ABC Pick

Andrew Bird, Haley Bonar

originally published February 8, 2006

Andrew Bird has mapped out a consistently interesting gig for himself since starting out as leader of the band Bowl of Fire some six years back. The Chicago violinist and singer-songwriter has since recorded several albums on his own and has also backed and toured with a number of his Windy City compadres, including Kelly Hogan and The Handsome Family.

With the release of his 2003 EP Weather Systems, Bird’s music began to take on richer, more defined qualities. Tracks like the cinematic “First Song” from that album were closer to soundscape territory than anything Bird had produced before. For his latest release, The Mysterious Production of Eggs, Bird continues to expand his palette.

“Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left” strikes a jittery, nervous pose with its Dixieland trumpets wailing in the background. “Measuring Cups” is a hummable, Alex Chilton-y romp and “Tables and Chairs” mixes jangly vibraphone, whistles and Bird’s violin with Modern Lovers-style guitar pop.

Where Weather Systems (which, like much of Eggs was recorded in Bird’s converted Illinois “barn” studio), showed a boost in arrangements, Eggs allows Bird to refine both his songwriting and vocal capabilities. He’s now prone to hop between baroque chamber pop, swooning waltzes and rustic, Band-like harmonies and fiddle licks. The guy’s not a bad yodeler, either.

A couple of Bird’s earlier, out-of-print releases - the official bootleg Fingerlings #1 and Ballad of the Red Shoes, a collaboration between Andrew and his mother, printmaker Beth Bird - are now available, but through Bird only. Both discs are further proof of his unpredictable range, and both include a few rarely-performed tunes that aren’t likely to turn up anywhere else. Martin Dosh, the eclectic Anticon recording artist and primary percussionist for the band Fog, provides accompaniment on the current tour.

Michael Andrews

Michael Andrews

ABC Pick

hey, revolution!, Holiday, Taking Lottie Home

originally published February 8, 2006

People always say that you shouldn’t fear trying new things. But really, how bad is it to stick with what you know? When you know what works and you know what you like, why try to repackage? That’s precisely the approach taken by new Athens rock outfit Holiday - this time around, though, it’s in regards to the lineup, not the music. “Honestly, I think the idea of finding new people to play with is sickening,” admits current Holiday and former Letters to Holden frontman Andrew Rudeseal. “It’s like trying to go out and date. You have to feel people out, and reject people, or face rejection yourself.”

So Rudeseal didn’t venture too far from home to find his new crew; half of his new bandmates are old bandmates. Both bassist Neil Reems and drummer Seth Cash played with Rudeseal in Letters to Holden, and keyboardist Josh Davis (Left Front Tire’s former drummer) is a longtime friend. Throw in guitarist J.J. Matthews for good measure, and Holiday is complete.

With only one song available to the public, Holiday is leaning towards a melodic rock style, one that differentiates itself thanks in part to Rudeseal’s unique voice. The guys hope to take that sound and fall in with the rest of the local scene. “I would just like to be a part of the great things that are happening [in Athens] currently,” says Rudeseal. “That, and if we can remain genuine people and as diplomatic and supportive as possible, I will be satisfied.”

Tonight’s event is billed as the “Broken Hearts Benefit.” Sponsored by the Nuçi’s Space Student Organization, the 9 p.m. event, in addition to band performances, features raffles, date auctions and more, with all proceeds benefitting Nuçi’s Space.

Leah Weinberg

Leah Weinberg

ABC Pick

Dirty Sanchez & The Pancho Villas, The Empties

originally published February 8, 2006

Somewhere in the evolution of rock there lies a fine, rarely-explored crevice hidden between hard rock and grunge metal, a crevice that is both dark yet colorful, like oil on water. Deep within that crevice, but easily found due to their sheer volume and dynamism, is the local four-piece with the aptly pornographic name Dirty Sanchez & the Pancho Villas: apt because there is little more in the spirit of all things ‘70s porn than the basswork of Nathan Rudolf.

In fact, Rudolf brings the embodiment of funk into this hard rock band in the way that he will, at times, sit in hard against the solid, driving rhythms of drummer Erin Stagg, but at other times, will play what lead man Jon Ivey refers to as “out of the pocket,” and it’s when he’s “out of the pocket” that this band sets itself apart from regular mile-a-minute pre-grunge hard rock, exploring more of the stoner-rock stuff like Kyuss. Ivey’s vocals are the next standout feature of this band, mixing up the high and rough-riding styles of Robert Plant and Ozzie Osborne with a darker charisma somewhere between Jeff Buckley and Peter Garrett.

After experimenting with several shifts, the band has taken on guitarist Jon Guthrie (Michael Guthrie Band, Chop Top, ex-Community Chaos); Ivey says the lineup’s solidified and, with Guthrie’s inclusion, brought the band an even more distinctive “edge, energy and power.” The Pancho Villas’ long-overdue self-titled full-length debut (recorded with the old lineup) was set for a release months ago, but circumstances have delayed things somewhat. Dissatisfied with recordings more than a year old, the band’s new lineup has been recording both old and new material, with an eye on a mid-March album release.

Ben Gerrard

Ben Gerrard