The crowd stirred with restless energy on Friday, August 30th, as most do before a performance at Britt Festivals. The venue’s setting in small, historic Jacksonville, Oregon provides a welcoming and scenic forested atmosphere, perhaps even a much-needed peaceful location to escape the business and noise of larger cities.

The opening act was rising singer/songwriter/spoken word artist Mary Lambert, along with her small ensemble and a string quartet. Lambert recently performed at MTV’s Video Music Awards, and is most popular for writing and singing the hook in Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ smash hit, “Same Love.”

Lambert performed her single, “She Keeps Me Warm,” along with several other songs and a spoken word piece encouraging girls struggling with acceptance of body image and self worth.

The sun had already set behind the hills of the Rogue Valley by the time Lambert’s set concluded and the stage was set for the headlining act: Tegan & Sara.

Bright pink and neon green lines burst into the dark night, as Tegan & Sara opened with “Drove Me Wild,” an irresistibly poppy energetic track featuring the signature Quin sisters’ harmonized vocals.

It’s no coincidence pink and neon green colored lights were part of the show. From the Quins’ retro styled clothing to the overabundance of heavy, syrupy-thick synth lines throughout their newest album, “Heartthrob,” it’s obvious Tegan & Sara are in love with the 1980s. It’s not a bad decade to be infatuated with, especially for musicians; a significant number of middle-aged men and women were in attendance at the concert, along with the throngs of teenagers. The latter are expected at the performance of a popular alternative band like T&S. However, the former are a surprising but a welcomed addition to the eager to sing-along audience.

The band rode the electric excitement of the crowd as they continued with more tracks from their newest album, “Goodbye, Goodbye” and “I’m Not Your Hero” before venturing into older album territory. Longtime fans reveled in their spot-on performances of “Back In Your Head,” “Alligator,” and “Call It Off.”

Between songs a few minutes into their performance, Tegan and Sara’s dry humor but still friendly demeanor only served to endear the audience to themselves. If they wanted to simulate a living room conversation with several thousand of their closest friends, they nailed it.

The twin sisters asked about Jacksonville, Oregon – whether it qualifies as a city or a town, what it’s like to live there, and even what a house sells for in the area. “It’s the kind of place one might like to settle down in, someone like myself,” Sara remarked.

Earlier this year, the band played shows in Europe before jetting back to the United States to start the “Most Nights Summer Tour” with FUN. This night’s concert was a one-off from the regular tour, which they’d been on for two months. The 40+ show tour stretches over three months, traversing the country and even dipping briefly into Canada and Mexico. Tour-mates FUN. reportedly watched from backstage since they’d performed at Britt last season, August of 2012.

Throughout the set, it was apparent the long tour routine was impacting Tegan & Sara. A few moments of inter-song chatter revealed their tiredness, but not at the expense of detracting from their performance. When Sara asked what day it was, the crowd emphatically shouted back, “Friday!” One can imagine how days can run together on a tour bus, each night somewhere different.

During perhaps the best moment of the concert, the Canadian sisters said the following song would be their final one, but pledged to return for an encore. “If you offer even a modest applause, we will come back out and play an encore,” Tegan frankly informed the audience.

True to their promise, Tegan & Sara returned to their microphones for an acoustic rendition of an old favorite, “Nineteen.” The rest of the band reclaimed their instruments for another track, then wrapped up the show with the “Heartthrob” album’s single, “Closer,” the most singable track laden with that 80s synth pad and loveable harmonies.

It’s no surprise Tegan & Sara have garnered even more fans and critical acclaim in recent years, due in equal parts to their relentless tour ethic and constant musical reinvention. Combined with their endearing audience-talk, they’ll continue to be a well-liked group in alternative music, if not pull to the head of the pack with future releases. Tegan & Sara are poised to make heartthrobs of all of us.

Written by John Weirick

Bio: John Weirick writes about intentional living, culture, and Christian spirituality at johnweirick.com. He’s working on his first book, loves adventures in the Pacific Northwest, and you can invite him to coffee by tweeting @johnweirick.

Originally, I was asked to review Robert Plant’s latest musical venture aptly dubbed Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters at Southern Oregon’s Britt Festival. After receiving word that a ticket had been purchased for me by Ivory Harp, I began to ponder the idea of a “Fan Experience” page on the website. Being a child of the 80’s, I don’t possess  an ample supply of knowledge on the monumental life and musical majesty of Robert Plant. However, I did know the perfect candidate for a fan experience article on Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters, and that was my Mother, Sheree Cox.

Ryan Cox: Being my Mother, I’m aware you have been a long time Plant and Zeppelin supporter. Tell me about your history as a fan and how the music and lyrics have had an impact on you.

Sheree Cox: I basically grew up on Led Zeppelin. When I was in high school they were the best of the best of all those great rock bands. EVERYBODY had their albums, we listened to them constantly. When “Stairway to Heaven” came out, it was massive. We listened to it over and over. You couldn’t go anywhere without hearing it. All of their music was amazing to listen to, so unusual sounding and so awesome. It was a great time of my life. I can still hear Zep songs and remember what I was doing when I first heard them.

RC: I understand you still have an original Led Zeppelin t-shirt from a concert? Tell me about that trip and talk about the show.

SC: I finally did get to see Led Zeppelin at the Kingdome in Seattle in 1974. It was “The Song Remains the Same” tour. Tickets were $10 if I remember right, quite a bargain. We drove to Seattle from Florence, OR. When we got to the Kingdome, there were huge crowds and we had to wait in line forever to get in. Everybody had to empty pockets and purses. There were trash cans full of bottles of alcohol, baggies of weed, etc. Finally we got in and it was pretty cool even though we were far away and had to watch the screens if we really wanted to see. But we didn’t care about that, it was just great to be there in the first place. And when they did Stairway to Heaven the place went nuts. After the concert there was a huge riot in the street outside the Kingdome, I am not quite sure why it started but it got pretty violent. I read later there were 65,000 at that concert. Probably small by today’s standards but HUGE back then. I had my ticket stub for a long time but eventually lost it, still have the t shirt!

