Q&A Alanna Fugate

By Mat Herron

LEO: About your record …
AF: It’s definitely a good step forward for me. Mike DuFresne (ex-People Noise, currently with Zongo) recorded the album. We both spent a long time experimenting, but this is only his fifth project. He was in a new space at the time. This project has got a real organic, fresh feel to it. It’s almost kind of odd, really, which is cool with me, because I’m an odd person. If something bigger comes from it, I can always sit back and make changes here and there. I’m happy to share these songs with people.

LEO: You moved here seven months ago. How come?
Alanna Fugate: I just needed a change of pace with my life, and out of all the cities in Kentucky, Louisville seemed to be the most promising for live music. I just wanted to play a lot of different places.

LEO: What is Ewing, Va., like?
AF: Ewing is an extremely small town outside of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. It’s itty bitty, Cumberland Gap National Park was pretty much my backyard.

LEO: When did you start playing music?
AF: About 10 years ago. I was 13 when I started playing guitar. I started writing before that, and that’s one of the reasons I picked up the guitar, because I wanted an outlet. As a performer, I’m more of a songwriter than I am a musician. I did a lot of clawhammer, banjo-style stuff, and finger picking, I’ve picked that up along the way.



LEO: Clawhammer makes me think there’s a bluegrass influence there somewhere. Did you listen to much bluegrass?
AF: Not really, no. I listen to a lot of banjo players, and I’ve really been into banjo and bass players with funk music and soul music. I’ve found some kind of familiarity with that. It influences me a lot.

LEO: Other than the humidity, what have you noticed about Louisville since you’ve moved here?
AF: I’ve noticed that there is a good sense of community with the musicians. A lot of them took me under their wing when I moved here, people like Ben Sollee, Andrea Davidson, Teneia Sanders. With Ben, even with the level that he’s at, we’re still great friends. We talk all the time, and he’s there to help me out. There’s not any competitiveness that I’ve found so far with the musicians. There’s music seven nights a week in this town, and there’s always someone who wants to go out and listen. I think it’s great that this town supports local music the way it does.

LEO: What do you when you’re not playing music?
AF: I work part-time at a restaurant here. Besides that, I’m behind my computer, trying to book shows. I go to “the office” during my spare time.

Alanna Fugate plays BBC in St. Matthews (3929 Shelbyville Road, 899-7070, www.bbcbrew.com) Friday with Eddy Green. Doors are at 10 p.m.

Q&A: Shonna Tucker of the Drive-By Truckers

By Brent Owen

After taking a respite from the band for most of 2007 – the members of Drive-by Truckers are back, re-energized, and hitting the road in support their new album: Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. Bassist Shonna Tucker checked in via telephone from a tour stop in Boise, Idaho.

LEO: Am I cutting in on anything important right now?
Shonna Tucker: No, not at all. Just drinking a cold beer and listenin’ to some music.

LEO: Anything good?
ST: Yeah, I’ve been record shopping like crazy. Right now I’m listenin’ to a Howlin’ Wolf box set.

LEO: Last year was pretty crazy for you all, so far how is 2008 looking?
ST: It’s going great so far. We’re pretty much just getting started here on the tour – I guess we’re just a little over a week into this tour so we’re still pretty fresh. So far, so good.

LEO: How is it getting play the new songs in the full-fledged rock show as opposed to “The Dirt Underneath” Tour?
ST: Not really surprising. But some of the songs we didn’t really know how it was going to turn out exactly live because it was a lot different than what we normally do. But so far things are going great. We’ve had Spooner Oldham out with us and that’s been super-fantastic. He’s got a great vibe up there and brings the magic every time; so that helps too.

LEO: How is the new material playing in concert?
ST: It’s going really great, it’s typical to see people out there already singing the lyrics and just rockin’ out. It’s pretty surreal.

LEO: How do folks on the west coast respond to your particular brand of southern oriented music?
ST: I don’t know, I think they like the music and they get it but maybe they’re just as fascinated by our redneck ways up there on stage … all of the debauchery and whatnot. It’s like going to the circus baby; you’ve just got to see it.

LEO: You all seem to play Louisville fairly often, do you all have a direct affinity for the town or is it just go-to stop where you know you can sell out a show?
ST: I would say both. It does take both of them really because we wouldn’t come (to a town) if we didn’t want to. And it’s a great crowd there as we get closer to the south and get closer to home.

LEO: The last two times you all played here you were at a theater, now you’ve gone back to playing Headliners. Honestly you all didn’t seem quite as enthusiastic in the theater as previously had been in playing the smaller venues and bars — so was it a conscious effort to return to a platform where you can connect with an audience more directly?
ST: Yeah, that’s definitely what we want to do especially with the new record out. We just want to get down there with everybody and get back to the rock show. We wanna pack the place out and get the energy going. Because The Dirt Underneath tour last year was super laid back, acoustic, broken down a little bit, that was great, but we’re all ready to stand up plug in, and turn it up again.

