Author: jamesford

A note from Arts Editor, Tami Keaveny: As we go to press with his second Feedback column, I’d like to officially welcome James Ford to our staff. James is well-known in the Charlottesville arts community, mainly because he has worked for or written about so many organizations within it. As an expert on film and photography, he gives time to the Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative, makes the indie movie house Vinegar Hill run smoothly, and gets his music fix as a WTJU volunteer. But he is probably best known as the operating force behind the locally based, nationally followed tastemaker blog, Nailgun Media. James’ column will keep us up-to-date each week on the trends and tribes that edge our city’s robust arts scene. So keep an eye on Feedback—and send us yours!

Charlottesville has always had a deep well of musicians to draw from, and for every act that attracts a large crowd at the Pavilion, there are a half dozen others that toil away for years in basements and garages, occasionally surfacing to play gigs in bars, art galleries, and warehouses.

Tyler Magill belongs to a long lineage of Charlottesville musicians who may never become a household name, but produce some of the most vital, interesting music heard in town. He came to UVA in the early ’90s intending to study poetry, but dropped out after three semesters. Since then, he’s played in numerous bands—“five or six real ones, and about 300 other projects that were just miscellaneous bullshit,” he estimated—including Grand Banks, Bucks & Gallants, Draw the Kitten and, rumor has it, a group with the imaginative name Dad Fucked Mom.

“That was actually the first rock lottery band,” Magill laughed, referring to a short-lived Charlottesville tradition in which impromptu bands were formed by drawing potential members names out of a hat and given one month to come up with a short set. “That was the first band that really woke up me up about how there might be something to it, to doing this weird, weird music.”

His musical endeavors over the years have ranged from raw post-punk to gentle minimalism, but his new band, Mss., may be his most approachable and accomplished effort to date. It feels like the distillation of years of effort, without the burden of artistic compromise.

Mss. began as a duo—Josh Krahn strummed guitar while Magill played organ and sang over pre-recorded drum machine tracks. (The band’s name is publishing industry shorthand for manuscripts—one of Magill’s day jobs was handling layout for Philosophy textbooks.) It debuted in 2009 playing at a wedding, and the set included original numbers as well as covers of both Lungfish and Skip James. “Well, you can’t really cover Skip James” Magill admitted, “those songs have been around forever, since before he played them. But the lyrics are his and the music is ours.”

The songs have an elegant simplicity and relaxed charm, not unlike the acclaimed Baltimore act Beach House. But where Beach House’s music is unerringly lovely, Mss. has a rough edge with a raw and sometimes sarcastic demeanor that seeks transcendence despite the grit and world weariness. A gentle attitude makes room for clever, thought-provoking lyrics, such as a song in which the mnemonic device used to recall the notes of the EGBDF treble clef is adjusted to read “Every Good Boy Deserves What He Gets.” Magill’s voice is worn, but there’s an attempt at sincere communication and insight that is powerful and affecting.

The band took things to the next level with a performance at the Southern last fall. They opened for Six Organs of Admittance, with the full Mss. Orchestra, that included Dave Gibson, Brian Hoffa, and Cathy Monnes, and continued to buck expectations by ending the night with a rousing Gordon Lightfoot cover.

Mss. will release their debut album, Hesy-Chast Songs, which the duo has been recording gradually over the past two years at Krahn’s house. “It’s been really piecemeal,” Magill said. “Both of us have children, we’ve only been able to get together to record for and hour or two at a time. We’ve had all the drawbacks and advantages of recording it a bit at a time.” Befitting the band’s name, the CD comes packaged in an 85-page book, containing “lyrics, other writings, pictures, and chili recipes.”

The album release takes place Thursday at the Black Market Moto Saloon where Mss. will perform with the full band. Dais Queue, the solo guitar project of Davis Salisbury, opens. The choice of Salisbury is hardly surprising, as he and Magill have played in almost nine different groups over the years. “Pretty much every time one of us is onstage, the other one is going to get up there and do something too,” said Magill.

