Posts Tagged ‘Live’
Monte Montgomery
Monte Montgomery with Band
August 19th 2011
9pm opener TBA
4801 S Eastern Ave
You can call it prescient or predetermined, but when Terry Lickona, undisputed tastemaker and producer of Austin City Limits, plucked a then relatively unknown guitar talent to tape a segment of the legendary show, one had the sense that this was just the beginning.
Since that jaw dropping performance, Monte Montgomery has embarked on an almost fantasy like rock and roll roller coaster ride filled with dizzying accomplishments and mind blowing accolades. Named one of the “Top 50 All-Time Greatest Guitar Players” by Guitar Player Magazine, he’s been called everything from “guitar-god” to the “answer to the Fermi Paradox”.
Still, despite the six-string notoriety, Monte is not content to rest on his musical laurels. “I’ve resisted temptation to be just that guitar gunslinger from Austin, Texas,” says Monte. “I strive to have more depth, to be more layered as an artist, songwriter and singer.”
With the release of his latest CD “Monte Montgomery”, he is cementing his place as not just some blazingly electrified acoustic guitar playing freak of nature, but also a rare and true triple threat; songwriter, singer and master musician.
“I want my music to be accessible to everyone,” says Monte. Accessible it is, but he’s still managed to make a record that is uncompromising. The virtuoso-like trademark guitar licks and arrangements you’d expect from Monte are there, forming the rich and colorful aural backdrop for his insightful songwriting and amazing voice.
The end result, in a day of homogenized, digitalized, and processed music, is that this new project stands out as a throw back to the great pop rock records of the past. Recorded live at the legendary Masterlink Studio, the textured, deep, rich, nuanced and just plain rocking 12 tracks run the gamut, showcasing Monte’s stylistic diversity beginning with the opening album track “River”, an almost primal seven minute dark bluesy roots rocker, and ending with “Midlife Matinee” a wistful ballad that soulfully explores the turning points and crossroads of life, love and loss.
In between, it’s a mix of dark, edgy rock to light, breezy pop-like melodies. There’s the pure rocker “Can’t Fool Everyone” and the jazzy, vibey “Could’ve Loved You Forever”. And just when you think you’ve got him pegged, Monte changes it up to leave you breathless with the sensual, lyrical, Latin-tinged “Moonlight Tango.”
“All of these songs are road tested,” laughs Monte when you ask him to explain how he chose what to record for this record. “I don’t write with a project in mind. I write to play live, for my fans. My audience is great, they tell me what to record. It’s like having a built-in focus group.”
Long a big draw on the live music scene, Monte’s non-stop touring schedule this year has included ParkPop (one of the largest music festivals in Europe). A Monte Montgomery show is likened to a musical religious experience. “I wanted to capture what I do live on this record. I want people to close their eyes and envision themselves at one of my concerts.”
To do that Monte enlisted the help of the hip, rock producer John Billings and Rob Clark, Grammy nominated Neil Young and CSN&Y recording engineer. “In the past my records were made in my hometown of Austin”, says Monte. “We went to a larger [studio] room in Nashville for this one which, with some very clever microphone placement techniques from Rob and John, enabled us all to set up in the same room and just play each song straight through. These are live takes, band tracks and no overdubs, with the only exception being some different instrument parts (string section and B3) added later to some tracks.”
All the songs were written by Monte, with the exception of “Little Wing”. Monte’s blistering interpretation of the Jimi Hendrix classic is a fan favorite but has never been recorded in a studio environment. “I never play it the same way twice,” says Monte. “So when making this record we planned for “Little Wing” to be the last thing we attempted to track every night in the studio and if we get it, we get it. If not, we would just leave it to the live performances. On the second night, after a long day in the studio, the track we got was like, wow. We knew it was magic.”
Ironically, it’s the cover of another rock pop classic that is bringing Monte a high profile fan and opening up new doors. After seeing Monte’s version of Sara Smile on YouTube,Daryl Hall (Hall & Oates) was so blown away he invited Monte to be the featured artist onLive From Daryl’s House,the popular web-based music show.
