SHOUT OUT OUT OUT OUT - It Might Get Loud

Synth City

Shout Out Out Out Out and the Calgary collection

September 27, 2012 by Christine Leonard

Shout Out Out Out Out is an Edmonton-based electronic band that believes in building one’s reputation from the ground up. Producing groundbreaking material via their own label, Normals Welcome Records, the six-piece sonic juggernaut has achieved a remarkable degree of success over its eight years without bowing to popular convention.

“We’re not a vocal band, we’re a voco band,” lead singer/synth player Nik Kozub relates. 

“I’ve always been a fan of that old vocoder sound, so we continue to use that. The gear is really important to us — one of the reasons the band started is that we have this interest in old analog synths and technology and wanted to work with those instruments. What makes us sound the way we do and have the show we do is the culmination of our backgrounds. We all come from punk bands, so that’s ingrained in us, but we’re actually decidedly focused on playing electronic music, house music, disco and techno.”

A tightly wound followup to their 2006 Juno nominated debut, Not Saying / Just Saying, the band’s instigative sophomore effort, Reintegration Time, fulfilled its promise to freeze digital wizards in their tracks. Shout Out’s next exercise in harmonious defiance, titled Spanish Moss and Total Loss, cold-cocked concert-goers and club-crawlers alike.

“I think that we have changed a bunch over the years, and I think our new album is as different from Reintegration Time as that second album was from the first,” Kozub says. 

“We’ve taken a lot of time between records and in that time our tastes have changed and evolved. In terms of extra instrumentation, we left everything really open. The new album was written entirely in the studio, so if we thought something needed a piano, we used a piano. Our song ‘Never the Same Way Twice’ has some saxophone parts that were originally played on the bass. We thought it would sound cool on a saxophone, so we brought in a saxophone player to do that for us. It was about just letting things happen naturally, and breathe, and come to life however they wanted to.”

Attracted to the concept of using technology to enhance and inform their artistic virtues, the ensemble benefits from musical experiences on both sides of the turntable. Kozub and founding member/co-record label executive Jason Troock both moonlight as DJs. The two sneak in DJ sets while on tour and whenever they’re not busy navigating a universe of sawtoothed waveforms with bandmates Lyle Bell (synth/bass), Willie Dieminzz (bass), Gravy (drums) and Clint Frazier (drums).

Slated for a hometown performance on Whyte Avenue in celebration of Alberta Culture Days at the end of the month, Alberta’s de facto disco kings are still reverberating with excitement after participating in a weeklong artists-in-residence program at Calgary’s hallowed National Music Centre.

“There are few things we enjoy more than pushing voltage around and filtering it and manipulating it,” says Kozub. 

“People don’t think of analog synths as being organic, but to me they really are. Calgary is very lucky to host the NMC. It’s a stunning and fantastic facility and collection. It’s absolutely amazing. We were essentially in there 12 hours a day, just recording and making sounds with all the gear. We wrote and recorded six songs exclusively using the one-of-a-kind instruments from their collection. The result of that is going to be an EP that we’re going to release as a stand-alone project. It’s very different, but it turned out good. I’m really happy with how we rose to that challenge. Our whole summer was really inspiring and creative.”

BIG FREEDIA BRINGS THE BOUNCE : interview by Christine Leonard

More bounce to the ounce! 

Big Freedia brings the booty shaking 

 Big Freedia from the Big Easy 

 A one-woman pageant of fabulousness, bounce sensation Big Freedia (pronounced “Freeda”) has a special place in her heart for her fans. Rightly accredited with blowing the doors off of hip-hop music’s gold-plated closet of sexual stereotypes, the Queen Diva, like fellow sissy-rapper Katey Red, booty-shaker Cheeky Blakk, and electro-queer ragamuffin Sissy Nobby, represents the glittering future of an infamously homophobic corner of the music industry.

“I’m so excited to be coming back and playing at the HiFi, baby! Oh, yeah!” she says. “I’m touring with my dancers and I’ll probably have my DJ with me too. No matter what, we’re going to give it all to you. We settle in pretty quick when we’re on the road; we’re used to going at it hard.”

Celebrated for her bombastic Mardi Gras-inspired bounce workouts, the gender-bending icon’s explosive performances attract throngs (and thongs) of good-time seeking female admirers. Shaking one’s thang is pretty much mandatory at any Big Freedia show, as the spicy videos captured at her live appearances with big-band, funk maestros Galactic attest.
  
