Author: john-ruscher

While in the band Oneida, Pat Sullivan stopped through Charlottesville quite often to bask in Tokyo Rose‘s red glow. In time, though, he grew away from that group’s noisy, chaotic trajectory. "My roots are in stricter songwriting," he tells Feedback, "very chordal, melodic, harmonic things. The kind of things I was doing with Oneida at the time were loud and kraut-y."

So what did he do? He started a new group, of course. Leaving Oneida to its more spaced-out journeys, Sullivan went on to form Oakley Hall, which takes its name from the American Western novelist and aims for an energetic and cowboy-ish twang (they hit the bull’s eye with their new album, I’ll Follow You, which comes out September 11).
 

Six shooter rock: On September 7 Oakley Hall will take dead aim at Satellite Ballroom.

Feedback loves Oneida’s noisy ramblings and kraut-rock trances, but listening to Oakley Hall makes us understand why Sullivan made his choice. Based in the Big Apple, the group combines big-city energy and a rustic American heart. "The idea is that it could be roots-ish music that could be anything," says Sullivan. "It didn’t have to be alt-country or sound a certain way."

Oakley Hall isn’t just Sullivan, though. The band’s wealth of talent makes them stand apart. Rachel Cox teams up with Sullivan on vocal and songwriting duties, and the three other members round out the mix with consistently terrific chops. "The people in our band are traditionally good players," Sullivan says. "So we’re able to take a certain weirdness and add that to people who can play really intricate, crazy things."

Like a roving group of cowboys (and cowgirls), Oakley Hall has spent the last five years touring the country and performing with acts like Bright Eyes, Gillian Welch and M. Ward, and Sullivan says it’s been tough but rewarding. "There are definitely bumps, because you’re living on the road," he explains. Everything you do is part of that experience. But when everyone’s in the same vibe of letting it out, it’s ecstatic."

Ecstatic it must be, as Oakley Hall is a renowned live act in their hometown of NYC, the haven of many scoffers and naysayers. "I think there’s a certain energy that we kick up all together," Sullivan says, "and when people see someone who isn’t doing it just to get something off their chest, that actually has this kind of hook in it, I think it’s exciting." Be part of that energy (Feedback certainly will) when the band plays Satellite Ballroom this Friday, September 7.

From Wal-Mart to Argentina

When Jonny Fritz (or, to go by his stage name, The Corndawg) gets an idea in his head, he just runs with it. One day the Esmont-raised Fritz was at a hardcore punk show when the power went out. Seeing the band get nervous about not being able to hide behind their decibels of distortion, he decided to start an unabashed, unadorned a capella act.

Three chords and an airbrush: Jonny Fritz, a.k.a. The Corndawg, will entertain you with his Wal-Mart-inspired Americana at the Tea Bazaar on September 10.

He called himself Corndawg and started singing songs. "Eventually somebody was like, ‘You need to get a damn guitar,’" he says. So he got a few lessons from Charlottesville’s Hillbilly Werewolf. "He taught me the first few chords on guitar and that was about it. I pretty much just play those three or four chords."

Where has that handful of chords gotten him? Wherever he wants, it seems. Fritz has played music in Australia, Cambodia, Thailand, India, Spain, Italy, Germany, Argentina and nearly every state in the U.S. (oh, and don’t forget Puerto Rico). His favorite country? "Argentina, hands down," he says. "The people there are just so amazing. Every single person there just seems to be on another level."

Though he’s traveled far and wide and now lives in Philadelphia, Fritz takes his inspiration from rural America. "It mainly comes from impoverished people like Wal-Mart workers," he says. "I try to put myself in somebody else’s shoes. That’s usually where the songs come from. Lately I’ve been inspired by people who are married and in uncomfortable, awkward situations."

Music isn’t Fritz’s only artistic outlet. He also makes airbrushed t-shirts (no joke). "Airbrushing is my favorite form of art," he says. "I’ve been making a lot of t-shirts lately. But they take a really long time, like two hours to make one. And it’s hard to sell a damn t-shirt for more than 10 bucks. No matter now long it takes, it’s still a damn t-shirt." Ain’t that the truth.

