried this before?’ It captures our sound so well. This live setup to me is the essence of The Raveonettes. The guitar and the vocals are in front and very featured. Its very primal and hard and cold and intense and big”

It seems as if the search for balance is not only paying off for The Raveonettes personally, but will also be a thrill for attendees of their sold-out concert at the Bowery Ballroom on March 26. “A couple of years ago, I felt like we lost it. There was no excitement left, so we had to find that again. Now, we’re inspired, and we’re motivated, and we play good shows…which we haven’t always done! We have experienced that it’s important to stay focused and not get too involved in the industry and rock-and-roll lifestyle. That’s just not what it’s about. We are coming back to the music, really.”

The Puppini Sisters make a splash

Published in The Villager, Downtown Express & Chelsea Now
February 15 - 21, 2008

Photo by Magnus Hastings

Stephanie O’Brien, Marcela Puppini, and Kate Mullins prepare for the limelight

BY LEE ANN WESTOVER

At Splash on West 17th Street, a recent Musical Monday hosted the fabulous mix of its vibrant gay core crowd, their straight girlfriends and European tourists. The bartenders (wearing naught but snug designer briefs) mixed their custom cocktails as the gregarious patrons sang along to “Dreamgirls” at top volume. At midnight, amidst an atmosphere charged with sex and sentimentality, the U.K.’s Puppini Sisters strode up onto the stage: Stephanie O’Brien with her violin, Kate Mullins with her melodica and Marcella Puppini with her accordion. They launched into their first tune, a swing version of Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love.” With Vivienne Westwood cinched waists, Andrews Sisters vocal style and all the happy camp of a gaggle of drag queens, The Puppini Sisters quite literally blew the crowd away.

The next day, I had a chance to meet the women at their record label offices. In typical Puppini style, they wore coordinated outfits and dramatic red lipstick. In spite of their retro presentation, in conversation it is utterly obvious that these are modern women. Each of the three is articulate, cheeky and thoughtful. They constantly finished each other’s sentences as we discussed the artistic process and the history of this quirky group.

Mullins, O’Brien and Puppini began the band as a lark in 2004, viewing it as a chance to invest their vocal and instrumental chops in a style they all loved. It wasn’t long before the Puppinis were playing almost every night. “I mean, we were getting asked to play everywhere,” said Puppini with pride. “In every scene as well! The gay scene, the emerging burlesque scene, the fashion scene…” Only seven months and a handful of cover tunes into the life of the band, a chance meeting with an A&R executive scored them a record deal with Verve. “He had been going around trying to find the new Jamie Cullum, or something like that,” Mullins recounted, “and there we were in our matching pedal pushers. We got up in front of him and we started doing our version of 'Wuthering Heights' [by Kate Bush] and he just cracked up. We couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or really, really bad - but he loved it and he wanted to sign us then and there.”

Although their first album of ’80s covers and classic swing, “Betcha Bottom Dollar,” soared up jazz charts in the U.S. and Europe, the band agrees that they were still developing an identity of their own. Only a year and a half had passed since they had first sung together. Mullins said, “The first album was us still very much in our infancy, learning our craft. That has been a blessing and a curse. It opened doors because we were imitating a style that is very popular and nostalgic and people love the idea of it, but it also put us in that Andrews-Sisters-tribute-band hole.” Puppini added, “It would have been good to have had some of our own material on the first album to establish what we do.” “Our lyrics are very current,” O’Brien said, “which is one of the joys of having taken the style one step further. We now have our own modern lyrical content we are singing…we are singing about us.”

Their second CD release, “The Rise and Fall of Ruby Woo” (named after the red MAC lipstick preferred by Robert Smith) furthers the Puppini sound from a reproduction of 1940s style to something quirkier and quite original. Although the close-harmony vocal technique is still the backbone of their musical identity, this record sees them reach out from the ever-present swing tunes to beautiful, melodic pop and even a touch of disco. As always, the sound of the three voices singing just a couple of notes apart makes the women sound as if they share one otherworldly set of vocal chords. Like all the best ideas, “Ruby Woo” leaves one wondering why this hasn’t been done before.

