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Fall 2003 Musical Notes |
ETHAN DAVID DANIELSON: DON QUIXOTE DE SUBURBIA
DAS EFX: RAP INNOVATORS FIRST STUDIO RELEASE IN OVER 5 YEARS
STRUNZ & FARAH: "RIO DE COLORES"
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Ethan Daniel Davidson: DON QUIXOTE DE SUBURBIA
Times Beach Records
Imagine a modern-day Woody Guthrie; a socially conscious troubadour who began playing music in Detroit punk bands and today records with musicians who regularly work with Uncle Kracker and Kid Rock, and you'll start to grasp what Ethan Daniel Davidson is all about.
Then, you'll have to deal with the idea of a man who's attended Harvard and the University of Michigan (where he earned a degree in English); lives in a shack in Wiseman, Alaska, 270 miles from the nearest power line, let alone doctor or store; has performed 400 shows in a 36-month span; and has recorded five albums under his own name, of which he has so far distributed 40,000 copies to his fans.
During the last few years, Davidson has showcased twice at the NxNE conference in Toronto; opened for artists such as Michelle Shocked, Robert Bradley and sonic Youth; has been a featured artist at the New England Folk Festival, Seattle Songwriter Showcase, Tropical Heatwave Festival in Tampa and Minneapolis Acoustic Showcase, among other arts and music festivals; and was nominated as "outstanding folk artist" two consecutive years at the Detroit Music Awards, "...which is curious, considering that half of what I do is more Americana-college rock with a full band, and the fact that I don't live in Detroit any more." Though until now he has had no label affiliation, his albums have been played on more than 300 radio stations throughout the United states.
And that's not even getting into his having worked as a disc jockey; and as stage tech for acts including Madonna, Pink Floyd and the New Kids on the Block.
"I was always a big fan of The Beatles," he says. "What I liked was that their music got to be beyond 'entertainment,' to where they were expressing a fuller range of human problems, and have more of a social consciousness. I think that's important to an artist, particularly today.
"Audiences aren't used to hearing that these days, so they don't know how to handle it. I try not to show too many opinions, but stick to honest-to-god facts. I don't think that what I'm saying is that controversial, except that not many other singers are saying it. And I don't hear too many artists outside the rap world dealing with politics. It's a dreadfully important thing, really."
Given up for adoption by his 17-year-old unwed birth mother, Ethan was raised by a Jewish family in Detroit. From an early age, he was drawn to the road and to music. "I've been a hobo, more or less, since the age of 14," he says. "I've done the performing thing in fits, starting when I was 17 and playing in punk bands in the Detroit area.
"I was always a fan of the more socially conscious punk bands, like Minor Threat and the Dead Kennedys. My first exposure to folk music was the Pogues, whose attitude wasn't too much different from those other bands. It was through them that I was introduced to traditional Irish music; then bluegrass; then country; then, finally, Bob Dylan. After listening to Bill Monroe and Johnny Cash, I was able to have a better understanding of what Bob Dylan was doing."
Settling in a 10' x 10' cabin in Alaska (long story; ask him), Ethan began working seriously on his music. "There's not much going on in Alaska," he notes, "as far as places to play. There are only three or four cities to play in, and they're all about a 15-hour drive from one another. I started playing in Fairbanks, a state college town seven hours from my house. The places were always packed, and they were some of the best audiences I've ever seen - really focused."
Still, there's no way to make a living in Alaska as a performer, so Ethan went to San Francisco, "walked in for an open mic night at an Irish Republican Army nightclub and wound up replacing the guy who'd been hosting the open mics. I could sing some Irish Republican songs, which really turned the owner on. They wanted me to keep doing that, but I wanted to do my own things, too."
So, he took to the road, guitar in hand. "Thoreau said that the unexamined life isn't worth living," he explains, "and I want to live as close to the bone as I can- barnstorming around the country on a real grassroots level. I think I have the opportunity to learn more this way."
Along the way, he made four solo albums-- 1999s ALASKA 11 NORTH, 2000's RING THEM BELLS, 2001s THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS and BOOTLEG SERIES VOL. 1- all produced by Al Sutton in his Rustbelt Studios in Detroit.
And, slowly, town by town, Ethan has developed a following through his 400 or so performances over the last three years. He has his own website http://www.ethandanieldavidson.com); and his fan club now numbers more than 3,000 members. He's been extensively and favorably reviewed, while remaining, for the most part, undiscovered by the big-city press.
