Author: spencer-lathrop

Dave Kannensohn was about to schedule a gig for May 4th when his musical partner, guitarist Peter Richardson, said, “Maybe you better leave that date open.” That’s because Richardson and drummer Drex Weaver had already made some plans to celebrate Kannensohn’s 92nd birthday. The festivities will be held at Saxx on Friday, May 4th, where you can hear some of the best jazz players in town as they honor their friend, Kannensohn, a fine clarinetist and a truly nice person.

Dave Kannensohn still has a lot of wind in his sails and reed. Catch him every Saturday at Hamiltons’.

Kannensohn started playing harmonica at 10, picked up the alto sax at 12, and, because he was a very good sight-reader, found himself quickly in demand. At the age of 16, he started playing professionally—it was 1931 and Kannensohn dropped out of high school in Youngstown, Ohio, to hit the road with Jimmy Dimmick’s Million Dollar Band. 

In 1931, when many people were working for a dollar a day, musicians were making $20 to $50 a week playing dancehalls, says Kannensohn. He joined the musicians’ union. “Everybody lied about their age back then,” he says.

Kannensohn stayed on the road until he was 18 and then made the decision to finish high
school. He continued to play during high school and throughout college at Ohio State. Then, until 1957, he owned a children’s clothing shop in Jackson, Michigan. After that, he maintained an accounting firm in Sarasota, Florida, for 35 years. There was only a short stretch of his life during which he did not play music. He has photos on the walls of his house chronicling his musical career from 1931 through the 1970s, when he was playing in a Dixieland combo.

At age 78, he decided to retire. Dave’s wife of 31 years, Lois, “the best wife I ever had,” had a son and grandkids in Charlottesville, and the two of them came to Virginia to visit. Needless to say, they loved it. “This is an unbelievable town, and I have lived everywhere.”
When he moved here, Kannensohn began sitting in with local musicians, George Melvin among them. He also played the sax regularly, “until I heard Jeff Decker, and then I said the hell with it. I sold my sax a couple of weeks later.” But things really clicked when, on his 86th birthday, he showed up at one of Richardson’s gigs and sat in. The two of them are heading into their seventh year together, playing every Saturday night at Hamiltons’ Restaurant. You may also have seen Kannensohn with one of the excellent guitarists who occasionally fills in for Richardson. Kannensohn has only missed a handful of gigs in those seven years. “I have played with all the top jazz players: Royce Campbell, Mike Rosensky, George Turner, Joshua Walker, Sam Wilson, Humberto Sales. One of Hamiltons’ customers saw me with five different guitarists in five weeks.”

“I am doing exactly what I want to do, which is to improvise. I don’t play bop or rock. I play melodic jazz,” says Kannensohn. And as far as his birthday party is concerned, he says, “I am overwhelmed. I can’t believe that these guys, all in their 30s, are putting up with me. Music is probably the one thing that keeps me alive.”

If you have not heard Kannensohn play, he is modest. He has beautiful tone and phrasing, and when you listen to him, it is very apparent how much he loves music.
Together with Richardson and Weaver, the band Friday will include bassist Bob Bowen and the outstanding pianist, Hod O’Brien. Kannensohn will also perform at Bashir’s with O’Brien the following Friday. He says, “Bashir is such a great person. He does not have to offer music, but it is his thing. He always wants the best for the musicians.” Kannensohn also says that Bill and Kate Hamilton “are very supportive, and the staff there is incredible.”

Kannensohn says of the clarinet players that he has heard, “Eddie Daniels is the best. And Artie Shaw, who was a sideman, like I am. He played with Austin Wiley’s band. I got to play with Wiley’s band seven years later.” For songwriters, he likes Rodgers and Hart, Johnny Mercer and the like. “Those guys wrote beautiful tunes,” he says. Speaking of records, he says, “Coleman Hawkins’ Body & Soul made jazz beautiful. It really made a difference in my life.”

When we had finished talking about music, Kannensohn and I talked about his kids, A-Rod and baseball, and red wine. “I think we ought to enjoy our time,” he says. It is hard to imagine anyone who is enjoying his time more.

Springtime is a time of birth and renewal. When goats kid and horses foal. It is also the time of year when new CDs start popping up around town. And like children, CDs always have interesting stories of gestation and labor. They closely resemble you. You can love them and hate them at the same time. They can keep you company in your dotage. With these releases music fans have a variety of opportunities to see what buns musicians have had in the oven this past year.

First-born: Kate Starr releases her debut CD, Questing Through Chaos, Thursday at Gravity Lounge.

Here they are in chronological order only! Thursday, April 26, Kate Starr releases her debut CD, Questing Through Chaos, at the Gravity Lounge. The first 100 paying customers get a special edition EP and one of her great t-shirts. One of Charlottesville’s very best bands, The Naked Puritans, open.