In spite of their bona-fide stardom in the UK and their rising popularity in the US, the Puppini Sisters find that they still fight hard to be seen as skilled musicians, and not a manufactured girl group. “We’ve had people that really don’t understand the fact that we write and arrange the music ourselves,” O’Brien said. “They are used to saying to people, ‘Ok, I’ll get an arranger for your next album. I’ll get someone to write your next hit.’ And it’s like, ‘Actually, no thanks!’ We do write and arrange!” Marcella continued: “There seem to be a lot of guys who exploit emerging young talent because they don’t actually think that…it sounds really old fashioned and cliché…but I don’t think that they actually trust women to write their own songs. I mean it’s a boys’ world and they want the boys to be in charge. They want some guy to show you the way.”

Instead of becoming bogged down with frustration, it seems as if the difficulties the Puppini Sisters have endured in the recording industry have stoked a fire instead. Where others may have caved to bitterness, they seem incredibly close, and share optimistic dreams for the future. “I want us to continue doing this for awhile,” Mullins said, “and get to the point where we’re really happy creatively, because at the moment it feels like sort of an uphill struggle.” O’Brien agreed, “More people need to know about us. We have a lot we want to offer to people.” “We get such positive responses,” Mullins added, “and I don’t see how you can get people that excited and without getting even more people excited.” To judge by the crowd at Splash, they are already succeeding brilliantly.

Find out more about the group at www.thepuppinisisters.com

Dansettes move on to something more divine

Will I see you all there?

Published in The Villager | Volume 77 | Number 33 Jan. 16 - 22, 2008

Photo by Dulce Pinzon

From left, Jennie Wasserman, J.B. Flatt, Ashley Vitha, Heather Wolfe, Pamela Quinn of The Sweet Divines

By Lee Ann Westover

The Sweet Divines
Friday, January 18
Magnetic Field
97 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn
(718-834-0069; magneticbrooklyn.com)
Doors 8 p.m., show 9:30 p.m.
With DJs Chairman Mao, Eli “Paperboy” Reed & Jennie Wasserman p>

In early 2007, New York City lost one of its best groups, The Dansettes. The band began as keyboardist and songwriter J.B. Flatt’s baby in 2003, and grew to include a trio of female singers plus a rhythm section, who played music of the 1960s in an authentic style. Just a few years later, the band was soaring high on the national scene. The vocalists were occasionally singing background with Sharon Jones and the ubiquitous Dap-Kings (who can be found playing horns on several Grammy-nominated albums this year) and performing to capacity audiences at SXSW and all over New York City.

In the midst of the buzz, some members began to want to branch out and explore other musical styles within the framework of the band. Because of this decision, the Dansettes eventually split up — with two singers and the rhythm section headed off in one direction and the third singer and the former bandleader headed in another. These two — Flatt and singer Jennie Wasserman — are in the process of perfecting and polishing their new branch on the tree, the Sweet Divines. Already beefing up with four phenomenal singers who will shoop and doo-wop in front of a tight rhythm section, the new group is continuing in the Dansettes’ tradition of playing groovy 1960s soul and R&B, and will make their public debut this Friday in Brooklyn.

The birth of this new band came about in the middle of the Dansettes’ death throes. Last year, one of the Dansettes’ singers had been first to jump ship. After her departure, the remainder of the band held auditions for a replacement. The search for a singer was successful, and brought Flatt and Wasserman into contact with Pamela Quinn and Ashley Vitha, two young women who are preternaturally talented for being relatively new to the music business. A few months later, professional vocalist Heather Wolfe contacted the group in hopes of auditioning for the Dansettes. Even though the Dansettes were defunct by then, she agreed to meet with Flatt and Wasserman to sing through some tunes. “Jay played the piano and I sang with Heather,” said Wasserman. “It just clicked! We loved her immediately.”

They asked the three women if they were interested in performing with a new band. “We didn’t think they were all going to say yes,” said Wasserman. “But they were really gung ho!”

This boon came along at the same time as another source of inspiration…the Sweet Inspirations, in fact, a quartet of women who, in addition to continuing to record their own albums, sang backup for some of the most famous acts in the world, including Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley. Cissy Houston, Whitney’s mother, was once a member. Flatt and Wasserman had been listening to them regularly when Wolfe made contact. It was this fateful confluence of coincidences that sparked the birth of The Sweet Divines.