These accomplishments are quite a distance from Birmingham, Alabama where Monte learned to play piano and trumpet. At the age of 12 Monte moved to Texas to live with his mom, a singer/songwriter who instilled in him a passion for music and a taste of the life he was destined to lead as he sang and performed with her in Hill Country picking parlors.
It was the eventual move to Austin where you could say he earned his musical baccalaureate from that city’s highly competitive music scene (earning him seven consecutive Austin Music Awards). That led to the current fulfillment of his musical destiny; a dedicated fan base, critical acclaim and an ever growing touring circuit in the U.S. and Europe. It’s no wonder that when Terry Lickona introduced him on that Austin City Limits’ stage some years ago he uttered these words: “Monte Montgomery blows people away. There is no other way to describe it.”
Monte Montgomery with BandAugust 19th 2011
9pm opener TBA
4801 S Eastern Ave
You can call it prescient or predetermined, but when Terry Lickona, undisputed tastemaker and producer of Austin City Limits, plucked a then relatively unknown guitar talent to tape a segment of the legendary show, one had the sense that this was just the beginning.
Since that jaw dropping performance, Monte Montgomery has embarked on an almost fantasy like rock and roll roller coaster ride filled with dizzying accomplishments and mind blowing accolades. Named one of the “Top 50 All-Time Greatest Guitar Players” by Guitar Player Magazine, he’s been called everything from “guitar-god” to the “answer to the Fermi Paradox”.
Still, despite the six-string notoriety, Monte is not content to rest on his musical laurels. “I’ve resisted temptation to be just that guitar gunslinger from Austin, Texas,” says Monte. “I strive to have more depth, to be more layered as an artist, songwriter and singer.”
With the release of his latest CD “Monte Montgomery”, he is cementing his place as not just some blazingly electrified acoustic guitar playing freak of nature, but also a rare and true triple threat; songwriter, singer and master musician.
“I want my music to be accessible to everyone,” says Monte. Accessible it is, but he’s still managed to make a record that is uncompromising. The virtuoso-like trademark guitar licks and arrangements you’d expect from Monte are there, forming the rich and colorful aural backdrop for his insightful songwriting and amazing voice.
The end result, in a day of homogenized, digitalized, and processed music, is that this new project stands out as a throw back to the great pop rock records of the past. Recorded live at the legendary Masterlink Studio, the textured, deep, rich, nuanced and just plain rocking 12 tracks run the gamut, showcasing Monte’s stylistic diversity beginning with the opening album track “River”, an almost primal seven minute dark bluesy roots rocker, and ending with “Midlife Matinee” a wistful ballad that soulfully explores the turning points and crossroads of life, love and loss.
In between, it’s a mix of dark, edgy rock to light, breezy pop-like melodies. There’s the pure rocker “Can’t Fool Everyone” and the jazzy, vibey “Could’ve Loved You Forever”. And just when you think you’ve got him pegged, Monte changes it up to leave you breathless with the sensual, lyrical, Latin-tinged “Moonlight Tango.”
“All of these songs are road tested,” laughs Monte when you ask him to explain how he chose what to record for this record. “I don’t write with a project in mind. I write to play live, for my fans. My audience is great, they tell me what to record. It’s like having a built-in focus group.”
Long a big draw on the live music scene, Monte’s non-stop touring schedule this year has included ParkPop (one of the largest music festivals in Europe). A Monte Montgomery show is likened to a musical religious experience. “I wanted to capture what I do live on this record. I want people to close their eyes and envision themselves at one of my concerts.”
To do that Monte enlisted the help of the hip, rock producer John Billings and Rob Clark, Grammy nominated Neil Young and CSN&Y recording engineer. “In the past my records were made in my hometown of Austin”, says Monte. “We went to a larger [studio] room in Nashville for this one which, with some very clever microphone placement techniques from Rob and John, enabled us all to set up in the same room and just play each song straight through. These are live takes, band tracks and no overdubs, with the only exception being some different instrument parts (string section and B3) added later to some tracks.”