On Friday night, Trees on Fire releases its debut CD at Starr Hill. The Green Room was recorded at Monkeyclaus and at the studio of The Naked Puritans’ Lance Brenner. The Trees’ regular Tuesday night gig at Gravity Lounge is on hold at present.

On Saturday night, Robin Wynn releases her second full-length CD, A Few Dusty Miles. The title of Wynn’s new disc alludes both to the fact that her band played 100 gigs in 2006 and that the band played a much bigger role in the writing of the new tunes. Wynn says, “Writing with a rock band in mind is just a broader experience and I love it.” The new disc definitely has more of a rock feel than her debut, Oblivion, but it also manages to retain the strong songwriter perspective. Producer and guitarist Mark Goldstein says, “It’s a snapshot of a couple of years of our lives, but it’s also a record of a period of real change and growth for us as musicians. We play under her name, but this really is a band.” You can also find Goldstein involved with a variety of new musical and recording projects around town. Musicians seem to always agree that he is great to work with. The Naked Puritans (again) and Dirty Dishes open.

Helen Horal used her winnings from The First Amendment Writes contest to fund the release of her CD Words Unbroken.

On May 4, Helen Horal, winner of The First Amendment Writes contest, releases Words Unbroken, a CD that the prize helped finance. Horal, who started playing at 17, came to UVA from Florida.  She approached drummer and producer James McLaughlin about making some demos. Mclaughlin introduced her to the very fine band that helped make the record: Darrell Muller (Old School Freight Train), Sam Wilson (Sons of Bill), Daniel Clarke (Mandy Moore, Modern Groove Syndicate), Anne Marie Calhoun (Jethro Tull, DMB), Andy Thacker (High Society), Brian Chenault, and Stewart Myers (John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Rachael Yamagata). He also encouraged Horal to enter the contest. Since her win, ATO exec Bruce Flohr has offered his help. Horal says, “I have to pinch myself sometimes. He has been so generous in his advice; he is always willing to speak with me about recording, gigging, short-term and long-term goals, and any questions about music in general.” Horal’s friends Sparky’s Flaw open the show. The Naked Puritans appear to be nowhere on the bill.

Paul Curreri and Devon Sproule both have newly released music. Sproule is back from a British tour with Richie Havens and will very soon release the excellent Keep Your Silver Shined. She recorded the CD last year at Greenwood Studio with another musician’s favorite, Jeff Romano. Sproule is getting very good acclaim in Europe and is featured in a cover story in fRoots magazine. Curreri’s new disc, The Velvet Rut, was recorded at home and features the guitarist playing every instrument. He just returned from his first headlining trip in Ireland. Look for both CDs to be available within the month.

Matthew Willner is releasing the first of his recent recordings, a jazz fusion project featuring James McLaughlin, Darrell Muller, John D’earth and Bobby Read. Buy it when you see Willner out playing.

South African singer-songwriter Vusi Mahlasela will celebrate his new CD, Guiding Star, at Starr Hill on May 13.

South African singer and ATO recording artist Vusi Mahlasela’s new CD, Guiding Star, also comes out in very early May. The singer will perform those tunes and more live at Starr Hill on May 13.

Finally, Alex Caton, who led Las Gitanas for many years, has a new disc on the near horizon and a new band, Verbunk. Look for both at Gravity in May.

How lucky we are to live in this town. Please e-mail me if I missed your CD.

Albemarle High School sophomore Ryan Grant does not drink alcohol, smoke dope or have promiscuous sex. And his decision to live that straight-edge life has been inspired by music—good loud, fast, hard music.

He don’t drink, don’t smoke: But what AHS sophomore Ryan Grant does do is rock—hard.

Ryan Grant likes hardcore music. The first hardcore CD he ever bought was by Minor Threat, one of the bands credited with starting the punk rock lifestyle of abstinence from alcohol and drugs with a 1981 song called “Straight Edge.” About a year and a half ago, Grant adopted the “edge” philosophy for his own life.

“The music is a backdrop to making a statement” says Grant.

 As for why he has adopted an edge lifestyle, he says, “It just feels right to me, although it also puts me out of place more often than not.”

Grant says that he is one of the few at school who adheres to the edge life, but he also says that very few of the kids at school make a big deal of his choice. They accept it for what it is. Needless to say, Ryan’s mom, Darlene, can find a lot more solace in finding Minor Threat’s music on her son’s iPod than when my mom found Bob Marley’s Catch A Fire on the turntable in 1973.

Ryan plays in three bands himself, including Demagogue, what he calls a “punk, melodic, crusty, 1977” style band. He played an afternoon show this past Saturday at The Music Resource Center. “The MRC is a really important place, because we can go in and record for free.”

Grant cites some older bands as his current spins: The Clash, Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits. But he also says that there are some new bands that interest him, like Insurgency here in town and Richmond’s Down to Nothing. Because the Charlottesville scene is small, Grant also goes to Richmond for shows (Alley Katz in particular after Nancy Raygun shut its doors). He also has taken note that the punk rock scene is divided, and that bands play mostly to fans of their genre (i.e., emo bands draw an emo crowd). This can make it hard to get a crowd. “But,“ he says, “music is what connects people.”