RC: Let’s talk about your evening at Britt Festival. How would you compare and contrast this experience to the Kingdome in ‘74? I understand you’ve enjoyed some of his other projects as well?

SC: Being able to see Robert Plant again after all those years was a real treat. He is a master showman, and has even gotten better with time. His voice has really matured and he was relaxed and looked great. He did a really wide range of music, from Led Zeppelin tunes to music he did with Alison Kraus, and some new stuff with his new band. Great show. Even though he wasn’t with Led Zeppelin, all the old Zep songs sounded great. I don’t think anybody there was disappointed in the new band.  By mid concert, people were up on their feet dancing and singing like crazy, really a great time. Robert Plant kept the place hopping. The Sensational Shapeshifters were a really great band. I had a blast. The one thing I really noticed was that this time when I watched him, he actually seemed to enjoy performing, was personable and really seemed to connect with the audience. A nice change from the impersonal venue where I first saw him in ’74.

I was really surprised a few years back to hear he did a Grammy award winning collaboration with Alison Kraus. It really is a great piece of work, some beautiful songs and their voices are surprisingly well matched.

RC: Where would you like to see Robert Plant go in the future, musically?

SC: I hope he keeps doing new projects with different styles of music in the future. He isn’t done yet!

For more information on Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters visit RobertPlant.com

“Sometimes there’s a man… I won’t say a hero, ’cause, what’s a hero? Sometimes, there’s a man. And I’m talkin’ about the Dude here – the Dude from Los Angeles. Sometimes, there’s a man, well, he’s the man for his time and place. He fits right in there. And that’s the Dude. The Dude, from Los Angeles…”

The beloved actor has been waiting for years to share his music with you. And now he has the chance. On July 24th Jeff and his band The Abiders will perform at Southern Oregon’s Britt Festival.

For the unfamiliar, Jeff Bridges began his career as a character actor, appearing in many films and with quality acting chops he was often known as that guy, you know…from that movie. The quote above is the introduction narrative from one of my all time favorite movies The Big Lebowski. This intro was prophetic in many senses as the film The Big Lebowski went on to make Jeff Bridges a major name in the minds of those who appreciate cult classic cinema.

However, like many actors Jeff was long overdue for such admiration. His film career is prolific and chock full of talent. As one of the sons of Hollywood elite Lloyd Bridges he certainly had a foot in the door. Even getting to work with his own father in some roles and reprising a few of those roles. Big shoes to fill left Jeff with the desire to exceed and to honor the legacy of his father.

Jeff started his acting career oddly enough in 1951 as an infant, in an uncredited role. He began his career in television and through hard work ended up on an episode of Lassie. This lent him some cred as an actor and allowed him to secure a few more television roles. He eventually hit pay dirt in his first big movie role in the widely celebrated The Last Picture Show in 1971. In 1976 he also landed a role in King Kong. A small movie you may have heard of. This catapulted his success as an actor and led to bigger roles and eventually a starring role circa 1982 in a huge cult classic film Tron. Jeff had landed and his popularity was growing. He was now a hot property and directors were seeking him for numerous roles.

1984 came and Jeff auditioned and landed the lead role in another cult classic called Starman. This role led to more and more parts some written specifically for him. None of his success had prepared him for the attention he received in the movie Blown Away. This role was a lot more dramatic and technically difficult to play. His performance drew people in and his career had hit a peak.

Fast forward a decade or so and Jeff was contacted by some up-and-coming directors the Coen brothers, about a very odd role they had written based on an unusual friend Jeff Dowd. The Coen brothers saw something in Jeff which no other director had done before. They saw past his leading role persona, and instead saw something very identifiable and common man about him. Just the thing they were looking for with their new project. The movie was a huge gamble. It wasnt a comedy, a drama, an action film, or a romance. It was something new. It was a movie focused on dialogue and deliciously interesting characters. The movie had no real payoff at the end, and to many who read the script prior to production it was considered a dead end project. Jeff read the script and found himself in love with the characters and the dialogue and agreed to sign on. When The Big Lebowski was released it did not do well at the box office. A lack of effective marketing, and the Coen’s being mostly unknown by the general public lent itself to a flop. Or so they thought. While the box office numbers were grim, once the movie released for rental, the world began to discover it and within 5 years of release the film had a rabid cult following, bordering on obsession. Jeff nailed the role, and became synonymous with his character “The Dude”.

Jeff continued to do well as an actor, landing numerous roles. He began to accept unusual parts, exploring his craft and various types of cinema. He even signed on with Iron Man. But it was in 2009 that audiences once again fell in love with his work. Jeff starred in the film Crazy Heart about an aging country western singer dealing with the decline of his career. As part of his role, Jeff was required to sing and play guitar. As a hobbyist, he was already into music and this role provided him with the chance to do something he always talked about. To become a musician. The songs in the film were performed by various artists including actors Jeff Bridges, Colin Farrell, and Robert Duvall, and some big names in the music industry. The songs from the film ended up as hits, lending to tons of sales for the soundtrack and to one additional thing: the spark for Jeff to create and perform more music.

Bridges’ involvement in music goes back a lot longer, and far deeper, than just this one film. “I’ve been into music ever since I was a kid,” he says. “My mother forced me to take piano lessons, maybe when I was around 8—I got as far as ‘Fur Elise’ and I bailed, and I’ve regretted it ever since.” But then he discovered his brother Beau’s Danelectro guitar, and starting in high school, joined up with his grade-school buddy Goodwin and a group of other friends for a Wednesday night jam session—which they continued, every week, for the next fifteen years.”
–excerpt from Jeff’s music website.