“I had so much fun touring with Galactic when they brought me on the road with them,” Freedia says. “It was great to do something different and funk things up really good. They love to rock with me. They my boys. When I do my own shows I like to switch it up and engage the crowd as much as possible,” she continues. “I actually love it when they have us headlining on the same bill as a rock band, or punk band, or straight-up hip-hop, or whatever. I love introducing people to the amazing contrasts between genres, giving them something completely new that they’ve never experience before. It’s very exciting to be a part of this movement; I’m very grateful to be associated with the origins of bounce. How do I define bounce? You could say we consider ourselves uptempo and bass-heavy with a lot of call-and-response chants.”

 

Liberating the masses with heady beats and invigorating rhymes, Big Freedia identifies with her audience members on an ecstatic emotional level. Beyond the roof-raising drag-rap ruckus and hedonistic sampling that are the hallmarks of a Queen Diva joint, the singer harbours an uncanny sense of resilience and self-worth. There’s no question that both qualities link the capricious rapper to her avant-garde music and her deep New Orleans bloodlines.

“I’m happy to have a role in letting people be free to be themselves. For the most part, I think the guys who come to my shows find me approachable. I’m not just about empowering women. I encourage everyone to get onstage. Not just women; anyone who wants to dance and feel freaky at that moment. I’m giving them their moment to rock how they rock, and I don’t judge how they shake they ass. Everybody has their own ability and Big Freedia wants to help them out in a major way and get them tearing up the dance floor.”

Big Freedia is a successful interior decorator by day, and her keen eye for beauty and irrepressible joie de vivre has put her artistic skills in demand.

“I’m used to having a job, and usually return to doing my design work whenever I’m back home. Interior decorating continues to be one of the great sources of happiness in my life. I look for sources of inspiration every chance I get. I recently met one of my idols, Ru Paul. We just shot a video for a new song called ‘Peanut Butter’ together a week ago. It was a dream come true.”

by Christine Leonard

Originally Published in Fast Forward Magazine Sept. 2012 

 

Hard Drugs save lives

Vancouver, meet Brooklyn 

Hard Drugs party through a long-distance relationship

by Christine Leonard


Hard Drugs with Deadhorse & Mahogany Frog
Palomino Smokehouse - September 8, 2012

Hard Drugs is a labour of love that was initially conceived so that singer-songwriter-guitarist Jeffry Lee might make beautiful music together with his then-girlfriend and now wife Jenni Lee Nelson. The rootsy, ramblin’ project has since blossomed into a sunset-hued, love letter worthy of addiction. Recently invited to display his ink drawings at Vancouver’s Project Space art gallery, wily frontman Lee struck upon the idea of creating a 52-page book of his artwork. This, in turn, triggered the burgeoning multimedia performer to intertwine his tome of black-and-white portraits with the semi-autobiographical songs he had been amassing.

“I was offered the opportunity to do the book and from that I came up with the whole sort of art project that is a twofold journal of reflections upon the experiences we had living for a couple of years in Brooklyn,” Lee explains. “The title of the album is a take on the idea of partying beyond forever. I think it’s an apt description of the New York scene. There’s always so much to do and see.”

Grounded by the emotional weight of the married couple’s trials and tribulations while straddling a bicoastal relationship, Party Foreverer takes a sobering look at the consequences of an overindulgent lifestyle. Panged by a career-related separation, Hard Drugs’ first new release since their four-year-old self-titled debut spills out of the partners’ heartfelt musical correspondence between Vancouver and New York.

“The time we spent apart was definitely a low point for our relationship,” Lee says. “It was tough, but in the process we did garner some good art and music out of a bad experience. I would never trade that even if I knew what I know now going into it.”

Lee translates rebellious fracas into imaginative harmony, conjoining his penchant for creating visual art with his ongoing musical dalliances. Refined by perspective and softened through the travails of love, the compelling vigour of his former band Blood Meridian still pulses through the poignant core of the rocker’s bedroom project.

“In some ways, I see more parallels between late Blood Meridian and my earlier works than compared to what I’m doing now,” he says. “It was strange recording with a producer, because I’ve never worked with one before. Michael ‘Mama’ Tudor made a big difference as far as the process went. Even though this is in no way a commercial it’s probably the closest thing to a pop record I’ll ever write.”

Recorded with the aid of his “New York crew” of local musicians, Party Foreverer became the Hard Drugs album that wasn’t supposed to happen. Rather than moving on to formulate a fresh ensemble after returning to the black-and-pink peaks of their beloved British Columbia, Lee has rallied a cross-section of the original ragtag rotation of Hard Drugs players to perform their new material under the old banner. Blood Meridian’s Shira Blustein chimes in on vocals and piano while guitarist Pete Dionne (Lord Beginner) and bass player Jake Goodman string up organ arrangements by Colin McKill. Meanwhile, Lee’s better half has taught herself a new trick — playing the drums.