His fifth album, DON QUIXOTE DE SUBURBIA, is a collection of original material with Davidson's distinctive point of view on a number of subjects on Detroit-based Times Beach Records, a new independent label with a goal of giving artists the freedom to make and release music their way. With a label to do the legwork, the move will allow Ethan Daniel Davidson the luxury of doing the work he finds most enjoyable: traveling around the country introducing new audiences to his music.
On DON QUIXOTE DE SUBURBIA, Ethan Daniel Davidson's fifth album, long-time fans will find both consistency and change in his most recent effort.
"I've always recorded with the same people," Ethan says, "and as I've practiced doing music, I hope I've gotten a little better at writing songs. Also, there's a fuller band sound on this record- I thought it was about time."
Al Sutton has engineered and produced all of Ethan's solo albums at Rustbelt Studios in suburban Detroit, though for DON QUIXOTE DE SUBURBIA there was also a side trip to a barn in the Rocky Mountains.
"I have my own studio and have worked with a lot of Detroit bands, including Kid Rock," says Sutton. "One day, about four years ago, Ethan called me up and said he wanted to do some tracks. I'd heard of him from when he was playing with bands locally, so I said it was cool. He came in, I put out some mics and made some suggestions, and that was his first record. After that, I started bringing in some of the musicians I'd been working with, including people who work with Kid Rock, the Black Crowes, Uncle Kracker and the Detroit Cobras.
"The people who work for him enjoy it- he's a good guy to work with. Our recording sessions are pretty low-key, not strenuous or stressful, even though we squeeze in the recording between stops on his constant touring schedule. There's Such a good vibe."
Ethan Daniel Davidson wrote all the material on DON QUIXOTE DE SUBURBIA. He talks about the individual selections:
"I wrote "H" for a woman who has been designing my CDs for a while. Living on the road is difficult, especially doing it solo for three years. I would go for months at a time without seeing anybody I knew all that well. There are needs that a human being has, like love, companionship and home; the song is a reflection of that. I wrote it in about five minutes while I was driving down the highway in Wisconsin.
"Kill All Pop Songs" is one of my attempts to express my feelings about people who have the ears of millions of people at their disposal and don't use it to affect social change. One may or may not agree with what the artist says, but somebody with the power to do so should get out and express it. I'm trying to bring up issues that I and, I think, other people are concerned, about, and I hope that will come through. There's no show on television today like MASH; you don't really see anybody making challenging art in the mainstream.
"Kaldonia" is about a woman I've had this on again off again relationship with for thirteen years. Things would go great for a day or to, then it'd be "Get out of here!" It's just one of those loves that's hard to get over. My song's title is spelled differently, but it refers to Louis Jordan's 1945 hit, "Caldonia."
"Most of my songs deal in hard facts. "Hard Times for Ishmael and Isaac" is one of my few opinionated songs. I was adopted by a Jewish family and grew up going to Hebrew school. I also dated a Muslim girl for a time - not for political reasons; she was just a woman I met and fell in love with. The song deals with the fact that these two cultures have such difficulty living together. When you read both the Muslim and the Hebrew sacred texts, the people are, at least in myth, brothers - sons of Ishmael and Isaac. In actual history and culture, these people aren't that different at all; their languages are only about as different as Italian and Spanish, and their religions aren't that dissimilar either.
"Ghosts of Mississippi" is a true story that happened about seven years ago. The Muslim girl and I ended up at a house party in the boondocks of Mississippi. There was an interracial crowd, and we came to find out in the morning after this interracial, interfaith party that weld just had blacks, whites, Jews and Muslims dancing on land that had been owned by the founder of the Ku Klux Klan. Maybe we have, to some degree, overcome.
"Skinny Young Millionaire Blues" is just a song about charity -- giving of what you have, trying to help people out Who are in need.
"Incident on US. 65" is a story song that may be true -- or not -- about a woman in an abusive relationship who meets this kid and runs off with him to Arkansas. Her husband finds them, and she winds up killing him. The kid runs off before he finds out what happened to her. Or he would have, if it were a true story. Which it might or might not be.
It's easy to be cynical about the world, and think there's no use in doing anything. "only one World Blues" says that maybe this world is the only one we're going to get.