To pick up one of those shirts, or just to see what Corndawg is all about, head to his show at the Tea Bazaar on Monday, September 10. You might also be able to snatch up the new Corndawg album, still untitled, which Fritz hopes to have ready by then. "Hopefully it will be released on September 11," he says, "but there’s no label yet, so that’s still up in the air." He enlisted the help of fellow Philly-by-way-of-Charlottesville band The Extraordinaires on the record. "I’m really excited about it," he says. "It’s going to sound like 1970s Waylon Jennings."

A Jailbreak fundraiser

When Feedback called up Brad Perry, the drummer of local rock band, Worn in Red, he answered, "Hey, sweetie." We think we have a pretty close relationship with the Charlottesville music scene, but we were still surprised to get such an intimate greeting. "Sorry, I thought you were my girlfriend," he explained.

Bang the drums: Brad Perry and his band Worn in Red will return to Charlottesville with a show at Outback Lodge on September 7.

Putting the awkwardness aside, we asked Perry what he was up to, and he told us that he was stranded in Florida, where Worn in Red’s van (named Jailbreak after the Thin Lizzy song) had broken down on the way to the last show of their tour. Bummer! Luckily, the band was able to rent a minivan and make it to the final show, and Perry said that he has a lot of friends in the area, so they weren’t completely SOL.

Other than the breakdown, the tour was really great, Perry says. All of the shows were fun, he said, and in Atlanta they played to a living room packed with about 125 people. Worn in Red will return home for a show at the Outback Lodge this Friday, September 7, with the Fingerpainters, Punch You In The Face, Big! and Fred Gable. Given the recent development, it’ll be a benefit show for the Worn in Red van, Perry says. Well, Feedback wishes Jailbreak a swift and speedy recovery, and, for filling us in on his band’s latest endeavors, we’d like to tell Perry, "Thanks, sweetie."

Got news or comments? Write to feedback@c-ville.com

The day that Feedback was scheduled to meet up with Sparky’s Flaw front man Will Anderson he called us up and asked, "Can we move things back an hour? Band rehearsal got pushed back. I don’t mean to be a diva or anything, but is that O.K.?" That was fine. We roll with things, ya know?

Keeping the spark going: Sparky’s Flaw has progressed from high school talent shows to college gigs, and now it’s on the verge of big-time success

We found it funny that Anderson was worried about looking like a diva, but we guess Sparky’s Flaw can’t help but have some stars in their eyes. The band that we once witnessed during lunchtime at a high school battle of the bands quickly gained a college fan base when they came to UVA, and now, though they’ve still got a year of school left, they’re on their way to becoming professional rockers.

They’re on board with Red Light Management and A&R guru Bruce Flohr (he signed some guy named Dave back in 1993), and this week they’ll release their self-titled EP on Smash Records and celebrate by playing UVA’s amphitheater on Thursday, August 30 and Fridays After 5 at the Pavilion on August 31.

Smash Records? That name sounded familiar, so Feedback did a little research (read: Googling). The label was a Mercury Records subsidiary that released works by the likes of James Brown and Jerry Lee Lewis in the ’60s. Now, it seems, Mercury is resurrecting the imprint, with the Sparky’s Flaw EP as one of the first releases.

So, what’s it like to jump into the big time music biz while still an undergraduate? "It’s very busy," says Anderson. "We’re all over the place, so it’s hard to bring everyone together at once." That’s no surprise, as the four members’ studies run the gamut from business to computer science to music. "We miss lots of classes for shows and we’re gone most weekends," says Anderson. But with the prospect of big things ahead, Sparky’s Flaw is making it work.

With the group hitting up the East Coast college circuit (they’ll head to Clemson the day after their Friday show) and under the wing of Flohr, it’s hard not to blurt out, "Are they the next DMB?!" Well, hold your tongue just a second. Sparky’s Flaw is aiming more for modern pop rock than Dave’s jammy world beat sound. "We place ourselves between Maroon 5 and The Fray," says Anderson. "Not as sexy as Maroon 5, but not as bland as The Fray." Feedback hasn’t heard The Fray, but we must say that the Flaw’s new EP does have the same swaggering bounce as Maroon 5. Don’t take our word, though. Head out to the amphitheater or Pavilion and hear for yourself.

