Knights Who Say Neve wrote:I don't hear much syncopation, "ecstatic singing"* or "intense, voicelike guitar tones" in contemporary black music, either...but that writer insists that lack of soul is a race thing. It's a cheap shot, and I call bullshit.
Good point. I'm astonished that no one else made that comment. It's not too often that I hear soulful black music these days (in either sense of the word). At least not on the radio.
I just worked with a band for a week that was all old school Americana, Funk, Soul and Roots Rock. Of course, they were all white boys. But I tell you what: They were really good at it.
Sure, it's painfully "unhip" music, I guess. They kind of sound like The Band and CCR tangled up with Tower of Power and Stevie Wonder, with a equal doses of Mowtown, Donald Fagan, Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger thrown into the mix for good measure.
My Fiance was amazed I could "bear listening to the stuff" because of my "Indie" background. That's crazy. It was fun. The only thing I was amazed by is home awesome they were at playing music (especially for a bunch of White Boy in their Twenties) and the fact that they sold out the Bowery Ballroom without even having a record out! I think they have a cheesily produced live albm or something. Oh yeah, and the fact that music is
fun for them
and they make a living at it.
True, I can't relate to the majority of their fans (many of whom seem to be around college-age and look like they grew up on the Dave Matthews Band) but I'll tell you what I
could relate to: the
sincere and unpretentious joy they took in making music everyday. They really love the sh*t they do, and they try to do it as best they can. I just wish they had a record that could make their fans happy, and open them up to alternate tonalities. They also remind me of Dr. Teeth and Electric Mayhem onstage, which is a huge plus.
I got to help them make a record that sounds truly rootsy, "real" and I guess "Indie" (whatever that means) instead of a record that sounds like a "souless" over-polished Adult Contemporary Turd (it otherwise would have been). They love it. (I just hope the established Nashville engineer they have slated to mix it doesn't try to F* it all up and take the "soul" out of it!)
Anyway, they ain't going to be "hip" anytime soon, but they'll probably play to bigger audiences than the average band that gets a n 8.9 in pitchfork. The last one of those that I saw had the Mercury Lounge at half capacity. These guys sold out the Bowery Ballroom and they don't even have a real record out.