Marketa Irglova

Once More, With Feeling
Oscar Winner Marketa Irglova Chooses Her Own Path on Solo Debut
By Andrew Clayman
Published in The Cleveland Scene, November 2011

It’s been almost four years since a 19 year-old Marketa Irglova became the youngest person—and first Czech—to win an Academy Award for music; sharing “Best Original Song” honors with her Once co-star (and then boyfriend) Glen Hansard. At the Oscars ceremony, her acceptance speech was initially short-circuited by a premature orchestral send-off, but when host Jon Stewart shepherded her back to the microphone moments later, the soft-spoken but passionate Irglova proved herself a star in the making.

Within that context, the October release of a now 23 year-old Irglova’s debut solo album (following several years of touring with Hansard as The Swell Season) seems a tad overdue. But as Irglova explains, there were never any grand ambitions in place for her own career, despite that early success.

“I never really chose this for myself,” she says, speaking from her adopted home in New York City. “Music kind of chose me, and I hopped on an already moving train and joined the circus, basically.”

Both Once and The Swell Season were products of Irglova’s relationship with the Irish rocker Hansard, who had personally recruited the young pianist before she had put much thought into her own long term goals. The two split as a couple in 2009 (they remain friends), but it wasn’t until the Swell Season went on temporary hiatus in 2010 that Irglova decided to set to work on her own album, Anar.

“At that point, I could have either stopped making music for a while and waited for the band to go back on tour, or I could create a circumstance in which I could continue on this path and really commit to doing this as best I can,” Irglova says. “So it became a totally new experience really. With The Swell Season, it was mainly Glen’s vision and his intentions driving it on, whereas this time, it’s my own vision that I was trying to manifest. So there’s a lot more responsibility for me to handle now, but there’s also new rewards that come with it. It’s very gratifying and empowering.”

As an album of mostly low-key, introspective piano ballads, Anar captures Irglova in a fascinating transitional phase—inspired by her move to New York; the unique artistic and cultural influence of her Iranian friend and collaborator Aida Shahghasemi; and a budding romance with her sound engineer / new husband, Tim Iseler.

In a way, Irglova’s musical and romantic partnership with Iseler again mirrors the love-through-collaboration theme of Once. But even as Broadway prepares to unveil its adaptation of that film to the stage (Irglova approves of the musical but was only loosely involved), it’s worth noting that Irglova herself has mostly “moved on” from that period of her life—with few regrets, but plenty of lessons.

“I definitely feel like I learned a lot,” she says. “As much as I was absorbed in that experience [with Once], I was also very lost, in a way, for much of that time, and searching for answers-- as so many people do at that age. I hadn’t really made up my mind about what I wanted to be or where I was going. And I don’t think you ever really stop searching, really. But I definitely feel much more confident about my place in the world now.”

Screaming Females

Jersey Roar
NJ punks Screaming Females charge and charm across America
By Andrew Clayman
Published in The Nashville Scene, October 2011

If you’re going to catch up with New Brunswick, New Jersey’s preeminent indie-punk outfit, it might as well be at a rest stop somewhere off the Jersey Turnpike, while the band’s bass player lambastes a gas station attendant over a distressing absence of toilet paper in the john.

“Oh man, Mike is really giving this guy hell right now,” reports drummer Jarrett Dougherty, observing the antics of bandmate “King Mike” Abbate from a safe distance. Nearby, singer/guitarist Marissa Paternoster is in giggling hysterics. Yup, it’s another typical day on the road for Screaming Females.

In just a few years time, these three baby-faced amigos have gone from Tri-state area cult heroes to international headliners-- touring Europe twice and America relentlessly, all while cranking out four tight, riffy, and refreshingly unpretentious albums (most recently 2010’s Castle Talk). Along the way, they’ve also managed to keep the trusty Screaming Females tour van running smoothly, both literally and metaphorically.

“The globetrotting aspect is still a little surreal at times,” Dougherty says, “but traveling around the U.S. is something we’ve gotten very used to. And we are pretty good at communicating with each other and making sure everybody’s staying mentally healthy on the road. I think that’s why Mike was showing a little solidarity back there at the rest stop. Because I was actually the one who had no toilet paper in the bathroom, but I wasn’t going to whine about it myself [laughs].”

Since Screaming Females first started generating attention in the New Brunswick garage scene back in 2005, pint-sized front woman Marissa Paternoster (notably the only screaming female in Screaming Females) has been the obvious focal point. Quirky, shaggy-haired, and shy, Paternoster is almost the living embodiment of the loud/soft dynamic pioneered by one of her early influences, the Pixies. On stage, the quiet, awkward girl morphs into a shrieking, shredding tornado of a performer—critically admired as much for her technical prowess as her energy. As to whether she’s started building up the traditional guitar hero ego, however…

“Oh no, not at all!” she says, seemingly shocked by the very notion. “I have terrible self esteem and very little confidence [laughs].”