All the songs were written by Monte, with the exception of “Little Wing”. Monte’s blistering interpretation of the Jimi Hendrix classic is a fan favorite but has never been recorded in a studio environment. “I never play it the same way twice,” says Monte. “So when making this record we planned for “Little Wing” to be the last thing we attempted to track every night in the studio and if we get it, we get it. If not, we would just leave it to the live performances. On the second night, after a long day in the studio, the track we got was like, wow. We knew it was magic.”
Ironically, it’s the cover of another rock pop classic that is bringing Monte a high profile fan and opening up new doors. After seeing Monte’s version of Sara Smile on YouTube,Daryl Hall (Hall & Oates) was so blown away he invited Monte to be the featured artist onLive From Daryl’s House,the popular web-based music show.
These accomplishments are quite a distance from Birmingham, Alabama where Monte learned to play piano and trumpet. At the age of 12 Monte moved to Texas to live with his mom, a singer/songwriter who instilled in him a passion for music and a taste of the life he was destined to lead as he sang and performed with her in Hill Country picking parlors.
It was the eventual move to Austin where you could say he earned his musical baccalaureate from that city’s highly competitive music scene (earning him seven consecutive Austin Music Awards). That led to the current fulfillment of his musical destiny; a dedicated fan base, critical acclaim and an ever growing touring circuit in the U.S. and Europe. It’s no wonder that when Terry Lickona introduced him on that Austin City Limits’ stage some years ago he uttered these words: “Monte Montgomery blows people away. There is no other way to describe it.”
Dana Fuchs
Dana Fuchs
The youngest of six musical children, Dana was raised in a small town in rural Florida surrounded by music- her older siblings’ band playing classic rock in the garage, Ray Charles and Hank Williams on her parents’ turntable, and a big dose of 70’s and 80’s funk at school. At the age of 12 she joined the First Baptist Gospel Choir and was singing, shouting, and praising the lord every week in a small black church on the outskirts of town. At 16 she was fronting a popular local band at a roadside Holiday Inn. It was the beginning of a hunger for singing and the stage that Wildwood, Florida couldn’t possibly satiate. Soon she was headed north telling friends and family she was “going to New York to sing the blues.”
Arriving in NYC alone and broke at the age of 19, Dana soon found herself down and out on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. After the wake-up call of her older sister’s suicide (Donna was Dana’s first musical mentor), Dana pulled herself together, determined to reconnect with her passion for music and began hitting the local blues jams with a vengeance. It was at one of these jams that she met Jon Diamond, an established NYC guitarist who had toured with Joan Osborne and W.C. Handy Award winner Debbie Davies. Immediately recognizing a musical chemistry they formed the Dana Fuchs Band. Within a year the band was a feature act at NYC’s best blues clubs, often sharing the stage and performing with the likes of John Popper, James Cotton, and Taj Mahal. For another year Dana immersed herself in the blues, playing 3 long sets a night, 4 nights a week until 3 am, honing her already formidable vocal power and performance style, and building a large, loyal following.
After 2 years of working the blues circuit Dana knew it was time for a change and decided to tell her own story and create her own music. She and Jon began writing intensively, putting together a solid body of original rock songs. Soon Dana was back on the Lower East Side again, only this time on stage with the band, debuting her songs to a packed house at Arlene’s Grocery. The fan response was overwhelming. The band was soon selling out shows at The Mercury Lounge, The Stephen Talkhouse and BB King’s, sharing the bill with national acts, Little Feat, Marianne Faithfull, and Etta James.
Not long after the producers of the off-Broadway hit “Love, Janis,” hearing raves about Dana from various cast and crew members, asked her to come in for an audition. Dana went in, sang a few bars of “Piece of My Heart,” and, on the spot, was offered the role of Janis Joplin. Playing Janis 4 nights a week garnered Dana a whole new audience who were soon at the DFB’s shows listening to Dana performing her own music.
