Friday, December 21, 2007

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?

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