LEO: Did boredom or static emotion inspire you to write songs?
ST: Well, I’ve always written. This is just the first time approached the guys with the songs and felt like they were Drive-by Trucker material. I’ve always written, but for the last five years I’ve kind of been in the back, in the shadows, because I’ve been focusing on being the bass player. It seemed like time for me to come out and introduce myself as a writer.

LEO: I have to ask also, the first time most of us heard you sing was with your cover of Bob Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone.” Your rendition is so fantastic that I am still stunned at the fact that from what I can tell you all never played it live at all. What was up with that?
ST: People ask us all the time to play it and we just flat out don’t know the words. That song has something like six verses to it and none of us can remember the damn words.

LEO: What’s the difference between what John Neff brings to the band as opposed to what Jason brought to the band?
ST: I think Jason leans more toward the pop end of things. Johnny comes from country standpoint with pedal steel and his very unique guitar playin’. He’s got his own thing going, and he’s as cool as can be. It’s always different when you have leave or come in, but John was an original member of the band so he’s always been one of us. He just took a break for a little while.

LEO: How do you handle being stuck on a bus with four rowdy men for a majority of the year?
ST: It’s a little different. I told someone the other day I would much rather be out here with a bunch of guys than a bunch of girls. I don’t think I could do that. They respect me, they watch out for me, and I do the same for them. I clean up the nasty bus and it works out.

LEO: Does that make privacy and issue for you all?
ST: No, you look forward to crawling in that tiny little bunk and shutting that curtain. That curtain seems to shut out the rest of the world … at least for a little while.

LEO: You all have a widely male following — do the guys at the show ever get offensive or rowdy with you being one of the only women in the room?
ST: They’re pretty obnoxious and drunk, but they’re definitely respectful. It’s amazing really, to give any large group of people that much whiskey or whatever they’re doing out there; it’s pretty amazing to see how well behaved our audiences are. And if something ever does get out of hand, we’re usually the first ones to see it because we’re up and we can see everybody, so we’ll call them out and stop it before it gets bad.

LEO: “I’m Sorry Houston” is a beautiful song, as I said I know you’re a fan of guys like Otis Redding and Sam Cooke, but that song feels like something out of Nashville from the late fifties or early sixties – is there a place in your brain where Jim Reeves and Sam Cooke meet?
ST: Yeah, all of those people you named are from the south. They’re southern people, country people like us. It wasn’t a conscious thing it just happened that way, I wasn’t trying to do anything or make it sound any way, it just came out soundin’ like it did.

Q&A: John Goldsby

By Mat Herron

LEO: How has living in Germany affected the way you look at jazz as an art form? Do you find any classic German compositions or techniques creeping into the music you play?
John Goldsby: Living in Germany has given me the opportunity to explore my music in a very artistic, non-commercial way. I played a lot of great music when I was in New York, but there was always a pressure to make ends meet—take every job, and basically be "on call" 24 hours a day. Europeans have a very balanced approach to life—and the art is a reflection of the lifestyle. I've grown to appreciate this attitude, and I think it has played a large part in my growth as a musician in the last 13 years.
In Germany, most audiences think of jazz as concert music. Most musicians here are well-schooled in classical music first, and then learn jazz. Since living here, I have studied some with classical bass players, and I have to say that their standard of playing is very, very high. It's inspiring to me, and I try to filter this energy from the great classical tradition through my own perspective as a jazz player.

LEO: On your site, you talk about how WDR has a broader scope than PBS in the United States. Can you elaborate?
JG: In Germany, each of the regions has its own radio and TV station. These "public" TV stations are funded by a mandatory tax -- the radio and TV tax, which every resident has to pay if they have any kind of radio, television set, or even an internet-accessible computer. After World War II, it was written in the German Constitution that these public radio and TV stations were legally obliged to provide news and cultural programming for the citizens. This is why most of the stations started and still maintain their own musical ensembles—at the WDR (the Westdeutscher Rundfunk), there is a full-time jazz big band, choir, symphony orchestra and radio orchestra—about 220 musicians on staff full-time. The mission of the public radio and TV stations is to to provide unbiased access to news and culture, producing many of the programs and concerts in-house, and outsourcing many of the productions to freelance groups. These musical ensembles play hundreds of concerts every year—mostly in the broadcast region, but also outside of this region or outside of Germany. There are about 18 million people in the North-Rhein Westphalia (NRW) area of Germany that is serviced by the WDR Radio and TV.
The PBS stations in the U.S. are funded by donations from private individuals as well as larger donations from corporations and charitable trusts—plus a tiny bit of government money. The German system might be a little more fair in the long run—everyone has to pay ... but the news is de-centralized and non-commercial, the culture is produced locally, and with a high standard. There is so much funding for the arts, dance, music, theater—which gives artists a chance to really stretch out and be creative without having to worry about something selling a lot commercially. There is a friendly competition between the different regions to produce the best programming and concerts.


