It's all about the music !
Absent Minds -
One reporter’s opinion.
By Firelyn
One reporter’s opinion.
By Firelyn
(don’t forget the Sex Pistols)…and anyone from the sound track to THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION PT.1, REPO MAN, and there is no forgetting another cult classic- SUBURBIA-which, those of you worth your salt should have no trouble naming the Chili Pepper’s who played a part in that movie masterpiece that got none of the publicity and less of the acclaim that it should have. Then later –right before the whole grunge take-off we got the first taste of bands like Green River, the B---hole Surfer’s and Sonic Youth, just to name a few.
I do know my way around a mosh pit-never enter without a big thick soled pair of Doc.Martin’s, so when need be you can turn & kick the guy in the shin who’s almost knocked you down 12 times or keeps secretly trying to grope you The first thing that grabbed me about ABSENT MINDS was the Mohawk wearing cello player. He wasn’t just thrashing around with the cello, he was a truly gifted, classically trained musician with a vision I’d never seen before- oh but it’s more than that ABSENT MINDS is really breaking new ground by bringing together two music styles from opposite sides of the spectrum. And they rock.
The cellist is not the only surprising talented musician- every member of the band is at the top of their game and they came together beautifully .due in no small part to the drummers’ excellent timing…he was the glue that held these guys together. They were always ‘on it’; each member of that band always knew where they were supposed to be what they needed to be doing and they were always together, always on cue. The rest of the band consisted of two very good guitar players, that also each sang very well and last but certainly not least was the bass player; this guy made you feel it in your guts the way usually only BLUES players can. Their songs were morbid at times…”Burn Them".
DARK IS TO be expected in punk music- but there were also fun punk anthems made for moshin’ too. All in all these guys are much more talented than the average punk rockers are given credit for, not to mention more talented than they should be at this early stage in their careers. To make a short intro long- these guys get a thumbs up from me. The only thing that could have made this Portland bands show better would have been some demo c.d.’s. Keep an eye out for ABSENT MINDS- you’ll be glad you gave the cello a chance and got to hear the rest of the musicians. ABSENT MINDS are in their own league. Until next time, Firelyn
CHECK OUT ABSENT MINDS AT MYSPACE HERE
INTERVIEW WITH SHERRY FRASER OF TWO TON BOA
BY FIRELYN
BY FIRELYN
I first got word of Two Ton Boa some two years ago, after a couple of friends of mine had seen them play a show in Olympia, Wa. The band TTB is signed to an indie label called Kill Rock Stars, which is the same label out of Olympia that has helped bands like Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They. They are a Northwest band driven by their lead singer and songwriter, Sherry Fraser. It’s always hard for me to describe a bands sound, but from what I’ve heard their songs start with the lyrics sung by lead singer Sherry Fraser, surrounded to a slightly less degree percussion and guitar, with some odd sounds thrown in with great effect. It is important for me to support our local musicians as much as possible, going to their shows and when possible and warranted, I like to try a give a little press, to try and spread the word about bands, that I feel have that certain something that makes them special. I really love the Two Ton Boa sound so I contacted lead singer Sherry Fraser and asked a couple of questions, and this is what she had to say:
FIRELYN: The songs you write seem to me, to be heavy on the lyrical content, what I mean is that the lyrics jump out of the music rather than having to listen extra hard to understand what the lyrics are. Do you agree that lyrics are more important in your style of music, thus leading to the actual musical content? If you could go into a little bit about how you write music, i.e.; are you the lyricist and your partner writes the music, or do you collaborate on all the different parts? Also, could you list some of you influences and favorite bands?