After finishing work on this album, Jeff Bridges concludes that there are strong connections between his two passions of acting and music-making. “There are more similarities than differences,” he says. “They’re both very collaborative, you’re working with different artists, but there are also solo aspects in the writing and the practicing. You prepare, and then you let go and give it up.”

Click here for an example of Jeff’s live performance.

In 2013 Jeff Bridges and The Abiders are coming to Jacksonville, Oregon to perform at the 2013 Britt Festivals on July 24th 2013, a unique and heavily attended concert series focusing on an amazing outdoor venue with a picnic like feel. Britt Festival is famous on the West Coast for drawing in great acts while offering patrons an exceptional way to experience the artists and performances.

Ivory Harp will be reviewing this performance for you, and hopefully snagging some great photos in the process. As a long time fan of Jeff’s work I am naturally excited to experience his music, especially at this venue with its intimate feel. You can learn more about Britt Festivals at http://www.brittfest.org including this seasons lineup of performances, many of which will be reviewed on Ivory Harp as well.

Along with Jeff Bridges and The Abiders, Jessie Bridges (none other than Jeff’s daughter), will open the show with her singer-songwriter style tunes. This evening will be one to remember, and I hope to see some of you there at the show. For tickets to this event follow this link: http://www.brittfest.org/performances/jeffbridges2013

Help produce David Jacob Knight‘s supernatural thriller THE PEN NAME, which pits a first-time novelist against an evil bestseller!

Back the KickStarter Campaign!

David Jacob Knight has written under many pseudonyms during his writing career, each with their own rich backstory and fake lives. He has endured great hardship with a past publisher, and this experience—along with the difficulties of maintaining multiple personas—has shaped the narrative of his first book, The Pen Name. Interact with DJK on Facebook.

Read the first four chapters of The Pen Name on Scribd!

One of the biggest investments in writing a book is time. We’ve already put in the time. The second biggest investment is production. This novel is already being produced: we’ve already paid the editor; we’ve already bought a cover you can actually judge the book by. As the creators of this novel, we’re heavily invested. But there’s a third investment, just as critical to a book’s success. Marketing.

Without marketing, a book is invisible. We plan to use the Kickstarter funds to bringThe Pen Name to as many readers as possible, using advertisements, review copies, T-shirts, bookmarks, and other forms of promotion.

And when you think about it, what’s a better investment? Putting money into an unfinished project that might just disappear? Or contributing to the success of something that’s ready to be released this September? When you contribute to The Pen Name, you’re not gambling to help a project come to fruition; you’re helping to ensure that the finished project is, in fact, a worthwhile investment.

May 11th is going to be wild at the Historic Ashland Armory. The reason behind this? Because coming to Ashland for one night only, is the up and coming hipster hopper, Tyler, The Creator. Born in Ladera Heights in 1991, Tyler is breaking into the music scene with full force and now even has his own record Label! His lyrics are known to be crass and offensive but if you listen hard, you can hear recurring themes of paternal abandonment, the role that he has in society now, and how he despises it, and how he just likes to have a good time. What people don’t really know when listening to his music, is that Tyler is quite the pianist and makes his own beats. This show is going to be one to remember, the energy Tyler and the Odd Future crew have is contagious. Just a few minutes of being in the presence of such a group will have you tapping your feet, bobbing your head and screaming “Fuck Steve Harvey.” Along with Tyler, is his “little brother” Earl Sweatshirt. Earl first debuted at the young age of 16 years old. His style is very compact and tight, using the rhythms and syllables of the words to create wordplay and very clever puns. From the looks of other shows this one should be a doozy. Hope to see you all there.

Follow Tyler, The Creator on Twitter!

RSVP to the show on Facebook!

Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8pm. This is an all ages show.

Click here to purchase tickets online!

Tickets are $22/adv and can be purchased at Music Coop (Ashland), Bad Ass Coffee & 619 Clothing (Medford), Listen Here (Grants Pass) or

Like JMax Productions on Facebook for more great concerts!

Written by J.B. Nelson
Photos by Peggy Siders

If the Seaons are what we have to look forward to from our local youth, than the future of Southern Oregon music is looking bright! The merry band of high school students recently led a crowd pushing 200 (a good house for any local band on a prime Friday/Saturday night – let alone at dinner time on a Sunday) on a musical escapade for the release of their “Sun Gun” debut album that many bands “seasoned” twice as long as them couldn’t have conducted.

Read the S U N G U N Album Review written by Hunter Moore!

The songs of The Seaons, written largely by frontman Sean Siders (lead vocals, keys, guitars) are insightful well beyond the young man’s years and their progressive musical compositions, far from your typical “verse, chorus, verse” fair, are some of the most relevant music in relation to the current national pop/rock landscape, that you’ll find in the Rogue Valley.

Many bands considering themselves “Last Band Standing” contenders could definitely learn a thing or two from this young group who made their concert flow and managed to connect with their audience almost as aptly as the modern heavyweights like Muse, The Black Keys, and the Killers that their sound seems largely derived from. Performing in front of a couple hundred, The Seaons had the crowd clapping and hollering like it was a couple thousand. From the young high school classmates of the band members to the older family members, friends, and curious music loving observers

The Seaons kept everyone engaged by the whole show leading the audience various clapping rhythms and smoothly transitioning from one song to another free of the f’bombs, alcohol themed cat calls, and extended pauses for instrument tuning that most night times shows at bars are typically accustomed to from local bands.

Of course their youth does show in some ways, like their voices – which they string together masterfully in multipart harmonies – do reflect their young age, but not in a bad way that turns you away. More so in a “wow, these kids are going to REALLY rock it when they’ve fully developed and found their true voices.”

Same with the music. While beyond it’s years in the way it’s composed, many of the chord progressions and licks themselves were kind of what you expect from that style of music and didn’t really leave me humming or foot tapping the rhythms later.  Much like the thought with the vocals, you can tell guitarist Micah McCaw can really play his instrument already and it leaves you excited for what he will produce down the road as he really learns to command and express himself with it, not just play the chords and mimic the chords and sounds of his rock idols.