Even after five years of steady praise?

“Yeah, it’s not helping. I think you need to write more about it. Make me feel better about myself! [laughs]”

Okay, well, Paternoster is definitely a fine musician. But she’s also got one of those talents that’s much harder to develop: charm. Just observe a few of these sublime Marissa observations.

On her band’s live sound compared to studio sound:
“It’s hard for me to say, because I’m actually in the band, but I’ve heard that our live show is better than our records… according to the internet.”

On playing as a support act in front of the headliner’s fans:
“No one ever, like, boos us or throws tomatoes or anything. But sometimes they give me the finger, or roll their eyes at me or just text a lot. It’s mostly benign stuff-- except the finger, I guess. That’s a little upsetting.”

On the recent re-release of Screaming Females’ first two records from 2006 and 2007:
“It feels like a long time ago, but I still kind of understand the person I was at 18. There are bits and pieces of that time in my life that I can remember really vividly—and then a lot of it that I’ve forgotten.”

On the next Screaming Females album, targeted for a spring 2012 release:
“It’ll be fabulous! What more can I say? [laughs] We’re going into a new studio, but I’m not going to tell you where yet. …It’s a secret.”

Keb' Mo'

Mo' Than the Blues
Keb' Mo' Reveals his Pop and Gospel Roots on "The Reflection"
By Andrew Clayman
Published in The Nashville Scene, October 2011

Like any reputable bluesman, Keb' Mo' has a back story slightly blurred by mythology. Only in this case, the folklore lies in the very notion that Keb' Mo' (born Kevin Moore) actually plays the blues. Sure, the 60-year-old Nashville resident has been a lifelong admirer of Robert Johnson, covering several of the Delta legend's songs and even portraying him in the 1998 film Can't You Hear the Wind Howl? But for those who have truly followed Mo's music up through his latest album, The Reflection, it's clear that his reputation as a revivalist is wildly inaccurate.

"Getting tagged as a blues artist — that's just a consequence of people not actually hearing me," Mo' says. "They've just heard about me."

In reality, since his humble beginnings as a teen guitar wizard in South Central LA, Mo's passions for AM pop, soul and jazz have largely propelled his music — even during the '90s, when his retro attire and appearances on Martin Scorsese's The Blues set up some enduring misconceptions.

On The Reflection — Mo's eighth full-length studio album and first in five years — there's again nary a hint of 12-bar in the bunch, with most of the songs taking on a slick, adult-contemporary vibe along the lines of Eric Clapton's "Change the World." Mo' even offers a mellow cover of the Eagles' "One of These Nights" — a bold move one wouldn't expect of, say, Buddy Guy. But considering the fact that Keb's own press materials size up many of these tunes as perfectly suited to "urban radio's 'Quiet Storm' format," the easygoing tone is quite clearly intentional.

"To me, the best way to experience a record is to light a fire, have a glass of wine, and take it in," Mo' says. "For some people, if you don't have a certain spontaneity or rawness in the recording, it can lose some of the feeling. But to me, it's the opposite. Because as part of the creative process, the more time and attention you give a song, in my experience, the more that feeling can actually intensify."

After winning three Grammy awards as a major label artist (all three for "Best Contemporary Blues Album," of course), Mo' hasn't necessarily ventured into new musical territory on The Reflection, but it's a new beginning of sorts — his first release on his own Yolabelle label. "Things hit home a little harder when you're writing the checks yourself," he says with a chuckle. More importantly, though, Mo' says the new record — free of any outside label influence — is a truly unfiltered look into the here and now as he sees it.

"For me, it's always been a journey — making music and telling truths. And a record is like a stop along the way in that journey, you know? How am I looking at life, relationships, politics and everything else right now? That's kind of what 'The Reflection' means — my music mirroring my life."

Mo' adds that — on every stop of a journey — you "pick some people up and drop some people off." This could apply, among other things, to his impressive and eclectic cast of collaborators. This time around, guests include Vince Gill ("My Baby's Tellin' Lies"), Dave Koz (on the Eagles jam), India.Arie ("Crush on You") and virtually all of Mo's extended family on a moving rendition of the old spiritual "Something Within."

Maybe the standout track on The Reflection, though, is "We Don't Need It," a song about tough times and family sacrifices that Mo' originally wrote with Allan Rich back in 2004.

"We had done a real nice recording of 'We Don't Need It' for the Keep It Simple album," Mo' says, "but it didn't make the final cut. For some reason, I felt like I just hadn't captured it quite right. So on this record, I decided to finally revisit it and take the song in a new direction. And in that moment, when I recorded it, I knew I had the right version. It was just the right time, you know? After that, it seemed like every time I played it, people were really moved by it, and it became the showpiece of the record."

As a song about the importance of love over materialism, "We Don't Need It" reflects Keb' Mo's general philosophy on his life and career rather accurately.

