Whiskey Lane

(MySpace photo)

The Pawnshoplifters, a punk-country band from our neck of the woods, has recorded an EP "Whiskey Lane" that the trio plans to release in February. Guitarist and singer Wendell Johnson -- formerly of Lucky Town and Blunt, just to name a few -- is making gloriously raunchy hick-rock, as you can hear in this live clip filmed at The Taphouse.
Pawnshoplifters will be playing a bunch of local dates in coming weeks (including a free show at Sammy's in Virginia Beach this Friday), so catch 'em if you can.

Lip Service

Hope everyone is having happy holidays. Here's my list
of 10 songs I loved from 2007. These are the tunes
lingering on my lips over the last 12 months.

1. "Paranoia in B-flat Major" Avett Brothers. "You
can't make everybody happy all of the time." Truer
words were never sung. Don't miss the falsetto section
at the end of the tune -- proof that these guys are
positively fearless.

2. "Cigarette State" Robbie Fulks. Robbie put out a
mostly live album in 2007 and, for this North
Carolinian, this track was a slice of Tar Heel heaven.
Favorite line: "Alabama's grand -- the state, not the
band."

3. "Old Ways" Dr. Dog. Philadelphia's unsung heroes
practically made my year by singing this quirky gem on
David Letterman.

4. "Please Read the Letter" Robert Plant and Alison
Krauss. At first, I wasn't blown away by the tracks I
heard from "Raising Sand." Then I caught wind of this
tune, and I was swooning.

5. "Smoke Detector" Rilo Kiley. Jenny Lewis sings "I
took a man back to my room, I was smoking him in bed."
Hubba-hubba.

6. "Now, Now" St. Vincent. I got into St. Vincent late
in 2007 -- thanks to my man Joe Atkinson sharing the
CD "Marry Me" with me. She's the indie-rock Julie
Andrews -- in a good way.

7. "Identity Theft" Nellie McKay. I heard this song
once and it lodged in my brain for the rest of the
year. Yes, it's a little corny. But that's part of Ms.
McKay's charm. Her rapping is irresistibly bad.

8. "Pointless Drinking" Amy LaVere. Beautiful
heartache. I'm sad I didn't get to see LaVere at the
Jewish Mother in 2007. Any woman who sings like this
and plays upright bass has my undying devotion.

9. "I Want You to Want Me" Holmes Brothers. The
brothers from Christ Church, VA, reshape the Cheap
Trick hit from a power-pop nugget to a glowing gospel
lament.

10. "Take a Chance" the Magic Numbers. Why can't we
get the Magic Numbers to come play the NorVa? Michele
Stodart is currently my favorite electric bass player
on the planet.

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Death or Glory

The Naro showed the Joe Strummer documentary "The Future is Unwritten" this weekend. It's a fine film -- lots of non-conventional storytelling, funny moments, and great music, of course. But what I most admired about the movie was how the director Julian Temple resisted the urge to get too sentimental about the subject. Plenty of people deify Strummer, I think, for good reason. But there was remarkably little hero worship in the film.
Strummer is portrayed as flawed man with great ambition and talent and ideals that he sometimes had trouble living up to. I couldn't help comparing Strummer's story to that of Pete Seeger. Oddly enough, Seeger was (and is) the bigger rebel in several respects.
Still, I will always love Joe. At the risk of giving too much away, "The Future is Unwritten" in part tells the story of how Strummer started out as a hippie, renounced his hippidom in order to lead the punk rock revolution, then, later in life, once again embraced his peace-and-love hippie tendencies. That's not the story that punk-rock purists would like to see, but it's true nonetheless.
As Joe himself once sang, "He who fucks nuns will later join the church."

Our Sonic Seabed

(Still Pink, pictured above, MySpace photo)

The Dec. 18 issue of Port Folio Weekly includes a number of juicy musical stories, but by far the juiciest is headlined "Native Tongues: A look at the local independent music scene and four fresh acts that are bringing about a new Virginia sound."
The insightful story by Hannah Serrano actually doesn't identify "a new Virginia sound." It rightly observes that what's happening at least in Hampton Roads is a wide diversity of styles that from time to time intersect. Independent music is a very large umbrella and includes such a range of sounds, grouping them together sometimes feels like a stretch, but Serrano's piece opened my eyes to several artists, venues and record labels I'll be checking out.
Among them are bands Emma-O, Hindu Pez, Still Pink and rapper Ced Hughes, who graces the cover of the issue (and was featured previously on the online community okayplayer.com)
Kid A also gets a splattering of ink. She is described as a young woman from Chesapeake who is now studying film at Hollins University. The story compares says some very nice things about her track "InsteadofUandI.ItCouldBeUs," a collaboration with Hughes.
On an historical note, Serrano mentions hearing hardcore bands play a place called Huby's in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Anybody remember that place?