All in all The Seaons gave a performance very worthy of the great debut album, “Sun Gun,” they put together with local producer/indie musician Bret Levick. They are definitely an experience not to be missed and you’ll want to catch before these kids “season” and move on to bigger and more prestigious towns and venues. Their future is looking very bright, and thankfully this means so is all of ours in the Southern Oregon music lover’s scene!

Like The Seaons on Facebook!

In this collage there are 10 “picture riddles” that hint at each of the songs in Sun Gun (excluding track 3).
Download a lyric ebook here: http://www.mediafire.com/view/?yd77mbgc6deo14z

A review by Hunter Moore

When 21-year-old vocalist, pianist, and songwriter Sean Siders croons, “No more bottom of the food chain…” on “Headstrong,” one of the catchy, sweet tracks from the Seaons’ self-released, full-length debut, the listener might be inclined to agree with Siders’ forward-thinking, optimistic lyrics. He’s a young man who often presents his ideas in the affirmative; he seems to believe in the power of identity and pure love. Who could argue with that?

Read the CD Release Concert Review written by J.B. Nelson!

With an EP or two as well as several lineup changes under their belts, Medford-based independent pop-rock outfit The Seaons have been on the scene in one form or another for a couple of years, gaining a loyal following around the Rogue Valley and up and down the I-5 corridor. Their brand of infectious, hooky piano anthems and edge-of-your-seat, caution-to-the-wind live sets have become sort of infamous throughout southern Oregon. Now comes S U N G U N, a collection of Siders’ unique observations, heartwarming ballads, and soft-spoken odes. While this 40-minute LP isn’t particularly revelatory or concise, Siders’ influences shine through nicely (if a little too blatantly) and he is certainly a burgeoning songwriter to watch.

Tracks like “Love Is All Around Us” and “Firelight Glow” are groove-based and dance-y with some Afrobeat inspiration and arena-rock magic. Siders explores his vocal range quite a bit, coming off like a young Bono or Michael Stipe. A more contemporary vocal comparison could absolutely be made to fun.’s Nate Ruess or Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen. Later, “The Chariot” and “Seasons Are in Control” display interesting, nostalgic instrumentation and production that can only be described as “80′s chic.” That is, the listener might catch a whiff of Toto, Styx, and REO Speedwagon in the sonic properties of these tracks. Xylophones that might be synthesized steel drums pop up as well, leaving behind a sense of experimentation.

The two best tunes on S U N G U N appear near the middle of the record. The aforementioned “Headstrong” is a near-brilliant celebration of melodious joy and moving on with your life, smothered in smooth percussion from Alex Detweiler, simple-but-effective guitar work from Micah McCaw and Grayson Phelps, and some of the most moving harmonies on the entire release. “Headstrong” segues into the title track with some attention-deficit handclaps, funky cowbell (possibly agogô) and world-music-inspired guitar leads reminiscent of contemporaries like California’s Local Natives and New York’s Vampire Weekend. Former Seaons members Terry Longshore, Mitchell Winters, and Elijah and Micah Jones show up for a few instrumental contributions as well.

The three tracks that close S U N G U N are slightly more alt-country and psych-folk in nature; “Simplicity Never Ever” and “Kaky” may remind listeners of softer, poppier versions of harmony-filled songs by artists like Bread, America, Uncle Tupelo, Silver Jews, Fleet Foxes and Wilco, but with a melodious edge similar to that of the Beatles or Beach Boys. “Forevermore,” the longest song here at six minutes, meanders a bit but never becomes inaccessible. Its long running time allows it to explore a few ideas and mantras, leading to a decent end-of-journey type of climax.

Although the least enjoyable moments come at the very beginning (“VII” with its choral harmonies and guitar lines which are reminiscent of a song by Coldplay), S U N G U N is a decidedly pleasant and cautious record. Siders and Co. play it safe for the most part, leaving the listener with an innocuous shrug of a debut. There is nothing offensive here, nor is the record exceptional in most respects. The recording quality and production choices are very middle-of-the-road, Siders’ singing voice is sweet but indistinct, and his band mates’ abilities aren’t used to their full potential on this LP. Still, The Seaons’ work may very well appeal to fans of a variety of popular artists such as Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes, Of Monsters and Men, Billy Joel, Huey Lewis and the News, U2, R.E.M., The Decemberists, Animal Collective, Arcade Fire, and so on. However, the biggest problem with S U N G U N is that its creators have not yet conjured up a wholly successful or innovative sound, and until that happens, the seasons may always be in control, but the Seaons won’t be.

Like The Seaons on Facebook!

Written by Jesse Eells-Adams

I met up with Arlo Brooks on a sunny day in Ashland, Oregon, while he was working at the Video Explorer movie rental. He had just released his newest solo album Being Watched onto Whale Trap Records the day before, on 4/20. We initially talked as he was renting out movies to customers, observing customers, and killing rogue flies in the store. Brooks was born and raised in Pasadena, California, and for reasons unknown, took it upon himself to terrorize Ashland with his own strange brand of weirdness since 2008. One thing to keep in mind is Arlo’s replacement of the words fuck and shit for (spelled phonetically) fack and shite.

Track listing for Arlo Brooks “Being Watched”

Throughout the interview we listened to the album, which interspersed odd noises at any silence or turn in the conversation…

Somehow making it all the more interesting, significant, and absurd.

Jesse Eells-Adams: Let’s talk about Being Watched

Arlo S. Brooks: Get these facking flies out of here. All these horrible ass facking flies.

Jesse: Where are they coming from?

Arlo: I don’t facking know. I don’t simply facking… [Brooks proceeds to swat at flies in midair with a pamphlet]

J: Alright Arlo. You wrote an album.