"I actually don't really think of what I do as a career," he says. "It's more of a calling. You know, a career is something you put in time for so you can get that BMW or Mercedes. A calling is something that's in your soul that you were born to do. Now, if you do that and still get a BMW or Mercedes, too, that's OK [laughs]. I've never owned one myself, but I've sat in them, and they're pretty nice cars."

Frightened Rabbit

Who Framed Frightened Rabbit?
Though Opening for Death Cab, Scrappy Scottish Rockers May Steal the Show
By Andrew Clayman
Published in The Nashville Scene, August 2011

There are generally two types of rock bands that get to play 20,000-seat basketball arenas: (a) wildly popular, platinum-selling recording artists, and (b) the opening acts for wildly popular, platinum-selling record artists. This summer, Scottish indie outfit Frightened Rabbit is joining the latter camp—serving as the undercard for the unlikely commercial juggernaut known as Death Cab For Cutie. But as is often the case in these sorts of arrangements, the tour’s more inspiring act is not necessarily the one topping the bill.

“I actually like being the underdog,” says Scott Hutchinson, who formed Frightened Rabbit as a solo project in 2003 and has since watched it grow to a five-piece. “A lot of things about being an opening act kind of appeal to a Scottish sensibility, you know? We’re a small band from a small country, but we still have this opportunity to just make a blast of the 40 minutes we’re given, and I love doing that. Taking on that sort of challenge in front of a new crowd is quite gratifying.”

Of course, opening for a big-name band is also an ancient rock n’ roll rite of passage. Back in 2004, Death Cab themselves (at a creative peak) opened for Pearl Jam on the “Vote for Change” tour—a string of arena shows that did a lot more for Ben Gibbard than they did for John Kerry. Within months, the Pacific Northwest’s most huggable indie band had inked a deal with Atlantic Records, igniting their widespread takeover of America’s dorm rooms.

On the surface, it would appear that Frightened Rabbit has set about following that same blueprint. After three acclaimed albums on the independent Fat Cat label, Hutchinson and his mates signed to Atlantic last December and have spent the majority of 2011 working on the band’s major label debut. This North American tour with Death Cab, then, is a coming out party of sorts—graduating from the cozy confines of the Exit/In to the bright lights of the Bridgestone Arena.

“Oh, it’s a massive deal for us,” says Hutchinson. “You know, the first tour we did with Death Cab [in 2008] was in Europe and the UK, and their notoriety is just a bit less over there, so it was a smaller scale. In the U.S., it’s obviously a completely different ballgame. I spent half an hour Googling all the venues we’re playing on this tour, and it was just like, ‘holy shit!’ These places are amazing!”

For Hutchinson—like a lot of people—the arenafication of the traditionally intimate and inconspicuous Death Cab For Cutie is still a bit hard to get his head around, even as it’s opening doors for Frightened Rabbit’s similar brand of heart-on-the-sleeve indie rock.

“I honestly don’t know how they’ve done it,” Hutchinson says. “But, you know, Death Cab has never really been a band that’s been forced down anyone’s throats. One of the reasons why I admire and love them is that they have taken this slow, gradual build-up over the years—almost sneaking up on people—to the point where you’re like, ‘what, Death Cab is playing arenas?!’ And I think that’s a great way of doing it. … Plus, they were on The OC, right? [laughs]”

Chuckles aside, Frightened Rabbit is probably one Gossip Girl cameo away from a mainstream breakout of their own. And while Death Cab is slowly losing some of the warmth and sensitivity of their earlier work, Hutchinson and his bandmates are hitting their stride—tackling heartbreak and frustration with much greater urgency and determination than the wistful Gibbard and Co. ever did.

2008’s ex-girlfriend exorcism The Midnight Organ Fight was a powder keg of an LP; full of unbridled energy, hooks galore, and clever, confessional wordplay— somewhere between Ted Leo and Arab Strap on the blood-pumping scale. Its follow-up, The Winter of Mixed Drinks (2010), found Hutchinson astutely switching gears into more positive, less personal territory, with a Technicolor grandness more in the vein of The National or Arcade Fire. By no coincidence, Frightened Rabbit’s reputation as a leading indie act was solidified, easing the pressure a bit for their next effort.

“Yeah, now the doors are completely open for us in a lot of ways,” says Hutchinson, noting that the new album is taking shape in a much more collaborative manner than its predecessors, which he wrote and arranged mostly in solitude.

“I think in every writer’s life you reach that point where you feel like you might be starting to recycle ideas a bit, so it feels really new and good this time around to be working together with everybody on the process every day. And naturally, it’s sounding unlike anything we’ve done before, too, which I’m quite pleased about.”

Frightened Rabbit won’t have the new record in the can for a while yet, but to win over the Death Cab faithful, Hutchinson knows it’s the energy of their live show—more than any recording—that sets his band apart.

“Every show, we owe it to people to give everything we have. Even in a big venue, we’re going to reach for the back of the room—which means as much if not more energy than a small club show. It’s what the people paid for, and we never take that lightly.”