The Koyukuk is what the Athabaskans - the interior natives of Alaska - call themselves. The Athabaskans somehow adopted Irish fiddle music about 100 years ago. Nobody knows how this happened because they hadn't had that much communication with the outside world until World War II, but maybe an Irishman got stranded there sometime in the 19th century. Some of the Athabaskans are famous fiddlers now. "Joys of the Koyukuk" is based on a traditional tune.
"The Great Leap Backwards" is about the insane notion that what we have to do to maintain our freedom is surrender our civil rights. Too many people have fought and died for our civil rights. I misattributed a quote in the song: it was Benjamin Franklin, not Thomas Jefferson, who said, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
"Deirdre of the Sorrows" is a more detailed history of the same woman "Kaldonia" was written about. I'd just gone through what I hope was the final breakup, and everything there was true.
"The World Turned Upside Down" was originally going to be the title song of the album, which is why the Iyrics are on the inside cover. The Iyrics are drawn from religious scriptures -- the ones that all say the same thing - an instruction manual in how to turn the world upside down.
"Glolbalize Your Local" is the same sort of thing, though maybe a little more opinionated. I think globalization is going to happen, and, in some ways, I'm in favor of doing away with countries and borders. I think cultural diversity is a strong thing, but, the way they're doing it now, businessmen and politicians just want to expand commerce without implementing social change. They're not bringing in experts in people's rights and environmental concerns. I originally come from Detroit, where workers once were the highest-paid in the world. Then, the car companies went in search of cheaper labor and left Detroit a ghost town. If we're going to build sweatshops in a country, we should also clean up their water and raise their standard of living.
DAS EFX: RAP INNOVATORS FIRST STUDIO RELEASE IN OVER 5 YEARS
(New York, NY, July 25, 2003)--- DAS EFX (Dre & Skoob), rap's iconic duo who were rapping 'iggity' years before Snoop brought out the 'izle,' are set to drop their first studio release in 5 years, hitting stores Sept. 23 on UTR Music Group in conjunction with RT Entertainment.
The album, "How We Do," marks their re-entrance into the rap world as well as is a testament to the originality they've brought to Hip-Hop since their debut in 1992.
"We don't follow the trends," says Skoob. "We try and satisfy ourselves first."
Long admired for their unusual street-smart wordplay, and their rapid-fire rhyme style; who can forget "bum skigity bum skigity burn;" they are still to this day imitated.
"How We Do" is filled with both street and club anthems. The lead-off single "Greezy" is produced by Dame Grease (DMX, Mary J Blige), who blesses Das with a one-of-kind track that's buzzing at mixshow radio right now and is due for major radio action in mid-August. The combined efforts of the DAS EFX team took one and a half years preparing for the CD's release.
"We took our time putting the album together, not only working with hot producers from the states but very successful producers from Europe (Paris and Croatia)," said Skoob.
"We didn't focus on huge guest appearances but more on getting exposure for artists that we are developing."
On "How We Do," DAS EFX have once brought back their trademark lingo, delivering the hard biting Iyrics that have earned them the nickname, "East Coast Huzlaz."
Also on the album are additional cuts from producers Dame Grease, DR Period (AZ, M.O.P.), a feature track ("Memories") with Sean Paul and Paris-based Sully Sfeil.
DAS EFX began by winning a talent contest in 1992. Hip-hop producer Erik Sermon signed them and their big break followed in 1992 with the platinum album "Dead Serious." Then followed the gold "Straight Up Sewaside" which combined to solidify DAS EFX at the forefront of the rap game. They've been recognized as the prince poets of the underground ever since.
Despite their absence from the recording scene in recent years, the group maintains superstar status among the underground and has stayed active behind the scenes, producing and writing. They were recently named one of the top hip-hop artists of recent time by The Source magazine.
STRUNZ & FARAH: "RIO DE COLORES"
City Hall Records
The latest release from the duo is "Rio de Colores," a vibrant CD of original world jazz that spans a spectrum of sounds with a cultural diversity from Latin America, the Middle East and the US.
A number of talented musicians join Strunz and Farah, including Charlie Bisharat on violin; Rene Camacho on bass; Joey de Leon, Latin percussion; Ramon Yslas, cajon; Jimmy Branly, drums; Pedro Eustache, flute; Alberto Salas, Keyboards; Ulises Pineda, kena, zampona; Danny Papakalos, bouzouki; Ali Tavallali, tombak; Majid Ghordani, tambourine; Omid Torbatian, ney; Chris Bleth, woodwinds; and Michele Whitson-Stone, harp.