Warn the elderly neighbors: Kevin Ardrey may be bringing his heavily amped metal music to a home near you.

Bassist and drummer Kevin Ardrey describes the local metal scene as just as splintered as punk rock. “There are so many subgenres. Some people only like one kind of style. But when it comes down to it, it’s all metal.”

Ardrey plays bass in established band Charred Martyr as well as Sanguin, a metal band that recently got together and is in the writing phase. Charred Martyr was just invited to play a one-time show in the Tokyo Rose basement. They will also play a gig May 19 in Waynesboro at The Federal Building with a heavy metal band on Prosthetic Records called Byzantine. Ardrey says the show “will be big.”

“Playing music is one of the most important things going on in the lives of the guys in the bands,” says Ardrey. But, he says, “The Charlottesville metal scene is a little dismal. I don’t think there are enough pissed-off metalheads in town.”

Still, there are good metal bands in the area, says Ardrey. “One Eyed Suicide is good quality metal. A Cosmonaut’s Ruin are amazing.” He also likes Zero Presence from Greene County.

Ardrey finds out who is coming to town through online forums, and he downloads most of his music from iTunes, which has a very extensive metal library. “I like the Scandinavian death metal bands, like Opeth, At The Gates, and Dissection’s older material.”

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Despite several recent club gigs on the books, Kevin Ardrey says that club bookings can be hard for his bands to come by. For that reason, he says metal bands often play parties at people’s houses. The rise in the number of live music events hosted at house parties seems like a good indicator of the number of musicians who want to play in front of people, but cannot fit into the structure of the clubs. And it is not just metal bands. Several house concert series in town host very good out-of-town acts, often singer/songwriters. The Barking Cherry series, for example, will feature folk favorites Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen, on Saturday evening, May 5, at 8pm. Refreshments will be served, and you can make a reservation by e-mail: sngwrtr525@hotmail.com. Musicians Bobby and Sara Read, Scuffletown’s John Whitlow and Alex Caton have also generously opened up their living rooms for shows. Caton just had Jake Amerding at her place. The trick to house parties is always finding out the when and the where.

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Open your April copy of Southern Living magazine, and there is ex-Charlottesville guitarist Rick Olivarez working his six-string in New Orleans.

Walk into Stacy’s Music Shop in Rio Hill Shopping Center and you will see a shop full of guitars and drums, and hear the tapping of an aspiring drummer getting a lesson in the back. But you will also see many photos on the wall of a Charlottesville era long past.

Shep Stacy’s grandfather, Carl Stacy, loved music and played many instruments. Shep says that he was good at repairing instruments as well. He was also the sax player and bandleader of Stacy’s Dance Orchestra that played around the area, including the still existing Fry’s Spring Beach Club. One of the photos of his band is dated 1925. The musicians in the sextet played music for their living, and Shep says that they were hugely popular.

Third time’s a charm: Shep Stacy is the latest Stacy to run Stacy’s Music Shop. The store is now in its 62nd year of business.

But reality has a way of kicking in, and Carl moved to Norfolk during WWII and worked as a ship builder. In 1945, he realized his dream of coming back to Charlottesville and opening a record store. That shop was Downtown in the Vinegar Hill neighborhood, where the Omni hotel stands today. It was the only store in town selling records, until Back Alley and Sam Goody appeared, at which point Stacy diversified into musical instruments.

The shop stayed Downtown on Main Street until 1991. Carl’s son, Carl Stacy Jr., ran the shop until he handed over the reins to Shep. The store is now in its 62nd year of business. For the 50th anniversary celebration, Shep Stacy had many of the old photos bound in a leather book.

You can also see photos of Bus Smith’s band from the 1930s. Smith bears a striking resemblance to Django Reinhart. There are also pictures of Charlie Page, who played the mandolin and was a member of the Batesville Page family. Shep says that the shop used to be as much a place for the boys to get together and jam in the mornings.

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While he pays tribute to the musicians in his family’s past, Shep’s own musical leanings are totally contemporary. He played for many years in My Dog Lucy and is currently in the band Sick Shot. That band has been on hiatus though, because two of the members are out on the road with “American Idol” contestants. Drummer Kevin Murphy is touring with Josh Gracin, and Brian Craddock is out with Chris Daughtry, whose band plays at Starr Hill on April 14. [For more on Chris Daughtry, see feature story] Shep remembers the singer well, because Daughtry took lessons in the store, and his band Cadence used to open for My Dog Lucy.

Carl Stacy Jr. (center) and has band Stacy’s Dance Orchestra played regularly at Fry’s Spring Beach Club and other places around town in the 1920s.

