Olive Tiger Summer Residency Day 7: On Quality, And My Totally Unscientific Survey

“Quality… you know what it is, yet you don’t know what it is.  But that’s self-contradictory.  But some things are better than others, that is, they have more quality.  But when you try to say what that quality is, apart from the things that have it, it all goes poof!  There’s nothing to talk about.  But if you can’t say what Quality is, how do you know what it is, or how do you know that it even exists?  If no one knows what it is, then for all practical purposes it doesn’t exist at all.  But for all practical purposes it really does exist.  What else are all the grades based on?  Why else would people pay fortunes for some things and throw others in the trash pile?  Obviously some things are better than others… but what’s the “betterness”?… So round and round you go, spinning mental wheels and nowhere finding anyplace to get traction.  What the hell is Quality?  What is it?”

Robert M. Persig, Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance

I have been conducting the most unscientific survey ever over the last several days, asking people, “What is it that makes the difference for you between music that you absolutely love and music that you feel fine about?”

The most common face-to-face/non-internet response has been a blank look at the wall behind me, followed by something along the lines of “I don’t know, I just like it.”, then more staring, then another more surprised and incredulous, “I don’t know!”  …I swear, most people are sincerely baffled when you ask them to answer this, and I’ve been ruminating on the topic myself, and so I feel compelled to write about this and how it relates to musical Quality with a capital Q.

(Also, interestingly, many people’s responses quickly resorted to telling me what they *didn’t* like and this seems to be much easier to talk about.  It’s just articulating that difference between the middle of the sliding scale and the top of the sliding scale that seems to be difficult.)

Responses sent over the internet had the benefit of being voluntary (rather than being ambushed at work), and many thoughtful responses were given.  The following themes emerged between the Internet responses and the compiled answers of the face-to-face guerrilla philosophy questioning:

• Strong emotional reaction (especially when being reminded of a specific time in your life)
• Evokes spiritual feelings & feelings of connection including empathy / ability to relate
• Certain preferred musical elements and their combinations: timing / harmonies / solos / rhythms / textures / instruments / vocal style, etc.
• Admiring the musician
• Authenticity / honesty
• Intriguing / innovative
• Ability to reliably bring you to a desired mood state or energy level

I heard the story once of when Frances Galton (you know, that English Victorian progressive / polymath / sociologist / psychologist / anthropologist / eugenicist / tropical explorer / geographer / inventor / meteorologist / proto-geneticist / psychometrician / statistician? Thanks Wikipedia.) …anyway he went to the county fair and observed that the crowd’s averaged guesses of the weight of an ox came much closer to the actual weight than any individual guess.

What’s funny is that as I’m looking at this list of the responses of a small smattering of people… all of the music I named yesterday for my Top 5 encompass all points of the list.  So now I’m curious: if you were to name your Top 5 musicians/groups, how many of them would demonstrate all of this compiled list?  The Totally Unscientific Survey continues!

In the name of community, bad science, curiosity, and self-promotion, I hereby invite you to share your top 5 musicians/groups (and favorite album) and how many of them check off all 7 Quality Points on the Olive Tiger Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/olivetigermusic  And then I will compile unreliable statistics to share.

Anyway…

So by defining its attributes, have we nailed down Quality in music?  Is the sum of our crowd-wise responses sufficient to describe What Makes for Quality Music?

Ahh, right.  Neglecting the individual again.  Not everyone agrees on what Quality Music is.

For instance, I have recently been challenged on my broad-brush disdain of music that features the heavy “boom-bap-boom-bap” 80’s drum beat, which has given me complicated love-hate relationships with bands like the Talking Heads, which has further made me wonder, why do I hate that beat so much? (I have no good answer yet, except that I find it boring, but boring alone doesn’t account for my hatred of that beat.)

Of course there are a million little things consciously and subconsciously informing these kinds of preferences based on life experiences: where you grew up, the music your parents listened to, the music you were exposed to in school, what your friends listen to, what associations you have with certain kinds of music, etc., etc., etc.

But I would say that musicians are people who are keenly aware of the details of these preferences, and who play music specifically to engage deeper with these preferences, driven mad until we can create the sounds we hear internally, and who feel them so intensely there is no option but to cultivate them. 

The borders between genres have been breaking down for a long time, and my favorite music barrels through the borders by using the specifically crafted elements of music that make the soul sing for those particular musicians.

If you are a musician, you have to love the music that you make.  You have to actively and unapologetically craft the sound that you want to hear the most, remaining accepting of where you are in that journey, and what the best sounds are that you’re currently capable of, and then play that song with every cell and keep dreaming of the music you will make.

Sometimes the best you can do is talk around something and name its attributes when ultimately it is an indescribable direct experience.  I set out thinking about this question as if I would be able to come up with a formula but now, with one hour left of Olive Tiger’s Summer Residency at Lonesome Noise, I have to leave the ruminating there.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, to Chris & the rest of the Lonesome Noise crew for allowing us to reflect and expound at length this past week about our experiences as musicians, and for everything you all do to support CT music.