These songs can be heard on the band’s debut CD, Lonely For A Lifetime, which was released to an enthusiastic response from both press and fans. Drawing from influences ranging from ’60s Stax/Volt R&B, Lucinda Williams and The Rolling Stones, Lonely for A Lifetime, hints, lyrically, at Tom Waits and Bob Dylan, among others. Says Fuchs, “I wanted to capture a soulful and rocking vibe…but with an earthiness to it.” Vocally Dana was inspired by legendary singers including Etta James, Otis Redding, Bobby Bland, Aretha Franklin, and Mavis Staples.
Notable tracks include ‘Strung Out,” “Lonely For A Lifetime” and “Bible Baby.” Explains Fuchs, “These tracks are about addiction and religious hypocrisy, and like all of the tracks on the album deal with subjects that I have a deep personal experience with. It’s crucial to me to have a passionate connection to what I’m delivering in order to create a sincere representation of me, my life and my influences.”
Producer, co-writer, guitarist Jon Diamond says: “Dana is blessed with an incredibly warm, powerful and textured voice. Her lyrics are direct and real. And while she has really studied the great soul, rock & blues singers, she has synthesized those influences into her own unique sound and style.”
Trampled Under Foot
Trampled Under Foot
Trampled Under Foot March 20th 9pm
Oklahoma City Limits
When was the last time you saw a three piece family blues band with two left handed guitarists? Let alone a blues band with strong vocals both female and male? Trampled Under Foot, winners of the 2008 International Blues Challenge, is like no other blues band you will ever see or hear. Danielle is an amazing blues singer and an excellent bassist. Kris fires right in the pocket on the drums and sings as well. Nick is a strong singer and an accomplished guitarist, winning the 2008 Albert King Award from the IBC.
TUF books venues and festivals world wide, having performed at numerous national and international blues festivals.
__________
NOMINATED for the 2010 Pitch Music Awards “ALL-STARS” Catagory!
WINNER - 2009 Pitch Music Awards “Best Blues Band”!
WINNER - 2009 Grand County Blues Society’s “Performers of the Year”!
WINNER - 2008 International Blues Challenge!
WINNER - 2008 “Albert King Award”!
WINNER - 2007 Kansas City Blues Challenge!
NOMINATED for the 2008 Bluesforum.nl CD Award!
The Mighty Orq
The Mighty Orq
The Mighty Orq
Friday February 11th 9:30
Blues Saloon
The Mighty Orq (pronounced Ork) is a power trio from Houston, TX known for their unique blend of emotionally charged vocals, soaring guitars, and powerful drum lines.
The Mighty Orq has quickly risen to be one of Houston, Texas’ biggest bands by combining the energy of classic rock with undeniable pop hooks and melodies. Influenced by legendary Texas bands like ZZ Top, Soulhat, and Kings X, the band has been able to reach out to wide-ranging audience that continues to grow and diversify.
The band is best known for their high-energy live shows where through their music they take the listener to the extreme edges of rhythm, melody and dynamics. They have been actively touring through Texas and the South for four years, while maintaining a rigorous 200+ shows per year. This daunting schedule has allowed the band to fine tune theirs into a razor-sharp trio. The national release of their new album To The Bone will coincide with huge shows around Texas and another 18+ months of touring the world to support it. This is a task that the band is not afraid to take on. After all, this will only bring more people to see what the next big band from Texas is all about.
Walter Trout
Walter Trout
July 22nd, 2010
About Walter Trout -
“People ask me if they should call my music blues or rock, I tell them they can call it ‘Fred’ if they must have a label.”
