Tampa Calling

WMNF’s 4th Annual Americana Fest at Skipper’s Smokehouse went off without a hitch this past Saturday, July 11, a hand clappin’, boot stompin’ good time that showcased the vast array of talent in Florida’s Americana scene.

Have Gun, Will Travel

Originally masterminded by Ted Lukas, Americana Fest is all grown up. This year featured ten outstanding Florida Americana bands: Ted Lukas & the Misled, Will Quinlan & the Diviners, Have Gun, Will Travel, Thomas Wynn & the Believers, Nervous Turkey, Black Finger, Roppongi’s Ace, Mike Dunn & the Kings of New England, Matt Butcher and The Nine Volts plus a national headliner: Blue Mountain. Read the rest of this entry »

A band of Florida traveling bards and minstrels aka the Citrus Circuit Tour made a stop at New World Brewery on Saturday, featuring Lake Worth’s Truckstop Coffee, Daytona’s Lauris Vidal, Gainesville’s The Takers and Bradento-based Have Gun, Will Travel.

Have Gun, Will Travel

With three new songs and a Tom Petty cover, Have Gun, Will Travel (HGWT) continues to innovate at each show. Accordingly, HGWT’s set had New World Brewery dancing up a storm and singing their hearts out to old favorites like “When We Were Kings” and “Blessing and a Curse” (affectionately know by fans as “Bop Ba Da” after the chorus that stays in your head all the way home). Read the rest of this entry »

Thx Mgmt brought an all-star Florida rock n’ roll show to New World Brewery last Friday, June 5, featuring Tampa darlings The Beauvilles, Orlando-based Thomas Wynn & The Believers and Jacksonville’s Shawn Fisher & The Jukebox Gypsies. The master plan was a mini-weekend tour with stops at each of the bands’ hometowns while rotating the headliner spot and introducing the out-of-town bands to new audiences. A grand idea!

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WMNF’s 2009 Tropical Heatwave managed to be a scorcher in spite of torrential downpours. The best thing about Heatwave is the ability to see a wide variety of genres in one evening in close proximity. I managed to catch 10 bands this year on 5 stages: The Beauvilles, David Dondero, James Intveld, Johnny Cakes & The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypso, Kinobe & Soul Beat Africa, Magadog, Modern Skirts, Will Quinlan & The Diviners, Roppongi’s Ace and Thomas Wynn & The Believers.

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Kinobe and Soul Beat Africa

Camera in hand, I gently elbowed my way to the front of the crowd as Kinobe and Soul Beat Africa were setting up in the Cuban Club Cantina. If it wasn’t for the camera I probably would not have made it that close to the stage ’cause so many had already staked out that prime real estate, for what one woman informed me was, “the most cultural,” band at this year’s Tropical Heatwave.

I will spare you dictonary.com’s definition of the word cultural. But the comment made me smile, after a few songs I headed upstairs to the ballroom to check out Blair Carman and the Bellview Boys. In less than two minutes, three flights of stairs, I had gone from the rapt attention of beautiful laid back African jams to piano pounding swing dancing rockabilly. That variety is why I love Heatwave, and why it cracks me up when one person will tell me that one band is more, “cultural,” than another.

More pics after the jump:

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The early evening monsoon that struck Saturday had the bands at New World Brewery running late. No worries, the music never really stopped, and though the rains would let up, the crowd would not. Packed in on the porch, those in attendance witnessed some of the best central Florida music.

The first set I caught was by the so-called “folk experimental” threesome of Lauris Vidal. The instruments may have been experimental and folk based — Vidal played everything from a homemade, wooden slide guitar to an electric banjo — but these guys are a crisp, blues-rock band. What sets them apart, though, is their use of dub & reggae influences to create a more syncopated sound.

Roppongi’s Ace rocked the mustaches off faces with their style of southern rock. I missed Ted Lukas and the Misled for some Cuban Club acts, but got back to catch the start of Will Quinlan and the Diviners’ set. These guys — simply put — are good shit. GreyMarket changed the pace, breaking out a light show & laptops to turn in a quite excellent guitar & drum driven electro rock set. (Pictured: GreyMarket guitarist Cave McCoy; photo by Phil Bardi, no glow added.)