Even in rehearsal, it’s clear that the band has a lofty trajectory. The four women clearly like each other very much, and they sparkle with excitement over their upcoming debut. When I showed up to rehearsal, they were preparing for a gig singing backup for Divines band member Eli Reed. Flatt, who acts as musical director, tapped his slippered foot as he operated the CD player while the women sang along. In addition to keeping their lovely voices in tune, they also spent a good deal of time on choreography, which — as I divined from their lightening-fast patter — includes such moves as the Slow Bump, the Up-n-Over, the Snap-n-Chug, the Shimmy Shoulders, and the Snap-n-touch.

Though there was a good deal of giggling throughout, these women are not relying on their bubbly personalities to reach audiences. Each one is a fantastic singer, with spot-on intonation and soul to spare. Vitha and Wolfe’s rich alto tones mix lovingly with Wasserman’s bright belt and Quinn’s Irish soprano. After the dance was worked out for Reed’s show, they moved on to rehearsing one of Flatt’s original tunes. “Heck of a Man” is a tricky number, and the vocalists breezed right through crazy counterpoint lines as easily as if the song were “Mary had a Little Lamb.”

It’s not much longer now till the first show, and the band’s excitement is palpable. After the Dansettes failed to work out, Flatt admitted it’s sometimes frightening to be moving forward with a new project. “I have these visions, where we’re at our first show and no one’s there!” But with a burst of what is becoming typical Sweet Divines optimism, Wasserman added, “I just can’t wait until people hear the four-part harmonies. I can’t wait!”
         
Learn more about the Sweet Divines at thesweetdivines.com For a limited time, download a free mp3 of their new single “Honeythistle” when you sign up for their mailing list on the site.

Oil and water: Strange collaborations and explorations at the edges of traditional forms

DOWNTOWN EXPRESS | Volume 20, Number 32 | The Newspaper of Lower Manhattan | December 21 - 27, 2007

Golem

By Lee Ann Westover

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
“Raising Sand”
Rounder Records
Nashville songbird Alison Krauss, Led Zeppelin’s rock god Robert Plant and star producer T. Bone Burnett, have created one of the best albums of the year in “Raising Sand.” The trio’s individual track records (along with curiosity about what happens when you mix oil and water) have created quite a buzz surrounding this release, which will doubtless carry it all the way to Grammy season next year. Overall, the album’s tone is ominous and dark, and takes full advantage of a repertoire supplied by some of our best songwriters (The Everly Brothers, Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt). Although each artist has the chance to showcase familiar styles (Krauss’s lilting soprano and Plant’s wail), Krauss and Plant also stretch beyond the boundaries of audience expectations. On many of the tracks, Plant’s voice is so subdued that he sounds positively (dare I write it?) angelic. Krauss excels when she gets the chance to deliver a powerful vocal performance on “Let Your Loss be Your Lesson,” where she gets to attack all the notes with the intensity of an angry Dolly Parton.

Clare and the Reasons
“The Movie”
Frogstand Records
Clare and the Reasons’ latest release, “The Movie,” opens with a reverberant throng of violins playing arpeggiated pizzicato lines. Above it all floats the flute-high voice of Clare Muldaur-Manchon as she sings, “Pluto, I have some frightful news for you. In the New York Times, they’ve just reported you’ve been overthrown from your silver throne for good.” This musical dedication to the former planet is indicative of the Reasons’ music overall: quirky pop that is rich with strings, lush vocal harmonies, and lyrics that tend toward the romantic. Another favorite is “Cook for You,” a ballad dedicated to a loved one that opens “I like to cook for you in my underwear.” In the hands of Ween, this would sound ridiculous, but Muldaur-Manchon’s sincere and sweet delivery makes it simply dreamy. Her husband, Olivier Manchon, is the source of the Reasons’ heady string arrangements. They transport the recording to a place where the band no longer inhabits a stage, but stars in a perverse, otherworldly movie in which we all get to fall in love.
Playing Thursday, Dec. 20 at 9 p.m., Southpaw, 125 5th Av., Brooklyn, spsounds.com 

