STREAM: Benjy Ferree - “The Fear”

For all of Peter Pan’s fantastical, magical skills (flight, expert swordsmanship, voice mimicry, flute proficiency) the one power above all others that captures the imagination of children is his ability to never grow up. Gone is the foreboding future of jobs, bills, and responsibility. All that remains is playing, singing, dancing, and a magical land where you have friends with names like Nibs and Tootles.

For Bobby Driscoll, the child star who portrayed Peter Pan in the 1953 Disney feature, the reality of growing old in a world without Neverland hit hard. Once Disney’s golden boy of cinema, Driscoll was fired from Disney after the making of Peter Pan for the unforgivable crime of hitting puberty and developing a bad case of acne. No longer cute and profitable, he struggled to find work and fell into a life-long battle with drugs until ultimately dying homeless and broke in a Manhattan tenement in 1968 at the age of 31. With police unable to identify his body, the one-time Academy Award winner ended up in an unmarked mass grave on New York’s Hart Island.

Come Back To The Five And Dime, Bobby Dee Bobby Dee, the second full-length album from D.C. musician Benjy Ferree, gives Bobby Driscoll a recognition that is long overdue: a musical eulogy to a forgotten child star who was chewed up and spit out by the unforgiving Hollywood meat market. Driscoll was a natural subject for Ferree as Peter Pan wasn’t just an entertaining fictional character during Ferree’s youth - he was an obsession. As a child, Ferree spent countless hours imitating the mischievous, magical child adventurer. His eventual discovery of Driscoll’s sad fate led to this album - an ode not just to his childhood hero, but to anyone who’s gotten the short end of the stick in life - with Driscoll renewing his role as the leader of life’s ignored Lost Boys.

Musically, Ferree lets his distinctive blend of rock and roll and Americana cross new borders and genres, even as he maintains a firm base in the roots of American music. Drawing as much from the country meandering of Jimmie Rodgers and the passionate blues pounding of Son House as he does from the vocal hysterics of Freddie Mercury and the balladry of Nick Cave, Ferree crafts a sound that is difficult to fit into any one category, but upon listening is as gratifying as it is unique. Produced by Ferree himself, engineered by Mark Nevers, and mixed by Brendan Canty, Come Back To The Five And Dime, Bobby Dee Bobby Dee displays Ferree’s evolution as not only a masterful songwriter and arranger, but more importantly, as one of today’s most intriguing and imaginative voices.

“Fear” - the album’s first single - showcases how Ferree’s sharp, melodic tenor can hold together a great song. Synthesizers, pianos, and background vocals drop in and out throughout, springing up to complement his crooning when necessary, but knowing when to let his voice take its appropriate spot on center stage. The result is a sweeping, harmonious ballad that showcases the leap Ferree’s music has taken, while still staying true to its roots. “Come To Me, Coming To Me” and “Blown Out (Gold Doubloons And Pieces Of 8 )” prove that Ferree can rock when he wants to, channeling Marc Bolan better than other artists that actually try to, and “When You’re 16″ allows him to tap into the traditional country music vein of Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash that remains one of his greatest influences.

The spirit of Bobby Driscoll seeps its way into each song of the album. References to his fame, film work and ultimate demise are littered throughout, but it’s up to the listener to discover Driscoll’s influence for themselves. “Heavy weighs the burden of Brother Dee,” Ferree sings on the album’s opening track, “Tired Of Being Good,” a pulsating, infectious tune that incorporates elements of roots music, classic rock and roll, and even samba. Bobby Driscoll may not be alive, but people who are getting a shit hand dealt to them by life certainly still are, carrying their burdens in an indifferent and unforgiving world. Maybe they can take some comfort in knowing that such a strong, talented, and original artist has produced an irresistibly exceptional album that takes up their cause, finally giving them their long-past due.

Bobby Driscoll’s Wikipedia page, for more info. - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Driscoll

BENJY FERREE
all dates with Tim Fite

Feb 19 TT the Bear’s Cambridge, Massachusetts
Feb 20 The Bell House Brooklyn, New York
Feb 21 M Room Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 22 Thunderbird Cafe Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Feb 23 Beachland Tavern Cleveland, Ohio
Feb 24 The Pike Room Pontiac, Michigan
Feb 25 Schubas Chicago, Illinois
Feb 26 Northside Tavern Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 27 Rumba Cafe Columbus, Ohio
Feb 28 Black Cat (Record Release Party!) Washington, DC

Benjy Ferree
Come Back To The Five and Dime, Bobby Dee Bobby Dee
(Domino)
Street date: Feb. 03, 2009

