ERVIN ALLEN – Moon & Stars

(2006   Stonefloat)

Raised in Madison, Ervin Allen Carpenter has spent most of his life dabbling in songwriting. He was raised in the coming-of-TV-era on Elvis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and the Beatles. Carpenter fronted a few local bands in the late seventies and then took up a career in special education, continuing to write songs now and then. It was during his teaching days that he became acquainted with local singer/songwriter extraordinaire Sara Pace, with whom he worked in a facility located in the Masonic Temple in downtown Madison. Pace was a huge inspiration to Carpenter, who has since retired from teaching and is back in the game, as it were, performing his songs live to backing tracks and releasing his first album Moon & Stars.

Carpenter takes a decidedly Jimmy Buffet-like approach to his presentation, mixing in some average-Joe humor with songs about vacations, rum and women. He covers Pace’s “Whiskey,” which is arguably the best song on the disc and a demonstration that in his mid-50’s, Carpenter still possesses a wide vocal range. The rest of the album’s twelve tracks were all penned by Carpenter.

In addition to befriending Pace, Carpenter ran into the Stonefloat crew at open-mic events around town. This led to Moon & Stars being recorded in Stonefloat’s studios, production being done by bassist Andy “Bear” LaValley and instrumentation being provided by the band. Unfortunately, the tracks that play best are those that avoid the use of the supporting musicians, despite a nifty kazoo solo by Tate McLane on “What Do You Do?” The mix is also pretty murky, with the overuse of bad reverb becoming annoying, and there are some downright awful lead guitar solos that overshadow Carpenter’s strength, which is his voice.

“I Never Saw Her Face” starts off with a pretty cool sixties groove but quickly degenerates into elementary pentatonic guitar, like the kind you hear on early sixties records. “Didn’t Ya?” has a catchy melody but ultimately suffers the same fate. Not surprisingly then, the best tracks are the acoustic-guitar-based ones, such as the title track and the aforementioned “Whiskey,” that reveal some of Carpenter’s personality. The album also includes his bid for the city’s theme song, “Mad City,” which, as the title suggests, is a worn collection of lyrical clichés.

Carpenter has plenty of passion in his vocals as well as the enthusiasm to pursue his love of songwriting. A closer listen to Pace’s recordings, however, may be in order and might help reveal the need for arrangements that frame his style more suitably.

MICHAEL GELLINGS – Blue Owl

(2006   Self-Release)

Michael Gellings first established himself in the Madison music scene as the front man for Lost Between, a powerhouse rock outfit that produced an exceptional recording in 2004, City Lights, before disintegrating in a haze of personal issues. He returns now with his first solo release, one on which he plays all the instruments himself, and he handled all the tracking, mixing and mastering as well. At only twenty-four, Gellings has an incredible amount of maturity in his voice, in his guitar playing and in his lyrical content. His self-proclaimed influences are Rory Gallagher, Ten Years After’s Alvin Lee, Cream, the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Paul Butterfield, Neil Young, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Days of the New. All of these influences make an appearance here. The notable dividing line, however, is between the blues material and the rock stuff. At sixty-four minutes, Gellings could easily have had two CDs on his hands here. But the young man is so reinvigorated and spiritually renewed that he’s bound to be eagerly on to the next stage in his musical career already.

A solo album of this type – the one-man-band approach – usually suffers from two things: an inferior final mix and the lack of a solid groove. It’s astounding to hear the groove that Gellings is able to achieve while playing keys (including B3 organ), drums, acoustic and electric guitars, bass, harmonica and tin whistle and applying multiple vocals. He’s adept at all of these, though it was already apparent that he was no slouch on guitar. The album doesn’t fare quite so well with its hard-disc-recorder sound quality, but it isn’t a major hindrance either.

“Rotten Tree,” “War Train,” “Slow it Down” and “Nocturnal Soul” are all hefty blues numbers, the latter featuring a nifty organ solo. “Ride the Wave” explores Neil Young terrain with an Alice-in-Chains twist. “Life Worth Living” is another acoustic-guitar-driven piece that manages to recall Cream, especially the Jack Bruce-like vocals and the breezy, sixties feel. In fact, much of the album displays the same marriage of sixties sensibilities with modern flourishes. “Fly Away” is all Jim Morrison, psychedelic and haunting. The melancholy “Empty Heart” is another standout and features the tin whistle as does the closer, the all-instrumental “Eyes of the Owl.”

Gellings doesn’t shy away from his penchant for writing complex musical pieces that change in tempo and feel and often surpass the five-and-six-minute mark. The man is far too talented to be out on his own, and those looking for a musical partner with some serious songwriting and musical chops should seek Gellings out. Hell, I’d do it myself if I weren’t old enough to be his dad.