That remark, along with the exclamation that “the blues shouldn’t be a museum… the music ought to constantly expand and be alive,” have been expressed again and again by Walter Trout during his 35+ year career. With the release of FULL CIRCLE, the statements hold true as Trout and his musical friends demonstrate their appreciation of all shades of the blues genre. The album reflects Walter Trout’s remarkable story, from his humble beginnings as a sideman in many a blues legends’ band through his rising solo star, arriving as one of blues music’s beloved interpreters. Read the rest of this entry »
DumpstaPhunk
Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk
February 2nd @ Oklahoma City Limits
Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk
February 2nd @ Oklahoma City Limits
Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk
“Dumpstaphunk is the best funk band from New Orleans right now.” -New York Times
Formed in 2003, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk was initially put together by keyboardist Ivan Neville on a whim in order to perform a solo gig at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Ivan called in cousin Ian Neville (guitar), the double-bass bottom of both Nick Daniels and Tony Hall, and drummer Raymond Weber to round out the show. Named after a song Ivan had recently written, Dumpstaphunk’s informal performance became that of immediate legend. The project has since grown from chance side-project into what is now widely considered to be New Orleans’ most popular musical export. The band was recently voted 2007’s “New Orleans Best Funk Band” by both Offbeat Magazine and Gambit Weekly, and performs at some of the nation’s largest music festivals such as Bonnaroo, Voodoo Fest, 10,000 Lakes, and High Sierra.
Founders Ivan Neville and Ian Neville (sons of both Aaron Neville and Art Neville respectively), along with Nick Daniels, Tony Hall, and Raymond Weber, were brought up in an atmosphere of sounds that have arguably become the most defining in all of New Orleans music. But don’t let the pedigree of lineage from the Meters and Neville Brothers fool you either. Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk now stands on its own as the legitimate torchbearer of all things funky both in New Orleans and beyond with the release of their debut EP, Listen Hear.
Listen Hear provides at long-last the aural, syncopated nastiness listeners have been denied outside of a Dumpstaphunk live performance. Saxophonic magician, Skerik, also guests on the EP. Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk is not re-writing the book so much as adding a much needed new testament. While fortunate enough to stand upon the shoulders of giants, make no mistake – Listen Hear is not an attempt at world music or feel-good vibrations, like that of some of their counterparts, but rather straight-ahead inner city funk for the masses. Tracks like “Living in a World Gone Mad” and “Turn This Thing Around” describe the troubling times we live in, while songs like “Meanwhile” and “Shake” suggest accepting such times in order to enjoy life.
This release not only marks the band’s official musical debut, but also serves as a group’s formal transformation from popular side-project to full-time occupation. For some that might seem trivial but with Dumpstaphunk’s collective resume it speaks volumes. The members of Dumpstaphunk have recorded and performed with a veritable who’s-who of popular music over the years including the Rolling Stones, Dave Mathews, Bonnie Raitt, John Mayer, Trey Anastasio, Emmylou Harris and, yes, even the Neville Brothers. And while the members of Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk will surely continue to get the calls to do such collaborations, it will become increasingly difficult to find the time as the band forges ahead creating a new identity and standard for New Orleans music.
Joe Bonamassa
Joe Bonamassa OKC March 26th Civic Center Music Hall
March 26, 2010 Civic Center Music Hall
Tickets on sale now click for link
Joe Bonamassa will return to Oklahoma City March 26th, 2010 Currently touring in support of his Live at the Royal Albert Hall DVD this fall he will be touring this Spring in support of his newest studio effort currently set to be release in April of next year.
You can also contact the Civic Center Music Hall box at 405-297-2264 201 N Walker Ave. Loggia Box seating is only available by contacting them directly. Tickets obtained through the Civic Center Box Office have a reduced service charge.
You may also call 1-800-364-7111 to purchase tickets over the phone 24 hours a day.
A student ticket offer has just been announced. 18 and under or college students with ID are eligible to purchase half price tickets at the Civic Center Box Office limit 2 per student.
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Joe Bonamassa Royal Albert Hall DVD
Joe Bonamassa Live Royal Albert Hall
On May 4th 2009 Joe Bonamassa played the historic Royal Albert Hall in London England. It was captured on film and recorded in Dolby 5.1 sound by legendary producer Kevin Shirley.
