Dream Police - Seattle Gay News

The Horrors get scary at The Crocodile Café,
Terence Blanchard chills out at Jazz Alley
by Lorelei Quenzer and
Jessica Browning
SGN A&E Writers
The Horrors w/ Thee
Emergency, Skullbot
Wednesday, June 20- 9pm
The Crocodile - $10
Nothing very interesting has come out of
the British rock scene of late, unless you
count The Libertines; but that was ages
ago and muddied up by clammy, creepy
Pete Doherty ever since. That is until last
month, when the much-anticipated debut
album from London’s The Horrors was
released in America. Appearing in Seattle
in support of Strange House, this very
polarizing group of fright-rock hopefuls is
astonishingly different and promise to put
on a show like no other.
Perhaps it’s the fashionable disdain of
jaded music critics fueling The Horrors.
Looking a bit like The Cure meets a
zombified Herman’s Hermits, they’re a
scary looking crew in only the way that
the very young (all five members are in
their early 20’s) can pull off because no
one else has the nerve to. They come with
Terence Blanchard
formidable names as well - Faris Baduwan
(vocals), Tomethy Furse (bass), Joshua Von
Grimm (guitar), Spider Webb (organ) and
Coffin Joe (drums). Don’t dismiss them on
the grounds of image alone. Haven’t the
Cramps and Nick Cave already proved that
frightful can be cool?
Musically, these five Londoners have
substance and even better, fresh ears and
no boundaries. Strange House is noticeably
better than their initial EP, which was
promising but didn’t make much of a mark
stateside. Vocalist Baduwan is the first to
admit his band is just beginning and always
hungry for inspiration. You can tell they’re
the real thing, all fashion and eyeliner aside.
Which if you think about it, is the true spirit
of punk; they’re not pretending to be smug
and neat, just giving all they’ve got and
being who they want to be. New single “She
Is The New Thing” is a ferocious assault,
infused with more energy than anything
I’ve heard in a long time. Impressive. These
guys have monstrous reserves of ambition
and promise to thrill. - J. Browning
Artist essentials: Check out the video for
“She Is The New Thing” on www.myspace.
com - it’s as if Edgar Allen Poe’s feverish
dreams devoured A-ha’s “Take On Me”.
Must be seen to be believed.
Terence Blanchard
Friday-Saturday,
June 22-23
7:30pm and 9:30pm;
Sunday, June 24 -
7:30pm
Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley
$23.50
New Orleans native - and
Grammy-winning trumpeter -
Terence Blanchard is probably
best known for his collaboration
with director Spike Lee.
Blanchard has scored 12 of Lee’s
films, including Inside Man,
25th Hour, Summer of Sam,
Malcolm X and Jungle Fever.
But despite his involvement in
film and television, Blanchard
distinctly regards himself
primarily as a jazz musician.
He successfully juggles touring
with his band while undertaking
outside projects. “Nothing can
beat being a jazz musician,
playing a club, playing a
concert,” Blanchard is quoted
as remarking in his press notes.
“When I stood next
to Sonny Rollins at
Carnegie Hall and
listened to him play,
that was it for me.”
The New Orleans
native first picked up the trumpet
in elementary school, and was also
coached at home by his operasinging
father. In high school he
came under the tutelage of Ellis
Marsalis, and after graduating he
attended Rutgers University on
a music scholarship. One of his
professors was so impressed with
Blanchard he helped get him a
touring gig with Lionel Hampton’s
band. Wynton Marsalis later
recommended Blanchard as his
replacement in Art Blakey’s Jazz
Messengers.
Blanchard’s most recent release
on the Blue Note label, Flow, was
produced by the artist and four-
courtesy of JAZZ ALLEY
The Horrors
time Grammy winner Herbie Hancock.
The 2005 album was the first time since
Dexter Gordon’s The Other Side of ‘Round
Midnight (1987) that Hancock produced
a project other than his own; he also
plays piano on two of the album’s tracks
(“Benny’s Tune” and “The Source”).
“We played together a few times and
when it came to produce this record, I
wanted - needed - to have Herbie’s creative
ability and just his approach to work with,”
Blanchard says. “He has played with a
bunch of people and he’s done a lot of
things. I mean, he’s forgotten more music
than I could ever know. It’s been a lifechanging
experience.”
“What you hear on this record is the way
we play live,” Blanchard continues. “That’s
the thing about this band. What we’re
talking about is their musicianship. They
find spaces to put things in spots that make
sense.... I’m really having so much fun with
this band.”
Noted for his unique African-fusion style
of playing, Blanchard is currently serving
as Artistic Director at the Thelonious
Monk Institute of Jazz Performance at the
University of Southern California. On tour
with Blanchard are several of the musicians
from Flow: Brice Winston (saxophones),
Aaron Parks (piano), Derrick Hodge
(acoustic and electric bass) and Kendrick
Scott (drums). - L. Quenzer
Artist Essentials: 2005’s Flow, Mo’ Better
Blues original soundtrack.
STOCK PHOTOGRAPH
June 15, 2007
PRIDE ‘07 Music
Seattle Gay News
15