Much love and gratitude,

Olive

(and Dane and Jesse in spirit).

www.olivetiger.net

photo credit: Jimi Patterson

Olive Tiger plays next October 3 at the Outer Space Ballroom in Hamden, CT, with Cindertalk

www.soundcloud.com/olivetiger

www.facebook.com/olivetigermusic

www.twitter.com/olivetigermusic

Olive Tiger Summer Residency Day 6: Our Influences

The world of interlocking soundwaves that make up the whole of humans’ musical output is incredibly difficult and incredibly rewarding to wade through, and when trying to narrow it down to a small number of musicians and particular waves that have influenced you the most, the task is daunting at best.  Yet, we take the challenge! Onward.

Olive

1. Tune-Yards, every album ever (2009-2014):  Tune-Yards is hands-down my biggest influence.  I remember so clearly my first experience hearing Tune-Yards on the Florida State college radio station in Tallahassee, the track “Hatari” from her first record Bird Brains— it’s incredibly innovative, raw, and powerful.  I stopped in my tracks in my little apartment like a deer in headlights, completely transfixed with “what the hell is happening to my ears right now”– it’s still my favorite track of theirs.
2. Andrew Bird, I Want To See Pulaski At Night (2013):  Andrew Bird has been one of my longstanding favorites, and when this EP came out in 2013, I was at the beginning of my explorations of cello + loop pedal and I was so very excited to hear another string player using loops in a structured/songlike manner.  I love the classical/folk blend of this album and that blend produces so many achingly beautiful moments throughout the 35-ish minutes of this record.
3. Sigur Rós, Takk… (2005):  I return to this record like Catholics return to their cathedrals, and it gives me the same feeling.  The lush and grand soundscapes still completely blow my mind.
4. Joanna Newsom, Ys (2006):  Joanna Newsom has been a constant source of inspiration for me, and her album Ys shows a great balance between the neatly-wrapped song structures of The Milk-Eyed Mender and the sprawling orchestral explorations of her double-LP Have One On Me.  The poetry is incredibly evocative and mesmerizing, the occasional harmonies intricate and distinctive, the song structures languid and sprawling, and overall one of the most unique albums I have ever heard.
5. Jeff Buckley, Grace (1994): Ahh, Jeff Buckley.  The musical heartthrob of every indie rocker.  This album is simply perfection and that’s all I need to say about it.

Jesse

These aren’t my all-time top 5 favorites, (I’ll be a little more self-limiting here), but this is music that I’ve felt strongly about recently, and especially in conjunction with the sound that Olive Tiger is going for.

1. Arcade Fire, Funeral (2004):  With this first album– Arcade Fire was way ahead of their time.  That was one of the first times that I heard a really strong orchestral influence within some of the most uplifting music I’d ever heard.
2. St. Vincent, Actor (2009): St. Vincent keeps getting better with each release, but her first two albums, Marry Me and Actor, have more strings and orchestral arrangements.  I love her juxtaposition of classical instruments and distorted drums and guitar, in a way that is both brooding and expansive.  Emotionally and sonically, she reminds me of artists as diverse as Björk and Nine Inch Nails, with a distinct voice that can be both plaintively sweet and threatening. 
3. Sylvan Esso, Sylvan Esso (2014): Sylvan Esso makes catchy and intimate minimalist music.  Most of what I listen to is sprawling textures with diverse instrumentation, but Sylvan Esso can convey a lot of emotion with a simple voice and drum machine.  Much of it sounds like a diary entry or confession.
4. Kishi Bashi, 151A (2012):  Kishi Bashi also writes some of the most positive-sounding music in a way that’s not cloying or condescending to the listener.  His violin parts are both heartfelt and soaring and he employs heavy use of electronics.
5. Lucius, Lucius EP (2012): Lucius was a newly-reborn band when I saw them in CT, and they had exactly the kind of energy and prowess that I look for in music.  Their arrangements have a way of drawing in the listener, and capturing the energy from their live performances.

Dane

Goodness.  I totally hate Top anything lists because there is so much music out there, that narrowing it down to five individual people or groups is borderline asinine.  Furthermore, to say that one is highly influenced by an artist or a particular sound means to say that one is influenced by an entire movement.  For instance, if you say you love Stevie Wonder, that means you love the Motown movement.  Stevie Wonder as an artist couldn’t have existed without the existence of the Motown Record label, as well as the influence of the Detroit artists such as Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and Smokey Robinson.  Sounds don’t just appear out of thin air, they come from inspiration from past and present sounds (this list in itself is living proof!).  

That being said, I will do my best to list 5 musical artists that have shaped my entire experience and trajectory as an instrumentalist and as a composer.  