The Bowmans
“Far From Home”
Mother West Music
Twins Sarah and Clare Bowman have sung together since their parents gave them their first tape recorder. On those first childish recordings, they began discovering the music that would help them create The Bowmans’ sunny folk-pop style later in life. Over jangling guitars and a selection of other stringed instruments, pot and pans, organ and horns, the women sing in close harmony much of the time. They bring to mind the Roches when they sing, and not just because they’re sisters. Their vocal counterpoint is so intuitive, they sometimes seem to be different layers of the same voice. On “Make it Last,” harmonies wander and meet, almost as if one or the other of them is going to fall out of tune…yet never does. Not nearly so serious as Wilco, the Bowmans sometimes pop out with a sick sense of humor, as in The Porker Song. “I don’t like to fight / But I will fight for my own life / But fight I will for my own life / So you can’t have your bacon in the morning.”

Wilco
“Sky Blue Sky”
Nonesuch
Over the years, Wilco has gained a reputation for being a genre-forming, genre-busting group with way too much to say. Because of this, critics and fans have loved Wilco and followed them through various incarnations and changes in lineup. “Sky Blue Sky” — which has been nominated for the Best Rock Album Grammy this year — is a very exposed version of the sound that placed Wilco on the critics’ favorites lists in the first place. Though played and produced well, a muted feeling extends from bandleader Jeff Tweedy’s warbling vocals out to the rest of the recording. If you are a big fan of Dylan, the Velvet Underground or Gram Parsons, you’ll find a lot to enjoy in the dampened feel of this effort. If you’re looking for a good time, however, stay away. Tweedy’s lyrics are beautifully written, but they remind me of some of my worst boyfriends. “That’s what I wished for / Somebody just like you / To tell me what to do, honestly / And leave me like you found me.” I think my own feelings about the record can be summed up by Tweedy’s lyrics, too. “How can I warn you / When my tongue turns to dust…It doesn’t mean that I don’t care / It means I’m partially there.”

Golem
“Fresh off the Boat”
JDUB Records
Lucy Maude Montgomery wrote that “all pioneers are considered to be afflicted with moonstruck madness,” and Golem is no exception. Some of the hippest and craziest acts out there today are made up of young musicians and writers who are exploring the edges of traditional forms. Beirut does it for gypsy music, Nellie McKay does it for jazz and Golem does it for klezmer. Where other klezmer acts may focus on reproducing an antique sound, Golem, a New York City based group founded in 2001 by bandleader Annette Ezekiel, takes klezmer to the outer limits, adding in a dash of punk spirit while amping up the energy overall. Their latest album, “Fresh off the Boat,” showcases the bravado and adrenaline of pioneers everywhere. Among the brouhaha you’ll find all the trappings of a typical klezmer group: Ezekiel’s own accordion, plus tambourine, violin trombone drums and bass. That is where the tradition ends, however. Songs like “Helm is Warsaw” will have you bouncing around in your desk chair as Ezekiel belts out the lyrics over the organized mayhem of her band of talented players.

Playing Thursday, Dec. 27 at 8 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, boweryballroom.com.

No peace in this Mideast, but plenty of melodies

Published in THE VILLAGER | Volume 77 / Number 28 - December 12 - 18, 2007

Photo by David Gochfeld

Mike Mosallam (right) as Palestinian refugee Aziz Hammond and Jeremy Cohen as Israeli ex-pat Assaf Ben-Moshe, in the musical “West Bank, UK” by Oren Safdie and Ronnie Cohen.

West Bank, U.K.
Written & directed by Oren Safdie
Music & lyrics by Ronnie Cohen
In association with Malibu Stage Company
Through December 16
La MaMa ETC.
74A East 4th St. near Second Ave.
(212.475.7710; lamama.org)

By Lee Ann Westover

It’s always a dangerous prospect to buy tickets to a musical about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — less for the risk of bodily injury than for the likelihood that the show will be ineffective. If it’s overly sentimental, the story can crush an audience with its weight. Make it too snarky, and cool-kid distance can detract from the seriousness of the subject. Happily, playwright Oren Safdie strikes a delicate balance between the two in “West Bank, UK,” bringing us both a refreshingly light-hearted comedy about two personalities from opposite sides of the border, and a serious exploration of the issues that prevent a resolution to the real-life struggle.

