Last week I ran an interview with Via Audio, this great new band from Boston/New York. Though there is a shared vocals responsibility in the band, it’s Jessica Martins who really does the most work and it’s her pleasant voice which will attract listeners to the music. I’m not really sure what the story is behind Martins’ side gig, The Stenographer’s Alibi. The best I can tell, it’s an outlet for some material she’s worked on that may not fit into Via Audio’s stuff but that she didn’t just want to toss away. A cursory search of “The Stenographer’s Alibi” on Google yields only MySpace bulletin results from bands who have played shows with Martins.
On her MySpace page, Martins makes 4 songs available to download, all of which are nifty little pop ditties that recall artists such as Fiona Apple (“Valley of Junipers”), The Postal Service (“Naps4Maps”), St.Vincent (“3D”), and The Beatles/Beach Boys (“Oh Blah Wee”).
Download: The Stenographer’s Alibi – “3D”, “Naps4Maps”, “Oh Blah Wee”, and “Valley of Junipers” (ZIP file)
Some good stuff this week. Nice of the fine folks at Nettwerk to give away a 5-song live EP by Great Lake Swimmers. New Andrew WK??? Soft revisits shoegazing rock from the early ’90s while Weedeater’s stoner rock is sure to get you high. I only wish I was as wild about Ha Ha Tonka’s name as I was their music. And then you’ve got Billy Corgan’ s favorite new band, Celebration. See, good stuff indeed.
Great Lake Swimmers – Live From the Church of the Redeemer EP (5 songs, .ZIP file) Blitzen Trappen – “Sci-Fi Kid (40 Thieves Remix)” (MP3) Andrew WK – “Perforated” (MP3) Soft – “Higher” (MP3) Division Day – “Ricky (Tandemoro Remix)” (MP3) Ha Ha Tonka – “Caney Mountain” (MP3), “St.Nick on the Fourth in a Fervor” (MP3) Weedeater – “God Luck and Good Speed” (MP3) Celebration – “Evergreen” (MP3) Scout Niblett – “Kiss” (MP3) Grizzly Bear – “On a Neck, On a Spit” (MP3)
Are you downloading any of these songs? Have any thoughts? Feel free to leave comments.
Chicago’s got a rich tradition of giving birth to bands that mix electronic elements into a traditional rock sound. Corporate X is the latest Windy City band to seamlessly blend these sounds into a rich and ornate soundscape with hypnotic female vocals (thanks to Christine DeLeon) and a hip-hop element as evidenced on the band’s forthcoming debut release, Surrender (in stores and on the web October 16). The man responsible for most of the sounds on the EP, Casper Xavier, took a few minutes to answer a few questions about the third track on Surrender, “Signs”.
Is track 3 representative of the whole CD?
I would have to say that “Signs” is very representative of the entire CD both lyrically and musically. While “Signs” is considered more of a “Power Ballad” in structure, it still retains the power and message that is conveyed throughout the CD which deal with issues of life, love, loss, longing, and finality through reflection and growth of the everyday person. Thus, the title Surrender.
What’s the story behind the song – from the lyrical content to the way it was written and recorded?
Track 3 is a special song for us. Traditionally I would write the music and Christine would write the vocal and melody on the finished tracks. But it wasn’t so with this song. “Signs” was initially met with resistance in that the musical structure started out a bit more basic and a lot more sensibility than what we were writing at the time. So it ended up on the backburner while Christine concentrated on better produced songs in our arsenal.
But something about the song kept eating away at me and a voice kept saying “this is the one”. So I took a gamble and wrote some lyrics that were reflective of issues we were having in our everyday struggles of life. Lyrics about being able to recognize the signs that most of us fail to see everyday. The signs are all around to help us through those struggles. You know, kinda like that feeling of intuition we all get when we encounter the forks in the road of life.
I reluctantly recorded a melody in my basement studio and showed Christine. That’s when it all clicked. Being able to recognize the potential of the songs Christine shifted into full gear, smoothed out the melody, grabbed the mic and cranked out an amazing performance. A lot of those original recordings are still on the mastered versions. Ironically to our surprise, “Signs” was the song that was first picked by our producer and then label, to be the single.
Was there a particular reason you placed this song in the #3 spot on the track listing?
There was no real thought to the placement of “Signs”. We metaphorically just threw the songs in the air and that’s where it landed. It just seemed the right spot in the whole “feel” of how the songs should progress throughout the CD. It has always lived in the number 3 spot.
I was first turned onto Via Audio via TheTripwire.com, which asked the band to keep a studio diary while they recorded their SideCho debut, Say Something, earlier this year. As fate would have it, an advance copy of the CD showed up in my mailbox right around the same time. It’s a pretty fantastic debut from this New York/Boston-based band, Jessica Martin’s pretty vocals sure to break the hearts of many a young male music blogger. Martin’s band mates (oh yeah, THOSE guys) – Danny Molad, Tom Deis, and David Lizmi – lay down a smart and sophisticated pop sound behind Martin’s vocals and compliment her vocally as well throughout the 11 songs on the CD. It’s no wonder Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie) and Jim Eno (Spoon) took interest in the band early on.
Doing things the new-fashion way, I sent the band some questions via their MySpace account since I had to miss their show in Columbus this past weekend (who went? leave a review in the comments section please) and just a few days later the answers arrived … without a name of the person who answered them! So, I’m fairly certain it wasn’t Jessica or Tom since both are referenced in the interview by first name. That leaves Danny or David. Your guess is as good as mine.
Bottomless Pit – “The Cardinal Movements” (MP3) (ex-Silkworm, Seam) Division Day – “Every Shining Time You Arrive” (MP3) (Sunny Day Real Estate cover) Flugente – “Reflections in Spain on the Subject of my 38th Birthday” (MP3) Life Without Buildings – “Juno” (MP3) (live) The Swimmers – “Miles from Our Fears” (MP3), “Killing Me Goodbye” (MP3) (ex-One Star Hotel) AA Bondy – “There’s a Reason” (MP3), “Vice Rag” (MP3) (ex-Verbena) Duquette Johnston – “Babies and Diamonds” (MP3) (ex-Verbena) John P Strohm – “Traveling Salesman” (MP3), “Driving on 95” (MP3) (ex-Blake Babies)