Strunz & Farah, performing together for 24 years, have created an entirely new expression for the acoustic guitar. From Costa Rica and Iran respectively, Jorge Strunz and Ardeshir Farah have brought the cultural riches of their native lands to their highly virtuosic, rhythmic, and improvisation-rich original instrumental compositions, profoundly influencing guitarists everywhere. Their meeting in 1979 marked the first time that Latin American and Middle Eastern music came together on the guitar. Their subsequent work with Dr L Subramaniam was the first time that Latin, Middle Eastern and South Asian music came together.
Jorge Strunz was born into a Costa Rican family with lineage including a past Costa Rican president on one side and one of Simon Bolivar's favorite lieutenants on the other. Given his first guitar at age 6 in Costa Rica, he grew up in Colombia, Mexico, Spain, England and Canada, studying and playing flamenco and classical guitar, later incorporating jazz, Afro-Latin and Latin American folk forms. He played flamenco guitar professionally, accompanying Spanish dancers and singers, from the age of 16 to about 21, when he decided to focus more on his own Latin American roots.
Ardeshir Farah was raised in Iran and England, and also played guitar since childhood, focusing on popular music and improvisation. He has performed and recorded extensively with many of the famed expatriate Persian singers and musicians in the US who fled Iran after the Revolution.
The travels of his diplomat father brought Jorge to the United States, while Ardeshir arrived as a student of architecture. Ardeshir came to see Jorge perform with his Latin jazz group Caldera (4 albums on Capitol), and decided to meet him. The day the two guitarists met, it was instantly obvious that they were brothers of the guitar from opposite ends of the earth, even playing Czardas (a devilishly fast Hungarian Gypsy piece) flawlessly in harmony at top speed. They quickly prepared a repertoire, began performing, and recorded their first project, Mosaico in 1980 (self-produced).
Although record companies at that time were not ready for this exotic new music ("where are we going to sell this, Timbuktu?"), jazz radio embraced it and world/jazz industry pioneer Richard Bock got the duo signed to the prestigious jazz label Milestone (Frontera, 1983, Guitarras, 1984).
The intimate audiophile recording Misterio was recorded by Waterlily Acoustics /AudioQuest in 1989. Following this came the phenomenally successful recordings Primal Magic (1990) and Americas (1992), put out by Mesa/Atlantic, which won Billboard's World Music Album of the Year and a Grammy nomination, respectively.
The artists then started their own record company, Selva (which means " jungle" in Spanish), as an artist-friendly alternative and put out Heat of the Sun, (top 10 Billboard World Music chart), Live, the artists' first live performance recording, and Wild Muse. They won back the rights to their hit recordings, Primal Magic and Americas, which have been re-released on Selva. The Best of Strunz & Farah (2000) and Stringweave (2001), an elegantly intimate recording graced with many superb guest musicians, followed.
SARAH SCOTT AND JONATEIAN KOCHMER
SARATHAN RECORDS RELEASES
Sarah Scott and Jonathan Kochmer are Two Loons for Tea, whose second album Looking for Landmarks represents the first commercial release from the group' s own record label Sarathan Records.
These musical mad hatters and spiritual twins meld two very distinct backgrounds: Sarah was born in San Francisco and left high school to sing professionally, Jonathan was born in Switzerland, attended Yale on a full scholarship, published four books and many scientific articles on global warming, evolution, networking, and education, and helped launch Amazon.com.
Two Loons for Tea was formed in the fertile Seattle music scene with a self-titled, independently produced CD that dissolves the borders of rock, jazz, funk and torch song balladry. The self-titled CD, a select compilation of their original materials, found its niche with influential musicians and discerning musical fans.
Two Loons' first release was a compilation of the music they had written through the years while the sensual, worldly new Looking for Landmarks denotes a real evolution of their vision. The new album, co produced by Kochmer with Mell Dettmer, Eric Rosse (Tori Amos) and Matt Chamberlain (Elton John, Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Macy Gray), the album features performances by a who's who of today's big names: drummer/producer Chamberlain; mixer Kevin Killen (Elvis Costello, U2, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush); Warr guitarist Trey Gunn (King Crimson, David Sylvian); bassist Brad Houser (Edie Brickell, John Doe, Critters Buggin); bassist Paul Bushnell (Jewel, Shakira, Ednaswap); percussionist Mike Dillon (MC 900 Foot Jesus, Pigface, Critters Buggin); violinist Eyvind Kang (Bill Frissell, Mr. Bungle) and soundscapist Jeff Greinke (Land). The result is a cinematic, ethereal and sensual musical journey marked by heartfelt messages: a melding of words, an alchemy of experience.