1. TIRED OF BEING GOOD
2. FEAR
3. BIG BUSINESS
4. WHAT WOULD PECOS DO?
5. BLOWN OUT (GOLD DOUBLOONS AND PCS OF 8 )
6. THE GRIPS
7. IRIS FLOWERS
8. I GET NO LOVE
9. COME TO ME, COMING TO ME
10. WHIRLPOOL OF LOVE
11. PISSTOPHER CHRISTOPHER
12. WHEN YOU’RE 16
13. GREAT SCOTT!
14. ZIPPERFACE BLUES

BENJY FERREE LINKS:
MySpace - www.myspace.com/BENJYFERREE

Label Page - www.dominorecordco.us

More Audio samples: benjyferree.com/download

Saturday, January 17th, 2009
at the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue
Washington, DC
Washington City Paper PRESENTS:
Songs for Presidents
A Bands for Lands benefit celebrating the Presidential inauguration with performances from the critically acclaimed Of Great and Mortal Men: 43 Songs for 43 U.S. Presidencies

Featuring:
* Nellie McKay * Jukebox the Ghost * These United States * Laura Burhenn * Tim Fite * Joe Pug * Denison Witmer * Silver Darling * Tom Carter (Charalambides) * Hiss Golden Messenger * Reid Maclean * J. Matthew Gerken * Jefferson Pitcher * Christian Kiefer * and many more yet to be announced!

Featuring a special opening set by THESE UNITED STATES

Saturday, January 17th, 2009
at the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue
Washington, DC

The show features live performances of songs from:

J. Matthew Gerken, Jefferson Pitcher, and Christian Kiefer’s
Of Great and Mortal Men: 43 Songs for 43 U.S. Presidencies

A 3-Disc box set that explores American history with a song written for each American president, performed by Alan Sparhawk (Low), Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters/Sun Kil Moon), Califone, Xiu Xiu, Bill Callahan, Radar Bros., Rosie Thomas, Denison Witmer, Tom Brosseau, Marla Hansen, Wooden Wand, and many others. The song for the 44th President will debut the week of inauguration.

MP3: “Washington Dreams of the Hippopotamus”
featuring Vince DiFiore of Cake
Listen
Watch the video

Press highlights:
NPR
Pitchfork

Links:
www.43presidencies.com
bandsforlands.org
www.standardrecording.com
www.nelliemckay.com
www.myspace.com/jukeboxtheghost
www.myspace.com/theseunited
www.myspace.com/lauraburhenn
www.myspace.com/denisonwitmer
www.myspace.com/silverdarling
www.kranky.net/artists/charalambides.html
www.myspace.com/thejoepug
www.myspace.com/timfite

MP3: Fol Chen - “The Believers”

MP3: Fol Chen - “The Believers (Clifford Lidell Remix)”

Highland Park, CA band Fol Chen recently joined the roster of Asthmatic Kitty Records - their debut record isn’t due ’til Feb. 17, 2009 but they’re already sharing their first music video (directed by Kelly Sears), plus another track from their record and a remix track handled by Clifford Lidell. The band also has one LA show planned, this Sunday afternoon Dec. 14 as part of a toy drive / benefit for the LA Parks and Recreation Annual Holiday Toy Drive. Fol Chen also contributed to The Machine Project’s recent takeover of LACMA (read more about it here) by contributing a limited edition textile-inspired soundtrack, which you can now buy via The Machine Project’s website here.

More about the video’s director, Kelly Sears:

Kelly Sears is an animator and filmmaker living in Los Angeles. Her work has been shown at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, Los Angeles County Museum of
Art, the Hammer Museum, Sundance Film Festival, and in galleries and film festivals internationally. She makes collage animations from collected and discarded periodicals, books, and encyclopedias. She is
often found in the book section of thrift stores. More of her work can be seen at www.kellysears.com

A Transmission from Fol Chen:

“You know that mysterious black object that the creepy family is staring at on the cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Presence” album? Fol Chen sound like that. But we don’t sound like Led Zeppelin. (We actually do
a little.) Instead, we sound like Prince with Amon Duul II and a children’s religious revival, not to mention Hot Chip, Pink Floyd, Gwen Stefani, Pere Ubu, Danielson Famile, Scritti Politti, Boards of Canada, The Blow, and Pulp. (Mostly.) We are using secret powers and the guidance of legendary DJ Donna Donna to combat our nemesis, John Shade. We are cryptic and joyful and we would like you to dance.”

