BeatRoute Magazine - BC print e-edition – [March 2017]

MUSIC
Moon DUO
the perfect pair bring on a third and enter a fourth orbit
DANNY KRESNYAK
Sixteenth Century English dramatist
Francis Beaumont wrote, “only love
and the moon can make a dog growl
in rhyme.” Now time may have paraphrased
the renaissance playwright’s
words, but rest assured the original
text was equally romantic.
Beaumont’s words find dawn in
the work of two-piece Portland electro-eclipse-rockers
Moon Duo. The
group’s beating heart is a couple —
guitarist Ripley Johnson and keyboard
player Sanae Yamada — who have
crafted a haunting mix of rhythms into
a unique minimalist spellbound sound.
The pair have just reached outer orbits
with their fourth release, Occult Architecture.
“When we started it was just Ripley
(Johnson) the guitar player and myself,
we wanted to give ourselves the limitation
of two people to see what we
can do within that framework, see how
much noise we can generate,” says Yamada.
The most obvious evolution between
Occult Architecture and their
AGE OF ELECTRIC
brotherly love and divine happenstance
JENNIE ORTON
previous records is that Moon Duo is
now a trio, puling drummer John Jeffrey
into their gravity.
Jeffrey came into the studio and laid
his drum tracks onto material the core
pair had already composed. According
to Yamada, this dynamic encouraged
the band to evolve in new directions.
Still, the tides remain the same.
Over three previous albums and extensive
tours of North America and Europe,
Moon Duo find harmony in their
shared passion for celestial bodies, and
draw inspiration from the far away
matters of time and space for their
minimalist, entrancing tunes.
“It’s (the moon) this distant thing
but it has this influential relationship
over the natural forces of the earth, the
tides, gravity,” Yamada says. In short,
it’s got a pull to it. The live show exploits
and tricks the senses, combining
crafted visuals with the all encompassing
fullness of the dark, filling the room
with the absence of light.
While the thematic motif of the
band’s lyrics usually draws from the
On the Marquee Stage, August 29th 2015, the brothers Kerns and
the brothers Dahle plugged in on the same stage as Age of Electric
for the first time in 17 years and the pop that shot through the stacks
was apparently heard across the nation. It pretty short order after the
house lights went up that night, interest came from all corners for the
band to do more live shows; and divine luck would have it, they just
happened to have some new music in the cannon just waiting to go.
“It’s such a fascinating turn of events, every time I go to talk about
photo by Howard Wise
Age of Electric steps out after a two-decade hiatus and brings with them some pretty new goodies.
Moon Duo bring a unique Architecture to the art of the tides with their fourth release.
supernatural, political upheaval in
the US has helped to shape the tone,
and the emotion of this most recent,
often darker work. “Art is inevitably a
social statement. Perhaps the political
climate is so extreme and unusual
photo by Alicia Atout
this it seems more surreal,” laments guitarist/vocalist Todd “Dammit”
Kerns, who is currently in LA and enjoying being Slash’s bass guitar
beast.
After what Kerns describes as a “passive aggressive” split in 1998,
AOE went off and did their own things. Though Kerns admits that
he and guitarist Ryan Dahle remained in close contact, often writing
music together on the side. This new music started to really take
shape and it wasn’t long before they started to get that old familiar
that it’s almost impossible to avoid it
filtering into whatever you are doing,”
says Yamada. “I’m horrified and, like
many other people, I’m still reeling. It
may take years before we actually see
the fallout and know what we’re trying
to say.”
Till then, I guess we’ll have to settle
for a howl at the moon.
Moon Duo perform at the Cobalt
on March 4.
ache for the stage.
“We were just kind of like ‘Hey we still do this pretty well together’,”
Kerns says.
And then, as they say, it just sort of happened.
Culminating with the approach of the 20th Anniversary of their
monster hit, and last release before the split, Make a Pest a Pet, the
decision was made to not only release the four new tracks they had
in the can as an EP (The Pretty EP – released February 17) but also a
remastered 2 LP vinyl reissue with bonus tracks of Pest a Pet on the
same day; and a Canadian tour to support both.