The Sheiks played a solid, but ultimately unmemorable post-rock set giving way to a surprise late-night show featuring Johnny Cakes and the Four Horsemen of the Apacolypso. They opened up Heatwave at the Ballroom stage — I’m not sure how that set went over, but 1:30 a.m. at a still raging New World felt like a better time slot for the high-energy — and highly dirty — ska band. Read the rest of this entry »

So — right off the bat I wasn’t there on time to see the Mojo Gurus. Sorry gurus. Then, as the rain poured down, the next band went on. That band was Thomas Wynn & the Believers, and they had a real good time at Tropical Heatwave. I didn’t get to see them have that good time because the fire Marshall wouldn’t let me in.

Sigh. But Mr. Wynn said the folks at WMNF were nothing but nice, the crowd was responsive & “wonderful”, and that it was really great to be able to play in an environment that was so supportive of the occassional 7-minute-long version of a regularly 3-minute song. Sure wish I would have caught ‘em. Actually, this is the second time in as many months that I have accidentally missed them. Lucky for me they’ll be back on June 5 at New World Brewery with the Beauvilles & Shawn Fisher. Read the rest of this entry »

WMNF Tropical Heatwave, Saturday, May 16, 5 p.m. $30 adv./$30 door.

Cuban Club Bandshell on the Patio
This is the hallowed stage where so much Heatwave history has been made — including the mammoth Sun Ra orchestra’s landmark set in the late ’80s. I think of singer/songwriter Chuck Prophet (10:05), a WMNF and Heatwave (this is his fourth appearance) favorite, as making avant-roots music — he injects agreeable amounts of weirdness and wry humor into his grabby tunes.

Also rootsy, but more poppy, is Boston-based Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles (video below) (6:35). Her best stuff reminds me of Joan Jett with the slightest touch of twang. And if her photos are any indication, she’s easy on the eyes. Bluesman Michael Burks (8:10) hails from Little Rock and brings plenty of muscle and a wild hair. The bandshell is bookended by a couple of reggae/ska/Caribbean-style acts from Tampa Bay: Johukames Posse (5:10) and Magadog (11:55), which reconstituted not all that long ago and has greeted with open arms by the locals.  —Eric Snider
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As elusive as the concept of African unity may be, Kinobe Herbert is doing his part to realize it. The 25-year-old singer/multi-instrumentalist from Uganda rejects the fragmentation of the continent’s often tradition-bound musical landscape, and instead actively seeks to incorporate influences and instruments from throughout Africa and beyond. Kinobe his band, Soul Beat Africa, play the Cuban Club Cantina Stage at Tropical Heatwave, 9:05 p.m., Saturday. (Video clips below)

“Most people in Uganda know more about America than even countries next door to them in Africa,” Kinobe (pronounced Chi-no-BAY) says by phone from a tour stop in North Carolina. “It’s because that’s what they see on TV. Ugandan education does not teach about other African cultures. And not many of the musicians are into the pan-African thing.”

Uganda is a smallish, landlocked country in east central Africa probably best known to Westerners as the one time killing grounds for dictator Idi Amin, whose brutal regime lasted most of the 1970s. The country has been relatively stable since the mid ’80s, but has not established the musical identity of countries like Nigeria, Kenya and Mali. While Kinobe employs the traditional styles of his homeland, he is by no means a nationalist. Read the rest of this entry »

If the answer to the headline is yes, but you’re referencing the feeling, and not the ’60s-era Los Angeles band, then you may want to head over to the Beach Theatre this Friday night for a special WMNF Film Series benefit screening of Love Story. The documentary tells the tale of the proto-psychedelic mixed-race cult rock band Love, led by legendary frontman/songwriter Arthur Lee. Love stood out from the rest because contrary to its name, the band had a dark musical vision very different from the Utopian ideals of the Flower Power generation. A portion of proceeds from the screening benefit ‘MNF. Fri., April 17, 7 p.m., Beach Theatre, St. Pete Beach, $7, 727-360-6697, beachtheatre.com.

Check out a preview for the flick: Read the rest of this entry »

That’s how Flee, music director at the station, headlined an e-mail he sent this morning. He continued:

Doubtful — but it looks like the amount of music is going to be reduced. During our current pledge drive, news and public affairs has been frequently out performing music. Especially vulnerable are the drive time shows (M-F 6-9a and 4-5p).

