Music Review: Bonnie Montgomery

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Bonnie Montgomery

Bonnie Montgomery

Produced by Jason Weinheimer, Nathan Howdeshell, and Bonnie Montgomery

© 2014 Fast Weapons Records

Bonnie Montgomery is not retro. She is Old School. She plays a brand of country music that hearkens back to its classic days when Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Cash, and Patsy Cline topped the charts. Indeed, her vibrant (and classically trained) alto puts one in mind of Cline’s instrument, but where Patsy’s music was polished to a fine, sparkling sheen, Bonnie favors the earthy grit and boom-chicka rhythm of Johnny Cash’s Tennessee Three. Nathan Howdeshell (moonlighting from the famous dance-punk band Gossip) brings guitar sounds that are thoroughly modern, while still recalling the resonator and “wobble tone” six strings of vintage and classic country.

“I left old Black County just to search for my soul,” Bonnie sings in the opening verse of the album, uttering a phrase that comes as close as anything to expressing the album’s predominant theme. Bonnie Montgomery is suffused with a profound wanderlust. It’s filled with tales of the homes we leave, the homes we find, and the tension between the two. Bonnie is the sole songwriter for all ten songs on the album. Some of these songs springs from her personal and/or family history (“Nashville,” “Daddy’s,” “Joy”), others from her considerable imagination. All of them are rooted in the long-standing, and long-neglected, tradition of country music as a storytelling medium, a medium at which Bonnie exceeds. “Take Me or Leave Me,” with its religious imagery and spare first-person perspective, is an outlaw song worthy of Johnny Cash. In just a few words, “Cropdust Skies” recalls all the small, happy memories of a shared life to evoke a deep sense of time and place, celebrating the life of a lost love.

Bonnie’s been playing all or most of these songs for several years now, which has resulted in a mature and confident debut album that will, I believe, rank among the year’s best releases. The best part is, if you’ve seen her live more than once, you know she has a repertoire deep enough to record a follow-up that’s just as good without writing a single new song.

Bonnie Montgomery is available today for download at iTunes and Amazon. You can purchase the CD locally at Arkansas Record and CD Exchange, or order it online from Fast Weapons Records. A vinyl LP version is planned for later this year.

Greg Spradlin and the Band of Imperials, “Hi-Watter”

Image courtesy Greg Spradlin and the Band of Imperials.

I got scooped hard this week by the cover story on Greg Spradlin in the new Arkansas Times by David Ramsey. Spradlin is one of the mainstays of Little Rock’s music scene, long known as a musician’s musician and one of the best guitar players in the state. He’s played with a ton of bands, including Lucinda Williams and Chuck Berry, as well as local heroes the Boondogs and Mulehead. In the 1990s he fronted the alt-country band The Skeeterhawks and in 2003 released …and Twiced as Gone by his own Greg Spradlin Outfit. He worked for several years with legendary Memphis musician and producer Jim Dickinson until Dickinson’s death in 2009.

The big news in the Times cover story is that Spradlin has a new band called Greg Spradlin and the Band of Imperials featuring Los Lobos guitarist David Hidalgo and Pete Thomas, long-time drummer for Elvis Costello, who no less than Tom Waits has praised as the best rock drummer alive. They have recorded a bunch of songs together and the plan, according to Spradlin in the Times article, is to release them one or two at a time over the coming months. “Hell or Hi-Watter” and “I Drew Six”, released through the group’s Bandcamp page (linked below), are the first two songs the group has made public, and they are monsters. Or, as Ramsey puts it in his article:

The Imperials sound like a bar band, in the very best way. The 10 songs they've finished so far are loose, swampy, anthemic, psychedelic. They sound like Arkansas, and they sound like something from another planet. Spradlin growls and wails like a drunken preacher. It's both more playful and more expansive than anything he has recorded before, dirty enough for a dive bar but with the sprawling ambition of arena rock.

Spradlin will be playing these songs and more tonight at White Water Tavern opening for legendary blues guitarist Kenny Brown. Thomas and Hidalgo, sadly, will not be joining him for this performance, but Spradlin says he’s working on the logistics to get them in to town for a gig.

Full disclosure: Spradlin and I worked together at Heifer International Foundation for a few years, and I promoted a few local gigs with The Skeeterhawks on the bill with another band I was working with back in the mid-1990’s.

Friday and Saturday Night Out: Bear Colony "Soft Eyes" Release Shows.