LEO: In last October's Bass Player Magazine, you wrote, upon seeing Christian McBride, Ray Brown and John Clayton in Germany, that they reinforced everything you believe about the "the jazz tradition and progression of techniques and information from generation to generation." What are your beliefs with respect to those two aspects?
JG: I wrote that article actually after Christian, Ray and John performed with the WDR Big Band several years ago (mid-'90s). I had the great honor of performing alongside them—a true highlight for me.
Here is a video clip of the WDR Big Band (I'm playing bass on the ensemble sections) with Ray Brown, John Clayton and Christian McBride (Superbass!) out front: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1r5ib_superbass-blue-monk_music
In my eyes, Ray Brown was a real connection to the founding fathers of jazz bass playing, like Jimmy Blanton (Duke Ellington Band, 1939-41) and Oscar Pettiford (the legendary bebop bassist w/ Charlie Parker, Bud Powell and many others). John Clayton is several years older than me and was a student of Ray Brown's. Christian McBride is a young, 30-something virtuoso bassist whose idols are Ray Brown and James Brown, among others. Seeing these three guys working together was an affirmation of everything I believe about learning and mastering jazz, which I think was summed up in three words by trumpet great Clarke Terry: imitate, assimilate, innovate. Ray inspired John, and Christian, who listened to Ray, who was in turned inspired by the youngsters, who … well, you get the picture. I always tell my students: When you hear someone you like, do not copy them—copy the players that they listened to . . .

LEO: On your website, you namecheck Mark Twain and George Orwell. What sort of effect(s) have those writers had on you and why?
JG: Well, the Mark Twain quote applies to jazz musicians, and how we have to practice and practice to get to the point that we can be spontaneous:
“It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.”
The Orwell quote pertains to our current situation, where I keep hearing declarations of victory and progress:
“The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it.”

LEO: Who, in your opinion, are the most progressive jazz players working today?
JG: There are so many — One reason I am coming to Louisville is to record with two brilliant local players, Jason Tiemann and Jacob Duncan at the Nachbar in Germantown on Feb. 27. I think these guys are fantastic, and I’m really looking forward to making some groovy, yet cutting-edge music with them.
On the American scene at the moment, I also like Jonathan Kreisberg, the guitarist. Chris Potter keeps making great CDs; Dafnis Pietro, the drummer is pretty amazing … I think I could go on forever taking about the cats I like. On the European scene, I had the pleasure of performing recently with Francesco Cafiso, who is an 18-year-old alto player from Sicily. He's absolutely amazing.

John Goldsby will perform next week as part of the University of Louisville's Jazz Fest. For more information, check out www.louisville.edu

Field Manual
Chris Walla
(BARSUK)

Guitarist/producer Chris Walla's long-simmering batch of solo material makes me yearn for a follow-up. Not because it doesn't sound good, but because Walla's breathy vocals don't go far enough in distinguishing him from his main squeeze, Death Cab for Cutie.
Yes, Walla favors sparse guitar arrangements as opposed to DCFC leader Ben Gibbard, but the differences sort of end there. Field Manual boasts catchy, northwestern pop and flashes of electric candor on "The Score" and "Sing Again." But the flaw lies in the way Walla treats his vocals. He professes, "We'll sing together with fiery eyes, our anger alive in our chests," in a manner that conveys neither frustration nor vitality. Instead, this cat remains laid-back. He doesn't sound afraid to belt out a line or two, but when you need some raw emotion from him during the urgent command, "It is uneasy here, we need everybody on," you won't get it. —Mat Herron

Unplugged in New York (DVD)
Nirvana
(GEFFEN/UNIVERSAL)

There are things here you already know about: Kurt Cobain’s eyes suddenly snapping open in full relief as he gasps for a breathe to deliver the last “throughhhhhhhhhhh” of “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”; the Meat Puppets laying the rhythm down on three of their best songs; Krist Novoselic’s accordion and Dave Grohl’s restraint.
It was a solid, versatile performance codified in the American musical canon a few months later, when Cobain blew his head off, and it has retained its mythical status since, largely because not much is known about it outside what’s on the CD. Unplugged is the stack of gold coins that the aunt you never really knew left for you, unbeknownst, in her will.
Now it gets the 2K treatment: Pimped out for the first time on DVD, this set is the full 66-minute concert, complete with bad notes, bad jokes and banal banter for the unabashed grunge junkie you thought you’d finally suppressed. And for that inside look that no self-respecting DVD is without, there’s a half-lame MTV documentary about the performance, as well as rehearsals of five songs, which is where we finally learn why Cobain played “Pennyroyal Tea” by himself. Why MTV decided not to air the hilarious send-up of Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” I don’t even care to know. —Stephen George