1. The Beatles, all albums (1963-1970): (My Early Childhood Years) I was raised on The Beatles.  Lennon/McCartney is probably one of the most influential songwriting teams of modern times.  Ringo Starr, laid down the basics for what rock/pop drumming is today, and used solid groove and unadulterated creativity to create seamless soundscapes to accompany the left field ideas of Lennon, McCartney and Harrison.  Drummer: Ringo Starr (Liverpool, UK) 
2. Tower of Power, East Bay Grease (1970): (High School Adolescent Years)  Disciples of James Brown, Motown, and everything soul, Tower of Power blended beautiful songwriting with mean and dirty funk to make one the most sensational umami’s of music I have ever experienced.  David Garibaldi used techniques and styles directly from James Brown to lay the foundation of the groove for this monster band.  Garibaldi is still one of my biggest influences to this day.  Drummer: David Garibaldi (Oakland, CA)
3. Philly Joe Jones, Miles Davis’ Milestones (1958): (College Years) In my opinion, Philly Joe Jones had the best of everything I like in a jazz drummer.  His groove was earthy and mean with a consistent ride cymbal swing combined with snare and bass drum comping that fell behind the beat just enough to keep it funky.  His tone was beautiful and his solos were ferocious, using the language of Max Roach, yet keeping his own signature licks in the mix to keep his swag in full effect. Drummer: Philly Joe Jones (Philadelphia, PA)
4. Stephen Sondheim, Sunday In The Park With George (1984): (Post-College Years)  Rules are meant to be broken.  Anyone who knows me personally will tell you that my favorite music always has beautiful, lush chords and groovy rhythms and beats.  However, my favorite work of all time is Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday In The Park With George (1984), a musical about the french painter, Georges Seurat.  Sondheim’s command of harmony is unparalleled by any living composer today and his use of rhyming lyrical content is beyond comparison.  This musical inspired me to become a composer and orchestrator. Hometown: (New York, NY)
5. ?uestlove, Voodoo (by D’Angelo), (2000): (Today Years) Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson’s influence on modern hip-hop music is monumental, and his signature drumming style demonstrates an overlooked level of versatility.  Beginning with his work with The Roots, Thompson has been a major collaborator with producers and artists such as Erykah Badu, D’Angelo and J Dilla.  His approach to drumming, first heard very raw on early Roots recordings, grew to be drum machine solid on subsequent efforts, then joyfully sloppy (most notably on D’Angelo’s Voodoo and Black Messiah). Hometown: (Philadelphia, PA)

Thanks y’all!  Stay tuned for the last Olive Tiger Summer Residency post tomorrow on the topic of Quality with a capital Q.

Much love,

Olive

http://www.olivetiger.net

Olive Tiger Summer Residency Day 5: The New Chamber Of Reality (pt. 2)

This new chamber of reality was nothing like the old one.  This was a chamber chosen for ourselves, actively curated and the borders of which we had started to explore already.  This was new, earthy, rich terrain, both literally and figuratively.  The air of the farm felt electric, and for the first time possibly ever, I had no problems getting out of bed at all.

On Day 2, Dane had gotten up earlier than Jesse and I to go warm up, and we joined him in the barn soon after with the fresh coffee he’d made, making our way from the garage to the barn through the warm and crisp morning air.  The experience reminded me somewhat of the stretch of months I had lived at an international tai chi center in Canada, imbued with a sort of calm glowing anticipation.  There are few moments in modern life where we can take a good chunk of time to truly shut out the frenetic clamoring we barge through daily in favor of serving what we know to be our soul’s deepest work, and we had been gifted with the immense beauty of this setup.  I was overwhelmed with gratitude.

Dane proceeded to spend most of the day knocking out take after take while Jesse and I observed agape.  We fell into a good working rhythm; our engineer Eric Tate would arrive at 10am and we’d work until 6 or 7pm at which point we’d all be exhausted.  At night we’d make dinner, sit by the campfire, and end the night with cartoons we’re probably too old for. 

We recorded efficiently, but at the end of our time at the barn we still had to record half of the bass tracks, most of the violin tracks, most of the guitar and cello, and all the vocals– and now I was contending with having to manage this part of recording at Eric’s home studio while juggling my regular job.  The days at work after our last barn session felt like I was floating and like I was half there, this otherworldly sensation of fresh air and mud in my boots and hay and music pervading my psyche, like I had visited some human heaven and been returned to earth with the twinkly residue clouding my vision.

We also were contending with Eric’s plans to move to Colorado, (and you may remember our pervious engineer had moved to Brooklyn in the midst of all this), so we had a hard deadline on when we needed to be finished recording, and we planned for the mixing to be done remotely from CO.  Needless to say, it was a bit of a push and I kind of disappeared from regular life to complete the project.  I can’t say enough good things about my studio experiences with Eric, for his skills as an engineer and also as a producer.  New Haven will be a bit worse off without him, but we’re all happy for this new chapter in his life. As of this moment typing right now, Eric is packing up his studio and will be for-real gone this weekend.