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Album cover courtesy Esperanza Plantation.

Bear Colony pulls off something rather spectacular with its new release, Soft Eyes, which is out this week on the Esperanza Plantation label. On its first album, We Came Here to Die, the group didn’t call itself a band, preferring instead to refer to itself as a “collective.” The descriptor made a lot of sense as the group played more in the studio than on the stage and featured a rotating stable of musicians. Listening to that album, it was obvious that Bear Colony was pulling from a deep pool of talent, but it could often sound like a different band from track to track.

Soft Eyes, by contrast, is tightly focused both in sound and concept, and expands in every way in its predecessor. Most tellingly, the sonic palette has grown from the acoustic guitar plus electronics “laptop pop” that characterized the debut release. The new release is awash with warm, hazy soundscapes, reminiscent of Jesus and Mary Chain or Sigur Rós, punctuated with ear-worming pop hooks. "Flask Retort," the album’s first single and video (posted below), is a great example of the gorgeous sonic textures constructed throughout this record, with its swimmy, distorted synthesizers and drum machine track that recalls everything good about pop music in the 80’s.

I have always thought guitar feedback is one of the most cathartic noises humans have ever learned to make. Catharsis is a frequent topic of Soft Eyes. The record was inspired by the failing health and death of lead singer Vincent Griffin’s mother, and his grief hovers over the album like an unresolved chord. The album opens and closes with the question, “After we’re dead and gone, what is left of our souls?” In between those repeated phrases, Griffin channels his anger, grief, passion, love, and even happiness into a work about loss that is as profound as it is ultimately affirming.

Bear Colony is playing two shows in the region to celebrate the release of Soft Eyes: on Friday, November 16, at George’s Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville, and on Saturday, November 17, 2012, at Revolution Music Room in Little Rock. 607, one of Little Rock’s most popular and prolific hip-hop artists, is also performing and releasing a new album, titled YIK3LIF3!, at the Little Rock show.

Full Disclosure: Bear Colony’s drummer and producer, Mattew Putman, is also in the band SnailhuntR that released an album (the utterly brilliant Origin of the Spiral) through my own record company, Bigwig Enterprises, in 2003. Brooks Tipton, who used to play keyboards for Bear Colony, was my neighbor from 2007 to 2010 or 2011. Also, I am a Facebook friend with lead singer Vincent Griffin. This review is completely biased by those relationships, but it does not change the truth that Soft Eyes is a beautifully rendered work of art, well-deserving of your patronage.

Velvet Kente "Binti"

Stop what you're doing right now. Press play on the video embedded below. Watch the entire clip, and do not attempt to restrain yourself from singing and dancing. That would be futile.

"Binti" is the song that introduced Joshua and Velvet Kente to the world. The demo that accompanied Korto Momolu's models walk on the runway in the 2008 Project Runway season finale, however, bears little resemblance to the epic jam as performed by the band these days, riffing off an irresistible Fela Kuti hook with horns, percussion, and full audience participation.



Visit Velvet Kente on the web: http://velvetkentemusic.tumblr.com.

Bonnie Montgomery to open Gossip's Fall US tour

"Cruel" is out soon on Fast Weapons. Image courtesy of Bonnie Montgomer/Fast Weapons.

The news just keeps rolling in today.

Ms. Bonnie Montgomery just posted the news on her Facebook page that she'll be opening the Fall leg of Gossip's US tour. Bonnie's retro-rockabilly should make for an interesting contrast to Gossip's punk-inspired disco/glam. But it should all be awesome. Gossip's 2009 show at Vino's is still one of the best live shows I've ever seen, and Bonnie is a fantastic entertainer. I would love to hear her and Beth Ditto do a duet if for no other reason than to hear Ditto sing country. I'll post the tour dates as soon as they're announced. The tour dates are listed below. Hopefully, Gossip guitarist, Nathan Howdeshell, will be backing up Bonnie on this tour as he has at her appearances around town and on the road for the last several months. The tour will be in support of "Cruel," Bonnie's debut 7" and CD for Howdeshell's indie label Fast Weapons.

Here is a live clip of my personal favorite Bonnie Montgomery track, "But I Won't."