A: [laughs] “You wrote an album!”

J: You made an album and it’s called Being Watched.

A: Yes

Jesse: Ya. Let’s start here. What are you involved in musically, in Ashland?

Arlo: I’m the guitarist for Am I Wrong [download The Lixx Sessions (2013) recorded live in Arcata during Am I Wrong's April tour], I’m the singer for Fuck! A Monster, I have solo shite, I have a couple hiatus projects, like Pony School; Pony School’s on hiatus.

J: Why’s that? 

A: Cuz neither of us (Brooks and artist Carly Eichorn) have time to do it

J: So what do you do when you record this solo stuff? You have time to yourself?

A: For this album, I basically just recorded… ya I hung out by myself, jammed noises for a few hours, [more swatting] went through all this stupid shit I’d done, cut it all up, found the parts that I liked the most, overdubbed many of them.

J: How do you make these noises, Arlo Brooks?

A: Aum, I’d run my guitar through a variety of pedals, and some tracks on this I did with vocals. There’s no samples on it.

J: Are there lyrics?

A: There are two tracks that have lyrics.

J: Which ones are those?

A: This one has lyrics. It’s called “LSD Responsibilities”, and this one is “Still Watched”.

J: What are some lyrics in those, I don’t think i can understand them.

A: No, they’re very hard to understand. This last song has the only distinguishable lyrics.

J: Still watched? 

A: Ya

J: What are the lyrics

A: [pulling out small black book of lyrics] “Blood suckers scarred, keep you wet, you govern mental porn, sacred ritual gone to scorn. Take my mind, say goodnight the sacred way, [Does that mean anything? Brooks- No, not really.] cream on the rest of the bodies, cremate the rest of your life.”

[Customers mill about in the video store, including two young boys in earshot of our conversation.] 

J: Why the dark theme of the song titles and album title?

A: I don’t know. They all needed to be dark. It’s definitely a conceptual feeling compared to other solo releases of mine. This is some of the most focused and mature work of mine because of that.

[Arlo walks off with a pamphlet in his hand towards the closest window and begins swatting at flies while the two young boys look on.] 

Dang flies [Brooks is furiously waving a pamphlet in the air as his song “Head Stuck In Window” plays]

There is purposefully supposed to be a feeling of paranoia and dread… look at this crazy fack [gesturing towards one of the young boys who is looking at movies].

J: Why does it have to be paranoid?

A: I don’t know, I wanted to make something ominous, conceptually, with one vibe.

J: Do you feel paranoid?

A: Most of the time. [laughs]

J: How do you make the guitar noises?

A: I use effects pedals like the distortion, phaser, pitch shift, echo delay, and looping. That’s it. Oh, and some octave.

[The conversation is interrupted by customers renting a movie. Arlo switches from “Imagining You Are Infested With Bugs” to “The Giant Spider”.]

It’s less bracing

J: Where does your album cover come from?

A: I think it was in an England airport. I don’t remember what airport i was in. Somewhere in Europe.

[Arlo’s shift ends at the Video Explorer and we go find somewhere less distracting to speak.] 

Jesse: What have you heard that inspired you to make noise music?

Arlo Brooks: The first bands that come to my mind as noise music that’s really inspiring is Wolf Eyes and Black Dice. Wolf Eyes and Black Dice are the best noise bands pretty much ever to be, in my modern sense of noise. I’m not really that inspired by older stuff when it comes to noise music.

I’ve listened to some older stuff but it’s really like the roots of what I think of as the modern noise music came right around the early 2000’s and that’s when for a second it all  kind of got some attention in the indie scene, ya know the experimental circuit.

Wolf Eyes and Black Dice to me were the best of it. I don’t really like really straight noise. Straight noise music technically is usually really harsh, usually has this like sine waves or like white noise, or just like noise that is made out of like fucking digital fuckery, and so I’m not really interested in that, which is what typically overtakes a lot of noise music. It’s completely amelodic, or completely made to be unliked, it sounds like.

I was really inspired by Wolf Eyes also because they have such a lot of music. They have like 150 albums in like 7 or 8 seven years. They’ve toured Europe, and Japan, shit like that. They’ve lived the life. I don’t know where they get money from or how they do it. But they’re also one of the most accessible in terms of noise music of their kind, cuz they’re really dark and brutal, but they have patterns, it’s about repetition. It’s not just about freeform madness. Everything that I would ever really want from any dark heavy noise can come from Wolf Eyes.

[Brooks begins playing an example of wolf eyes.] 

Intense as fuck. terrifying!

J: Are there instruments?

A: Well ya, there’s a guitar, and then there’s a guy who is literally melting tape, and then there’s a vocalist. Sometimes they have percussive stuff; I’m pretty sure they can do all of it live at once. And they don’t loop that much. They do some looping…

J: Can you do your stuff live?

A: Being Watched? Uh, not really. It would take a lot of facking practice. Why is this toilet running? And then Black Dice represents the opposite spectrum, in that they’re very colorful, they’re bouncy, they’ve grown into always having beats in their music, they used to not. They represent a color feeling out of noise music, which I am almost more inspired by them than this stuff.

J: How is it different? Is it more structured? 

A: It is structured, it also just has a more diverse spectrum of sound. They have it where they make beats, they definitely compose their shit, it’s not improv.

J: It definitely sounds more accessible when they have beats.

A: Ya, well this album of mine I decided to not do beats. I feel like I’ve been trying to do almost “Diceian” (Black Dice) kind of stuff for a while, just more colorful, more accessible side of doing noise, and also a wider spectrum of sound for doing album. So what I’m doing is trying to incorporate both ideas where it’s like the whole album has an ominous feeling, the titles are ominous, it has harsh elements, so that’s what comes from Wolf Eyes. But it’s not just some atonal thing going on. It’s not just like some awful bullshit. There’s some diversity, and there’s also some color to the sounds, it isn’t just a one dimensional sound. It’s squeaky, it’s squooshy.

