Author Archives: Michelle Evans

I was able to sit down for a few minutes before the Ottobar show last Friday to talk with Frank Turner. I found him to be just as his songs portray him: funny, outspoken, passionate, and sincere. His good taste in music and his lack of pretention about it was something I found particularly endearing and refreshing, as well. Among other things, we discuss some of his favorite bands, his bringing Lucero to the U.K., and what it’s like to play increasingly larger venues. Oh, and guess what, y’all? He totally gets what it’s like to be a fan. He’s even got a band tattoo himself.

So you’ve been playing some older stuff on this tour?

Yeah, it’s not going to be like the entirety of the new album [England Keep My Bones] or whatever. The first record I did, Sleep Is for the Week, hasn’t really been properly released in this country, so I don’t feel as bad only playing a few songs off that record. That seems legitimate to me. We’re playing a fair amount of stuff from Love, Ire & Song forward. It occurred to me during sound check we haven’t been playing a lot off Poetry of the Deed, so we’re playing more of those songs too.

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I walked into the Ottobar in Baltimore knowing exactly what to expect from a Frank Turner show, for I had seen him about a year before as support for the Lucero and Social Distortion tour. That didn’t stave off my excitement any, though. If nothing else, it kind of intimidated me, because I was walking in off only eight hours sleep in three days, and I wasn’t at all sure I had the energy for it. (Turns out a couple of Jameson on the rocks cured that very nicely.)

Frank’s shows are notoriously high-energy, sweaty, and interactive, and this past Friday night’s show was no exception. With all the clapping, stomping, and dancing, I can’t help but be reminded of my church-going days as a child. To me, Frank’s shows have a revival-esque quality to them, right down to all the screaming, gyrating folks up front. I half expected to see some fainting or speaking in tongues.

Downright humorous, I think, considering neither Frank nor I believe in god (“Glory Hallelujah”).

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On Friday, September 16th, The Low Anthem performed in the turn-of-the-century, fully restored Pocahontas County Opera House in rural mountain West Virginia. I was able to catch up with Ben Knox Miller after sound-check to discuss things like the historical aspect of the venue in which they played, the musical heritage of the area, and his plethora of musical influences.

So this is your last tour for a while, right?

Yeah, it’s our last tour for a while, because we’re taking a break to record a couple records that we’ve written but haven’t had any time at home [in Rhode Island], so it’s kind of the last tour for the material we’ve been touring with for about two and a half years now. We’ve been playing these sets that go chronologically, playing all the material in the order it was sequenced on the records, which has a nice, natural arc to it. We’ve never tried to do a set list like that way, so it’s been pretty fun.

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Bands tour all across the country (and the world!), but we don’t generally give it a second thought, unless they are coming to our town. Today, we will compare two tour dates on the tour of The Low Anthem and William Elliott Whitmore and see how they measure up.

One date was in Washington, DC at the famed 9:30 Club, as seen by TVD editor Kelly Kettering, and the other was a few hours away in the small West Virginia town of Marlinton at the Pocahontas County Opera House with editor Michelle Evans.

First up at the Pocahontas County Opera House was Willy Whitmore, a folk singer “from the hills of Lee County, Iowa.” The first song he sang in West Virginia was “Lift My Jug,” a jaunty tune employing the use of both a banjo and a kick drum. His voice was soulful, deep, and bordering on the spiritual, an especially perfect accompaniment to those songs of his with themes of politics, redemption, and the plight of the working man (of which there were blessedly aplenty), like “Diggin’ My Grave” and “Old Devils.”

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Upon first hearing The Jim Jones Revue, I immediately thought “rockabilly meets Guns ‘n Roses” subsequently followed by “How fun!”

An English garage band consisting of Jim Jones (formerly of The Hypnotics), Rupert Orton, Gavin Jay, Nick Jones, and Henri Herbert, The Jim Jones Revue will be playing tomorrow at the Black Cat.

Kid Congo Powers and The Pink Monkey Birds (Brian Tristan formerly of Gun Club and Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds) and Beach Bloods are opening. The latter I’m especially stoked about discovering.

Beach Bloods | Waiting For Nothing

The Beach Bloods are an incredibly enjoyable lofi surf-punk band that makes me feel like a super-tan tattooed surfer chick with dreads whenever I listen to them, which happens to be the furthest thing from what I actually am. Well done, gentlemen. Never hurts for a gal to dream.

If you want to see a show that will make you feel like summer’s just beginning instead of ending, this one’s it.

I have not only had the pleasure of seeing Cory Branan live a number of times, but of being introduced to him—hand extended for the shaking—while he was peeing into a cup in the dirty corner of a dive bar. I caught up with him via phone while he was in Mississippi (under a tin roof in the rain, mind you) to talk about (among other things) his upcoming album, peer love, and his support tour with Dashboard Confessional. That being said… Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Cory motherfuckin’ Branan:

As of May, you said you were still shopping around for a label for Mutt. How is that coming along?

Well, honestly, we’ve got one last label that I’m interested in, that I like, and that we’re talking to, but it’s getting damn close to me starting my own label, or you know, self-releasing the record. It’s just getting to the point where I don’t see much advantage any other way. Starting in November, I think, I’m going to do a Kickstarter campaign, as weird as those things are. So we’re going to have that put up in November and December to set up for a March release. So, yeah, I think I’m going to go ahead and try to raise the 10 grand it costs to press and promote and do all that. Think I’m going to try to take it straight to fans on Kickstarter and use it as a way to pre-order the record.

I’m a big fan of Kickstarter.

Yeah, you know, there’s just something about it… I’m kind of old school. Something about it rubs me a little weird. I don’t know. I’m used to labels having to earn a record, and now labels just want you to record it and hand it to them for such a small investment. I don’t understand, really. I feel for them a little bit. I don’t know how any label’s doing it, sticking around, but I don’t know. I don’t get it. It’s just a real strange time for music.

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Jones Street Station is a Brooklyn-based band consisting of mandolinist/singer Danny Erker, harmonica player/singer Jonathan Hull, keyboardist/singer Jonathan Benedict, bassist/singer Walt Wells, and drummer Vin Scialla.

Their blend of Americana, country-folk, and harmonies reminiscent of the Old Time style remind me of bands like Wilco and The Avett Brothers but with more rock. Add to that sad-but-poppy songs like “Evergreen,” and you’ve got a band unique unto itself. Jones Street Station offer listeners a wide range of musical influences, reaching out to fans of everything from bluegrass to pop.

You can check them out at tonight’s show at DC9, but in the meantime, give them a listen and grab their newest single “The Understanding” on bandcamp.

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