The quarter centurion
The Fridays After Five concert series will mark 25 years this week when Love Canon takes the stage. Since the 80s, the music series has showcased acts of local and regional interest in the heart of downtown Charlottesville. For many residents, newcomers, tourists, and children, it serves as their first introduction to Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall. The series has also allowed the community to raise thousands of dollars for local charities, as a portion of the proceeds from the concession sales goes to benefit a variety of local non-profits. It’s a rich seasonal tradition, and it’s always free.

Charlottesville has its fair share of arts festivals, from the Virginia Film Festival and the Festival of the Book to the LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph. Paul Beyer wants to add to that list. This Saturday will see the launch of the cutely named Tom Tom Founders Festival, a month-long series of events bookended by a block party on Founder’s Day, April 13, and a two-day festival on May 12 and 13.

Music plays no small part in Beyer’s vision. While Charlottesville’s larger venues like the Jefferson and the Pavilion regularly host cultishly followed jam ensembles, Pitchfork-approved buzz bands, and still-touring legends of yesteryear—and smaller bands stop by the Tea Bazaar or the Southern on their way to Austin’s infamous SXSW—the Tom Tom Founders Festival represents, among other things, one of the largest gatherings of medium-to-high-profile music acts to grace our fair city in recent memory. Like nearby Nelson County’s Festy Experience (which celebrated its second annual event last October and is hosting a spring concert Downtown, also on May 12), it’s a chance for local music fans to hear several big names in one weekend: The Tom Tom Festival features headlining performances by The Walkmen, Josh Ritter, and Here We Go Magic. Dozens of local bands, artists, and organizers will join in, and the full line-up includes over 30 musical acts.

If this large event seems to have suddenly sprung up out of nowhere, it also comes as something of a surprise to the Festival organizers themselves. “When we first started talking about this, it was 2012 being a soft roll out.” Beyer explained. “A test, really; something to get the message out, and see how people respond. Of course, it’s turned into a pretty major roll out. But the impulse is the same, get the idea planted in people’s minds, a music festival about more than music, and let it really blossom in 2013.”

As the Festival’s inaugural event approaches, the final list of bands and venues has yet to be announced, and although a lengthy list of musicians and venues is available, attendees purchasing the $50 all access passes to the Festival weekend don’t know exactly who will be performing where and when. This last-second ironing-out of details seems to be a result of the Festival’s organic, crowd-sourced approach to curation. In addition to booking nationally recognized headlining acts with the help of Richmond promoter Tom Beals, Beyer invited a number of local artists and organizations to participate in filling out the Festival’s schedule.

Under the tripartite banner of “Music, Arts and Innovation,” the month also includes several non-musical events, such as a kite flying picnic, a film screening, a poetry contest, and even a latte art competition (a full listing of events is available on the Tom Tom website www.tomtomfest.com). Beyer noted, “music has this ability to draw people together, and hopefully give more prominence to other conversations going on in the community.”

The Festival begins with an opening gala block party at McGuffey Art Center, featuring 13 bands. Unlike the headlining events that conclude the Festival, the kick-off is all free and all local.

The event will be something of a reunion for the well-established local rock powerhouse Invisible Hand, whose members are currently pursuing a variety of other projects following a successful string of shows and sessions for a new EP. One of those other projects is Hand drummer Adam Brock’s pop-rock super-group Borrowed Beams of Light, whose star power may be eclipsing the various groups from which its members originated.

The gala’s line-up also includes the acoustic jazz of Hot Twang! as well as the Olivarez Trio, which has been entertaining Django Reinhardt fans for several years now with its Tuesday night gigs at the C&O.

Infinite Jets are a newer name in town, but its roots in Charlottesville rock are deep, as each of its members played in other short-lived bands over the years; in fact, newcomers Dwight Howard Johnson also share some of the same band members.

With the addition of the international rhythms of Beleza Brazil and Chihamba, the funky jams of the Downbeat Project and the Eames Coleman Trio, the gala may prove to be the most musically diverse event of the Festival, thanks in no small part to the rich musical culture that has already been present in Charlottesville for years.

The event will begin at 5pm on the front steps of McGuffey, and will also feature street food vendors, children’s activities, and visual art. Time will tell how the Tom Tom Founders Festival shapes up, and what it will develop into, but Friday’s event seems to be about as strong a beginning as any local music enthusiast could ask for.