It’s Alive 1974-1996 (DVD)
The Ramones
(RHINO)
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Now, with the benefit of hindsight about the years, I was certifiably obsessed with The Ramones via this career retrospective of live performances, something is glaring: At first, they sucked.
The instruments they could hardly play remained comfortably out of tune. Joey, the singer, wiggled around on stage like a sandworm, awkwardly banging his head at inopportune moments in what appeared to be a vain attempt to fill open space. Tommy was on the drums trying to hold it together, and Johnny looked like he was ready to kill his bandmates. Dee Dee remained, as he would, lost in a world about which we still know very little.
But the songs stayed the same. For 22 years. Legend has it Johnny didn’t keep a guitar at home for fear of getting better and compromising his hacksaw style. Good thing. Here we can watch him — well, all of them — hone their gig, which is an unusual thing, even for a band with such high status in the punk rock universe. By 1977, The Ramones were tight, like military tight, and from there, it just got more fun: “Loudmouth” and “Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment” from Liberty Hall, Houston, 1977 — Ramonal quintessence.
The only real negative of this set is its redundancy. There are a handful of performances of “Blitzkrieg Bop,” as well as a couple other repeats of Ramones megahits. But I suppose that’s par for a band that started all its songs off the same way. —Stephen George

Human nature

Michael Jackson's Thriller introduced me to music.

From the moment I set the needle to wax, and "Wanna Be Startin Somethin'" kicked in, I was in heaven. I tried to imitate everything Michael did: the moonwalk, the jacket, the sequined glove, the power of his voice, his presence. When he was onstage, I listened, and whatever was going on in the world no longer mattered. He could do no wrong.

When MTV aired "Beat It," and its exaggerated depictions of street life — smoky pool halls, knife "fights", and Eddie Van Halen's scorching guitar — my enthusiasm knew no bounds. And how could you forget the clip for "Thriller." Jackson wasn't just out to be a star, he was out to transform pop music in all its mediums. Vincent Price's demonic laugh at the end still sends chills down my spine.

Then "Bad" arrived. Yeesh. A kick in the teeth. "I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it." Come on. What is this crap? Isn't this same guy who walked on glowing sidewalks in "Billie Jean"? Now he's fronting a crew whose moves consist of doing the splits on roller skates? Bull. It wasn't bad. It was worse: Jackson, and all his moves, was becoming a parody, a joke. And no amount of plastic surgery was going to correct that.

Some jokes weren't funny. Allegations of child sex abuse at his Neverland Ranch. it didn't matter that he was acquitted — in the court of public opinion, he had turned into a freakish shell of his former self.

Fast forward to a week ago. The 25th Anniversary reissue of Thriller arrives. I put on "Wanna," and three quick snare drum hits later, I'm a kid again, vibing and air-drumming to this pop music clinic. I forgot about the tabloids and the charges and the parodies. I'm dialed into this bad-ass, imitated by so many (Justin Timberlake) but unequaled. Yes, he did ruin his image by making stupid choices, but the moonwalker set the tone for every burgeoning pop prince or princess who dreams about screaming fans. Write good, meaningful songs from the gut, or in Michael's case, find a couple guys who can do that for you, and the rest will take care of itself. —MH

The Glasspack sells out first show of European tour

The Glasspack's headlining show on Sundahttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gify, April 20 at this year's Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Holland, has sold out, even before the band could tell fans about presale tickets. The ’Pack joins Celtic Frost, Trouble, Isis, Down, The Groundhogs, Boris, Witchcraft, Dixie Witch, The Heads, and a ton of others at Roadburn, which in past has hosted performances by doom rockers Neurosis, Melvins, Blue Cheers and Big Business. —MH

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Part 2 vs. Iron & Wine & Califone

Since their Sunday April 20 show sold out at, basically, light speed, Robert Plant and Allison Krauss will play a second gig Saturday night, April 19, at The Palace. T. Bone Burnett, producer of their duet, Raising Sand, which has been lauded by everyone, including our music desk. Tickets are are $67, $57 and $47 (plus fees) go on sale at noon this Friday, Feb. 8 at the Palace Theatre box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 502-361-3100 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

And if you think your Sunday still belongs to HBO … well, Iron & Wine are returning to Headliners Music Hall on Sunday, April 20 with Califone opening. I&W founder Sam Beam's The Shepherd's Dog was probably the best record to come out in 2007 (hear "Wolves" for proof). Tickets for the 18-and-over show are $23 (advance), $25 day of, and they also go on sale at 10 a.m. Tickets can be bought at Ear X-Tacy or Ticket Web. —MH