Stacy’s also added a recording studio four years ago, which has produced projects by Navel, This Means You and Under The Flood. Shep Stacy says that the shop’s motto of learn, play and create has been “based on the old store where musicians would meet and play together, help out an aspiring musician, and walk out with some picks or a new set of strings. That still happens today. Many of the musicians in Charlottesville are willing to help out a beginner…even if it’s just showing them a chord on the way out the door.”

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Longtime resident Drewary Brown remembers another kind of big band from the old days. The Sweethearts of Rhythm formed in Mississippi, but relocated to Virginia in 1941. Led by Anna Mae Winburn, the band was made up of women, which was maybe not so unusual during the war years. What is more interesting is that the band was racially integrated. Because of this fact, the group booked very few engagements in the deep South. And when they did, the white players often tried to pass themselves off as black to avoid trouble with the law. They were good enough to play the Apollo Theater in Harlem, and it is said that Louis Armstrong tried to steal their trumpet player Tiny Davis. Davis said no to Satchmo, citing her attachment to the women in the band. 

The Sweethearts entertained locals at Washington Park in town during the 1940s, and according to Brown, they were “good looking too.”

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For those of you who have never been to an event in the Fry’s Spring clubhouse, you should check out the most nostalgic room in town. The room is the enclosed remains of the outdoor dance pavilion from The Jefferson Park Hotel. It holds about 500 people, hosted the likes of Glenn Miller, and during the 1950s, Charlottesvillers could go dancing there every night of the week. New GM Cristina Webster would like to see the clubhouse put to better use in line with its purpose, beginning with country and swing dancing every Wednesday night starting in April. There will be two open house events in May.

The members of the Free Bridge Quintet are well known by jazz fans around town. The band is made up of the much-esteemed players from the McIntire Department of Music’s jazz quintet-in-residence. But if you have never been out to hear one of their fine performances at Cabell Hall, you can catch the Quintet this Saturday, March 31, as they put the magic of one of their shows onto tape (uh, disc). The show of original music is at Cabell at 8pm. The CD should be released next fall.

Free Bridge Quintet loves the palpable energy from the audience in Cabell Hall. They’ll play there on Saturday, March 31.

“It’s a special place to play,” says drummer Robert Jospé. “Part of it is the great natural acoustics of the hall, but an even more important part of is the intimacy between performers and audience that this space creates.  We get so much energy from the audience, it’s truly palpable.  You just can’t re-create that in a recording studio.”

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The next evening, jazz fans should get out again as WTJU and The Charlottesville Jazz Society presents the return of jazz drummer John Hollenbeck. Last year, when Hollenbeck was in town, Free Bridge drummer Jospé sat in the front row. This time around, Hollenbeck brings The Refuge Trio, a group that formed in 2002 for a Joni Mitchell tribute gig. Besides the music of Mitchell, the band plays Thelonious Monk, Dmitri Shostakovich and originals. The band also features in-demand pianist Gary Versace and Theo Bleckmann, who is said to be an amazing vocalist, although not a singer. That show is at Garrett Hall at 7pm.

One of the sponsors of the Hollenbeck show, The Charlottesville Jazz Society, formed about six months ago. One of the Society’s founders, WTJU DJ Gary Funston, says that the group assembled “to do whatever we can to get clubs in town to book more jazz music.” The Society also meets for a monthly lecture that is open to the public. The next meeting, April 19 at Saxx, will feature Free Bridge’s great saxophonist Jeff Decker. You can join check out online jazz radio stations, upcoming events and music recommendations at the group’s website, www.cvillejazz.org. Join up while you are there.

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Drummer Jospé and his excellent group, Inner Rhythm, will also make an appearance at the Gravity Lounge on Friday, April 6.

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On the rock scene, longtime bandleader of The Lilys, Kurt Heasley, recently moved to town from Philadelphia. Though he grew up in D.C. and Virginia Beach, he has spent many years moving around the country: Denver, L.A. and Boston. Heasley says that he loves Charlottesville so much that it “almost makes me want to go out and meet people.” Check out The Lilys at Myspace and let’s hope for a local performance in the near future.

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How did you pay your way through college? If you drove a UVA bus, you might have ended up in The Stabones. The local punk rock group is made up of four former bus drivers who formed a band and it stuck. They will play their 100th gig this Thursday night at The Outback Lodge. Fire At Will opens.

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Heinz Musitronics is not moving from Ivy Square, but they are knocking out the wall to the space next door to double their inventory space. Stephen Hobeck, who bought the store from Heinz Pors in 2002, says, “The new space will give us the room to display top-of-the-line speakers, amplifiers, mixers, DJ equipment, as well as recording gear.” The store will also offer more space for all sorts of lessons and workshops, from guitar technique to home recording. Customers can register at Heinz beginning April 7th to win one of the many prizes given away during the Grand Expansion Celebration Saturday, April 14, 2007.

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Speaking of Heinz, Hey Tom Howard!! Where did you get to? Bent over a dub version of a Bach cantata?