J: So there’s probably like 5 people in any given town that listen to noise music, so I imagine most people that would be introduced to your music wouldn’t have an idea of what noise music is. So what do you want to do when you hear noise music? Let’s say when you hear a classic rock song that reminds you of getting drunk so you’re compelled to get drunk, like feelings associated with listening to songs, or certain genres, so what’s noise music to you? 

Arlo Brooks: I’m trying to do a parallel between the two. The getting drunk is for classic rock, like having a rock n’ roll night. Sometimes noise music makes me want to fuck shit up, makes me want to try and do something that will like change the fabric of the facking world, you know? Or just like just shit on everything, you know what i mean?

Am I Wrong gives me this feeling too where a lot of the goal of it is where I want everyone to completely get fucked over by what happened, a lot of what making noise is about to me is also about making people hear something where they’re like “what the fuck? I couldn’t have even conceptualized that this could be… something.” It has that feeling where it’s like “why would anyone do this” but its also like there is some odd unexplainable satisfaction that comes out of it, or that should if you’re not completely turned off by the idea. And I think it’s even cool for people who are going to be completely turned off by the idea to have something to insert into that spectrum of what they think of as music, or what they think of as entertainment in any way.

J: To draw a line in the sand? 

A: Ya exactly, for it to be like “ok,  then your end is here. so I’m going to go ahead and nail the fuckin’ nail in that grave!”

J: And isn’t this postmodernism, to break the structures of what is considered art, or having the allowance of being able to do that and call it art, because noise seems like it inherently wants to break the rules.

A: Definitely. That’s why it’s called fucking noise. Anyone who would self prescribe that is fucking crazy. It’s like taking the joke of some old person like “what’s all that racket, what’s that noise going on”?  We’re gonna actually make like really horrible noise.

J: And it’s like almost unnecessarily going beyond that, like there’s plenty of things to be repulsed by and offended by.  

Arlo Brooks: Well this song for instance is very much that, it’s called “Attacker” and this song…. I started thinking I need at least like 1 or 2 tracks that are just like facking hard to listen to, ya know, that just have like some horrible ass noise going on the whole time. there’s so many cool sounds I feel like I can make that other people can make too, and they probably do make it they just never release it to anyone because they’re like “who the fuck would want to listen to this, this is going to be a huge shit dent on my history.”

Like Nick Reinhart [of math rock band Tera Melos] I’m sure has spent like hours and hours and hours just like goofing with fucking pedals and making cool sounds and then like a little tiny marginal element of that makes it into his music but it’s all in the form of rigid ass composition, so it’s like people think a little too hard about what they want to put out to the world, and there are closeted people who are actually really into weird noises and shit because they’ll put them in the backtrack on their records or something or have them be a part of the music. Like most produced music nowadays has something else going on other than just the instruments that are in there, ya know, has something going on in the background. I just kind of like to focus in on that, and then just not add other shit. Just be like alright, take this little tiny part of music, and have that be your deal.

J: I feel like this sounds like some kind of awful soundtrack. like you would group this into music but it would go well with some visual thing. 

A: Oh ya, definitely I like to think of it like that too. I was telling my parents to think of this as a horror movie soundtrack or something, or soundtrack to some weird thriller. Or someone realizing some awful thing. That’s like what the whole record is. The soundtrack to some horrible realization.

J: Like you’re being watched?

A: That’s why I’ve recently been into the paranoid, ominous feeling. That’s probably why I love Rosemary’s Baby so much, because that’s all that it is the whole movie, just this layer upon layer of this ill paranoia kind of feeling.

J: That’s what I was going for. Like do you get equal inspiration from not only noise artists but things you hear from movies, or ideas and feelings you get from movies?

A: Ya and also from poetry too. Lots of good writing has that dark… whenever you have that feeling like “God, that was dark” that’s basically the same intent I’m going for in my music, like the implication is heavy.

J: So music has changed a ton, and maybe it’s reflecting what’s going on in the world at the time. It’s also technology too, like 100 years ago there was country blues and all they had was acoustic guitars so they made that kind of sound. And now we’re living in this antidepressant culture, so i get the feeling that it’s more like you’re not paranoid but it’s reflecting this meta-feeling of the world we’re living in. The question of does the art reflect the world?

Arlo Brooks: Ya, i don’t consciously think that, I don’t consciously think “I’m going to make really difficult music to showcase the dark world we’re living in” I don’t think that, but I definitely think when I think about why I even put all this effort into making a bunch of weird songs, “what is that trying to reflect what i’m thinking about the world”, then you start exploring the possibilities, and that kind of thought definitely comes to mind, it’s like we’re not exactly living in the happiest of times.

It’s sort of like the movie Hostel for instance, the director, who is a pretentious douchebag is talking about how it reflects Americanism or something. I like Funny Games, I think of that movie as a big inspiration on the kind of work I do in general, because it makes you so aware of what you’re doing and it does reflect some social truth or something. I mean, I don’t think this album does that at all. [laughs]

One thing I do want to say is I think, and this is kind of an artist statement or something, I think it is the job of art in general or people who think of themselves as artists and not just entertainers is to push into a bigger realm of what you even think that is, like that’s a responsibility of being good, is to expand the idea of what that could even mean. We’re in a world where everything’s been done, and everyone’s becoming more and more aware of how to classify it when it’s done.

I think the idea of noise is something that would not settle well with most artistic people, they probably don’t even want to acknowledge that it would exist, that someone would put out weird noises and that would be their art, or something. Most people, in America, have an impulse to want something that caters to them in a way. That’s why most people won’t want to read any weird poetry, like flarf [poetry form], it’s like “this is stupid” or “this is dumb” “anyone could have done this, and there’s a reason why they don’t”. [laughs]

J: Well that stuff is so much better when it’s performed. 