Joe was joined onstage by his idol Eric Clapton with the addition of Anton Fig (Letterman) Lee Thornburg (Tower of Power horns) along with his current touring band playing an epic show sure to go down as one of the top concert films of all time.
The Mighty Orq
Oklahoma City Limits 4801 S. Eastern.
Friday August 6th, 2010
Biography
Fall 2008
Houston, Texas
The Mighty Orq (pronounced Ork) is a power trio from Houston, TX known for their unique blend of emotionally charged vocals, soaring guitars, and powerful drum lines.
The Mighty Orq has quickly risen to be one of Houston, Texas’ biggest bands by combining the energy of classic rock with undeniable pop hooks and melodies. Influenced by legendary Texas bands like ZZ Top, Soulhat, and Kings X, the band has been able to reach out to wide-ranging audience that continues to grow and diversify.
The band is best known for their high-energy live shows where through their music they take the listener to the extreme edges of rhythm, melody and dynamics. They have been actively touring through Texas and the South for four years, while maintaining a rigorous 200+ shows per year. This daunting schedule as well as the addition of Houston journeyman bass player Tommy Luna, has allowed the band to fine tune theirs into a razor-sharp trio. The national release of their new album To The Bone will coincide with huge shows around Texas and another 18+ months of touring the world to support it. This is a task that the band is not afraid to take on. After all, this will only bring more people to see what the next big band from Texas is all about.
“TO THE BONE”
Financed with the help of family, friends, and the selling of personal belongings; including guitars, drums, and many of Westside’s childhood Japanese toys. The album was recorded in five sixteen-hour long sessions in February 2007. The “To The Bone” sessions took place at Showplace Studios in Dover, New Jersey. Mr. Ben Elliott, the owner of Showplace, recorded, engineered, and mixed the album. Ben has recorded or engineered with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, Dillinger Escape Plan, etc… Ben is a super cool guy that is a great mixture of the old and new schools of recording. He has a wall of outboard gear that is virtually priceless that he uses to get a lot of his signature “wacky” guitar sounds (listen to “Blue Eyes” on the record). But at the same time, he’s recording using the latest version of Pro-Tools on a Mac. His patch bay looks like a giant plate of multi-colored spaghetti. Some additional recording was done with our friend Bryan Jones at Matchbox Studios in Austin, TX. Bryan is a killer engineer with a great ear for songs.
Here are our thoughts on “To The Bone”, track by track:
1) “Falling Down”—The tried and true “tale of excess” song. Probably our most Arc Angels(seminal Austin, TX band comprised of Doyle Bramhall II, Charlie Sexton, Tommy Shannon, and Chris Layton) sounding song. Great set opener. First song we recorded for the album.
2) “Different This Time”—Tight bridge, just wish we could’ve had some “Klezmer”type guitar over it. Time & money didn’t allow for it.
3) “Rainy Day”—Poppy. First of two “pretty” songs on the album. Matt’s feeble attempt to pay tribute to the man, Ringo Starr.
4) “HO”—It’s slang people. It stands for whore. We can be literal here. We hope to have a hip-hop artist from Houston or Louisiana to remix this song. It would be the perfect Gulf Coast club anthem. Yes, there was a Jenni. Yes, she did spell it with an I. Yes, her Dad was in prison and her Mom was out of work. Ask us about Suzy & Sally’s stories when you see us. However, we think you could substitute just about anyone’s (male or female) name in the song.
5) “Set Me Free”–Starts with the chorus lick. Deals with the feeling you get after hanging with anyone you really care about. Nothing to think about for awhile is a good thing.
6) “Hangin’ On”—Riff, riff, riff. Hi-hat opens in the right spot for the groove to breathe a bit. Political ramblings from The Mighty Orq? Yes. Don’t tell us who we should/shouldn’t like or what we should/shouldn’t do. Someone’s there to help you out though.
7) “If You Will”—The title comes from something Hadden Sayers (longtime Texas troubadour songwriter and Matt’s former boss) used to say. Big guitar. The 16th notes on the bass really drive the song. This is a staple of the live show; we never know where this song is going to go.