ART PAUL SCHLOSSER – The Tribute

(2006   Self-Release)

Sometimes it takes a little different perspective to fully appreciate an artist’s genius. Art Paul Schlosser: The Tribute is a pretty amazing collection of interpretations of Schlosser’s songs. Schlosser, as many of you know, has been a fixture in Madison music for a long time now. He’s a constant presence as a street musician on State Street but also makes rare club appearances, especially for benefits and fundraisers. This recording is something like his ka-zillionth release.

Schlosser makes a few appearances himself on his own tribute CD, which seems only fitting. It wasn’t until I heard “I’ll Meet You on Mars” with guitarist/harmonica player Robert W. Monthey joining Schlosser that I realized Schlosser is Madison’s own version of Syd Barrett; he writes songs that twist reality with clever wordplay and end up making a lot more sense than reality itself does. Later Schlosser and his wife Robin Good do a take on “It’s a Beautiful Day.” Schlosser’s rap with the Great Lukeski on “I’m More Demented Than You/Pink Pants” is uproariously funny, recorded before a live audience. The Beeves bring indie-rock ethos to “She’s the Only Dandelion in My Whole World” with Schlosser voicing over and then joining in for the refrain.

Digibot and the Consequences throw in some peachy ultra-lo-fi tracks with “I Just Made it Up” and “Punk Rock in the White House,” respectively. Dr. Chris Kammer flirts with vaudeville on his likeable, toe-tapping version of “I Like My Mother.” Joe Bainbridge turns in two tracks with “Pink Pants” and “Maybe You Think I’m Weird,” the latter being one of Schlosser’s most revealing songs. Biff Blumfumgagnge adds one of the more interesting interpretations, an electronic rendition of “The One Chord Song” with an abundance of Eastern-flavored violin. Arlo Leach channels Arlo Guthrie on the winsome “My Mother is Reading a Book,” and Seth Hoffman underscores the Syd Barrett association with “Is That Linda.” Other tracks approach Dr. Demento status but when interspersed with the more standard song arrangements, they contribute an important and humorous contrast.

The end result is 27 tracks of highly entertaining Art Paul classics, many making even-tempo arrangements out of Schlosser’s often jagged-but-honest delivery. Art Paul Schlosser: The Tribute is a must-have for any collector of Madison local music.

THE SHABELLES – A Happy Man

(2006   Laundry Basket)

A name like “the Shabelles” conjures up images of 60s girl bands, some sort of imagined supergroup combining the Shangri-Las with LaBelle. So much for judging a band by its name. The Shabelles get their moniker from Adam Schabow, lead singer and writer of all tracks on their likeable debut record A Happy Man.There’s certainly an element of the sixties in their sound, but it’s of the Nuggets variety, the psychedelic garage-rock pumped out by one-hit-wonders at the end of that decade. Like those tracks, the songs on this record are adrenaline-infused bursts of pop candy, zipping by in under three minutes without leaving any aftertaste. Surprisingly, Schabow’s nasal voice, which makes his other outfit, the Kites, so hard on the ears, is actually goofily charming in this setting. Perhaps because the backing vocals contributed by Kyle Urban (the Motorz), Bob Koch (the Runners Up and many more) and the always welcome Shinky (Hazy Shade and the New Recruits-R.I.P.) buoy the songs, but it’s more likely that with thirteen tracks zipping by in under half an hour, you simply don’t have a chance to get annoyed.

Ironically, the title track is the only gloomy moment on the record. A case of wishful thinking rather than wish fulfillment, he confesses “The moment I saw you / I knew I needed you near,” but from his tone it is already clear there will be no happy ending. His admission that “your dimples swallow my heart” is especially poignant, and yeah, more than a little pathetic. The bad mood isn’t allowed to remain long. Hidden track “Just the Way Things Go” is a joyous kiss-off with all the snotty appeal of the Dead Milkmen’s “Punk Rock Girl,” and the gleeful “Drunken Choir” adds a stumbling affirmation; you can almost smell the alcohol on the backing vocalists’ breath.

Remnants of the hippie decade show up throughout. “Running the Bull” and “Place in the Sun” both feature Jan & Dean-style “woo-hoos” and “waa-haas” over blissful organ. “Speeding Things Up” starts off like Golden Earring’s “Radar Love” before switching gears into the Kinks “All Day & All of the Night.” Name-checking an icon of the era, the hilarious opening track has Schabow comparing his girl to “Roy Orbison.” Predictably, it is not a favorable comparison. “I got a girlfriend, she ain’t too pretty for a woman / She ain’t too pretty for a woman who likes to wear dark shades / Got a bowl haircut of a guy twice her age.” You can almost hear the smirk in his voice. And in a crowning touch, what could be more psychedelic than the Theremin, rocked convincingly by Dan Hargrove on the speeding “Airwaves?”