A: Definitely, and that’s because you see personality behind it.

J: That’s another thing, what environment should people hear this in?

A: Oh, I think a lot of people should hear it on drugs. [laughs] That’s probably what’s best for them.

J: You want more people to listen to your music, so you want more people to do drugs? 

A: [Laughs] well I think that a lot of people would be more open to it on drugs. I also think that it would be a lot of fun to listen to on drugs. It’s kind of a joke.

J: But, you soberly do this stuff. 

A: Ya, it’s not just for that. What kind of environment? I like listening to it going about my day. I’ll listen to it the way that people listen to any stuff they listen to on headphones. Like a soundtrack to my life.

J: Is your mindset like that of somebody on drugs?

A: Ya i guess, but that seems like trying to hard to even say that. But, ya, in terms of music, most people would only want to listen to a lot of this stuff on drugs. Otherwise, they’d be like “what drugs were you on doing this shit?”

J: Because they have inhibitions that are broken down on drugs so that they would be more accepting? So do a lot of people have this intrinsic barrier to liking weirdness that they haven’t been exposed to?

Arlo Brooks: It seems like it! I don’t want to like, section myself off as the special one who gets it, or the people who do like it as the special people who get it, but I do feel like most people have an immediately wanting to distance themselves from it, the weird music, or writing that doesn’t make any sense, or movies that don’t make any sense.

J: They don’t see the value in it?

A: Ya they think it’s a waste of time

J: Sometimes I don’t see the value in it!

Arlo Brooks: Some things go too far for me, too. There was this guy who transcribed one issue of an entire New York Times and he just wrote it down on paper including advertisements and everything.. it was a book and he fucking sold it to sit on people’s shelves, because who’s going to fucking read that? Nobody’s going to fucking read that. They’re only going to look at it as some extreme form of like experimental work, and just because this guy did that they want it. That guy’s an example of too far for me. That’s not art or entertainment to me.

J: That’s like the idea of pop culture art, “here, consume this even though you’ve been consuming it your whole life. Buy some more of it”, like the Warhol Campbell’s soup picture. “Buy this picture of what you eat”. 

A: Ya, “buy this picture that’s inherently non-artistic”. I don’t like shit like that either. and I don’t like stuff that’s just like some really irritating noise for 10 minutes, the same noise that doesn’t change at all. That kind of thing I could do without. But stuff that has some sort of evolution, and does move the way you might expect a song or a piece of art would, but does it with unfamiliar material, that I like.

J: So this guy who transcribed the New York Times piece, who created something functionally purposeless, that is not what you are going for?

A: No that’s too far to me! If you’re going to ask me what is too far in terms of being experimental, it’s like to go 360 degrees and be normal, but having no artistic merit.

J: Because art should have an audience? 

Arlo Brooks: That kind of work almost just exists for academics to say “now that this is happening, what is art?” or “is this art?” I don’t care about what academics think what art is or not. You should inherently know that this certainly is music, you wouldn’t call it anything else. I think an artist who has an album, that’s music.

I’m not interested in having one sound the entire time and having that be the album and being like “so… the question is: is it music?” that’s stupid. I just like the idea that if people would listen to this recreationally the way I listen to noise music, you have this feeling that something deeper and darker is happening in your life right then than you would be if you weren’t listening to that. It’s like instead of putting it over a movie the visual is just whatever you’re looking at while you’re listening to the music.

J: It makes you draw connections. So you’re walking and you’re hearing this going on and you’re like “God there’s something awful going on somewhere”.

Arlo Brooks: Or there’s a larger hidden ominousness to anything I’m doing at any given time. That doesn’t actually seem like that much fun to think about. When I’m actually listening to the music I can still do it with a light feeling. It’s not darkening my day, I’m enjoying being able to think “what is this soundtrack made for?”

I also just like music and sounds that I might have not heard before or not know where they came from. Like: “how the hell did these people make this shit?”, “what the hell are those sounds?”  If a band can make me question “how many people are in this band, what instrument is being used, is this done live, can they do this live? what the hell is going on?” that is an entertaining question to me.

J: It’s almost like replacing technical skill with like mystery noises. Like as if this is as avant garde as jazz was at a certain period of time because of how difficult it was to conceive what was going on, like someone playing an impressive scale.

A: Like is this improvised or is this planned? Can they recreate this, or are they just on the edge of their seat right now? All these kinds of questions are all fun provocative things to think about when music is happening.

[“Imagining You Are Infested With Bugs” comes on]

This song is facking annoying! This sounds like a bunch of bugs!

J: Is there a drug you would recommend someone to be on while they listen to this?

A: I’ve always wanted to get a gig to play weird music for people on hallucinogens and try and match their trip. I want to just come over and make weird noises for people on drugs! I could totally do it.

J: You could be more interactive with an audience than someone with a set of songs that they were already going to play.

A: Ya, I like the idea of trying to feel out a vibe and mimic the music to it. Like this album’s really dark but if I wanted to make a really happy album I probably could and still have it be noise music.

J: Are you going to release albums with mood themes like this?

A: [Laughs] Who would ever think of this as a mood piece? “this sets the mood”.

J: Paranoid narcissistic 

A: Schizophrenic crazy people!

J: Setting the mood for the date. Light the candles.

A: Well hopefully the song names are infused with that paranoia mood. Like “Dust Inhaler”, like an inhaler caked in dust. That actually came to my mind because I have an inhaler and I needed to use it and I went to use it and I realized there was a piece of a Band Aid in it, that I inhaled!

J: Did you cough it up?

A: Well it came to the back of my throat. There wasn’t like blood on it or anything. When I did it, I immediately was shocked, then I was like [coughs violently].

This next song is like the opus of the whole thing, it’s called “The Experiment”.