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Big ups to Fellini’s for their support of the Charlottesville High School Orchestra. The restaurant, which generously hosts live music most nights of the week, donated a portion of their Sunday brunch sales to the Orchestra, so that all members could go to the Heritage Festival of Music in London the first week of April.

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Kurt Heasley’s current favorite spin to get busy to: A Daedalus song called “Grind”.

 

You got to give it to Jon Thompson. Dreaming Isabelle’s lead guitarist and singer goes after what he wants. He was a walk-on from Wise High School to the UVA football team and got to play linebacker alongside Darryl Blackstock and Aaron Brooks.

Thompson brings this sort of determination to his band, which just won the Snocap sponsored Charlottesville Battle of the Bands. But he also brings a very levelheaded practicality to playing in a rock band. “All of us have that need to play music, so we are making music and seeing where that leads. Our thing now is to get to the next step.”

Jon Thompson (far right) says that Dreaming Isabelle’s influences include The Beatles and Wilco, and that songwriter Daniel Lipton writes with a driving, Jimmy Eat World-inspired sound.

The four members of the band graduated from UVA, and they have worked their way up from frats and open mics to gigs at The Lion’s Den and Piano’s in New York. Thompson says that band influences include The Beatles and Wilco, and that songwriter Daniel Lipton writes with a driving, Jimmy Eat World-inspired sound. Recently, they won the local competition that earns them an opening slot this season at The Charlottesville Pavilion, as well as a consultation with ATO Records execs.

They welcome the advice, but they have already been plenty smart about their path. Thompson works at Musictoday, where he gets to see the behind-the-scenes workings of the business. And drummer Chris Doermann recently bought recording studio Virginia Arts. They recorded their first CD there, and they continue to work on new material there. They have a new EP in the works.

As for digital music distributor Snocap, Thompson says that the band aims to make it as easy as possible to put their music in front of people. Snocap allows fans to buy music directly from artists. Artists therefore set their own prices, and Dreaming Isabelle has tried to keep prices for their music as low as possible. They also used Facebook to promote their recent headline performance at Starr Hill. Thompson says, “It is hard to not feel gimmicky with online promotion. But I am a fan of whatever connects fans to music.”

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Believe it or not, very occasionally I get criticized for being out of touch with the local rock scene. (Didn’t I make the call on Corndawg being the next big thing?) If you are looking to go deep into the local rock scene, go to www.nailgunmedia.com. John Ruscher, (who also writes reviews for this paper), started Nailgun in June 2004, after the close of Tokyo Rose. He decided to blog as a way of providing a central place for information about underground music. Ruscher originally covered shows in D.C. and Richmond, but the fact that more and more great shows were coming here focused the site locally. He credits all the local clubs for offering spots where bands can play.

“When I first started I was grasping for any information to post, but now I have to work hard to keep up with everything that’s going on. After I had been running the site for just a little while, I thought about stopping, but luckily some of my friends encouraged me to keep it going. I’m really thankful for that support.

“One of my favorite moments has probably been attending the grand opening of Monkeyclaus Studios. They were projecting films onto a white sheet outside, and Sarah White and Richmond’s Them Against Them played a show in the studio. One of my most memorable moments was helping promote UVA’s Fest Full of Rock last spring. Former Charlottesvillians USAISAMONSTER played, and we got Les Savy Fav, one of my favorite bands, to headline.”

Nailgun is sponsoring the Satellite Ballroom performance of Bonde Do Role later this month. The band consists of Brazil-based DJs who favor the funk. DJ Gavin Holland and Mad Happy will open. “It’s exciting for Nailgun to be actively presenting a show, rather than just writing about what other people are doing around town.”

Check out Nailgun for interviews with Neil Hagerty, Andy Friedman and Sarah White.

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Sometime American Dumpster members Steve Riggs and Betty Jo Dominick have joined Tanya K’s Two Red Shoes and the band has been working hard on new tunes. Catch them this Sunday night downstairs at Starr Hill.

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Jon Thompson’s recent spins: “I like Sigur Ros, and Explosions in the Sky (who played a sold out show at Starr Hill this past week). And I like Gomez, who really remind me of The Beatles.”

Correction appended

If you caught the Beetnix show at Starr Hill last weekend, you got to see an opener who is very much affiliated with the group. The Supreme Council features turntablist DJ B-Easy, and rappers Scheem and Anonamys.

Anonamys says that his music, along with the Beetnix, tries hard to reinvigorate real hip-hop. “Hip-hop is not about materialism. It is about unity. We want to bring a positive energy back to it. And in that way, we want to try and reach out to kids and adults who have been influenced by true hip-hop.” Anonamys has been taking his message on the road, and last year toured from New Haven, Connecticut, to Panama City, Florida. He is also working on an upcoming Florida tour.