The good news is that the album is, finally, finally, finally, 100% recorded and I’m not sure I can convey the extent of my deep satisfaction with this fact. 

-Olive

As per the plan, I arrived at the barn toward the end of recording on day one, ready to hit the ground running; but that first weekend, I mostly listened, and practiced to keep my chops up. I was amazed at Dane’s ease and skill in laying down his parts, but tracking the drums still took several days. We also recorded “scratch” vocals and guitar parts for many songs, to guide the other instruments through recording. (This confused both Dane and I, thinking that the “scratch” vocal tracks were perfect just the way they were.)  We practiced as a string trio until 1:30 AM one morning with our first bassist Jared. The following afternoon, sitting in a loose circle with microphones scattered about (precisely placed by Eric), we recorded beautiful and somber string trio sections. 

By the end of the first weekend, my anxiety about the space had evaporated. It had been productive and joyous, but I had lingering dissatisfaction. Because of scheduling, I was benched most of the weekend. Violin is not recorded first (silly Jesse!). I saw my band members, my teammates, play so beautifully, with seasoned skill and aplomb. Increasingly, I became more and more self-conscious. As we were smiling and celebrating with a drink to close out a productive and promising first weekend, I had this nagging feeling. When will it be my turn to sit in front of the microphone? And when that time comes, will I be as effortless, skilled, and graceful as they were?

When people talk about the value of hard work, and how it leads to success, they’re not just talking about “grind” (although there is that too). A lot of music really is just practice, repetition and critical listening, to know how to fix what’s wrong. There needs to be a balance between self-doubt, and the drive to do better through perseverance. With critical listening, we hear mistakes and ways to improve. But then, every time we play we get a little bit better, and that’s what drives us forward. Stage fright and insecurity are healthy in small doses, and so is self-assurance and confidence. I’m not good enough… yet. But I know I can be good enough.

-Jesse

Being a graduate of the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at The Hartt School, and being that this was really my first professional recording where I was the drummer, the stakes were incredibly high and the pressure was on to come out triumphant.  I got up extra early, took a shower, got dressed and ran over to the barn, herein referred to as “the studio,” to practice and warm up.  

Jesse warned against burning myself out, but we jazz musicians have no concept of that.  That is, until our heroin addictions catch up with us. (KIDDING!)  (Olive’s note: Have you *seen* “Whiplash”?!)

When I was in the studio, I was in the zone.  I made my workspace my home.  I had a little table where I kept my coffee and water, my practice pad, metronome, sticks and a copy of Alexander Lepak’s 50 Contemporary Snare Drum Etudes only a few feet away.  In my own comfortable space, I was able to really fall into the groove. 

I have been in the studio countless times, recording music in genres ranging from jazz to rock to orchestral.  But this time, I was really worried about not sounding good…having a heavy foot on the bass drum, dragging the beat, inconsistent strokes on the drums, you name it.  But if my four years at Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz taught me anything, it was to show up and be legendary no matter what.  One take is all you need!  Keep it simple, stupid!  So when we hit the record button, I just followed the click track or the scratch track and laid down the basics.  I moved not with my muscles, but with my mind.  Most of the time, I was able to nail the part in one take (Professor Reeves, you would have been proud of me!).  There were times, however, when Olive and Eric had changed the arrangement of the song without telling me, so we had to backtrack and punch in from a specific timestamp.  One time, Eric asked me to punch in specific drum fills, and one time, I did actually make a mistake. Hard to believe, I know. 

I will tell you a secret.  My two favorite tracks, in terms of my own drumming, are “Find Myself” and “Sunshine.”  Those two grooves in particular really make me want to dance!

After working on Lean In, I truly realized my ability to make great recordings.  I have finally reached a level where I can be incredibly satisfied with my work.  As for now, I hope and dream that more great work is ahead of me, including more projects with Olive Tiger. 

-Dane

http://www.olivetiger.net

photo credit: Jesse Newman

Olive Tiger Summer Residency Day 4: The Torturous Chamber of Reality (pt. 1)

Olive

My first experiences with recording led me to half-jokingly call the recording studio “The Torturous Chamber of Reality”.

Suddenly, songs that I’d been playing consistently one way for years are in question: is that really the best accompaniment pattern?  Is the melody too repetitious?  Where is the line between “hypnotizing” and “boring”?  Why did I ever think this was a good song?  Why can’t I seem to play that simple lick cleanly? …with the implicit summary of these questions being: Why haven’t I spent my time being a more disciplined musician and drilling these chops so I can waltz into the studio with B.B. King’s swagger, drop one badass take, and walk out?