Charlottesville gained national attention in recent years as the home of the Charlottesville Lady Arm Wrestlers (CLAW), the women’s arm-wrestling league that spawned a wave of similar movements around the country, in which legitimate competition comes packaged in wild, punk-influenced DIY style, and charity organizations are the beneficiaries. The next CLAW match, set for June 16 at The Jefferson Theater, will be a SuperCLAW event in which Charlottesville’s arm-wrasslin’ ladies will compete against representatives from similar organizations around the country.

But arm wrestling isn’t the only tough-girl craze that’s gone viral in recent years; competitive roller derby, once considered a passé fad of the 1970s, has seen a revival with the growing popularity of all-women’s roller derby matches and like all worthy underground crazes, has even been crowned with its own exploitation film (the Drew Barrymore-directed Whip It).

The Charlottesville Derby Dames began rolling in 2007, but were unable to make their hometown debut until November of 2009, due to the lack of a proper rink in Charlottesville. They now alternate away-meets with home games at the Main Street Arena, and the May 5 “Cinco de Mayhem,” event will see the Dames compete against two Baltimore teams, the Charm City Rollergirls and the Junkyard Dolls.

Although competition is often fierce, there’s a strong undercurrent of solidarity between the teams; not only do the rollers need competitors, but events tend to be fundraisers for local charity organizations. The local bond of sisterhood between the Derby Dames and CLAW is strong; the Dames have traditionally served as Security at CLAW’s potentially rowdy events, while the colorful CLAW competitors will serve as “fear-leaders” for the Derby Dames’ upcoming matches. The May 5 event is the first of a season of competitive bouts for the Derby Dames and more info can be found at charlottesvillederbydames.com.

Get your motor running
Cinco de Mayo is traditionally a day of revelry all around town. Appropriately enough, The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative will be holding its fourth Revel on Saturday, an annual fundraising event for the local arts non-profit.

The one-story brick structure, located prominently at the foot of the Avon Street Bridge, first held art on its walls in 2004, shortly after Zack Worrell purchased the building. Recognizing both a need to support local artists and a desire for philanthropy, Worrell and Greg Kelly soon founded the The Bridge PAI.

Early events were charmingly casual and chaotic (full disclosure: This reporter was once an employee of The Bridge). But over the past eight years, the Bridge has grown into a legitimate and successful non-profit organization with 30-some volunteers, and a staff of three, with program assistant Ross McDermott and managing director Maggie Guggenheimer joining Kelly at the helm.

The Revel is not only an annual fundraiser, but typically a wild private party, in which patrons and millionaires mix with bohemians and working artists. In addition to auctions of work by local artists Bill Wylie, Pam Pecchio, Clay Witt, Edward Thomas, John Sheridan, Carolyn Capps, and Sam Abel, tickets include an open bar, and music by Grits ‘n’ Gravy. Tickets start at $50, but “starving artists” will be admitted to the after-party for $20.
This marks the first Revel held at a separate location—Black Market Moto Saloon. Kelly anticipates a crowd of over 200, and there was a need to host a larger number of attendees in a smaller space. “We’ve streamlined a lot of things [from past years]; the space, the food, the music and the booze is now all under one umbrella,” Kelly notes. “It’s a great opportunity to support a business we love, as well.”

When I saw tires, bearing painted advertisements for the Revel, I assumed the Moto Saloon was the inspiration for the automotive theme (the Saloon bills itself as “Charlottesville’s only biker bar”—although owner Matteus Frankovich is probably one of the more eccentric motorcyclists you’re likely to encounter). The tires made sense as soon as Kelly mentioned Allan Kaprow, the 1960s artist who staged “Happenings,” in which he would invite visitors to the gallery for ongoing, open-ended, interactive performance art. A famous early Kaprow happening involved filling the gallery with car tires. “We’ll have a recording of him explaining his work at the entrance,” Kelly explained. “Maybe some people will just say ‘what the hell is that?,’ but for others I think it’ll click.” With his work breaking down barriers in the gallery and inviting the community to participate in the art-making process, Kaprow seems like a natural choice as a patron saint for The Bridge.