“Blue Eyes”–Number two in the “Pretty Song on To The Bone” series. All guitars make the sounds on the album, no keyboards. Ben has a killer guitar pedal collection and we used a bunch of them on this song. Written for a lady in Orq’s life. Yes, she does have blue eyes.
9) “4+1”–It was almost called “Wild Side”, but we didn’t want any of Motley Crue’s lawyers coming down on us (regarding the song “Wild Side” from the Crue’s 1987 album “Girls, Girls, Girls”). We had done a show with a band from New Orleans called Supagroup, and they kind of inspired us to write this song. We were going for heavy, and this is it. To us, it’s a bit like something ZZ Top would do. ZZ is in our blood. No digital editing was done on the bridge in the middle of the song. That tight stop & start was live in the studio.
10) “The Good Love”—Almost didn’t make the album. Later it was going to be a hidden track. We finally decided to just include it. The “bluesiest” song on the album. A true “metaphor” song. This song gets taken pretty far “out” when we play it live. Slide guitar over a heavy groove. Respect to Zeppelin on the turnaround.
11) “Scars”—Good closer for an album. Deals with the death of Matt’s son Abraham in June of 2005. Double time section at the end signifies the birth of Matt’s daughter, Pearl Johnson. Happy times. More slide guitar. Louisiana “flavored” groove. Think if Sonny Landreth (Lafayette, LA slide-guitar genius) had been from Houston, he may have written a song that sounded like this.
We are not your typical “band for a night”. We bring a sonic experience to the venue. Whether that venue is under the stairs at a bar on 6th Street in Austin, or in front of a thousand people in a concert hall. We are just as happy and comfortable taking our music “out” to a crowd of hippies for four hours as we are playing a tight thirty minute opening slot. The attitude is still the same, even if the notes we play and how we play them is different. New set lists are written every night before the gig. We play so many shows that if we played the same set from night to night, it would get real old, real fast; for us and for our audience. We’ve all had to do that in other bands we’ve been in, and were sick of it. That’s where playing weekly gigs comes in handy, it really teaches you to keep it fresh from week to week. We’ve even had fans end up getting jobs at the bars we do our weekly gigs at, just so they could get paid to see us every week. That’s pretty cool.
Since our set and songs change from night to night, we’ve started to have more and more people recording the live shows. We encourage the taping done at our shows. All we ask is that it is done with respect to us, the other audience members, and the venue. We also ask that we get a copy of it the next time we’re through town. Tapers are some of the biggest music fans in the world. We would be stupid to not let them record.
That’s where we’re at right now. We have worked extremely hard to get to this point and have no plans of stopping anytime soon. This is what we do and who we are. We’re going to gas up the van, drive to the gig, play our asses off, and do it again the next day. We will also put out records that attempt to say something, not just thrown together crap so you have something to sell at your shows. This process takes time and money; two things that we don’t have a lot of yet. However, if you’re still reading this, you may have a copy of our new record sitting next to you. So either load, place, or insert it in your favorite listening device and turn it up LOUD! We hope ya dig it.
To The Bone,
Orq, Westside, & Matt
Indigenous
Inigenous
October 4th 9:00 PM Oklahoma City Limts
Mato Nanji’s always provided the heartbeat of the band Indigenous — along with the warm dusty voice and the soaring, spirited guitar fireworks that have earned the group from South Dakota’s Nakota Nation a place among roots rock’s elite. But with the emotionally charged and musically visceral Broken Lands, the band’s second album on Vanguard Records, Nanji makes a transformation from sparkplug to visionary.
“I’ve wanted to make an album like this for years,” Nanji explains, “but to a certain extent my hands were tied. Now I feel like I’ve achieved so many things I’ve wanted this band to be. The songs I’m singing are more personal. The sound of the band has broadened, and we were able to explore all the influences that are woven into that sound – blues, soul, R&B, and even country — more than ever. And the guitar playing is more controlled, to really let the songs speak for themselves. On top of all that, I’ve grown as a singer. After being frustrated for a while, all of this makes me very happy. “What it amounts to,” Nanji announces, “is that Indigenous is a brand new band.”