I mentioned in a previous post that this record we just finished tracking has been a long time coming.  My first attempt at recording was through a friend who offered to record us for free; I quickly discovered that when you’re not paying someone to do something, it’s (understandably) not very high on their priority list, and the patience and focus that recording demands does not fit well into this scenario.  The second attempt at recording came when I met our first official recording engineer, Doug Slawin; at this point I was clear that I wanted to be paying our engineer so that I felt comfortable asking for what I wanted, but in order to afford the studio bills out of pocket, we were recording the album bit by bit.  What this meant was that I’d visit the studio for a few hours after work, agonize over one cello part of one song, and then when I’d finally reached a point of feeling comfortable in the session, our time would be up. 

When you’ve spent so many years as a musician experiencing your music traveling in a one-way trajectory from inside you to outside you, hearing yourself from the outside in is like being in a plane for the first time and trying to understand the ground below that you’ve spent so long walking on directly.  It takes some adjusting.  However, ultimately the goal is to forget you’re in a studio at all, so the odd challenge is to 1. become comfortable quickly, 2. let the secondary voice of questioning stay silent for a while, and 3. use a calmer inner voice to evaluate the quality of the music that occurred. (More on Quality on Day 7.)

After almost a year of this piecemeal-style recording, Doug was feeling called to more urban horizons and gave us several references of engineers to pick up our project, including Eric Tate who became our engineer and producer.  At this transition, I felt strongly that now was the time to step it up and do a fundraising campaign so we could really do this album right.

In my first exploratory meeting with Eric, the thoughtful questions he chose to ask me about the project and the band and about my music life and my vision made it clear to me that he gets it and quickly garnered a sense of trust in his process.  When we started talking about possible recording locations to set up his mobile studio, Eric mentioned several aspects about a possible location that would make for a good spot: ample space, onsite or nearby accommodations, space for relaxing between takes, ability to book a chunk of consecutive days, etc.; but he emphasized that the most important thing above all else was that we choose a location that feels both comfortable and inspiring. 

In thinking about these needs, I remembered a show that we played in a barn at Horseshoe Hill Farm out in the woods of northwestern CT’s Harwinton, and the bells went off in my head and my heart that this would be the perfect place.

-Olive

Jesse Newman

On a chilly day in April 2015, Olive and Eric (our producer and recording engineer) were standing on a rocky ridge, talking business. The wind was damp, and carried the smell of horses and freshly awakened soil. Mud from freshly melted snow coated our boots. We had traveled to remote Harwinton (an hour or more for each of us) to figure out if this space would be suitable for us to record. 

At the time, my head was swimming with logistics. I was worried about the preparations that it would take to turn a muddy and hay-strewn horse barn into a working and efficient recording studio. Granted, the loft had seen some action as an impromptu concert venue, so it was semi-furnished, and at least had electricity. There were a few hay couches, wall hangings, and tibetan prayer flags that sparsely decorated the space. Outside the windows, Harwinton’s bucolic landscape was visible on all sides. Olive was pleased with the focus and seclusion, and Eric liked the size and acoustics of the space. 

The Barn @ Horseshoe Hill Farm

Eric said, “Even if it rains, this thermal insulation should block out the sound pretty well. It’s pretty acoustically dead in here. We’ll record drums if it rains.”  “And since we’re recording in May…” I said sarcastically, trailing off. I had misgivings about recording there, but Olive’s mind was made up. We were slated to record on two consecutive 3-day weekends in late May, and I was concerned that there would be oppressive heat and humidity, insects, and noise from a working farm, among other things. I was right, in that we did have to contend with rain, heat, and noise, but none of those things slowed us down much. 

-Jesse

Dane Scozzari

The first day of recording, I arrived at the Horseshoe Hill Farm just after 7 PM. Olive and Eric were already in the barn and had been working on scratch “mapping” tracks all day, with Eric’s console and speakers set up, cases and equipment resting on the hay bale-turned-couches bordering the walls of the room. I quickly unloaded the many bundles I brought with me: drums, auxiliary percussion, ukulele, the drum rug I took from my sister’s dormitory at Drew University, and the all-important white board for scheduling.  We commenced the tedious process of setting up drums and mics.  I put new heads on the drums while Eric set up the microphones. We didn’t record any drums that first night, but we hung out in the dim Christmas-lighted studio and got the lay of the land, discussing our game plan.  We nailed out some new changes in tempo we hadn’t done before in one particular song… I was now officially getting nervous about recording.  I was worried about the drums not being in tune, or messing up intricate takes. Jesse and Olive assured me that were are in good hands with Eric.

The Studio

That night we all stayed in the apartment over the garage on the farm.  Just like how many of our practices end, Jesse made pasta and we watched Adventure Time like true adults.

-Dane

(to be continued tomorrow, THE NEW CHAMBER OF REALITY (pt. 2))

http://www.olivetiger.net

photo credits: Jesse Newman

Olive Tiger Summer Residency Day 3: I Used To Be Depressed

Olive Tiger taught me how to be friends again.  I used to be really depressed.  Like I don’t want to get up today.  Like it’s all I can do to drag myself out of bed and get to work showered with clothes on.  I remember feeling like if I didn’t make it home that night, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. 