SHERRY: I’ve given lyrics about equal weight with the music in the past. I’m interested in focusing less on lyrics and more on sound and energy in my future endeavors. Lyrics, to me, are harder than writing music. I enjoy aspects of writing lyrics, it’s like working on a puzzle, but the downside of that is it can become very confining and suffocating. Pure sound affects you differently than words delivered through sound. To get words and their vowels and consonants, rhymes, ET all, to fit with not only vocal delivery, but also the base foundation and feel of a song, without using awful clichés or stupid hooks, or using the escape of meaningless abstract babble, is incredibly difficult. It tires me out. I’d like to spend more time simplifying and becoming more minimal with the words, and spend more energy on outputting more music. I generally write all my own material, instrumentals and lyrics, but I am now starting to collaborate with Scott Seckington on a new project we’re calling, for the time being, “Two Ton Boa (Duets)”. We put our first vinyl single out back in January; you can buy it locally at Phantom City or Rainy Day Records. We’re planning on putting out a series of singles. People have made stylistic contributions or adapted parts for live shows in the past, and to an extent, I’ve worked with drummers collaboratively in shaping drum parts from the basic skeletal components that I’ve had in place. I’m interested in collaborating with other artists more in the future. Some amazing musicians surround me; it would be a nice change. Off course I know I’ll always write by myself, to me it’s as basic as brushing my teeth or eating a meal.
FIRELYN: How old were you, and what instrument did you play when you first got interested in playing music? When or what experience led to you performing on stage in public?
SHERRY: The first instrument I heard that really grabbed me was the recorder. Not the chintzy plastic 4th grade versions, but the real ones. I heard a trio playing medieval music at a concert and I turned to my mother and said, “ I want to play that instrument”. I was around ten at the time. My mom was a pianist and had no luck teaching me, I didn’t want to be taught. This was different. I started private lessons and by 12 I was playing in chamber groups. I started the oboe at 12 and got really serious with that, but when my last teacher wanted to prep me for auditions for Curtis Institute of Music, in Philadelphia, for all intensive purposes, I quit the path to that next level. I realized I didn’t want a classical career, much as I loved the music, and love playing it.I played on stages, classically, in public since I was 11, first on Recorder, then Oboe & English horn. I first started playing solo as TWO TON BOA in the late 90’s. Performing rock is totally different, and petrifying in it’s own special way. I’ve caught on, but I still get stage fright to varying degrees, the worst was on this last tour with the Dresden Dolls. The crowds were huge. I got sick every night 2-3 hours before our shows, like clockwork.
FIRELYN: I would like to know a little about this last tour, for example, how did you travel and how were your accommodations? What and how many cities did you visit? Where the audiences different from city to city? Did you meet any interesting people along the way? What was your most interesting experience?
SHERRY: The audiences on the Dresden Dolls tour were shockingly receptive and really took to us. I’ve heard horror stories from bands about opening for much bigger acts, being heckled, hated, not selling any merch.. But their fan base was really respectful and turned out to be happily enthusiastic. They didn’t seem jaded and standoffish, just interested and open, willing to give us a chance, and wanting to rock. They bought HORDES of merch, which was very helpful when our van died. I know there were people that didn’t take to us, that’s par for the course, but all in all it was a great musical match. I wish we could play a national tour with the Dolls. That would be a dream come true, just ridiculous. But I’m grateful we got to play a handful of shows with them. They probably won’t tour again for quite a while.
Five of us traveled in a very comfortable but gas guzzling Dodge conversion van towing a heavy trailer. We stayed in motels for the most part on this tour; a couple times we stayed with friends. Portland, Boise, Denver, Iowa City, Lincoln, Chicago, St. Louis, Birmingham, Tampa, Atlanta, Durham, Norfolk. on and on, through the South, up the West Coast… TWO TON BOA Duets were supposed to play a string of shows in the South, which we had to cancel because the transmission went out. That sucked. We spent $4,000 keeping the van on the road this tour. We were in debt when we got home. We banked on merchandise on the Dresden Dolls tour. Unfortunately, it was totally consumed by van repairs, canceled shows, and monster gas prices.We met Sammy Stephens in Birmingham- you know, the YouTube sensation. We realized we were going to drive right past the Montgomery Flea Market, so we had to stop. His song was our theme music on our last spring tour, bringing happiness into our worn hearts at low points on tour. He was there, walking around the parking lot, for a minute I felt a strange form of star-struck idiocy. That was interesting. We ended up talking to him for quite awhile, and he rapped with us, I’ve got it on video, a scene of him and me doing the breakdown dance while he raps about Two Ton Boa. He was super nice. I hope he actually makes some money from his youtube fame. We bought a couple wigs and other random stuff at the mall, but no dinettes. He said business wasn’t all that great at the time. I can’t imagine what the vendors at the flea market think about the influx of random people coming in because of the you tube video.