This is Gossip's latest single, "Move in the Right Direction"


UPDATE: Here are the tour dates (No Arkansas dates, sadly):


Mon, Sep 24 - Bonnie Montgomery opening for Gossip - 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
Tue, Sep 25 - Bonnie Montgomery opening for Gossip - TLA, Philadelphia, PA
Wed, Sep 26 - Bonnie Montgomery opening for Gossip - Royale, Boston, MA
Thu, Sep 27 - Bonnie Montgomery opening for Gossip - Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, NY
Sat, Sep 29 - Bonnie Montgomery opening for Gossip - Phoenix, Toronto, ON
Sun, Sep 30 - Bonnie Montgomery opening for Gossip - L'Olympia, Montreal, QB
Tue, Oct 02 - Bonnie Montgomery opening for Gossip - The Majestic Theatre,Detroit, MI
Wed, Oct 03 - Bonnie Montgomery opening for Gossip - Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL
Fri, Oct 05 - Bonnie Montgomery opening for Gossip - Majestic, Madison, WI
Sat, Oct 06 - Bonnie Montgomery opening for Gossip - Fine Line Cafe
Tue, Oct 09 - Bonnie Montgomery opening for Gossip - Showbox Market, Seattle, WA
Wed, Oct 10 - Bonnie Montgomery opening for Gossip - Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR
Fri, Oct 12 - Bonnie Montgomery opening for Gossip - Fonda Theater, Los Angeles, CA
Sat, Oct 13 - Bonnie Montgomery opening for Gossip - Treasure Island Festival, San Francisco, CA
Sun, Oct 14 - Bonnie Montgomery opening for Gossip - Treasure Island Festival, San Francisco, CA

Thick Syrup Records 2012 Compilation

I owe a bunch of reviews on recent releases by Little Rock's great bands. Suffice it to say, all the records are great and you should seek them all out and pay double for them. But I didn't want to wait to clear out the backlog before mentioning that the release of the 2012 Thick Syrup Records Compilation is upon us.

Thick Syrup Records' occasional compilations are great snapshots of what's going on Arkansas' music scene, and the latest entry is no different. There's a party at Sticky Fingerz Friday night ($5 cover) with performances by The SEE, Frontier Circus, and Ginsu Wives -- all featured on the CD -- to celebrate the physical release of the 2012 edition, but the digital release is already up on BandCamp and features 35(!) bonus tracks. This, my friends, is good news.

Friday Night Out: Don't Stop Please and/or The Wicked Good

There’s lot’s of entertainment choices around town tonight for anyone who wants to brave the rain and/or heat.

Conway’s Don’t Stop Please is releasing a new EP, Crowded Car, at Stickyz. Fayetteville’s The 1 Oz. Jig opens up the show, which starts at 9. $6 will get you in the door.

The first single from the EP, the wonderfully Brian Wilson‑esque “Window Song,” is streaming below, or you can check it out at the band’s BandCamp page.

Over at White Water Tavern, The Wicked Good headline a show that will be frontman David Slade’s last with the group. Peckerwolf and Jab Jab Suckerpunch start off the 10 p.m. show. The Wicked Good’s CD, You’re Welcome, was one of my favorites from last year, and the CD release show was one of the most relentlessly rocking events I’ve seen in ages. I’ll be interested to see how the band adapts without Slade.

 

 

The Big Cats "Ancient Art of Leaving" part 2 out in August

Image used courtesy of The Big Cats.

The second half of The Big Cats' song cycle The Ancient Art of Leaving: Two Parts, will see the light of day on August 21, according to a new post on the band's website. The first half, High and Low, was released at the band's annual holiday show back in December. Rumor has it, both halves be combined for a 3-LP vinyl release as well. I'll post further details, song streams, release party, pre-order info, etc., as I get them.

Once it's out, I'll also post a review of both parts. Reviews are also forthcoming for Kevin Kerby's Apostle's Tongues, Holy Shakes' Feast or Famine, as well as recent releases by The SEE, Year of the Tiger, and other Little Rock bands (old and new) I want to talk about.

"Augustus and Juniper" by Joshua of Velvet Kente

A terrific surprise appeared on my Facebook news feed this afternoon in the form of a video of a new song by Velvet Kente and Amasa Hines frontman Joshua. The video also teases its audience with the first public hints about Good News for Sinners, the long-awaited debut album by Velvet Kente.

The song, "Augustus and Juniper" tells the tale of "lovers. husband and wife. dreamers. parents. slaves. and of their escape from a South Carolina plantation with their twin daughters." It's also a fantastic showcase for Joshua's soulful singing.