During that time is when I met Olive.  My band, The Human Race, was playing a set at The Outer Space in Hamden, CT, and Olive Tiger performed right after us.  I saw three familiar faces in the group: Jesse Newman, who I had collaborated with in the Wizard Rock band Bella and Le Strangers, an incredible double bassist named Sam Suggs (a member of the Department of Jazz), and a prolific jazz drummer friend of mine named Jesse Engle.  I remember being particularly depressed that weekend, and I knew I had piles of lesson plans to write before I went to work the next day.  But my mother had come to the show, and she convinced me to stay for one more song.  So we stayed and watched one song of Olive Tiger’s set.  I remember feeling that her music reminded me of George Harrison, so I stayed for another song. And another. And another. 

Finally, Olive herself invited me onstage to play with her.  I placed myself amongst the horde of musicians onstage, slamming away on the cajon for Olive’s rendition of the Talking Head’s “Psycho Killer.”  I wasn’t particularly proud of myself, but nonetheless I gave Olive my card and said, “Call me if you need a drummer.” 

Nota Bene: If I had a dollar for every time I have said these words to no avail, I wouldn’t be a starving artist. 

But, despite historical trends, Olive called me on the phone the next day while I was waiting for an appointment with my therapist. 

“Hey,” said Olive. “You wanna hear a song I just wrote?” 

“Sure!” I exclaimed, and thought, “Wow, This woman might be an undiscovered musical genius!”

Olive proceeded to present to me an early version of her fairly unknown, yet very notorious composition, “Fuck You, I Ain’t Nobody’s Bitch, Bitch”. 

So I knew I was in trouble.  

But then, Olive invited me over to jam.  I brought a ukulele to the first rehearsal (to learn the songs).  Soon enough, rehearsals turned into gigs and gigs turned into bar crawls, bonfires and eventually, a carol singalong with Olive’s immediate family at an Ansonia thrift shop/domestic violence shelter (her mother and father were Mr. and Mrs. Claus, it was incredible). 

So after being in the darkest place I can bear to remember, I finally had friends again.  You see, when you’re in a rock band, you’re in a gang.  If you have a problem, you call somebody in the band.  Without question or pause, Jesse Newman is ready for a sensitive conversation, on any issue, no matter how personal or intimidating.  Olive is always ready with a warm hug and a glass of chocolate almond milk. 

For the first time in forever, there was someone who needed me.  And it got me out of the house.  Olive Tiger taught me how to be friends again. And soon enough, I wasn’t depressed anymore. 

-Dane Scozzari (drums)

http://www.olivetiger.net

photo credit: Jessica Pohl

Olive Tiger Summer Residency Day 2: On Being (In A Band)

It is late one December evening, and Dane, Olive, and I are huddled shoulder to shoulder in front of my laptop, like so many evenings, watching a cat on screen. We are sitting silently and sternly, reviewing the same clip over and over again, frowning in concentration.

“Right here,” Olive says, “That’s where it needs to start.”

“But it has to be shorter, and I want to get the part where she’s yawning.”

“How about speeding up the clip?”

“I don’t think so, it won’t have the impact.”

The impact that we wanted the cat to have was to inspire a sense of humor, affection, and generosity.  At the time, we were editing what was to be our Indiegogo crowdfunding video. We had already spent the previous weeks coming up with the concept for, and recording footage for the video asking people for money. We had written the script as a group, bribed our friends to record concert and rehearsal footage, and recorded hours of Olive writing the script on a chalkboard wall in her apartment, which became entirely coated in a fine layer of chalk dust. And at that point, days before we intended to launch just before Christmas, the video was about a minute and a half too long. 

We were trying to give a glimpse into our world, not just as performers, but also into the hours that we spend rehearsing and organizing and hanging out.  We weren’t just practicing our music, but our interactions as a band. To date, Olive has written all of our current songs. But while practicing together, we influence the way the songs are played. Dane will modulate his rhythms based on Olive’s cello bowings, and the intensity of Dane’s drums can affect the style I’m playing on the violin. 

Innumerable decisions were made in the recording of our album, usually originating with Olive, but always built on mutual trust and respect.  For instance, I had reservations about our recording location initially, but that turned out to be an incredibly positive experience. Rather than spending the money to record in a purpose built studio, we took a risk and decided to record in a horse barn (the horses’ hourly rate was very good). I was afraid it was going to be too hot, too loud, too allergy inducing. Fortunately, I was totally wrong. 