I think of this album as uncompromised. My last solo album took like a year to make, and I also tried to make it appeal to more of an audience than just experimental noise freaks, so it had more of a hip hop influence, ambience, and beats. This one took like a month to make. I’m not going to dress it up, i’m not going to put a dress on the thing… it’s going to walk around naked.

Photo by Carlee Moon

Busdriver and Aesop Rock on Instagram

I didn’t exactly know what to expect when I first walked into the Historic Ashland Armory on Tuesday. I first noticed that they had put down two giant projector screens and were projecting interesting imagery. The place was pretty empty when I first got there, but as I waited for the music to began, more and more people began to file in. I have been a huge fan of Busdriver for quite some time, and Aesop Rock was a part of my childhood.. so needless to say I was very excited.

Soon after I arrived Busdriver took the stage. The projectors instantly flashed his name and began showing very ecstatic imagery. Busdriver, with the aid of a midi controller and some other effects created beats and tweaked old ones throughout his set. He played newer songs like “Casting Agents and Cowgirls”, and classics like “Imaginary Places”. You could feel his energy from the crowd as he jumped around the stage throwing his hair around. You could see how hard he was working by the sweat that flew from his hair and face every time he moved. I watched the entire set with my jaw dropped. While I had been a fan for a long time, I had never seen him live. Needless to say, I was impressed.

At one point he just started to play around with the midi controller, made a beat, and did a freestyle about Ashland. He said he could “f*** up at any moment” but he did far from that.

Photo by Jared Martell

After he was done it was only a short period of time before the main event began. Aesop Rock began to rhyme and the whole crowd began to scream with excitement as the rest of the Hail Mary Mallon crew got up on stage with him. Rob Sonic rapped along while Dj Big Wiz handcrafted the beats. Aesop’s stage presence was electrifying, making non-stop facial expressions to the crowd… inviting us to have fun with him!

Not only did they do songs off the newest Aesop album, but they performed some Hail Mary Mallon tracks as well. Rob Sonic spit some tracks from his new album coming out soon, and Dj Big Wiz even had a whole segment just to showcase his musical abilities!

Aesop Rock announced that a new Hail Mary Mallon album will be coming out soon!

Photo by Carlee Moon

One thing that really stood out was during “Racing Stripes”, they called up a person from the crowd and Busdriver gave them a haircut on stage while Aesop Rocked! Right after that Aesop and Busdriver performed a song together called “Superhand Mantra”. For the encore, Aesop played some of his older classics like “No Regrets” and to end it all closed with “Daylight/Nightlight”. The crowd went wild.

All in all it was an incredible show with high energy, great sound, amazing visuals and an overall sense of good feelings amongst everyone that attended.

Like Random Presents on Facebook for more great shows coming to the Ashland Armory!

“Tango has become my life. Though I maintain contact with the hip hop world through my website, and sharing my music in educational settings, my day to day is dedicated to this dance. 2010 took me to 15 tango festivals in cities across the nation. Taking as many classes as possible, performing my tango raps, and dancing nearly every Tanda has become a way of life for me. In May of 2010, while still living in Ashland, OR I started teaching my first 8 week series on musicality and connection through Southern Oregon University. Since moving to Portland, OR in October 2010 I’ve maintained a healthy teaching and dancing relationship with both the university and the community at large. Every time I pass through Ashland, OR I offer classes on some portion of tango that I understand and feel will be a valuable addition to the community of dancers there.”

–Momo Smitt

Lyrics to the song “Paperweight” by Momo Smitt

I slipped away
In a daze
It was as if I never came
Livin’ in the frame
Of the picture that I paint
I’m a lost soldier
Nah a tall warrior
Standin’ in a battle field burying the former
Alone like I’ve been
On the road with the wind
As my friend
We sing dissonance
Pivotal moments left in the dust
Get a move on try to learn how to love

I keep my rhymes in a sacred place
Today it’s in a beta phase
Workin’ on a way to make em more than just a paperweight
That sacred place
Today it’s in a beta phase
Tryin’ to float my way across the river liquid paper makes
I’m More than just a paperweight
I’m More than just a paperweight
I’m More than just a paperweight
Wait wait wait

I feel numb dumb stunned
And unappreciated
Find a funnel and I fill it
With this jadedness
Make it into
Somethin’
Perspective
Somethin’
Objective
Somethin’
Reflective
This one’s to connectedness
I’m a fuckin’
I don’t have a function
Till I feel the rumblin’
Get the beats a bumpin’
Jumpin’ from concepts
Like it’s a contest
But have lost it
Caught it and dropped it
Nauseous
Sick to my stomach
I guess prison is the life I’ve always wanted

I keep my rhymes in a sacred place
Today it’s in a beta phase
Workin’ on a way to make em more than just a paperweight
Sacred place
Today it’s in a beta phase

Check out “The Best of Momo Smitt: 2007-2008″ on iTunes!

When my soul starts drifting
Sifting through carbon emissions
Shiftin’
To the vision
That art is intermission
It isn’t
It’s livin’
Every single moment
I find it in the eyes of the child when he closes them
Leave behind a wasteland
Journey to a place where
Everything thought is valid
Irrelevant is the pay scale
I’ma wait there with the
The lion in the wardrobe
Invite him into your home
And lead him to the boredom
Listen as it all dissipates with the bass
I live for the snare and the kick and the shake
The ways that I’ve grown through
The pages I’ve blown through
I make it for me the stage is the portal
Jump jump
Land where you will
Jump jump
We can and we will
Jump jump
Land where you will
We have everything we want
We are everything we feel
(x2)

I keep my rhymes in a sacred place
Today it’s in a beta phase
Workin’ on a way to make em more than just a paperweight
Sacred place
Today it’s in a beta phase
Tryin’ to float my way across the river liquid paper makes
I’m More than just a paperweight
I’m More than just a paperweight
I’m More than just a paperweight
Wait
Wait
Wait

Check out “Tango World” on iTunes!