He means that literally. From the group’s beginning in his parents’ basement through the release of 2006’s Vanguard debut Chasing the Sun, Indigenous was a family band. But after that disc was recorded Mato’s bassist brother Pte, his drummer sister Wanbdi, and his percussionist cousin Horse left to pursue other musical paths. “Everybody decided to go their own way, leaving me to carry on Indigenous,” Nanji says. “Playing with my family for 10 years was a lot of fun, but it was time to grow.”
So Nanji recruited guitarist Kris Lager, keyboardist Jeremiah Weir, bassist Aaron Wright, and drummer John Fairchild to tour behind Chasing the Sun. They also appear on Broken Lands, joined by drummer Kirk Stallings, percussionist Chico Perez, and Mato’s wife Leah Nanji on backing vocals. Producer Jamie Candiloro (Ryan Adams, R.E.M., Willie Nelson, the Eagles) completed the studio team.
“Jamie shined on bringing out the energy and honest sound we had going on,” Nanji says. “He had us set up and play live in the studio as if we were on stage. Some of the songs, like the acoustic-guitar shuffle ‘All Night Long,’ went down with even the vocals recorded live while the band played. Others, like ‘Should I Stay,’ are more textured, but benefit from the energy that comes with playing the basic tracks live.”
Nanji’s big-toned guitar on Broken Lands’ dozen songs about romance and destiny continues to demand comparison to his idols Stevie Ray Vaughan, Los Lobos, Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana. His burnished style — full of ringing sustained notes and artfully bent strings — elevates the emotional appeal of numbers like the romantic soul-searcher ‘Should I Stay’ and the brooding blues-rock masterpiece ‘Waiting.’ Nonetheless, Nanji kept his gear for the sessions trim: a couple amps, including the distinctive organ-like whir of a Leslie speaker, and his trademark Stratocasters augmented by a Guild acoustic.
“I wanted to get more slide guitar into the album, too,” he says, “which gave me and Kris, who’s an exceptional slide player, new ways to have interplay.” So Lager added bottleneck to ‘All Night Long,’ the sweet ballad ‘Eyes of a Child’ and other numbers. “I’ve loved slide ever since I found Elmore James in my father’s collection of old blues albums when I was a teenager,” Nanji says. The other sonic addition is Leah Nanji’s harmonies on much of Broken Lands, “I’ve always been a big fan of women singing backing vocals,” Nanji says. “Leah was able to do some of that on Chasing the Sun, but to me her voice is an essential part of Broken Lands.”
Leah was also essential as a songwriter, co-authoring all of the songs with Mato except his self-penned ‘Just Can’t Hide.’ “This is the first time I’ve had a hand in writing every song for an Indigenous album,” Nanji says. “It’s very liberating, because I feel like I’ve truly invested myself. Leah and I have been writing songs together for years, and we had written about 20 for this album and narrowed it down to the best dozen.”
One of the most compelling is ‘Place I Know,’ a riff-rocker that decries the poverty and isolation of Reservation life and gives the album it’s title in the line, “all is lost in these broken lands.” “I love the way all of these songs came out, but ‘Place I Know’ is one of the closest to me,” Nanji says. “It’s important to bear witness about the things that inspire love in your life and about the things that make you sad. “But working on these songs at home with Leah in Sioux Falls was really fun,” says Nanji. “I got to just sit and play them again and again on acoustic guitar without pressure, and that helped me develop my vocal melodies and grow as a singer. Because of that, Broken Lands has my best vocal performances.
“Broken Lands makes me feel like I did when Indigenous was just starting out,” Nanji says. “We were excited about making music and making records, and maybe getting to tour all over the United States, which we did.
“Now Indigenous is a new band again and I feel that same excitement,” he continues. “But this time — when we start touring in August — I want to take these new songs and this great sounding band all over the world.”