Rudolph is a Jew

(Photo by Jack Vartoogian)
In honor of the upcoming holiday, I'm stepping away from the Virginia focus and peering up north to New York City.
Jon Pareles of the New York Times this week wrote a glowing review of a concert by Nellie McKay. It mentioned that Nellie is giving away a Christmas song on her Web site. The tune, "Take Me Away," is a lovely, funny piece of work. If you're in need of a late season spirit booster, give it a spin.

The Live Five

Here's a quick look at five of my favorite places to listen to live music in Hampton Roads. I'm skipping over obvious choices like Hampton Coliseum, NTelos Pavilion in Portsmouth and The NorVa in Norfolk (although I happen to like all three of those). For this list I'm focusing on small joints and out-of-the-way spaces.

1. The Boot, 21st Street Norfolk. A fine restaurant that, in after hours, presents lots of great local and underground national acts. Philadelphia's Dr. Dog has rocked the boot. So has Swervedriver's Adam Franklin and scores of other first-rate folks. On the local side, The Boot supports original music from acts including 1888, Skye Zentz and Seed Is ...

2. Donk's, Mathews County. A trip to the Middle Peninsula to see a show at Donk's is a step back in time -- in a good way. Donk's is country in every sense. The small theater (it was built for cinema many decades ago) presents mostly country acts. And the place is located at a rural crossroads so quiet you could imagine cows wandering through. Imagine "Hee-Haw" with less comedy, more music and a dose of small town charm, and you're picturing Donk's.

3. The Corner Pocket Restaurant, Williamsburg. This place is on the list because owner Lynn Allison has great taste. Allison used to work with the PBS show "Austin City Limits." She also has a great love for authentic New Orleans sounds. Both cities had an impact on her listening -- and booking -- habits. You'll hear local Celtic and bluegrass music at the Corner Pocket. You'll also hear great Cajun and zydeco sounds there.

4. The Jewish Mother, Virginia Beach. Once upon a time, the Jewish Mother was a hot regional spot for roots music acts and national up-and-comers. Then, the intimate performance space and restaurant took a long nap during which it didn't do much music of note. I'm happy to say that in recent years, the JewMom has gloriously returned to form. I've seen the bluegrassy Hackensaw Boys and James McMurtry there. Hard rock pioneers Blue Cheer played the place just a month or so. You gotta love the place's unpredictable nature.

5. The Taphouse in Ghent, Norfolk. Owned by chef and music afficianado Peter Pittman, The Taphouse is one of the region's most dependable and long-running music venues. I've seen Robbie Fulks play there twice in two years, and for that alone, the place is notable. But you'll hear everything from hippie bluegrass to punk at the place. Members of the rockin' blues act Rylo run the place, so you known it's well connected the local music scene.

Gimme Five

After I moved to Hampton Roads almost 14 years ago, I constantly compared the region's music to that of North Carolina's Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill). I couldn't help it. I went to college in Chapel Hill and spent a lot of time in Raleigh with family and friends.
At first, I was wondering where all the creative musicians were hiding. All I heard were cover bands, blues acts, some fairly unoriginal metal groups.
Looking back, I now know that I was looking a the local music community through the wrong lens.
Hampton Roads isn't packed with major universities like the Triangle. The main industries here are the military, shipbuilding and the port. It's essentially a blue-collar town, and over time, I started to understand that arty music is a tough sell in these parts.
I learned that creative rock music does live here -- but it's of a different breed. Compared the the music of Chapel Hill or Athens, Georgia, for example, it's tougher, more raw and rootsy, less intellectual. Think the Candy Snatchers as opposed to R.E.M.
This struck me one night listening to God and Famous playing at Cogan's (now a gourmet pizza joint, not a music dive). God and Famous, which developed out of Antic Hay, was one of the more arty bands in the area, but the raw-knuckled, no-bullshit sound was still in effect.
Thankfully, there are exceptions, bands that choose to fight the current and swim upstream. Their struggle makes listening to original music here fun and sometimes frustrating.
Without further pre-ramble, here's a list of five Hampton Roads rock bands I love.
Tell me what you think.

1. The Candy Snatchers. Kamikaze garage punk legends.
2. Uglyography. Matt Thomas makes glorious, off-kilter pop in the tradition of Ween or They Might Be Giants.
3. The Great White Jenkins. (OK, technically, they're from Richmond, but I swear there's a Hampton Roads connection. If not, I'll make one up.) Our very own freak-folk ensemble with great tunes.
4. 1888. Experimental, tuneful, and rootsy all at the same time.
5. Volcano Roll. This Newport News-Hampton band is on hiatus right now. I hope the slumber ends soon. Songwriter Joe Atkinson crafts tunes that show he knows his Elliott Smith and his Zombies. (Full disclosure: As a side-project, Atkinson plays with me in an acoustic band called The Kneeling Drunkards.)