“All that stuff just kind of seemed to fall from the sky at once. In
the eleventh hour I kept expecting it to fall apart. It’s like picking out
a china pattern with a girlfriend y’know? You’re thinking ‘I dunno, are
we ready for this?”
As with any situation where things get revisited after 20 years,
there have been some surprises in the shows played live insofar as
which songs seem to have blossomed during the hiatus. Kerns has noticed
a large following for the set opener, the bratty and relentless bit
of perfect 90s alternative that is “Motor” from their self-titled 1995
album. Kerns acknowledges that when the album came out the band
had so much to prove that their trajectory prevented them from
standing with the release too long.
“That music didn’t really have a chance to…I dunno, ripen? I guess?”
he laughs. “Those songs have been planted for 20 years, some for over
20 years, and its interesting to see what they have become out there.
And the only way to see what they have become is to play them on
stage and see the reaction.”
An impressive history for a band with two sets of brothers. Defying
the odds of what normally happens when family spends that much
time together (cough, Oasis, cough) the amicability of this band
keeps the music hooky but authentic, nostalgically 90’s yet refreshingly
new (as evident with the rolling and rumbling catchy strummer
“Show Me Your Weakness” from the Pretty EP which sounds like it
would fit right in streaming out an open window at Easy Eye Studio).
But just in case, Kerns has his own technique for any disagreements:
“The finishing and starting move would be [brother and bassist]
John Kerns, I’d be that guy in the corner with a Slurpee saying “kick
his ass, man!”
Age of Electric perform at the Commodore Ballroom (Vancouver)
on March 24.
STRONG WOMEN STRONG MUSIC
supporting women in our backyard with the freedom of jazz
ERIN JARDINE
“Perhaps Atira chose jazz as a genre because
in it there is great freedom,” remarks Karin
Plato, artist liaison of Strong Women Strong
Music, an event produced as a celebration of
International Women’s Day and as a fundraiser
for Arita Women’s Resource Society.
Atira is a not-for-profit women’s advocacy
organization and one of the biggest providers
of social housing in Vancouver. Longevity
has lent itself both to SWSM and Atira; the
society began with projects and transition
homes in 1984. Strong Women Strong Music
started 11 years ago as a one-night affair, but
with the additional support of Vancouver’s
Coastal Jazz and Blues Society the fundraiser
has expanded to three separate evenings
and more musicians.
Plato has been involved in the event from
day one, performing as a vocalist and coordinating
the lineup.
“Certain years some of the artists don’t
know each other before the concert takes
place. It’s a lovely way to make new connections
and collaborate to share the music.
This is particularly true when we combine
experienced older artists with some of the
upcoming younger women artists who may
not have met before,” she says.
WIND-UP BIRDS
is dad rock still dad rock if it’s cool?
Born from the ashes of Owl Field Recordings,
the lads of Wind-Up Birds bring a
breezy blend of jazz, funk and pop that is
both familiar and refreshing. Guitarist and
vocalist Sam Willett points to Mac DeMarco
as a rallying point for the band in their
embrace of cheesy retro pop with distinctively
modern sensibilities. “He’s doing stuff
that people might not consider cool but
he’s making it cool,” Willett explains. “We
all like that kind of music. We like Steely
Dan. We like Paul McCartney. We like dad
rock. It’s groovy, it’s funky and we thought
it would be nice to incorporate that into a
band and play.”
Spend enough time with Wind-Up Birds
and an endearment for the nostalgic yesteryear
is palpable. A discussion of their
penchant for the retro evolved into an interesting
conversation of the relationship
between dad rock and vaporwave. “There
are always people that are looking back at
what people did before, sort of retro stuff,
and wanting to incorporate that into their
own art, be it photography, film, or music,”
says Willett. “We like that mixing of aesthetics.
That’s what vaporwave does really
well, is it mixes this diverse bunch of weird
aesthetics together to make a new one.”
Wind-Up Birds first full-length, Casual
Music Album, is a labour of love for the
quartet. Recorded in Willett’s living room
with a plethora of handcrafted and borrowed
equipment, the process, from Willett’s
perspective, went better than anyone
in the band could have expected. What
was both a cost-saving and creative-control
measure promises to be an anticipated local
release for 2017.