Months before we started, we had our outstanding recording engineer & producer Eric Tate check out the location, and he was pleased. We had ample space, the fiberglass along the open ceiling of the barn provided great sound absorption, and our hosts were incredibly gracious and accommodating. For two 3-day weekends in a row, Eric loaded an entire U-haul trailer with a mobile studio, including rather heavy studio monitors, amplifiers, many fantastic microphones, and a desktop computer.  The weather was ideal (it only rained once), we were isolated from distractions, and we had the bucolic landscape of northwestern Connecticut to soothe and inspire.  The days were long and satisfying, and even though we mostly recorded each instrument in isolation, there was a great sense of togetherness. 

We are all skilled musicians with a lifelong passion for music, and this means we have strong opinions. Trust in my fellow bandmates is generally rewarded in the long run. We’ve learned to trust each other’s opinions, and how to compromise. This unity is evident onstage, and will be apparent on every note of our forthcoming debut album. Sitting here, writing this from our producer’s studio on our last night of recording, I realize how much we’ve grown as collaborators. It’s not just playing music together, and it’s not just the camaraderie.  We are stronger as a group than we are as individuals. This is the difference between just being an instrumentalist, and being in a band. 

-Jesse Newman (violin)

http://www.olivetiger.net

photo credit: Jimi Patterson

Olive Tiger Summer Residency Day 1: Why I Must Do This

Ok, perhaps this is a bit ambitious for a first post, and perhaps I overestimated the ease with which I could write about this, and perhaps I’ve been staring at the blank page a bit longer than I care to admit.  I think it’s necessary to start here, though.

Why the hell do I drag a cello, guitar, pedalboard, looping mic, and an amplifier to more places than I can remember, to assemble this delicate machinery which will induce at least three hair-pulling-kill-me-now moments during the sound check (it just occurred to me, maybe this is why I am gray)– to ultimately have guaranteed problems successfully reaching the ears of the listener in its intended sonic quality amidst the clinking of glasses and general war of sounds we call a bar?

I fucking love music. I now understand what people mean when they say they are “married” to their work… I truly hope I can develop the depth of romantic love for another human being the same way that I love music. 

Because sometimes when I play music, every fiber of my being vibrates and expands and brims until the immensity of existence pours from my eyes and time slows down and the breath leaving my body extends from every cell and at that moment, nothing else exists.

That space is also accessible through listening– this experience is healing and human. beings. need. it. because the world is so full of shit in so many ways, at every turn, left and right, up and down, it’s everywhere.  The natural way of existence is inevitably toward entropy, and yet, human beings build amazing and delicate machines and bridges and build each other houses and cook each other dinner and paint paintings and fix bicycles and sing songs.  We must actively engage in beauty to combat decay.

And this is how I’m doing it.  During the day, I work as a music therapist and I seek to create moments of beauty, joy, and connection through music with people living with Alzheimer’s disease.  At night, I seek to create moments of beauty, joy, and connection with people living on this patch of Earth, by writing and playing the best damn music I can make and crossing my fingers that by playing the best I can, someone might connect with it so deeply that they reach the other side and can return to their lives refreshed and renewed and energized.

So, generally, that’s what I’m seeking to do.  But I’m probably actually going to spend most of this week talking about recording.

Up until very recently, I could only accomplish my aims by playing music live, which carries with it the aforementioned grievances.  However, big changes are just around the bend!  Last night, we recorded the final notes of Olive Tiger’s debut full-length album.  I’m not embarrassed for it to be on record that I cried over the celebratory whiskey shots.  This has been a really, really long time coming for me, and yet it’s happening at exactly the right time, so many things falling into place.

Having just finished the record last night, I have a lot of thoughts to untangle.  Stay tuned this week for the grand untangling, featuring my darling bandmates, violinist Jesse Newman and drummer Dane Scozzari.

Thanks y’all, and a special thanks to the Lonesome Noise team for having us.  

Much love,

Olive

http://www.olivetiger.net

Lonesome Premiere: Johnny Mainstream – “Audrey Horne”

On June 23rd, Connecticut indie-Americana-rock act Johnny Mainstream will release their third full-length album entitled Break The Kettles And Sink The Ship.  In 2013 Johnny Mainstream released the critically acclaimed, Ghost Broadway.  Named the album of the year by Cygnus Radio, Ghost Broadway firmly cemented Johnny Mainstream as a force to be reckoned with on the CT music scene.  Now, with a new album in hand they are ready to push forward and take their sound to new heights.

We are very pleased to bring you the exclusive world premiere of the debut single, “Audrey Horne” – not only named after one of our favorite Twin Peaks characters, but now one of our favorite Johnny Mainstream tunes.  Have a listen yourself…

Lonesome Review: Orders – Works and Days

By: Chip McCabe

The term ‘folk music’ is about as generic as they come in the grand scheme of things. Much like the term ‘world music’ it’s become this sort of catch-all for a wide array of sounds and styles that have originated in literally every nook and cranny of this big, wide world of ours. But somewhere in there we have this grandiose idea of what folk music sounds like. We can’t always describe it with honest accuracy but we know it when we hear it.  Or at least we think we do. The best bands of this ever-stretching pantheon are the ones that do just that – stretch and bend and morph our ideas of what should be included under this auspicious and audacious concept of ‘folk music’. These days some of the best folkies are those willing to take huge sonic risks, and Connecticut’s Orders certainly fit the bill in that respect.