Turntablist DJ B-Easy is a big fan of the soundtrack to Unforgiven—and he’s got that Clint Eastwood stare down pat.

But it might be easier to check out his music on his second CD, The Interview, which was released earlier this month. Anonamys came in first in a showcase at Rapture, and he won a record deal with independent label AudioState.  Anonamys brought in nine producers for the 10 tracks, and Glitch from the Beetnix acted as executive producer on the project. You can find it at both Plan 9s, but also at a number of stores that carry a selection of underground hip-hop CDs. Both locations of Charlottesville Players stores will carry the disc, as well as Sexshuns on the Downtown Mall. You can also check out Anonamys’ new video at www.anonamys.com.

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The owner of Charlottesville Players, Quinton Harrell, says that he keeps about 100 CDs of underground hip-hop, R&B, reggae, reggaeton and go-go in stock at one time. As far as product, he says, “I have DJs who keep me on the cutting edge of what’s new.” Currently, he has a smaller number of Charlottesville-based DJs’ music in stock than he has in the past.

At the turntables on an Anonamys gig is DJ B-Easy. “I don’t do too many parties anymore, because I am not too big on Top 40. But whenever Anonamys goes out, I am there.” The two have been friends for close to 10 years. B-Easy has been DJ’ing for the past five years, but he really got turned on to hip hop music when he was 14 and bought his first mix tape at Charlottesville Players.

B-Easy says that since he bought that tape, he has studied a lot about spinning and making remixes. He has also kept up on what is going on with hip-hop music. He used to release more of his own music on tape. “In the past, I have put about 20 CDs with five remixes on each one. But my skills weren’t up to par, so lately I have gotten tighter with what I put out.” B-Easy decided that he wanted to wait until his product is absolutely perfect, and currently, he only has one piece of music available, a remix of the soundtrack to Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven.

“I love that movie,” says B-Easy. “I try to use the themes, or I will find a really powerful phrase, and I’ll drop the beat right there.”

B-Easy has always had respect for the Beetnix. “They have so much energy.” And like that band, he always tries to be very conscious about what message is portrayed in his own music. 

At his shows, Easy will typically bring four crates of LPs. He goes record shopping most often at the Albemarle Plan 9, as well as a shop called DJs R Us off Broad Street in Richmond.  For a Supreme Council show though, he will usually use CDs instead of LPs.

Look for DJ B-Easy at upcoming Supreme Council gigs, and possibly in a slot on WNRN’s Boombox. You can also find him at crafts fairs in the area selling walking sticks that he likes to create.

Also, look for an unplugged performance by the Beetnix at Gravity Lounge on May 12. The band will also open for Guru next month in Chapel Hill.

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DJ B-Easy’s Influences: “That first mix tape that I bought was by Geo-Roc from Queens, New York, and it is still very much an influence on my music. It was a strong remix of a cappella over instrumentals, which is also what I do.” He was also influenced by mix tapes that he picked up by DJ Green Lantern from New York City, and Cosmic Strictly Skillz Kev out of Philly.

Correction March 20, 2007:

In the March 13 Plugged In column, it was announced that Beetnix would play at the Gravity Lounge on March 31. The actual date of the show is May 12. [This has been corrected]

Joe Garnett grew up here in town, and he played music with bassist Steve Riggs in junior high school. He took time off from playing the drums later in life, but he worked as a woodworker, and five years ago he decided to experiment making a set of drums.

Joe Garnett builds drums only as a hobby and at his own pace, and the quality shows in each set he makes.

Garnett’s mom, who was also a woodworker, left him a nice supply of rough-cut walnut when she passed away. He was familiar with making round pillars for houses, and he had studied how wood slats were put together to create the top on a rolltop desk. Using that technique, Garnett put together the first set of shells for a drum kit. He says that his first technique was not the best, but he has continued to improve. He mills and assembles the slats, holds them in place with duct tape, fills the grooves on the inside with glue and lets them set up. After that, he says, there is a “whole lot of sanding.”

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Besides Riggs, the local champion for Garnett’s drums is Gary Taylor. Taylor, who was raised here and has been playing since he was 10, spent his 20s playing in jump blues band Tremendous Richard, “the second busiest band on that circuit in Boston.” They played five nights a week all over New England. Taylor says, “New England back then was a really good scene. Bands used to make really good money. And Charlottesville with the weekend parties was a mecca.”

Taylor moved back to town for a couple of years in his 30s and played with Mike Elswick, Dennis Guinan, and The Belligerent Brothers. He split town again for the Southwest, and he was living in Las Vegas when he got the call to play with the D.C.-based Potomac Jazz Project. He has been playing with the group for the past year and a half and living in the area.

“I had a small car, and I needed an 18" bass drum, so I asked Joe to make me one. He made me the prototype kit out of black walnut.”

Garnett had to put a lot of time into details. An 18" bass drum has a circumference of 17 3/4", for example, so that the drumhead fits snugly over the shell. Taylor took Garnett’s shells and customized all of the rims and lugs to his liking.