The clap-along, sing-along “Riding My Bike” combines everything the Shabelles do well- the bouncy tunes hiding broken hearts, the slightly off-key backing vocals- and tops it off with a saxophone solo (courtesy of Ropin’ Rodeo Nate). Much like the rest of the record it sounds as if they had a whole lot of fun recording it. And isn’t that the way it should be?

(2006   The Whisper Media Group)

From the tiny, unlikely town of Medford, Wisconsin comes Polydream, a band with a larger-than-life sound and a worldwide vision. Polydream melds the sonic grandeur of U2 with sharp pop and rock sensibilities along the lines of Oasis to produce instantly memorable hooks and songs that are ripe for radio play. The band began as an acoustic duet with singers and guitarists Jon Knudson and Luke Etten who now plays bass. They added another hometown musician, drummer Zack Austin, before relocating to Madison in 2003. Here they met guitarist Eric LeMieux and Briton Rice, former drummer for Lex Rex and current drummer for Lucas Cates.Rice agreed to produce some of the band’s recordings, but when sessions got underway the sound began to morph and Etten switched to keys while Rice took over the drum throne.

A Rigid Shard of Balance:1 is a five-song EP and is a powerful debut. The band knows its U2 well, as the opening track “Catch Me if You Can” illustrates. Picking up where “Bad” left off for U2, “Catch Me if You Can” is propelled by Knudson’s impassioned vocal performance. Like Bono, he has a full tenor timbre capable of soaring into falsetto and delivering strong, melodic statements with spot-on pitch. The tune incorporates the fifth-grade choir from CH Bird Elementary in Sun Prairie to great effect in an anthemic proclamation of coexistence. “Juner” follows, a gorgeous piano-based mid-tempo rock ballad with soaring vocals from Knudson.“Everything Else Comes to Life” is in a similar vein, with the instrumentation focusing on the shimmering guitar work.

The production here is sensational. Recording was done at XeoJax Production Studios in Northfield, Minnesota and all post-production was done by the band with Etten mixing and mastering. The exception is “Got a Good Feeling,” which was recorded live at Madison Media Institute. The inclusion of this track demonstrates that the band is no mere production wonder, but a bona-fide rock combo of grand proportions. The EP also includes a club mix of “Catch Me if You Can” remixed by the production team of Giddings Love for Who.

Polydream are at work on A Rigid Shard of Balance:2, a full-length project that they hope to bring out around the end of the year. They are touring the Midwest and have obvious ambitions to try their luck over both seas.Catch them while you can.

A Rigid Shard of Balance:1
2006 Tin Whisper Media Group
www.polydreammusic.com
www.myspace.com/polydreammusic
Style: Rock

UNITY – In The Beginning

(2006   Self-Release)

Unity is one of the hardest-working bands in the Fox Valley and the strongest positive force in that area of the state. They work ceaselessly to promote local music and their boundless energy is a significant, unifying factor for the bands, fans and the venues. In the Beginning is the reggae band’s second full-length release, following up 2004’s Liberation.

Unity plays what they call “original roots rock reggae,” blending traditional island sounds with rock, soul and blues. They are fronted by Fiji Islands-born vocalist Pita Katabalavu, a powerful singer and showman whose soulful voice permeates In the Beginning. Unity has several other factors working in their favor to make their sound unique, however. The most notable of these is the presence of Christine Vosters, whose keyboards and vocals bring add dimension to the reggae sound. Guitarist Joseph Hass also sings and Unity frequently employ pleasing multiple harmonies. They also invited Mark (Fila Banton) Stephens to record vocals on several tracks, bringing a dancehall element to the proceedings. Steve Johnson plays sax and flute, providing even further contrast. Jeremy (Chunk) Schroetter adds additional percussion to preserve the island flavor and the rhythm section of drummer Curtis (Steve) Scott and bassist Tyler Terrell is a reliable foundation for the music.

“Blue Lights” is the standout track, a familiar reggae groove with a memorable vocal melody. “Come On and Dance” is a bouncy dance track with Stephens bringing the dancehall. “It’s Raining” is more accessible pop, sounding like a Bob Marley single. “Dark Kisses” is heavier and puts the emphasis on the guitars, sax and standard rock beat. The title track brings forth Johnson’s flute and his sax gets featured heavily on “Let the Children Rise.”

Marc Golde of Rock Garden Studios in Appleton did an excellent job of casting the band in the best possible light. The sound is clear and full with the vocals riding along nicely at the top of the mix. The instrumentation is never overbearing, always serving the song.

In the Beginning is a solid album from start to finish and should bring Unity many new fans in addition to doing the Fox Valley proud.

2006 Self-Release
www.unitytheband.com
Style: Reggae