Assaf (Jeremy Cohen) is a cocky, gorgeous Israeli arms dealer who has just returned to his rent-controlled London apartment from a sojourn in Germany with a woman who eventually broke his heart. Aziz (Mike Mosallam) is a Palestinian drug dealer who has taken over the lease on that same apartment. In contrast to Assaf’s preening physical confidence, Aziz is chubby and sexually insecure. His greatest dream is to find a woman to pet and love. As he sings in the show’s opening number, “Please somebody break my heart!”

Through a plot twist that requires a little suspension of reality, the two are forced to share the flat until the landlord — a twentysomething cokehead from New York City — can find a copy of the lease and decide who is in the right. That ends up being the farthest task from her mind, as she bounces between the men. Aziz is her dealer, but she aggressively tries to bed the sexy, heartbroken Assaf.

From there, the plot escalates into a push and pull between the two men — neither of whom consider themselves to be a “political person.” At first the battle happens between just the pair, but eventually their living room becomes the setting of a mini Israeli-Palestinian conflict, complete with negotiations for the bathroom territory from behind a hastily constructed wall. Throughout the action, Assaf and Aziz are joined by a circus troupe of simpler, more stereotypical characters to move the plot along. At times they act as a Greek chorus, at others one appears as a rich relative or potential love interest.

Ronnie Cohen created enchanting, exciting music and lyrics that are as unconventional and interesting as the plot. The music is Middle-Eastern in flavor, and passionately played by an onstage band under the direction of Scott Baldyga. From the balcony, a trio of violin, keyboard and bass is joined by a Fiddler-on-the-Roof-ish Oud player, who have ample opportunities to show off their skills during scene changes.

Like most new productions, the show isn’t perfect. Cohen’s smart and candid lyrics can skew a little too far into overtly profane territory from time to time, and the plot unravels slightly in the show’s latter half, as events become a bit cartoonish.

Luckily, the show is full of great songs that leave the audience laughing out of shock or surprise, and the few problems in the production seem negligible, thanks to the talented cast. Mosallam makes the dirtiest lyrics — “He’s squeezing her buttocks, his tongue’s down her throat” — seem sweet with longing. Cohen plays Assaf with a convincing swagger, and has a gorgeous voice as well. When he is called upon to hammer out the only really serious, emotive ballad, he carries it off with such aplomb that I sprouted goosebumps when I thought I would just groan.

Michelle Solomon and Anthony Patellis play no fewer than four characters each, and perhaps have the most difficult shoes to fill. Patellis is a chameleon in his different guises, and sings with a pleasant raspiness (which may require a microphone in future performances). Solomon has a searing soprano and a excellent comedic timing. The two also scored a couple of the most entertaining songs in the show: “72 Virgins” (set to a disco beat), and a Latin party number about violence as a ratings booster. (“Look what I’ve found, a head in a tree. Maybe I’ll make anchor, if I show sympathy.”)

“West Bank, UK” is running only until December 16th. What a pity that this spirited cast won’t have more time to continue to develop such rich material. Even so, this show will elicit hundreds of belly laughs in its short run. The graceful conclusion, which I won’t spoil, will leave audiences with much to ponder, yet no closer to a solution than the actual parties at war.

Elizabeth and the catapult to fame

Downtown Express | Volume 20 Issue 24 | Oct. 26 - Nov.1, 2007

Downtown Express photo by Geoff Smith

Danny Molad and Elizabeth Ziman of Elizabeth and The Catapult, a band on the rise.

By Lee Ann Westover

A Columbia Records A&R rep recently left a message for Elizabeth Ziman, the keyboardist and songwriter of Elizabeth and The Catapult. “Hey Elizabeth, gimmie a call back. Just want to chat.” She dialed him up, only to find him in a frantic mood. “Elizabeth, sorry, I’m going to have to call you back. About a million people are getting fired right now.” Danny Molad, Catapult’s drummer and producer, sitting with Ziman at a café in Greenpoint last week, summed up the exchange with heavy sarcasm: “Oh, that’s promising.”

Even though a label has yet to get it together to sign Elizabeth and the Catapult, there is no doubt that the band is a hot property. Together for just over two years, the three-member outfit is already being courted by the industry. They have struck a chord on NPR as well, where they appear regularly on nationally syndicated programs like Studio 360. WFUV has also named their EP one of the best albums of 2006.