“I feel like we’re moving backwards through the catalogue of music history as we start branching out into stuff we haven’t gotten into before,” he says. “Party Foreverer, for all intents and purposes, is a punk rock album that retains a lot of country influences. There’s a lot of CCR in there, but also a lot more Ramones and Black Flag. The songs talk about the polar opposition between the East and West Coast, between Canada and the U.S., and between New York and Vancouver. Some of those differences are subtle, others are black and white. I certainly dig the contrast.”

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVENS - Interview with TJ Blair

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVENS

 

O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?

 An interview with TJ Blair by Christine Leonard

Drawing their name from director John Sturges’ bandit-besieged Western classic, The Magnificent Sevens (or, Mag 7s for short) are Winnipeg, Manitoba’s answer to the eternal question: “O Brother, where art thou?” Road-hardened and battle-proven thanks to four years spent performing on stages from Gimli to Gastown (cutting a 7” with schlock rocker BA Johnston along the way), the DIY five-piece takes a certain pride in knowing they’re introducing a whole new generation to the earthy wiles of bluegrass music.
The Magnificent Sevens : Red River Beaver Feaver from The Mag 7s on Vimeo.


“It’s not that I’m a big Luddite!” says TJ Blair, guitarist/banjoist for the Mag 7s. “But we live in a disposable world and, for that reason, just being in an acoustic band statement is making a statement against the digital revolution. Let’s just say that when the apocalypse hits and there’s no electricity, we’ll be the most popular band around and will still be ramblin’ right along.”


High plains drifter Dirty Roads, released in 2008, was the Mag 7s’ first attempt at corralling the essence of their alt-country jams. Wanted for covering everyone from anar-punk pundits (and fellow Manitoba-ites) Propagandhi to Kentucky crooner Bill Monroe, TJ Blair and accomplices, including banjo/Dobro player David Nishikawa, vocalist/guitarist Matt Magura, fiddler Andy Bart and requisite high-heeled hottie/second fiddle Ida Sawabe, revel in treating today’s chart toppers like precious heirloom antiques.
“We’re into good art whether it be film, painting, music or some other form of artistic expression,” says Blair. “I could rant about avoiding commercialism and creating music for the right reasons, but when it comes right down to the nitty gritty, our aim is to produce songs that are well thought-out and that is what makes them beautiful.”


As unexpectedly satisfying as a Slurpee in December (Winnipeg sells more of those slushy drinks than any city in the world), the understated sophistication and chilly regard conveyed by the ensemble’s freshly-hatched 2012 release All Kinds of Mean brazenly interposes old school values and modern sensibilities.
“The new album captures our most recent collection of songs,” Blair confirms. “About 90 per cent of it was live off floor in Winnipeg. It’s about giving the recording that sense of a live thrill. We know what works for us by now and that method seems to be the ideal way to maintain the energy that you’d experience if you saw us at a festival.


“I’ve gotta admit it’s nice to play festivals with all that fresh air and those appreciative audiences,” he continues. “We get a lot out of performing alongside other folk acts, but the reality is that those types of festivals are literally dying out. And, as much as the bluegrass purists may protest, they don’t get a lot of younger musicians. So, they need bands like us — whether they agree with the direction we’re taking things in or not!”


Even with a generous dash of punk rock gusto throw into their rootsy brew, the Mag 7s display a remarkable degree of respect for the history behind their time-honoured, albeit ever-so-humble, genre. Able to attract and hold the attention of a wide range of music lovers including those Blair describes as “Suburban baby boomers and college crust punks,” the hollow-bodied quintet has found plenty of room to roam within the confines of their unplugged Appalachian asylum.


“Come September we’ll be heading down to a big bluegrass fest in Nashville,” Blair enthuses. “Canadians don’t pay much attention to bluegrass music but, in America, there’s a real musical snobbery to preserving the art form. Down there, we might not even be considered part of the movement at all.”
Shying away from laser light shows and pyrotechnic embellishments (apparently the vapour exuded by smoke machines wreaks havoc on the string slingers’ instruments), the Mag 7s hold true to the precept that just because you’re an acoustic outfit doesn’t mean you’re incapable of playing hard and fast with the Baptist big boys.


“We can definitely pull that stuff off, but at the same time I’m a little worried that they might think we’re bastardizing bluegrass by presenting our own take on the traditional. Fortunately, in my experience, the fans don’t discriminate. They just appreciate good music and that has kept us going. We’re still writing new songs and exploring new territory. At this point, it’s safe to say that we use country/bluegrass as a foundation but that we’re always searching, as artists on front lines, for possible new directions to take that music in and shine some new light.”

Originally published July 3, 2012 · by beatrouteab ·


Interview & Article by Christine Leonard