Taylor says, “One night my kit was sitting up in the window at Miller’s, and Aric Van Brocklin came by and saw them. He wanted a set, and Joe happened to be around the corner at Fellini’s.”

Taylor also keeps a set of Ayotte drums, but Garnett’s kit is the one that travels and gets played. “The vertical grain is gorgeous. I get guys in D.C. all the time who come up to me with their mouths agape about these drums. It was getting to a point where it was tying up 10 minutes every night.”

Garnett says that Taylor and Van Brocklin have been the inspiration to make more, and he has made drums of walnut and cherry. The drums do sound great and are beautiful to play. The set that I saw had gold rims and standard Evans heads, and sounded very good. Garnett works only as a hobby at his own pace, and currently does not even consider manufacturing beyond custom made. But for drummers interested in checking out a snare, or even an entire kit, you can reach Garnett at mojocg@hotmail.com.

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If you want to catch two fine drummers, get out to Fellini’s on Saturday for a performance by The International Councilors. With percussionist Darrell Rose and drummer Matt Wyatt in the pocket, band members Matthew Willner, James Tolliver, Steven Norfleet get to explore world beat, reggae, West African, funk and a variety of other styles. Or as Rose puts it, “electric Miles Davis meets roots.”

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Song Sharing’s (www.songharing.org) Greg Allen got Billy Joel to autograph a donated Baldwin piano before the JPJ gig. Stay tuned to this column for details on how you might win this piano.

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Gary Taylor’s R&B picks: “Tremendous Richard played Louis Jordan and Roy Brown, but the quintessential R&B record for me is the Ike Turner LP from the 1950s called I’m Tore Up.”

Dave Matthews’ place behind the bar at Miller’s is not the only draw for musicians to Charlottesville. In 2003, rocker Zaba Grace (www.zabagrace.com) moved here from Toledo, Ohio, to work with sometime DMB engineer Chris Kress. 

Grace credits Debbie Gibson as an influence. “I dreamed when I was 12 of putting something together that sounded really good. It [Grace’s new CD, My Own Skin] came out better than I dreamed.”

Zaba Grace is moving to South Carolina on the wings of the many things her career owes to the Charlottesville music scene.

The singer had recorded some of her material in college and sent it to Kress, who works all over, but mainly at his own PMD Studio. Although those recordings were raw, Kress told Grace that he had heard enough, especially in her songwriting, to want to work with her. Grace says, “I tried for nearly a year in Toledo to find someone to help me develop into the artist I believed I could be. I just never found anyone in Toledo, and when I found Chris, I just knew it was something that would make me better.”

Once in town, Kress set Grace up with several local heavyweights to collaborate on songwriting; Lance Brenner, Shannon Mier and Andy Waldeck all made writing contributions to the tunes on her CD. Grace says that recording took place in fits and starts, and took about two years. Along the way, they hired some of the best musicians in town to play, including Waldeck, Brenner, Jenn Rhubright, Brian Jones, and Joe Lawlor.

The CD sounds nothing like Debbie Gibson, and a lot more like Liz Phair. “I worked really hard to become a better singer.”

Musicians who work with Kress know that he is good to work with and that he turns out a very quality product. My Own Skin got a rave on CD Baby. “We get about 100 new albums a day (about 100,000 total) and yours is one of the best I’ve ever heard.” That praise from the online distributor has kept Grace’s disc on CD Baby’s Top 40 since July, resulting in healthy indie sales.

With help from drummer Stuart Gunter, who knows many musicians in town, Grace put together a band around Navel’s Wally Worsley on guitar. Though things are going as planned, Grace has decided to leave Charlottesville and relocate to Greenville, South Carolina, of all places. “I want to move somewhere warmer.” (Note to self: Make no major life decisions in mid-February).

Grace certainly plans to maintain her musical life south of the border. “I will say that I don’t regret moving here.  The beginning of my dream has come true; I have made a great record I will always be proud of that most people I know never thought I could do.”

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Local label Record Theory celebrated its first anniversary on February 24.  To celebrate, the label will offer The Stabones’ (www.stabones.com) album Liver Let Die for free download until March 2.  Also, The Stabones will be play their 100th show with Record Theory labelmates Fire At Will at the Outback Lodge on March 29.

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If you missed the documentary film Live… From The Hook (www.livefromthehook.com) about rock bands based around UVA and Easters, an expanded version of the film will be shown at 7:30pm, Friday, March 2 at The Satellite Ballroom. The screening will be a fundraiser to try and finish the project. Tickets are sold in three tiers. Forty-dollar tix get you a seat with your musical heroes in the best seats in the house during the film screening, a reserved table during the Alligator performance that follows, as well as a complimentary Live… From the Hook sneak preview DVD. Twenty-five dollars gets reserved seating in a preferred section, and $15 gets you a general admission seat, and the effervescent gratitude of bandleader and movie star Bob Girard (www.boggirard.com).

