Spin City/Local CDs

Aug. 15, 2007

Summer produced a bumper crop of new CDs from local musicians this year, most of which are well worth a listen. Check out the following discs at musician-friendly venues, with many also available online from the performers’ websites or through cdbaby.com.



Funny Dog
Susan Gilbert & Plastic Duck

No one in Northern Michigan outdoes Susan Gilbert when it comes to experimental music. Her Frankfort-based band employs instruments such as the musical saw, a tin can drum kit and “various animal and vegetable noisemakers.”
On this CD, however, the music seems more accessible than past efforts -- dare we say, even mainstream? But no more so than you’d expect from the likes of Kate Bush, who offered the same sort of quirky lyrics and melodies in her ‘80s heyday.
Gilbert performs on keyboard and vocals, with “perpetrators” Richard Curtis on flute and alto sax, Nate Bynum on bass and saw, and Bill Wagner on percussion, conga and the aforementioned animal/veggie effects. There’s also an assist from Amanda Strong on harmony and Don Julin on mandolin.
This is imaginative, whimsical music, sometimes with a stream-of-consciousness sense of freedom, as on the poppy “Girlfriend.” And please note: sometimes experimental music types have an inclination to grind out depressing dirges, but that’s not the case for Susan Gilbert; her music is upbeat and optimistic, like a “bag of cheerful humor.”
Souvenir de Paris, Avec Amour
The Steve Sandner Band

As you might guess, Steve Sandner’s latest CD was recorded in gay Paree -- in April of 2005 to be exact. Ah, springtime in Paris!
A frequent performer on jazz piano and vocals in Petoskey, Charlevoix and TC, Sandner has a traveling side to his music which has taken him to gigs as far afield as Singapore and Casablanca. Presently, he hangs his hat much of the year in
Sedona, Arizona.
On this album, French jazzers lend a hand, including Francois Homps on guitar, Jean-Claude Oleksiac on bass, and Benoist Kaffin on drums, with Serge Candiard as co-producer.
Sandner has a great voice in the tradition of jazz interpreters Michael Buble and Harry Connick, Jr. Here, he exercises 12 standards by artists such as Johnny Mercer and Frankie Lane. The overall theme is that of love and romance, with “April in Paris” wrapping up the disc. It’s finger-snapping stuff, and if you enjoy jazz melodies and vocals, Sandner delivers the goods with a lighthearted approach to the music.
A pet peeve, however: Why are so many jazz singers fixated on recording dusty old standards instead of writing their own songs? Imagine a local rock band releasing a CD of classic covers along
the lines of “Smoke on the Water” or “Purple Haze.” Yet this practice is endemic in jazz. Get on the A Train to something original, fellas.

It Is What It Is! • New Third Coast
New Third Coast took the daring step of recording their latest album live on
June 2 at the Old Art Building in Leland with no overdubs or additional dates,
“just in case.”
The resulting recording demonstrates the virtuosity of this acoustic trio, both on their instruments and their three-part harmonies. Leelanau County’s N3C includes Patrick Niemisto on bass, mandolin, fiddle and guitar; John Kumjian on percussion, guitar, harmonica and bass; and Bryan Poirier on guitar. Lending an assist on the closing track is poet and horn tooter Norm Wheeler.
Renowned throughout the region as ‘musicians’ musicians,’ the members of New Third Coast demonstrate the infinite range of simple acoustic instruments when played with the deftness and precision that comes from a lifetime of teaching and performing.
But beyond their prowess as musicians, the band has captured a sense of drama -- even rage -- that’s been largely missing from folk in recent years. Niemisto’s “So You Want to Be An Outlaw” takes a shot at cowboy types of the sort who presently occupy the White House, and there’s a bitter level of angst in the “Last Believer,” a song about keeping faith even while your heroes are being shot down.
A marvel of this album is comparing the strengths of each player in the band. Poirier tells a great story of a shipwreck in “Captain McSorley,” while Kumjian is a standout solo singer with a resonant Whiskey River voice that goes down easy. Niemisto is the multi-instrumentalist who serves as the band’s cohesive center. The title track, “It Is What It Is,” would do Crosby, Stills and Nash proud. This is an excellent album from start to finish that has folk and acoustic music flexing its muscles, walking tall, and telling it like it is.