The secret to their booming success lies not in a bevy of publicists and yes men, but in their original and refreshing sound. Bringing together Ziman’s classical vocal and piano training, Molad’s love of visionary pop like Beck and Jon Brion, and guitarist Pete Lalish’s edge and roughness, they have come up with a style that is at once technically challenging, harmonically interesting and bursting with pop hooks. But Ziman hates being lumped in haphazardly with piano goddesses like Tori Amos, Regina Spektor and Norah Jones. “This band is more about arranging and is more a band as a whole.” That said, her strong and velvety vocals oscillate from a playful Ella Fitzgerald staccato to a wave of ethereal harmonies reminiscent of Sarah McLaughlin.

On the back patio of Greenpoint’s Champion Coffee, Molad and Ziman talked about their ultimate goals as musicians, with a wide-eyed optimism that is emblematic of their youthful sound. “My ultimate dream,” said Molad, “is that I see our circle of musician friends growing like a tree.” He gestures with both hands moving upwards. “That would be the most beautiful thing to me. I mean, people being able to share and have this sort of collective — almost in a hippie sense of community.”

Molad and Ziman’s sincere ebullience extends naturally from their future wishes to their music. The airy, intimate “Right Next to You” is a spare and incredibly intimate love song. Said Ziman, “You pick up the newspaper any day of the week and see so much heartache and so many things that you can’t even wrap your fingers around that are going on in the world that feel so out of our control.” Then, shyly leaning in Molad’s direction, “The one thing that you can control — the one thing that I can rely on is that I have this great, loving relationship.”

Although Ziman, Molad and Lalish all attended Boston’s Berklee College of Music, it wasn’t until the last weeks of the final semester that Ziman and Molad met at a party. “The minute we met, we started recording — literally!” she said. Lalish became a part of the group soon after. “Basically I was in Boston at this really seedy, horrible bar packed with college kids. Pete just started ripping it.” Despite the fact that Ziman had been singing on tour with Patti Austin “and was in this jazz and classical place,” she was instantly drawn in. “There was something so melodic and so bad-ass about what he was doing. I went up to him afterwards and was like ‘we need to play together’ — and it worked out!” Cut to the beginning of 2005, and Lalish, Molad and Ziman are all living in New York City — Molad and Ziman as a couple in East Williamsburg, Lalish as a precocious dropout in Flatbush.

As sweet and sentimental as both Ziman and Molad can be, the group’s material is peppered with Ziman’s wicked sense of humor. The opening track, “Waiting for the Kill” is a subtly evil paean to the thrill of revenge. Over a lilting arrangement of pizzicato strings and a tapping high hat, Ziman sings, “Now I’m spineless, cowardly and blind, but revenge is oh so hard to find. I’m just a good, good girl with a troubled mind.” The song “Momma’s Boy” is steady and swingy, full of groovy hand claps and cool organ sounds from Ziman’s Nord keyboard. “Don’t expect the world to clean up for you, ‘cause they don’t have to. Don’t expect the stars to light up for you, they shine right past you. You seem to think you always get exactly what you ask for, but I’m not your mother.”

Ziman spent her youth perambulating the streets of the West Village, and perhaps therein lies the key to both her lyrics’ idealism and wit. “I grew up down the block from Café Wha and the Fat Black Pussycat, where Joan Baez and Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell really made their debut.” Mix those folk influences with evenings spent practicing classical piano or singing with New York City’s Young People’s Chorus, and “consciously or not, that may have corrupted my whole being.”

The band name too is somewhat grounded in childhood. “We were just looking for a whimsical name... Mostly we were trying to come, up with something fun, like Roald Dahl’s ‘James and the Giant Peach.’”

That same sense of fun will be on display on October 31st, when the group will perform a Halloween show at Joe’s Pub (costumes advised). “We’ll have candy for all the kids,” said Molad. “You can come trick or treating to the stage.” Then as an aside, he adds, “I just decided that right now, and I am going to do it, but make it sound like I had already planned it.”

Catapult’s entire journey seems to be playing out this way — as something both inspired and improvised.