FIRELYN: How did TTB come to be on the bill with The Dresden Dolls?
SHERRY: They did ask us to open for them, personally, so they actually wanted us on this tour with them. I think they heard our music through friends and business contacts and Amanda came to one of our shows in Boston, and was blown away. The rest is history.
FIRELYN: What’s next for Two Ton Boa will there be another tour in the near future? How about some new recordings? Is there going to be a local show to make up for the show that was cancelled back in September? I would love to do a live show review.
SHERRY: The past couple months I was designing the new website for TTB, which is currently being coded by a web developer friend of ours. It’s a big deal because it will have a fully functional store, which sells mp3’s and everything else we have to offer. I’m also studying voice with a classical teacher in Seattle, which in and of itself is very significant. I’m back in the studio again and will be collaborating with Scott on Two Ton Boa Duets, and working on new material for Two Ton Boa.
I will soon record vocals for a cover of White Rabbit, for a split single with the Thrones.
You can look for TTB Duets to be playing shows locally starting sometime late summer. We’re busy until then. Two Ton Boa has no shows scheduled currently but as always, you can go to the website and subscribe to our mailing list for show updates. There will be new material for both projects by the end of the year, probably sooner. Pretty soon the new site will be up and you’ll be able to subscribe to RSS feeds about new shows.
Thanks for the Interview!
Two Ton Boa has been on the scene since their initial self-titled EP, on which Marcy Playground covered a song called “Coming up from behind”, on the movie soundtrack for “Cruel Intentions”. Hopefully with this new Duets direction, Sherry and Two Ton Boa will be headed toward more and much deserved success. You can check out their MySpace page, as well as see live video of them performing on YouTube, just Google their name and several sites can be found. Hopefully their new website will be up and running soon. I definitely recommend giving them a listen.
CLICK THIS PICTURE TO GO TO HEAR TWO TON BOA
“ For Whom The Drums Pound “
Introduction to FIRELYN
When I was a baby, I used to sleep in my father’s guitar case during rehearsal. The first time I performed on stage, I was three years of age. I sang, “You are my Sunshine” at a state fair in Chico, Ca. I wrote my first song before even doing the fair gig, it was about Bigfoot.
I love music. I love writing so why not write about the music I love most? When my father told me about his idea, “damngoodtunes.com” a webzine that covers and supports all genres of independent musicians, producers as well as technical equipment used by small labels and do-it-yourselfers, etc. I thought to myself that is something I would love to be involved in.
Although damngoodtunes.com has already attracted some of the best music writers, including my youngest sister
“ Trinity Lost “ ( Rap and Hip-Hop ) , each writer covering a wide array of genres and sub-genres, what I am doing is a little more difficult to name but it’s basically a combo of hardcore new age psychedelic punk and moody lyric driven music w/dark undertones. The kind of stuff Edgar Allen Poe probably would have written, if he were a musician of today.
I’m working the story right now and
“ the big boss “, dear old dad just called up and said” hey, where’s that article?”. Journalism is harder than it looks, but writing is what I love and music is my passion. Soon I hope all of you will check out my story about the true “Godfathers of Punk”. In the mean time, you can’t imagine how it feels to be involved in what is destined to be a truly unique family business. I hope you will all feel free, to send in any comments you might have. Thanks.
Toni Maier
firelyn@earthlink.net
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