The Smog lifts

Charlottesville has a wealthy share of singer-songwriters, past and present, so it’s naturally a perfect place for lonesome strummers to make a tour stop. On Tuesday, September 4 Bill Callahan will do just that with a show at Gravity Lounge. Callahan has recorded introspective and beautiful tunes as Smog since 1990, but with his latest release, Woke on a Whaleheart, he lifted off the veil and used his own name.

Bill Callahan, formerly Smog, returns to the exotic wilderness of Virginia with his show at Gravity Lounge on September 4

Feedback caught up with Callahan, who recently returned from some shows in Ireland and Wales, to ask him about his latest endeavors. Why the name change? Well, Callahan was ready to mix things up, and the new moniker is part of that. While Callahan wrote the songs on Whaleheart, he handed the production and arrangement reins over to former Royal Trux and current Howling Hex guitarist Neil Hagerty. "It’s a roll of polyhedra dice with him," says Callahan. "I never knew what to expect from moment to moment, and at the same time [I felt] very grounded and sure. He’s a true American individual."

Even with Hagerty helping out, songwriting is a difficult process, so we were curious about Callahan’s method. "I get a few words first," he says, "and they tumble around in my head like puppies gnawing on each other. Then it becomes a vat of puppies, wriggling, biting and yipping. Before you know it, it’s a young dog and it can run as fast as you can throw. That is when you have it all together and can play it over and over on a guitar. By the time you leave the studio, it is still a young dog but getting older." Well, Callahan’s obviously not only a seasoned songwriter, but also pretty handy with the metaphors. We’re sure some very well bred dogs will take the Gravity stage.

Callahan has been through town before, so we asked him about his experiences. "I played at Tokyo Rose maybe three times and I remember all of them," he says. "I love Virginia. Since I grew up in Maryland, Virginia was the exotic-seeming distant location for hiking and camping." We doubt he’ll have time for any outdoor adventures when he comes through town this time, but Callahan will surely put on a good show.

What should you expect of the night? Sir Richard Bishop, who opened for Animal Collective in May at Satellite, will start off the evening. We’re eager to see him again, as we think Gravity’s atmosphere will be perfect for his contemplative, experimental guitar sounds. Then Callahan will take the stage with bass, fiddle and drum accompaniment. We are hoping that harpist-songstress Joanna Newsom (whom he’s dating) will also join him. That seems unlikely, but we’ll keep out fingers crossed.

Satellite sounds get sweeter

UVA students are back, and we imagine they are happy to find that a slew of musical acts will be playing right across the street at Satellite Ballroom.

The venue teamed up with Starr Hill Presents at the end of June, and now they are in the process of upgrading the space with Starr Hill’s former PA system. We chatted with Satellite’s Danny Shea to see how things are going, and he says that the improvements will make for sweeter sounds. "The production value will be better than both Starr Hill and Satellite Ballroom," he says. There are also other upgrades in the works (including a new front door and a better backstage area), but Shea says the changes won’t be too drastic. "People aren’t going to come in and go, ‘Wow, look at this.’"

But "Wow" might be the appropriate response when taking a look at Satellite’s fall lineup. Whether it’s country singer Shooter Jennings, "doom rock" cult favorites Boris or hip-hop hero Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Satellite’s bringing big names from across the board. Feedback is most looking forward to the September 20 show with mash-up madman Girl Talk. Dare we predict it to be the dance party of the year?

And while we’re talking highlights of the year, Wilco is coming back (we knew it!). They’ll return to the Pavilion on October 20. Tickets go on sale Friday, September 7.

Got news or comments? Write to feedback@c-ville.com.

First things first. If you happened by our offices Monday morning, you probably heard cheers spilling out onto the Downtown Mall. We just couldn’t contain our joy at the news that Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello are coming to JPJ on September 27. Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10am, so we’ll see you in the box office line.