It was inevitable that Jonathan and Sarah's musical paths would eventually cross. Jonathan Kochmer was born in Bern, Switzerland and his family emigrated back to the U.S when he was four years old. As a child, he listened to Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, Shostakovich and Stravinsky -- all five hugely influential in the development of his musical sensibility. Jonathan was playing violin at the age of five. From age eleven to fourteen he experimented with electronic music using various audio oscillators and army surplus equipment Iying around in his parents' cellar (his father had been a radar tech at the Panama Canal).
At thirteen, Jonathan was asked to play bass in a band. In his teens, the musical prodigy played church organ, piano, cello, Irish harp, flute, banjo, mandolin and lute. He continued his musical education by taking music composition classes in high school and college. While at Yale University on a full scholarship his studies were primarily focused on sciences: Biostatistics and Evolutionary Biology. He became an Internet consultant for the Yale Computing Center. In 1989, he let the hallowed halls of the Ivy League campus and moved to the nusic scene of Seattle to pursue his first love.
Sarah Scott was born in San Francisco and grew up in the Santa Cruz Mountains before moving Spokane, Washington. Performing was in her blood. Sarah's mother's family performed as the "Spies Family Orchestra" from Boise, Idaho.
They also owned a music store. In the late 60's Sarah and her mother lived near Candlestick Park, directly across from the Jefferson Airplane house, where there would be a lot of parties and hanging out. Her father was a character actor and appeared on the 1970's hit series, The Streets of San Francisco as well as the Steve McOueen classic, Bullitt, Woody Allen's Take the Money and Run, and several Barbara Streisand films.
Sarah began writing music as a child. She grew up listening to her mother's soul records and was influenced by Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Barbara Streisand, Billie Holiday and Rickie Lee Jones.
Deciding that Spokane was not the place to pursue a musical career, she dropped out of high school at seventeen and moved to New York where she performed at the city's cabaret clubs. It was her mother who suggested she move to Seattle, which was fast becoming the Mecca of the music scene.
Sarah Scott arrived in Seattle at around the same time as Jonathan Kochmer. Introduced by a mutual friend, they developed a musical kinship and began performing together. The chanteuse performed Jonathan's original music while they collaborated on new songs. Sarah and Jonathan's love of performing was tempered by their financial struggles.
They were eating from food banks and selling their belongings to pay the rent. Kochmer put his performing career on the backburner and in 1996 took a job at a startup Internet company. Jeff Bezos had been trying to hire him and Kochmer finally gave in at a low salary but with the promise of being an integral part of the fledgling company as one of the first ten people hired, working from a tiny office.
Jonathan became one of the pioneers of e commerce, creating the company's browser structure and helping to develop their data warehouse. The company became Amazon.com, the world's most successful e-commerce retailer. After helping to develop the Internet giant, Kochmer decided that he needed to pursue his musical aspirations and led a very lucrative position to pursue his dream. While Jonathan was immersed in the Amazon, Sarah sang, wrote and recorded for Acme Bomb Factory, a project led by Social Distortion's drummer, Chuck Biscuits, and an indie-pop band, Radio Saturn; recorded and performed backup vocals for Silly Rabbit, a hip-hop band; and sang in a cabaret style Billie Holiday tribute band.
After performing together in various incarnations, from 1991 to 1999, Sarah Scott and Jonathan Kochmer became Two Loons for Tea. The Seattle-based band soon developed a solid identity and a solid fan base, becorning a local favorite at coffee houses and local venues. They also produced a monthly series of shows called Bitch's Brew Cabaret at the OK Hotel and Eclectica at Seattle's Sit 'n' Spin.
Both Jonathan and Sarah act as co-heads of the label and are actively looking for other artists to release. The label was born because the artists wanted to maintain creative freedom for themselves and other artists on the label.
Kochmer explains, "We want music that is moving, has heart and emotional depth. We are not concerned about genre, but about quality."
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