Processed American Blues Product
Cherri and the Violators

Cherri and the Violators are one of the few blues bands in the region that takes pains to bend the limits of what tends to be a rather formulaic musical genre. The blues is built around a “one, four, five” position on the guitar, and while there is infinite room for variation, if you can play an E, A and B7 chord, then you’ve got half the music licked.
But, as noted in a review of their last CD, “Empty Pockets,” C&V make an effort to push the blues to new places with an emphasis on melody and lyrics that punch through to rock’s more thoughtful side.
The Brethren-based band includes Cheryl Bendig on vocals with a fine pop lilt, Paul Bendig on bass and vocals, Tone Burke on a nimble, sinuous lead guitar and Hank Cupp on percussion. Cheryl has a great ear for songwriting; her “Traveling Shoes” song has a Hendrix-style guitar backing, but it could perhaps be even better as an acoustic number -- an indicator that her writing has the flexible strength of a good tune. Also impressive is the band’s cover of John Gorka’s “Where the Bottles Break” -- you don’t expect to hear such thought-provoking material from a band who’s turf is local blues bars.
Disturbing the Peace
The Brian Schram Band

Nobody nukes blues-rock with the power of Brian Schram, the Mancelona guitar phenom who’s been widely predicted to make it to the big leagues as a national recording artist.
In his new band, a power trio which includes Steve Firneno on drums and Dave Dion on bass, Schram demonstrates that he hasn’t lost his razor-sharp knack for shredding an electric guitar. From the Ramones-style rock of “Bad Things” to the driving intensity of “Misery,” Schram delivers a jackhammer symphony of power chords and scintillating leads.
Schram’s great strength is his ability to coax a sublime sense of emotion from the neck of his guitar. Any guitarist can play the blues, but it’s the rare artist – such as Buddy Guy – who can make a note sing, cry and wail with the emotive power of the human voice. Add Brian Schram to the short list of guitarists who have that gift.
With that said, the band could have switched out some of the hard rockers on this album for a power ballad or two to showcase the finesse side of Schram’s playing and give listeners a break from the head-banging stuff. You hear his softer side on “Big Shot” and “Every Day Normal Life.” Unfortunately, the latter song about the trials of being a “rock star” falls somewhere between comical and embarrassing.
But overall, The Brian Schram Band scores a direct hit with their mission to rock hard, and one can imagine they put on a great show. See for yourself -- this album also includes a DVD of the band in action.


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Timeless and True • Mark Sanders (featuring Bob Wright)

Acoustic artist Mark Sanders scored a bullet with his first CD, the Caribbean-flavored “Island Dreams.” His follow-up is a traditional country album of 10 songs with a down-home touch. “I like to think of it as my ‘Nashville Skyline,’” says the Traverse City-based singer/songwriter, who plays guitar, piano and drums on the album.
Driving the music home is pedal steel guitar player Bob Wright, who plays much of the instrumentals, including fiddle, bass, dobro and steel guitar. Wright is a world-class player who performs each year at the National Steel Guitar Show and fills in with the local old-school country band, Rusty Blaides.
These are mellow, thoughtful tunes with an emphasis on capturing a warm feeling. A standout is “Lovelight,” a love ballad that captures the dreamy sweep of classic country from the Patsy Cline era. “Listen to the Night” has the flavor of a Bob Seger ballad, while “Stranded” takes a trip down honky-tonk’s road.
Sanders has a great ear for melodies, while Wright buoys the mood in the music with swells of his pedal steel and superb single-note performance on guitar. “Timeless and True” is an album to be proud of and it would be great to see these two collaborative talents performing their music live.
Introducing... • Marc & Dede