Drugstore Rock 'n' Roll

Back in September, Virginia (and the world, for that matter) said farewell to a pioneering rockabilly musician, Janis Martin. Known as The Female Elvis, Martin paved the road for women in rock and was beloved by rockabilly fans, especially in Europe. She was a hero to many in the Old Country, although she lived and worked in humble Danville, Virginia.
Luckily, before cancer claimed her life, Texas rockabilly filly Rosie Flores recorded a full album with Martin. According to Rosie's Web site, the record is being shopped around to record labels. Sample a few tracks at Janis Martin's MySpace page, operated by her grandaugher.
With any luck, we'll have the full album sometime in 2008.

Best Kept Secrets Told

Mr. Paul Shugrue and his trusty public radio show "Out of the Box" gave local music a shot in the arm last night by broadcasting an entire show devoted to the best Virginia music of 2007. If you're a local musician hoping to get on the air in prime time in Hampton Roads, Shugrue is your man. Last night's show focused on bands and players from Southeastern Virginia, but Paul looked beyond this corner of the state and included tunes by the wonderful Scott Miller and acoustic jam band king Keller Williams, who is practically a local anyway since he's spent big chunks of time here over the years.
You can find the playlist from last night's show on the "Out of the Box" Web site, but here are a few highlights.

-- Big Wide Grin "I Saw Three Ships"
-- 1888 "In Your Lifetime"
-- Rylo "Corner of DeBree"
-- Mae "Waiting"
-- Mercy Creek "Never Forget"
-- Annie Johnson "Damned If I Do"
-- Skye Zentz "Persephone" (Skye is pictured above)
-- Bill Gaunce "Midnight Train"
-- Special Ed and The Short Bus "Dirty Baby" (And that song really is filthy -- sm)
-- Julie Clark "Growing Up" recorded live in the "Out of the Box" studio

Prepare for Hair

The band Impossible Hair is coming to rock The Taphouse in Norfolk on Saturday. I'm excited about the gig for several reasons. One, my friend Sammy Ponzar is playing with the band these days, and he's a fantastic drummer. Secondly, there's a connection between Impossible Hair --a Silver Spring, MD-based guitar-pop band and Buttsteak, a group from Norfolk that has lurked in my memory and imagination for close to 13 years.
Not long after I moved to Newport News, I saw Buttsteak play a show at the late, great Kings Head Inn, formerly located on Norfolk's Hampton Boulevard. The show was one of the freakiest, most violent, disturbing, exciting musical spectacles I've witnessed.
According to a bio on allmusic.com, Buttsteak moved to Baltimore from Norfolk and established quite a following there. I was never sure what happened to the band after I saw that gig in what must have been 1993 or 1994 (I still have a poster somewhere).
Anyway, I'm looking forward to catching some quality guitar pop from Impossible Hair and exploring the Buttsteak connection. It seems that Jim Glass from the Hairs played in some version of Buttsteak.
I hope to update Toggle Switch with more about this subject soon.

A Band America Wants

Mas Y Mas is my new favorite band. I found out about these guys through Josh over at The Boot and then fell in love with the song "Hi" after Josh included it on a Boot Cuts compilation. "Hi" and the other three songs posted on the band's MySpace page have catchy hooks and lyrics that show off a gonzo sense of humor. Musically, they're adorably ramshackle -- sloppy guitar backed by barely competent drums and what sounds like a Casiotone playing the bass parts. I'm hoping these guys come back to The Boot soon.

Gimme Some Truth

I saw the documentary "Pete Seeger: The Power of Song" tonight at The Naro. It's a powerful film. Even if you're not particularly a fan of Seeger's music, you've got to admire the strength of his convictions. For me, one of the inspirational aspects of Seeger's life is his determination to connect humans through the simple act of singing. It seem like an innocent concept, but Seeger pursues it with such vigor that it almost seems radical.
For those interested in the debate about whether or not music can be made without being polluted by commerce, this is a great movie to see. It's worth noting that Seeger quit his group the Weavers rather than going along with a cigarette advertisement.
Go, man, go.

Scalded To Death By the Steam

The Washington Post this week published a fabulous story about the boxed set "People Take Warning! Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs, 1913-1938."  The set was compiled by Christopher King from Faber, Virginia, whose father collected lots of 78 rpm records and related material. Eddie Dean's story in the Post includes quotes from Tom Waits, who contributed an introduction to the boxed set.
I can't wait to get my hands on it.
A photo that accompanied the story showed the scene of the actual wreck of the old 97 in Danville, Virginia, made famous in song and legend. A musician friend of mine in Danville named Rick Scott organized a festival to commemorate the wreck. He even convinced Danville native and bluegrass master Tony Rice to record a song for an Old 97 tribute disc.