If there are bugs crawling on Will Bernard, the world’s probably ended. The guitarist seems to keep as busy as and often busier than any of his peers, and in classic scene fashion, is at his best when he’s juggling as many projects, collaborations, sit-ins and fresh ideas as humanly possible.
He’s also bi-coastal – Bernard moved to Brooklyn in October 2007 but still spends a lot of time among the West Coast jazz, soul, R&B, funk and other scenes that bred him. An eclectic stylist, he started getting noticed in the Bay Area and then on a national level as a member of Peter Apfelbaum’s Hieroglyphics Ensemble, and then, in the mid 1990s, busted out with Charlie Hunter and John Schott in T.J. Kirk.
The first Will Bernard record was Medicine Hat
For Bernard’s latest, Blue Plate Special
READ ON for Chad’s interview with guitarist Will Bernard…
Back in 1995 there weren’t many websites dedicated to music and barely any music publications on the ‘net. One of the first online rags was an alternative netzine called Consumable. Consumable was started in Hoboken back in 1994 and published dozens of issues until their final issue in August of 2000.
[Photo by Michael Weiss]
While Consumable focused on the alternative scene, once in a while they would profile a rock band. The April 5, 1995 issue contained an interview with God Street Wine drummer Tomo. Dan Enright wrote this insightful piece and if he’s still out there and wants us to take this reprint down, just have him shoot us an email. Without further ado, here’s Dan Enright’s interview with Tomo from Consumable…
The publicist from Geffen, was right on time. When I answered the phone she pleasantly informed me I’d be talking with Tomo, the drummer from God Street Wine. It took a moment to make the three-way connection to a hotel room in Columbia, Missouri – where the band was scheduled to perform another of the 200+ shows they do every year, and have since 1989 when the band was formed.
With two self released albums and hundreds of performances behind them, the group seems poised to receive the recognition they deserve. The quintet – a collaboration between Jon Bevo (piano, organ, vocals), Lo Faber (guitar, lead vocals), Aaron Maxwell (guitar, lead vocals), Dan Pifer (bass, vocals) and Tomo (drums, vocals) – have just recently released their major label debut, $1.99 Romances, on Geffen.
READ ON for an interview with GSW drummer Tomo from 1995…
On Friday and Saturday at NYC’s Terminal 5, The Beatles’ last three albums will be recreated live with a level of authenticity the legendary quartet couldn’t even dream of when they recorded the White Album, Abbey Road and Let It Be in the late ’60s. America’s quintessential Beatles tribute band, The Fab Faux, have studied these recordings backwards and forwards since the LPs came out and have been working out their brilliant live arrangements of the classic tracks since the NYC-based quintet got together in 1998.
After completing 2008 with this weekend’s “The Final Three” concerts at Terminal 5, the Fab Faux gear up for an action-packed 2009 jammed with performances across the country. The Faux head west in late January for gigs at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix on the 23rd and the Orpheum Theater in L.A. on the 24th before returning east for shows at the Forum Auditorium in Harrisburg on February 14 and Glenside, PA’s Keswick Theater on March 21. We spoke with Fab Faux/David Letterman House Band bassist Will Lee about the Terminal 5 shows and what the future holds for the Faux. READ ON for the HT interview with Will Lee…
“I’ll state my opinion any time I fucking choose.”
Those aren’t the exact lyrics to Light Is Like Water, my favorite Jerry Joseph song, but that’s how I’ll always remember the verse from the last time I heard Joseph do it live (sometime around Stockholm Syndrome’s inaugural tour in 2004).
That line sounds exactly like Joseph, the incisive folk-rocker with the serious songwriting chops and the lived-in voice, best known for Little Women, the Jackmormons and numerous other solo projects, not to mention his longstanding association with Widespread Panic. And the song’s overall attributes might describe Joseph himself, as well as his curious career: longwinded, tender, pointed, hopeful, irascible, cynical, soulful—and singular.
Hidden Track caught up with Joseph at a snowed-in tour stop in Salt Lake City late last week. His 2008 is far from over; having revived the Jackmormons name with a modified lineup, he’ll close out the year in his adopted home of New York City, booked for Dec. 29 and 30 at Crash Mansion and New Year’s Eve at the Delancey Lounge. If you’re in the area and haven’t yet made your plans, well, we’d be remiss if we didn’t recommend it.
Hidden Track: In recent years you’ve been doing New Year’s gigs in Portland and also in Costa Rica and other far-flung locales. Why New York for 2008?
Jerry Joseph: Well, I live there, for one. Originally this year we were supposed to do a bunch of Colorado shows and I think one of them was planned for after Panic, but I just wasn’t into it. So we decided to say fuck it and do this and our New York City friends were all holy shit, holy shit. This has kind of been thrown together more last minute than we usually like, so we’ll see what happens. Lots going on in NYC that week and I’d love to say we have the same fanbase as My Morning Jacket [laughs], but that’s just not true. We’ll see what happens—I know it’s been moving pretty quickly but I know a lot of people are flying in for it too.
READ ON for more of Chad’s interview with Jerry Joseph…
Jack Johnson and an assortment of musicians on his Brushfire Records roster pitched in to create a debut holiday album called This Warm December.
Hailing from UK-based shoegazing bands Mojave 3 and Slowdrive, singer/songwriter Neil Halstead recently branched off to focus on a solo album that he dropped this past July. Since signing onto Brushfire Records, Halstead has been racking up critical acclaim while touring extensively. For This Warm December, Halstead contributed an original, somber acoustic track entitled, The Man in the Santa Suit. Halstead shares his thoughts about the holidays and his memories of Christmastime in the UK…
Jack Spilberg: What do you want for Christmas?
Neil Halstead: Time with the family and friends
JS: What’s better, naughty or nice?
NH: I have to say naughty and nice is probably the very best.
JS: Which do you prefer, real or fake Christmas trees?
NH: Fake Christmas trees are less messy I suppose. When I was a kid we would have a little tree that my dad would dig up every year for Christmas, and then replant afterwards. That is probably the best solution. You’ve got to go big in the end though.
READ ON for more from Brushfire recording artist Neil Halstead…
New Orleans’ rockers and masters of harmony The Subdudes recently did something they’ve never done since getting together way back in 1987 – put out a live concert video. If almost to make up for lost time, the sweet sounding quintet have put out an inspired double DVD documentary and concert film displaying two completely different sides of the band’s music.
Filmed over the course of three days in Annapolis Maryland, The Subdudes Live at Ram’s Head and Unplugged at Pleasant Plains two-DVD set contains 15 song selections from two nights of concerts at The Ram’s Head on the first disc. The second disc features 70 minutes of interviews, an unplugged set and original studio footage shot while creating and recording the Street Symphony album with legendary producer George Massenberg in Nashville Tennessee. We recently spoke with ‘dudes’ bassist Jimmy Messa about the band’s first DVD…
Scott Bernstein: When did the band finally decide to put out a DVD?
Jimmy Messa: Well, we met this guy, Bob Hughes, who attended a few of our shows, and he was amazed that we didn’t have a DVD out yet, and he wanted to help us produce one. He has a business partner, Jerry Jones, who lives in the Baltimore area, and by coincidence Jerry runs a film company (Biographica)…so, while we were playing in the Baltimore area (Annapolis, actually), we did those 2 shows at the Ram’s Head Tavern, and Jerry and a crew came down to record us.
SB: The Ram’s Head DVD puts you right in the middle of the action. Was it odd playing a show with cameras set up filming your every move?
JM: No, not all that odd. There are people with cameras at practically every show, you get used to it and just ignore them…
READ ON for more of Scott’s interview with Jimmy Messa…