The Story of Fol Chen:

Traffic was thick, thick, thick and Samuel Bing was unwell, strung out on the latest psychotropic fads: sleeplessness and feeling crummy. The Northern State was crawling like a funeral procession for Robert Moses. Above the overpasses, the clouds were lined with gristle. Even the horizon seemed to be sinking. So, it came just in time when Donna Donna transmitted her message over the open radio waves - a phantom broadcast from a station whose signal had long since dissolved into static. You could barely hear her voice between the Crazy Eddie ads, but Samuel Bing had his radio loud. She spoke backwards for security, but Samuel Bing understood each word. “Initiates in the society of Fol Chen,” Donna Donna whispered, “Let’s get to it. While you sit in traffic, John Shade is busy spreading his black mischief. Here’s the Screamer of the Week: ‘Birds Fly’ by Icicle Works.” Samuel Bing turned off his car and opened his trunk. No one was moving, so no one bothered honking. His trunk was filled with what looked like garbage, but this wasn’t just any piled crap — Every object was a module in a greater, yet-to-be-created whole. Samuel Bing fished out a cassette tape and a broken ice-scraper. He inspected the sides of each, found the hidden grooves, snapped them together. He grabbed a faded Polaroid, an old paperback romance, a polyester potholder, and a pair of drugstore sunglasses. He snapped each edge to edge. He chose twelve items, then another six, and arranged all eighteen in interlocking circles that together formed a wider circle. Just to be safe Samuel Bing welded the grooves with a cigarette lighter, slapped the whole thing on his back. From beneath a crusty blanket where the spare tire should have been, he pulled a wide, machete-like sword, and shoved it in his belt. Then Samuel Bing leapt into the air and let the currents carry him.

Melissa Thorne and Phat Jeph were waiting in room 12A when Samuel Bing landed in the parking lot of the Desert Hot Springs Hotel Spa. This is where they met in times of elevated risk - when the Highland Park compound was out of the question. Phat Jeph was ripped on peppermint schnapps, but he was a gentle, melancholy kind of drunk, and hard to deal with sober, so Melissa Thorne made sure his glass stayed full. Samuel Bing didn’t bother knocking. He already had a key. He searched the bathroom, looked under the bed. “Where are the others?” he asked. “G-Bone and Wass are on the way,” said Melissa Thorne. “What about
Baby Alex?” asked Samuel Bing. But they fell silent, just stared at the rug. Samuel Bing poured himself a schnapps and asked what happened, though he knew the answer. “John Shade got him,” Phat Jeph slurred. Samuel Bing gripped the pommel of his sword. “We don’t have time for this,” said Melissa Thorne, and elbowed Phat Jeph in the ribs. “Okay, here’s the idea,” he said. “We have to build a serious pyramid. That way we can measure the stars, the distances between them. Like the Aztecs and the Incas and King Tutankhamen. We have to take this battle to Shade.” “I’ve drawn up some plans,” said Melissa Thorne. She pushed the blueprints across the filthy bedspread. “You in?” Samuel Bing smiled for the first time all week. He pulled his sword from his belt, tested the blade with his thumb, nodded. “I’m in.”

- Ben Ehrenreich

FOL CHEN

The Los Angeles Dodgeball Society Presents
Dodgeball X-Mas Party
Sunday, Dec 14th 2-9pmpm
2-5pm bands:
2:30-3:00 - Fol Chen
3:20-3:50 - The Monolators
4:10-4:40 - Little Red Radio
5-7pm - Film Screening of “Better Off Dead” featuring John Cusack
7-9pm Stand up comedy featuring Patton Oswalt, Doug Benson & More!
Admission: $5-$10 un-used toy for holiday toy drive or $5-$10 donation.
@ The Nike Montalban Theater
1615 Vine Street, 90028 - Between Hollywood and Sunset
FREE BEER/VODKA & FREE FOOD!

Fol Chen
Part 1: John Shade, Your Fortune’s Made
(Asthmatic Kitty)
Street date: Feb. 03, 2009

1.The Believers
2.No Wedding Cake
3.You and Your Sister in Jericho
4.The Idiot
5.Red Skies Over Garden City (The Ballad of Donna Donna)
6.Winter, That’s All
7.Cable TV
8.Please, John, You’re Killing Me
9.The Longer U Wait (Version)
10.If Tuesday Comes

FOL CHEN LINKS:

MySpace: www.myspace.com/folchen

Press Materials: asthmatickitty.com/musicians.php?artistID=27

Asthmatic Kitty Records: www.asthmatickitty.com

MP3: Bosque Brown - “Went Walking”

Bosque Brown have been quietly working on their sophomore full-length for the past 15 months with producer Chris Flemmons (Baptist Generals) in Denton, TX. Baby features a fuller sound and more expansive instrumentation than previous releases. The Bosque Brown debut, Plays Mara Lee Miller, was recorded in a few short days on relatively few takes and a follow up ep, Cerro Verde, which features lead singer Mara Miller singing over her sparse guitar playing. Baby benefits from the band’s ability to record close to home and take as much time as needed to finish this sophomore full-length. The process began with several home recorded demo songs and the band began to play them, adding parts and adjusting their contributions. Baby becomes a natural outgrowth of Bosque Brown playing together as a live band, the band taking their time to find the right sounds, adding things in, taking things away, and letting the songs grow under Flemmons’ watchful guidance.