 


Joshua's Tumblr blog, http://velvetkentemusic.tumblr.com, is a masterclass in jazz and pop music history. He posts pictures and links to recordings by his musical forbears on almost a daily basis, demonstrating the sense of history, and respect for his elders, that flavors the stew of influences that makes Velvet Kente and Amasa Hines so timely and timeless at the same time.


More details to come as I receive them.

Coming July 17: Kevin Kerby's "Apostle's Tongues"

You can't tell the history of Little Rock's prolific music scene or list the city's greatest songwriters without making a lot of space in those documents for Kevin Kerby. He played guitar in Ho Hum back when the group was signed to Universal, then struck out on his own and made four amazing albums leading the alternative country band par excellence Mulehead. The homespun recording The Secret Lives of All-Night Radios was Kerby's first solo release in 2005. He followed it up in 2009 with the more raucous Beautiful and Bright, recorded with his band Battery. Like a character in a Faulkner novel, Kerby writes country songs about rock 'n' roll hedonism, sings gospel songs in a bar at 2 a.m., and praises the bonds that tie him to a place he longs to escape but that also defines who he is.

It was the best news I got all week, then, when Max Recordings put out the news that Kerby's new album Apostle's Tongues is set to release on  July 17, and posted a nostalgia tinged video for the album's first single "It's Not Needing What You Want, It's Wanting What You Need," which is embedded at the top of this post. Apostle's Tongues is available as a limited edition (100 copies) CD and booklet, a regular edition CD, and on iTunes.

Friday Night Out: Iron Tongue 7" release show with The Holy Shakes, and Nigh Ends aboard the Arkansas Queen

Photo courtesy of Iron Tongue's Facebook page.

It's a busy week, not only bands for playing shows, but for bands releasing new music at said shows. Purveyors of fuzz and doom, Iron Tongue, featuring members of such stalwart Arkansas bands as Rwake and Brother Andy and His Big Damn Mouth, among others, are releasing a split 7" with Memphis' The Dirty Streets at a gig Friday night on The Arkansas Queen riverboat. The bill is rounded out by The Holy Shakes (more on them soon) and Nigh End. The boat casts off at 10 p.m. and the cover is $15.

Here's a video of "Shoot the Moon" from Iron Tongue's performance at this year's Riverfest Festival.

The Tricks' self-titled CD-release show at WWT tonight

Image courtesy of The Tricks' Facebook page.

Little Rock indie-rock band The Tricks are releasing its self-titled debut CD with a celebratory show at White Water Tavern (2500 West 7th Street). You can download a pair of singles from the album (streaming below) for $1 each at the band's Bandcamp site or stream the whole thing for free at its Soundcloud page. The CD will set you back $10 at the show. The band is also offering a CD+T-shirt deal for $15. The cover charge is $5. Conway's Don't Stop Please opens the show.

New Charles Portis 'miscellany' to be released this Fall.

Illustration by Mike Reddy. Used courtesy of University of Arkansas Press.

If any of you, my occasional readers, love me at all, a copy of this better be under the tree for me at Christmas. Multiple copies will not be looked upon with disappointment.

Twenty years after the publication of Portis’ last novel, Butler Center Books, an imprint of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, is publishing Escape Velocity: A CharlesPortis Miscellany, edited humorist and journalist Jay Jennings, that collects Portis’ short fiction, travel and journalism (including his coverage of the Medgar Evers assassination and Elvis Presley’s funeral), a memoir, and previously unpublished comic three-act play, Delray’s New Moon.

Portis published five novels between 1966 and 1991. He won over fans and critics with his deadpan humor, attention to detail, and masterful dialogue. Two of his books, Norwood and True Grit, were adapted as films. True Grit was adapted twice, first in 1966 starring John Wayne, and again in 2010 starring Jeff Bridges. Wayne won his only Academy Award® for his portrayal of Portis’ iconic character Rooster Cogburn, and Bridges was nominated for his portrayal of the same character.

Portis’ third novel, Dog of the South, is reportedly being made into a feature film by director Greg Mottola (Superbad, Adventureland, Paul) and starring Bill Hader (Saturday Night Live, Men In Black 3, Paul). No production information or release date was available on IMDB.

Escape Velocity: A Charles Portis Miscellany goes on sale October 1 at fine booksellers everywhere.