It’s not every day that you pick up the phone and the voice on the other end responds in a quaint English accent, "Hello, this is Peter Frampton." But last week that’s just what happened, and Feedback had a delightful chat with the legendary guitarist.

Staying alive!: Peter Frampton trades in sex and drugs for exercise and bottled water

Frampton was a member of the seminal hard rock group, Humble Pie, and is best known for his 1976 solo live album, Frampton Comes Alive!, but he’s been chugging along ever since. Last year he released Fingerprints, which received a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental Album, and on August 22 he’ll play The Paramount Theater.

We were curious about Pete’s perspective on rock music, so we asked him how things have changed over the last 30 years. "Well, now it’s exercising and bottled water as opposed to sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll," he says with a laugh. "We still do the rock ‘n’ roll, but without the sex and drugs…so much."

Frampton describes rock’s evolution as a cycle. In the ’90s he embraced the grunge movement as a return to the guitar (there’s even an instrumental version of Soundgarden‘s "Black Hole Sun" on Fingerprints). "It has weaved around," he says. "It just got so keyboard-y in the ’80s and it drove me insane. Guitars were taking a back seat. Now you’ve got so many different stratas of rock these days, so I feel pretty good about it. There are some great new bands on many different levels. Death Cab for Cutie is a favorite of mine. Their songwriting is supreme."

It’s great to see Frampton keeping up with current acts like Death Cab, but when you’ve been rocking as long as he has, there have to be some good stories. Feedback asked him for some of his favorite moments.

One, he said, was playing on former Beatle George Harrison‘s first solo album, All Things Must Pass. "In between overdubbing on a track they had to change to reels in those days, so there’d be 10 to 15 minutes and we’d just sit there and jam. Jamming with George was pretty cool."

Frampton’s friendship with another rock star began much earlier in his life. He was classmates with David Bowie (then David Jones) at the Bromley Technical School in southeast London. "My father was head of the art department," Frampton says. "He’d leave the door to his office open at lunch and we’d sneak our guitars out and sit on the stone steps playing Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran numbers together."

Feedback is still finding it hard to believe that we actually talked with Peter Frampton. But it happened, and, if you feel like we do, you can see him in person at the Paramount on Wednesday.

1+1=5

A rocker of a different breed will be returning to town on Friday, August 24. Jeff Melkerson played in raucous Charlottesville punk band The Counselors, as well as a number of other local acts, including the spastic, ironically-named Civil War Re-enactors, who regularly flailed around the dirty floors of the old Tokyo Rose and Pudhouse.

Punk rockin’: Jeff Melkerson freaking out with the Civil War Re-enactors

Melkerson now lives in Philadelphia, and his duo the Richmond Flowers Five will play at the Tea Bazaar (along with Italy’s Jennifer Gentle and San Francisco’s The Dodos). The duo’s other half is guitarist Joseph Zehner, and Melkerson plays drums ("I’m not the greatest drummer in the world," he admits, "but I really like to drum"). Their name includes Melkerson’s characteristic mix of the historic and absurd. Richmond Flowers was the Alabama Attorney General that supported the Civil Rights movement in the ’60s and Melkerson "appended the number five on the end because there are two members in the band." Fair enough, we say.

Since he was a longtime regular in the local music scene, we couldn’t resist asking Melkerson for a favorite musical memory. "Seeing Elliott Smith at the Tokyo Rose," he says. "There were literally like five or six people there. It was the Either/Or tour and he signed my album. That was great." Oh, how Feedback longs to have been one of those half dozen people. But we can’t really complain. We just got to chat with Peter Frampton, and we’re glad to see Melkerson rock out in Charlottesville again.

Bringing it back

Another local musician is picking her guitar back up after a lengthy silence. Shannon Worrell made a pretty big splash back in the ’90s with a couple of solo albums and Lucky Shoe, a major label release with her band September ’67. The group landed a spot on the Lilith Fair tour and opened for acts like Wilco, Eels and Ben Folds Five. But in the new millennium Worrell decided to stop strumming and turn to filmmaking. She founded Light House, a local organization that helps kids learn how to shoot, edit and produce their own films. Though she’ll still be doing some work at Light House, Worrell has decided to focus more energy on her recently revived songwriting. Her performance at Gravity Lounge‘s fourth anniversary show in June proved that, though she took a long break, she’s definitely still got it.