Vocals are a focal point of Baby with these vocals, often Miller’s vocals doubled up or harmonizing with her sister Gina, contrasting with varying percussive sounds from the drums, piano, and keyboard. Drummer Winston Chapman and Flemmons, himself a longtime drummer, experimented with prepared drums, mic placements, and recording techniques to color the percussion during the recording process. Many failed experiments gave birth to solidified versions of the songs as the drums coalesced with the vocals and other instrumentation. Acappella tracks with heavily layered vocals and echoing reverberation borrow from the sacred harp tradition and break up Baby into four segments. This reverb collapses into close vocal phrasings for other album tracks that gradually add in thick instrumentation. Lush and soaring keyboards, organs, pedal steel, and effects blend with varying drum and percussion rhythms which pace the songs as singer Mara Miller’s vocals are met with harmonies from her sister Gina Milligan and guitarist Jeremy Buller. Flemmons’ production selectively tweaks room effects and recording techniques to capture both the intimacy and expanse of his home recording space.

In her often personal lyrics, Miller reflects back on her small-town Texas upbringing as an adult coming to terms with that rich history after moving away. On “O River”, references to old time hymn lyrics mix with the imagery of a dark and cold flowing river, perhaps a subtle reference to Texas’ Bosque River, the band’s namesake. “White Dove” and “Soft Love” bookend Baby, opening the record with a sense of dark desperation and finding a hopefulness in her love, moving past the ambivalence of the three part “On and Off” which punctuates the flow of the album with a tossing and turning of ideas.

The artwork for Baby was done by Mara’s longtime friends Sean Horton and Melissa Mudry who she knew from small-town life. They introduced her to the short-lived Lift to Experience which had a large cult following in Texas and helped open Mara up to Texas musicians like Townes van Zandt and the outlaw country of The Flatlanders and Hank Williams. The photos are from Melissa’s grandmother who had a ranch in Texas and portray the themes of Baby in Sean and Melissa’s eyes.

Burnt Toast Vinyl discovered Mara Miller through folk singer Damien Jurado who met Miller on tour. Jurado was acting as a bit of a freelancing A&R rep, funneling prospective acts and demos to the label. Arrangements were made for Mara and her husband and fellow bandmate Ryan to travel to Seattle and record Plays Mara Lee Miller. This debut was released in 2005 and Mara and Ryan were joined by Mara’s sister Gina and friends Jeremy Buller and Winston Chapman to form the live version of Bosque Brown. The band’s live shows quickly captivated music fans in the Dallas/Denton/Ft. Worth area, bolstered by Miller’s striking stage presence. Plays Mara Lee Miller found its way onto many Top 10 of 2005 lists, including top release of 2005 by the Dallas Observer, and garnered the band several local music award nominations. A four song ep, Cerro Verde, was recorded in 2006 and released as a one-sided vinyl LP with an accompanying cd. Cerro Verde was a stripped down effort, chronicling Miller’s family experiences in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The Bosque Brown track “Fire Fight” was featured on the Jumping Off Bridges independent film soundtrack which debuted at 2007’s SXSW film festival. Bosque Brown have headlined their own shows and have played with bands including Midlake, Two Gallants, John Vanderslice, Will Johnson, the Baptist Generals, Bobby Bare Junior, Damien Jurado, Billy Joe Shaver, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jolie Holland, and The National. Now, Bosque Brown are ready to emerge from the recording process and share their new songs with the world.

Bosque Brown
Baby
(Burnt Toast Vinyl)
Street date: March 03, 2009

1.White Dove
2.Went Walking
3.So Loud
4.On and Off
5.Texas Sun
6.Whiskey Flats
7.On and Off
8.Train Song
9.This Town
10.On and Off
11.Oh River
12.Phone Call
13.Soft Love

BOSQUE BROWN LINKS:
MySpace - www.myspace.com/bosquebrown

Label Page - www.burnttoastvinyl.com