Marc and Dede Alderman put their hearts and souls into this labor of love, which showcases their skills on a world-ranging array of percussion instruments.
The CD is similar to Mickey Hart’s “Planet Drum” album in that the 10 songs here are an excursion into the heart of percussive music, accented by Dede’s playing on vibraphone and Marc’s eclectic drum beats.
Marc describes the Interlochen couple’s music as world/jazz, with a goal of offering “original music alongside world-influenced interpretations of standards by Ellington, Jobim, Leonard Cohen and Phish.”
It’s not all bouncing to beats: Dede sings on several songs with a honey-sweet voice on an intriguing range of selections, including “Who By Fire” by Cohen, “The Jolly Beggar” traditional folk, and their own composition, “Caterpillar.”
The album cover and liner notes are cute as a bug’s ear with drawings by Penny Krehbiehl and there’s a fresh innocence to this CD which gets an assist from local musicians, including Tim McKay, Ester Posner, Ze Carlos, Nick “Treeman” Vandermolen, Sean Dye and Pat Ivory, with Joey Callahan spinning the dials at Radius Recording.
Marc and Dede have backed numerous local musicians on other recordings and are widely regarded as being among the best percussionists in the region. Here, at last, is a chance to hear what they are able to do on their own.
Roadworthy • Andre Villoch
Andre Villoch is Northern Michigan’s answer to Jack Johnson, the hip-hop surfer superstar from Hawaii. Like Johnson, Villoch relies on a spare mix of acoustic instruments, trusting in his vocal gymnastics, lyrics and melodies to carry the listener away. He too has a regional perspective -- in this case, life in Northern Michigan. Then there’s the charisma thing: when Villoch performs, he pulls the listener in with a laid-back, affable stage presence that gives him the vibe of a
good friend.
“Roadworthy” offers more straight-ahead ballads than Villoch’s last album, “Gum Wrapper Roses,” which had some refreshing hip-hop vocalizations. Some of that rapid-fire vocal energy returns on songs such as “So Much More Than Light “ and “Baby-kisser.” It’s a talent Villoch should continue to cultivate, because while many songwriters can craft good melodies, few have the ability to meld acoustic sounds with hip-hop grooves, which is where much of popular music seems to be heading. And few are more nimble on the vocal monkeybars than Villoch when he’s in full swing.
Villoch also has a finely-tuned touch for coaxing an emotion from his songs or painting a picture with words. He had a local hit with fans with “The Day the Bearded Lady Died” on his “Gum Wrapper Roses” album, and that thoughtful trend continues on this CD with his gospel/a cappella number, “Sleep Well, My Brother” and “Is It Raining Where You Are.”
Backing Villoch on this album are John Kumjian on drums, Zack Light on bass, Patrick Niemisto on mandolin, Tom Niemisto on cello and Norm Wheeler on Fluegelhorn and trumpet. This is a
much-anticipated CD by Andre Villoch’s many fans.



Been Down Since • Trackmeat

Trackmeat is the hip-hop duo of Rudy Williams and Max Garcia. A 2004 grad of TC Central, Rudy is the stage name of Kyle Christunas, who met Max while studying recording and sound engineering at the Full Sail media college in Orlando.
The production values on this CD are admirable, no doubt as a result of the duo’s background in the recording industry. Max brings a New York state of mind and some street edge to the mix while Rudy brings a melodic influence and a midwestern perspective. There’s a laid-back quality to the music that offers a smooth ride to the message. It’s state-of-the-art hip-hop and rap from Northern Michigan, with a meditative look over the horizon to urban scenes as well.
Carmin and the Teacup Orchestra CaroMia and Adam Neher

Simply put, a great album from a Petoskey-based band, aka CaroMia and Adam Neher. “The Teacup Orchestra is an all-inclusive name for whoever happens to be playing with us at any given moment,” states their website, myspace.com/caromiasworld.
CaroMia has a powerful, emotive voice with a whiplash of passion that keeps the music cracking. One is loathe to make comparisons, but her singular, piping vocals are entrancing along the same lines as Roberta Flack, Fiona Apple, or Dolores O’Riordan, providing the aural glue on avant garde songs that are reminiscent of the obscure melodies of Stereolab or Portishead, with a dash of Fairport Convention.
Did I mention that she has a GREAT voice? It is simply “wow,” offering more delightful surprises with each track. For his part, Adam applies just the right subdued but teasing touch to the acoustic instrumentals, bringing CaroMia’s voice to the forefront.
This six-track CD has an immediacy that knocks you ass-over-tea kettle from the get-go and never lets up. One suggestion though – there were no liner notes or
lyrics with the disc we got for review and the MySpace site is sketchy at best; the band needs to do a better job of clueing in their fans.