Coinciding with Atira’s values of inclusive
feminism, the music takes its own form
through improvisation with different pairings
of musicians, including upcoming artists
as well as some other experienced jazz
artists who may not have been involved in
previous years. This makes it interesting and
fresh for everyone involved and hopefully
aids in making an enjoyable experience for
the audience, especially if they come every
year to support Atira.
One of the challenges Atira faces is the
inevitable growth in the numbers of women
who continue to need help in Vancouver.
“Last year approximately half of the women
and their children needing support were
able to receive assistance. Through the year,
various fundraising events help bring awareness
to the need in our city,” says Plato.
With these growing numbers, an understanding
of the unique issues women might
face that force them to ask for help is critical.
International Women’s Day deserves attention,
which is what Strong Women Strong
Music delivers in their message.
Strong Women Strong Music 2017
takes place March 6–9 at Frankie’s
Jazz Club
When women need their voice more than ever, SWSM gives us all that and then some.
Wind-Up Birds are anything but weekend warriors, but they do dig on some Casual Music.
JAMES OLSON
Along with their upcoming release show,
the band already is ready to start recording
again in the late spring and summer, with
seven to eight new songs written. “Our philosophy
is, we don’t know how long we’re
going to be able to play together as a band.
We’ve all got school and various commitments
so we want to make the most of
what we’ve got,” says Willett. “We’ve been
lucky that we’ve been able to play lots of
shows and we’ve been able to meet lots of
cool bands and cool people. We’ve been
able to put out T-shirts and tapes, which I
don’t think any of us have been able to do
in any other band. We’re just trying to make
the most of it.”
Wind-Up Birds play 333 on March 19
with Kai Bravewood, Wax Cowboy,
and Dear Rabbit
TINY KINGDOM MUSIC
management in the trenches
HEATHER ADAMSON
With multiple barriers facing musicians
trying to make it and find
their way in an ever increasing
complex industry, having experienced,
passionate people to help
you navigate the waters can make
all the difference.
Enter Vancouver's Savannah
Wellman and Meaghan Davidson
who have recently launched Tiny
Kingdom Music; an artist management
and administration company
focusing on diversifying the
status quo management structure
to provide artists with choices and
levels of support in order to maximize
the number of musicians
they can support in the areas they
need it the most. Both Wellman
and Davidson left their long time
positions at Music BC to branch
out on their own and take all they
had learned and the connections
they have made in order to move
from handing bands a suggested
road map to being able to jump
in the passenger seat for the ride.
“It was amazing at Music BC to
provide artists with the information
they needed to further their
careers, but then our involvement
would end,” explained Wellman.
“After doing that for a very long
time we felt the desire to roll up
our sleeves and become more
hands on.”
Walking through the steps herself
as a professional songwriter,
musician and performer, Wellman
understands firsthand what
roadblocks are in the way of artists
making their music a sustainable
career path and is passionate
about helping them find their own
way. “Traditional revenue sources
are not there anymore so it is
about learning how to figure out
other ways to financially survive in
the music industry,” says Wellman.
“In Canada and BC, there are funding
sources available but it can be
difficult figuring out how to access
them. We want to help the musicians
we believe in be seen as professionals
instead of hobbyists and
be taken seriously by the industry
while communicating effectively
with an audience. It's about developing
the whole package.”
As women in the industry, the
immediate response from female
musicians was somewhat of a
shock, yet not completely surprising
to Wellman. “A lot of women
musician friends called us immediately
to express how relieved
they were to finally be able to
have other women to turn to in
this capacity. I was torn between
being happy to be able to provide
needed help and sad that so many
had been feeling this way for a
long time, that they would need
a female rep to be taken seriously
and have respect. It is one more
barrier to overcome and we are
here to provide whatever support
we can.”
As the two long-time friends
and colleagues begin this new career
path together, they are solid
in their vision and commitment
to the music they believe in. “The
idea of being a part of the career
of any one of the artists we love is
what excites us the most.”
www.tinykingdommusic.com
photo by Scott Little
Davidson and Wellman leave MusicBC to rep local musicians.
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March 2017
March 2017 MUSIC
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