What exactly prompted her return to music? "I was meeting with a friend of mine trying to write fiction, and I just kept writing songs," she says. "We’d meet every week and instead of writing fiction I’d write another song. I think part of the problem was I bought an electric typewriter, and that’s what I used to write music on before."

Well, whatever led Worrell back to her guitar, we’re happy that she’s taking the stage again (she’ll open for Corey Harris at Gravity this Saturday, August 25), and we’re even more excited to hear that she’s going to record some new songs (Sam Wilson and Brian Caputo of Sons of Bill, along with an impressive list of other locals, will be helping out). "I’m going to try to record six or seven in two days," she says, "It’s ambitious, but I feel like I’ll understand them better." What will she do with those tracks? She’s not sure quite yet. "Songs feel like children and you have to put them in the water to see if they can swim. That’s about all I can do."

An extraordinary musical

Lit-rockers The Extraordinaires dropped by Feedback HQ to tell us about their upcoming tour, Ribbons of War: The Musical, which is coming to Live Arts on August 24 and 25. The band first released Ribbons of War as a CD/handmade book and now they’ll present it as a fully staged musical (there’s also a graphic novel version in the works, we hear). The formerly Charlottesville-based group was featured on NPR’s "Open Mic" showcase last week, so don’t miss this special chance to see these upcoming-and-coming folk rockers.

Got news or comments? Write to feedback@c-ville.com.

We have to say, we were a little disappointed in our readers’ choice for Best Place To Get It On. Home? How boring is that? But we suppose it is good to keep that sort of thing private. We certainly aren’t eager to run into anyone bumpin’ uglies in the Alderman stacks or dancing the back seat mambo in the Water Street Parking Garage. So, since your living room or bedroom seems to be the sensual stage of choice, we asked a few local musicians and DJs to help us put together a soundtrack for your amorous endeavors. Plug in those iPods and, er, we’ll leave the rest up to you.

"Earth Angel" by Bella Morte "Perfect for upping the romance."—Shawn Decker (Synthetic Division)

"Building Steam With A Grain of Salt" by DJ Shadow "From his legendary Endtroducing… album. This whole album is just a perfect ‘leave it on all the way through’ downbeat mood album."—Brad Savage (DJ on 106.1 The Corner)

"On The Couch" by Prince "From someone like Prince you’d expect something like ‘baby let’s do it on the…’ but here the Purple One gets down on one knee and pleads ‘don’t make me sleep on the…’ Brilliant. The smooth rhythm section and wailing choir seal the deal. If she does kick you out of the bed, the pillow won’t even be cold by the time she’s joining you in the family room."—Seth Green (Sons of Bill)

"Hidden Place" by Björk "Her voice is quietly expressive and sensual. The arrangement is lush and full of strange wonder. A hidden place is indeed the best make-out spot."—Lance Brenner (The Falsies, The Naked Puritans)

"She Has No Time" by Keane "My husband and I don’t listen to a whole lot of current music, so [our neightbor] John sort of keeps us up to date on that stuff. For example, I would’ve never listened to that band Keane… too pop for my taste. But drifting through the window at 1am, a few of those songs, um… well, I can’t say that they, like, totally ruin the mood…"—Devon Sproule

"Metal Machine Music" by Lou Reed "Widely regarded as a goof. While I find the jarring sheets of feedback exciting and sensual, going so far as to figure out what key they’re in (Side 3 is in A-flat, I believe), I also have a great deal of congenital neural damage. Have this come on a couple minutes before consummation and not only will it delay orgasm, it will very probably render it completely moot."—Tyler Magill (DJ on 91.1 WTJU)

"The Pink Room" from the Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me soundtrack "Grinding, sweaty, brutal, but in the most passionate film-noir way possible. Just feel the drums and you will be just fine."—Nicholas Liivak (Horsefang)

"The Beautiful Ones" by Prince "Starts off slow and sexy, then it gets heavy for the REAL pounding!"—Tim Clark (This Means You)