On their debut EP, Works & Days, Orders have stuck true to the description on their Facebook page of “Strange Folk for strange folk” for sure. This is about as eclectic a grouping of influences as you’re going to hear on any album that somehow, when woven together, still maintains the integrity of being dubbed a Folk record. Plenty of Folk acts employ a drummer these days. Fiddle? Pretty sure that’s a prerequisite now. Fuzzed-out, electric bass? Wait a minute. All of the above combined with solid lyrics and gritty vocals to reflect a sonic stew where Folk music is the broth and everything from alt rock to indie pop is added in dashes and snifters for seasoning? Now we’re cooking with gas.

The opening, title track is honestly, without hesitation, one of the catchiest tunes you will hear this year. It’s a toe-tapper of anthemic proportions and one that hearkens back to a time when the Folk revivalists of the 1940s and 1950s held specifically tight to the desire to continue to incorporate various elements of European folk music. Picture a raucous and rollicking Irish tune laying on a bed made from pillows of fuzzy bass lines and that gives you a close approximation. Intended or not, it’s a modern day reel, the funkiest and most tripped out jig you could ever ask for. It’s followed up by the somber “Strings At Her End” which serves as a beautiful reprieve as Orders launches immediately into the mid-paced “St. Rita” and then ramps it up again to close out the album with another dance-inducing number, “Walking With Me.”  It all plays out perfectly, like the remarkable satisfaction of placing those final pieces into an imaginative and expressive puzzle.

Orders are a band on the come and one to certainly keep an eye out for if you live in and around their home state.  The hope here is that they continue the folk traditions of ample touring and massive discographies. It may be ‘Strange Folk for strange folk’ but the guess is that they will some day soon find out there are more strange folk enjoying their Strange Folk than they could have imagined.  At the very least the songs on this EP would suggest as much.

Works & Days is due out on May 14. Orders will host their release party the same night at Arch Street Tavern in Hartford. You can also catch them on June 6 at the inaugural Connecticut Farm & Folk Festival. In the meantime you can check out this video for the track “Strings At Her End” recorded live…in a barn…because it’s folk music after all.

Lonesome Review: Krizta Moon – Tending the Garden of Truth

By: Chip McCabe

The Bible may refer to modern day Israel as the ‘land of milk and honey’ but from a musical perspective the proverbial land of milk and honey exists in an esoteric plane somewhere hovering over the four corners of the Earth.  It’s there for any and all to dabble in, like a wading pool of beauty and inspiration.  Connecticut’s Krizta Moon is one of many who seemingly live poolside in this land of milk and honey and on her debut EP she draws from this mystical well at will to deliver a silky sweet taste of pop and indie infused folk.

They say life is about the journey, not the destination.  If that is truly the case then it could explain the long and winding journey Moon took as a musician to reach this point in her career.  On Moon’s Bandcamp page it references the nearly ten year journey some of these songs took to reach our ears.  That’s a long time for a song to ferment, but songs are often the equivalent of fine wines – aging is not only a natural process, but one that is preferred.  On Tending the Garden of Truth, Moon clearly has packed more than ten years of memories and experiences into these five, little folk songs and it pays off with honest, open-hearted songwriting packaged in exceptional arrangements and production.

The album opens and closes with the two strongest songs on the record.  Album opener “Everytime” starts the whole thing off with an indie folk song, carefully stitched together in multiple, distinct pieces, and wrapped in a hint of mysticism that really sets the tone for the whole package.  It’s the thunder and lightening of the storm that’s about to calm and reveal a serene dewy meadow where Moon frolics through the tall grass of her remembrances.  She’s a dancer on the tightrope between melancholy and reflection, yet one that constantly and triumphantly lands on her feet every time to the smiles and sighs of relief from the forest of recollections around her.  The album closes with the uplifting “Sandy Beaches,” an ode to how a certain patch of Mother Nature’s backyard can bring on waves upon waves of emotive bliss like the waters of the great oceans crashing upon the song’s namesakes.  And within those waves Moon conducts a veritable folk orchestra of strings, piano, and voices to undulate along with the oceanic rhythms of the tune itself.  It’s the perfect finish, the sunset on the horizon of any day worth remembering.

Krizta Moon has delivered a refreshing take on the folk ethos.  She’s a singer-songwriter, first and foremost; but a sort of mystic as well, one who is able to successfully relay the whispers and the lessons learned from her own not-so-distant past.  It truly is the journey and not the destination we should all be paying attention to both in life and on this record.

Tending the Garden of Truth is out now and can be experienced and purchased on the Krizta Moon Bandcamp page.