If you like to hear music in the afternoon, we need to hear from you today (Monday 3/30) between 4 and 6pm. Every pledge is a vote for MUSIC! A $5 pledge is a vote, a $1000 pledge is a vote.

Keep fresh un-boring music alive at 88.5.

Thanks,
Flee

If you can’t call or e-mail in between 4 and 6 today, you can pledge for this time slot on line.

Now in its 24th years, the Winter Music Conference brings industry professionals and electro acts from around the world to Miami for all manner of networking, panels and performance opportunities, from private parties to slots at WMC’s Ultra Music Festival. Ultra  continues with its usual roster of traditional DJs, producers and electronica acts — The Prodigy, Paul Van Dyk, Booka Shade, Moby, Tiësto, Carl Cox and the like — but expands upon the definition of electro music with offerings that include newer groups like Cut Copy, MSTRKRFT, Simian Mobile Disco, Crystal Castles and The Whip, and groups that aren’t necessarily electro, but include electro elements in their music: The Ting Tings, Bloc Party, Black Eyed Peas, Santigold and Hercules and Love Affair. Luckily for Tampa folks, the state is so oversaturated with this influx of artists that we get much of the runoff as many stop in or around town to play a show while on their way to or from the fest. The following is a breakdown of electro shows within a 2 1/2-hour radius that are worthy of your attention.

Friday, March 27
WMNF presents Synthetic Pleasures w/Girls on Film/Genre Baptist/I Kill Pxls/DJ Curse Mackey. ’MNF has joined the electro bandwagon with its own Florida-grown bill headed up by all-female Tallahassee fourtet Girls on Film (pictured), who do the glam ’80s thing complete with computer drums and programming, shrill vocals, teased hair and cakey make-up, and retro prom outfits. 9 p.m., Orpheum, Ybor City, $7.

Kraak and Smaak w/Special Guest DJs Mighty White and Willyvegas Kraak and Smaak (direct translation: “crunchy and tasty”) are a new but rather well-regarded Netherlands electro trio that combines pimplicious funk grooves with breakbeats and loungey house. 9 p.m., Crowbar, Ybor City, $12 in advance/$15 day of show.

Cut Copy w/Matt & Kim The Melbourne, Australia trio marry Dark Wave punk (affected vocals, theatric synths) with a healthy dose of digi-electro dance fun. Definitely worth the drive. 7 p.m., Club Firestone, Orlando, $19.99 in advance/$22 DOS. Read the rest of this entry »

Wednesday, March 18: I arrived to Austin by 9:30am, exhausted from the previous night’s St. Patty’s Day festivities. On the plane Flee and Jo Ellen (from WMNF and The Globe respectively) had the privilege to watch me zonk out with mouth agape for most of the 2 hour flight.

Excitement was high as soon as I deplaned. Dozens of people carrying guitar cases were scurrying about the terminal as if late for a very important meeting. I took a shuttle to the “Little” Ramada on the far ass north of town, where I would be staying during my visit. The driver ran me down the key places to visit in Austin (Bat Country, The Capitol), the great restaurants to visit (Guero’s) and that I shouldn’t walk the streets around my hotel alone at night. At first impression Austin seemed tired and run down, with haggard bums adorning every street corner.

Upon arriving to the hotel, I met two bands off the bat: Colombia’s Raton Perez and London’s Little Thief. I took advantage of my “journalist status” and did a quick interview with each:

Raton Perez (Screamo Heavy Metal)

Little Thief (Pop Punk ala Arctic Monkeys)

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How did my mom go from owning such a wide range of rock n’ roll records, from the Beatles to Black Sabbath, to devoting her ears solely to Celine Dion? Living in the land of oldsters and hipsters (some people are both), this question ultimately pervades every aspect of existence in Tampa Bay. Issues of marketed generation norms, like older people being more mild mannered and set in their ways and younger people experimenting with sex and drugs, maintain arbitrary divisions between age groups and sonic preferences. Generalizations of the 1960’s “Summer of Love” are quickly ripped to shreds in records by bored mutants like The Stooges. Their self-titled record in 1969 and Fun House in 1970 destroyed notions of the singular cultural experience by being nasty and unlearned instead of nice-sounding and well-trained. History has never been as cut-and-dry/black-and-white as we are led to believe. Likewise, our present continues to be very complicated.

