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Unwed Sailor with The Red Balloons and Carriage
Thursday · Southgate House
Unwed Sailor is not so much a band as it is a musical concept. Unwed Sailor was the brainchild and remains within the unique creative grasp of songwriter Johnathon Ford, an Oklahoma native whose travels have taken him and his ever-evolving band around the country and back (having called New York, Chicago, Little Rock, Ark., and Jackson, Miss., home at one time or another, they’re currently based in Seattle … again). The idea of Unwed Sailor shimmered into Ford’s consciousness in 1998, when he was writing songs with the Seattle band Roadside Monument. Ford’s Prog-y bass instrumental anthems veered far from needs of Roadside Monument, so Ford set them aside for a project he envisioned as Unwed Sailor.
That year, Ford and an assemblage of musical friends (the band’s lineup has always been determined by geography, convenience and availability) fashioned Unwed Sailor into an actual group and recorded their debut, The Firecracker, and its experimental follow-up, The Faithful Anchor. Painting the same kind of ambient guitar soundscapes that identified the works of Brian Eno, Bill Frisell and Daniel Lanois, Ford and his rotating orchestra went to even more cinematic extremes on 2003’s The Marionette and the Music Box, where Ford’s gorgeous, nearly drumless compositions formed the soundtrack to the title story told in illustration form in the CD’s booklet. It was the kind of project that could easily collapse under the weight of its own pretense, but Ford and Unwed Sailor handled the sound and vision with the utmost delicacy and elegance.
In 2005, Ford reunited with Dan Burton, who had contributed to The Faithful Anchor, to remix an out-of-print Unwed Sailor single and they wound up sticking together to create a trio of new releases; the intensely ambient Circles EP, the sweeping simplicity of the cinematically conjured full-length, The White Ox, and the louder, more aggressive Little Wars. If you’re looking for the mosh pit, walk on by. If you’re looking to be challenged and completely absorbed by music that will seep into your DNA, find yourself a seat in front of Unwed Sailor.
(Brian Baker)
The Pink Spiders with Sugarcult, Meg & Dia and Damone
Friday · Bogart’s
It’s been a couple of whirlwind years for The Pink Spiders, Nashville’s Power Pop ambassadors to the world. When guitarist/vocalist Matt Friction disbanded his group Silent Friction in 2003, he immediately hooked up with bassist Jon Decious and drummer Bob Ferrari to form the Pink Spiders. The Spiders never really had time to establish their identity for a hometown crowd, as they hit the road on a cross-country tour within a month of becoming a band.
In 2004, the Spiders released their debut EP, The Pink Spiders are Taking Over, followed by their 2005 indie full-length debut, Hot Pink. The buzz surrounding the band was deafening, which whipped the major labels into a contract frenzy. The Spiders ultimately chose to cast their lot with Geffen last year; the label immediately tapped former Cars frontman Ric Ocasek to produce the band’s major label debut, Teenage Graffiti, released to critical acclaim back in August. Ocasek’s involvement wasn’t the band’s first brush with musical celebrity; former Talking Head keyboardist Jerry Harrison saw the Spiders at a Hollywood club early on and produced a handful of demos for them pro bono, just to be able to say he’d worked with the band.
The Spiders have toured relentlessly over the past three years, opening for the likes of 30 Seconds to Mars, Good Charlotte and Yellowcard, not to mention becoming one of the most talked about headliners on this year’s Vans Warped Tour. Not surprisingly, this whole amazing year kicked off with Alternative Press naming The Pink Spiders as one of the Top 100 Bands You Need to Know in 2006. There’s a smart collection of Rock journalists at AP. Dig out a comfortable pair of pogo shoes and be prepared to tell your future children that you saw The Pink Spiders when they were still an opening band. They might not believe you, but you’ll know the truth. Plus, you’ll totally be able to ground them. (BB)
Mr. Gnome with The Sundresses and Ghostfinger
Saturday · The Poison Room
Cleveland Prog/Art Rock duo Mr. Gnome seem to play in Cincinnati every other month, so it makes sense that they would kick off a 30-day-tour of the entire U.S. with a show in Cincy, also designated as their “CD release party.” By far one of the more unique and inventive bands in Ohio, Mr. Gnome got its start just two years ago. Thanks to the originality and creativity of their sound (displayed on their debut five-song EP, Echoes on the Ground, released last year), the twosome has already earned plenty of press attention and radio airplay in North America.
The CD that the band is promoting on their current tour is another five-song EP, a self-titled affair, and looks to drive up the duo’s profile even more. The disc picks up where Echoes left off, pimping an even more diverse and imaginative collection of tracks that utilize elements of Metal, Post Punk, AltRock, Indie and Prog, but land in a realm of their own making. It might seem odd that Mr. Gnome has yet to release a full-length, instead debuting with two EPs. That is, until you hear the songwriting. There are so many things going on within one Mr. Gnome song (thrilling structural shifts, spontaneous-sounding sonic bursts, high-ceilinged vocals, air-tight, artistic drum parts) that listening to five actually feels more like a full-length album than most legit ones. The band has been called “Math Rock” at times, but their sound is way too propulsive and fiery to make that an accurate portrayal. Despite the smart progressiveness, Mr. Gnome’s music doesn’t come off as being overly thought-out and picked over, coming more from the gut than the brain.
Singer/guitarist Nicole Barille is a genuine “double threat,” her amazing vocals possessing old-soul urgency and passion (her voice is similar to Heartless Bastards’ Erika Wennerstrom’s in that respect), while her guitar attack is robust and noisy, but also exact, inspired and commanding. Drummer Sam Meister is the secret weapon of Mr. Gnome, his zigzag playing as precise as a machine, but also as musical as any other instrument. Combined together, they make for a deep, exhilarating listen.
The new EP’s opener, “Truffle Shuffle” begins with a schizoid grind that wouldn’t have been out of place on an Industrial track, featuring a few ear-sucking, stop-on-a-dime moments before shifting tempos for slinkier, soaring choruses and a feedback-drenched, primal, sludgy outro. On the closing cut, Barille unravels a trippy, echoing riff that Jimmy Page might have played back in the day during an extended “No Quarter”; Meister’s drums creep in with a jazzy shuffle before the two lock together again on some slashing, syncopated chords. Like Tool, Mr. Gnome creates a new brand of raging Psychedelic Rock for a generation of Metal, Indie and Prog fans. (Mike Breen)
This article appears in Nov 15-21, 2006.