All my life I’ve heard things like, “now that John Lennon could sing” or “Eric Clapton knows how to play real guitar music” or other such flapdoodle. People who make statements like those assume there’s a correct way to sing or play guitar, and other musicians who are inferior or get it wrong should do something else. Iggy Pop’s snarling vocals and Ron Asheton’s unsophisticated, immediate and exceedingly raw approach to the guitar challenged the notion of perfect technical skill as the ultimate goal in music. (Pictured: the late Ron Asheton, photo by Dena Flows.)

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The idea for WMNF’s next tribute show started with a friendly argument. “Last year, [station program director] Randy Wynne did a special on the Sixties Show making the case that 1967 was the greatest year ever in rock ’n’ roll,” says WMNF music director Lee “Flee” Courtney. “Then a week later the folks from the Sixties Show made the case that 1968 was the best year.”

The disagreement gave rise to the next installment in WMNF’s storied continuum of tribute shows – this one not honoring an artist as is most often the case, but a year.

Ten Bay area acts will perform 20-minute sets on New Year’s Eve at Skipper’s Smokehouse in a concert dubbed Rewind: The WMNF Tribute to the Music and Songs of 1968. The music ranges from the power-pop-meets-Americana of Ted Lukas and the Misled (see below) to the hard-charging rockabilly of Midnight Bowler’s League, from the trash-rock of Rancid Polecats (who will play a bubblegum show, including “Yummy, Yummy, Yummy”) to the jam-funk of Christie Lenee.

The combined set list cuts a broad swath, hitting most of the touchstone acts: The Beatles (“Revolution,” “Yer Blues”), the Rolling Stones (“Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Sympathy for the Devil”), Sly & the Family Stone (“Dance to the Music, “I Want to Take You Higher”), The Band (“Chest Fever,” “The Weight”), Jimi Hendrix (Crosstown Traffic,” “Voodoo Child”) and others, as well as one-offs and surprises like Tom Jones’ “Delilah,” Desmond Dekker’s “The Israelites,” The American Breed’s “Bend Me, Shape Me” and Small Faces’ “Song of a Baker.”

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WMNF continues its fundraising film series with a screening of Patti Smith: Dream of Life.

Acclaimed photographer Steven Sebring’s directorial debut offers an intimate, detailed portrait of the punk music pioneer (also a poet, artist, and activist). The film won the Cinematography Award when it premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, and was also nominated for the Grand Jury Prize.

Sebring first met Smith when he was taking photos of her for Spin magazine. Afterwards, he saw her perform for the first time ever and was moved enough that he got permission to begin filming her, which he did for the next 11 years. Ever seen the Flaming Lips film, The Fearless Freaks? That documentarian, Bradley Beesley, spent 15 years following the Lips around and the result is absolutely, astoundingly great — and I don’t think it would have been so great had he not spent so many years getting to know the band while recording them. This film has the same potential, and Sundace seemed to like it. WMNF presents two screenings tonight at 6:45 and 9 p.m., at Beach Theatre, 315 Corey Ave., St. Pete Beach. Admission is $8.

What will acoustic funk favorite Christie Lenee perform from '68?

WMNF’s Flee is straying from his typical tribute show tradition. Instead of having a diverse lineup of local acts honor a single artist he has asked all the bands listed below to cover a tune from 1968 for the community radio station’s upcoming New Year’s Eve bash.

Songs I would like to hear from that year? How about killer renditions of The Rolling Stones’ “Factory Girl,” The Beatles’ “Happiness Is a Warm Gun,” Otis Redding’s “Hard to Handle,” Loretta Lynn’s “Fist City” and The Velvet Underground’s “White Light/White Heat.” Seriously, that would be a rad setlist!

Rewind: The WMNF Tribute to the Music and Songs of 1968 w/ Boon/Christie Lenee (pictured)/Crabgrass Cowboys/Ted Lukas/Johnny Zoom/Lush Progress/Midnight Bowler’s League/Rancid Polecats/Roppongi’s Ace/Talk to Mark, Wed., Dec. 31, Skipper’s Smokehouse, Tampa.