See Johnny Sportcoat and the Casuals and much more at a screening of Live… From the Hook on Friday.

As Girard puts it, “I meet people from all over who come up to me and tell me what a difference I’ve made in their lives. How my singing has inspired them to try it themselves in the privacy of their own homes, when the ‘family’ is ‘away.’ How my songwriting has inspired them to travel to Europe and get run over by a bus themselves so that their own personal muse could awaken inside them and hold forth with an outpouring of heartfelt lyrics not heard since John Lennon wrote that song about my mother. How my uncanny ability to capture the essence of my own zeitgeist and eauclairewisconsin on film has prompted them to follow their dreams and become famous actors or producers or stockholders in Disney or Universal. Or General Electric. And now, with this limited time offer we will bring that opportunity back to you!”

Soon, very soon, I will turn this entire column over to Girard.

I once played in a band where members lived in Virginia, Baltimore and New Orleans. The long distance relationship may be hard, but it can be done.

Adam Smith of Truman Sparks (www.myspace.com/trmnsprx) has been figuring out where he wants to live. He recently checked out Philadelphia, where former locals The Extraordinaires have found a home. And he has spent time in Richmond, a city that he likes. But mostly, Smith says that he would prefer to tour all the time.

Two gigs are better than one: In March, Adam Smith (third from left) will play solo in Charlottesville, as well as with his band Truman Sparks.

He is in luck, because Truman Sparks will kick off a month-long tour at The Twisted Branch on March 16. The tour, his fifth, will go from New York City to Kansas City and Houston before making its way back through the Southeast. “Just the fact that we are touring is good enough for me. It will be a great time, and we’ll be driving in a minivan, so we will be very good friends by the time it is over.”

You can catch Truman Sparks in a tune up gig this Sunday night at Starr Hill lounge. Smith will be playing a solo gig again at Starr Hill on Thursday, March 1. Smith says that even though band members are living in separate cities, Truman Sparks has come up with new material that he is very excited about. And personally, he has been in a serious psychedelic and Pink Floyd phase that shows up mainly in his own music away from the band. He has also been under the sway of a lot of krautrock.

The night after his solo show, March 2, you can catch Smith’s friends, the expatriated Extraordinaires, at The Tea Bazaar. The show will be interesting because core members Jay Purdy and Matt Gibson have assembled a full band to take on the road. And their tour takes them all the way to California.

Find Truman Sparks’ CD on line at www.recordtheory.com.

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Another Charlottesville musician who is undeterred by distance is bassist Tony Zanella. He joined the much-loved local band True Love Always (www.teenbeatrecords.com/artists/tla.htm) around 2000 when Tobin Rodriguez grew up and moved to Boston. Some time later, band leader John Lindaman relocated to Brooklyn, but TLA, who records for Teenbeat, stayed together to tour and put out a CD, Clouds. They last played Teenbeat’s 20th anniversary party in 2005. Since then, Lindaman has pursued various projects, incorporating his love of Latin and samba music into Latin Hustle, a group that he wryly describes as Joao Gilberto meets the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Drummer nonpareil Matt Datesman made a CD with Teenbeat founder Mark Robinson, and that band, Flin Flon, toured as recently as last year.

TLA was playing The Knitting Factory in 2000, and former Versus’ members James Baluyut and Patrick Ramos were opening the show with their new band, +/- , a.k.a. Plus Minus. Zanella got along well with the band, and after the release of +/-‘s  first CD in 2001, Zanella got the call to tour with the band. They have taken him out on the road ever since, about once a year. Zanella says that highlights have included swings through Taiwan, and that Japan “is an amazing place to go to.” You can catch +/-  with Zanella at a local show at The Satellite Ballroom on March. The band has been described as a “perfect soundtrack for daydreaming.”

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What did bluegrass music ever do to launch so many bastard stepchildren? This Wednesday, Bill Evans, saxophonist known for his work with Miles Davis and John McLaughlin, will bring his  new grass band to the Gravity Lounge. His latest CD, Soulgrass, was nominated for a 2006 Grammy and was co-produced by ubiquitous five-stringer Bela Fleck. His current band has young banjo star Ryan Cavanaugh on banjo (recommended to Evans by Fleck ) and fiddle player Christian Howes, who has been touring with Bill the last two years.

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Board members at the former Prism Coffeehouse space have decided to christen the venerable venue 214 Community Arts Center. A grand opening fundraising event for the space will be held on Saturday, February 24, featuring Uncle Henry’s Favorites and new old-time band Naked Creek. For complete information on happenings there, check www.214arts.org.

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True Love Always, or—if you prefer,TLA—are up in the Clouds these days.

And in case you did not get a ticket for Justin Timberlake’s show at JPJ. Club R2 is selling raffle tickets every Thursday night for Mr. Sexyback, and the lucky winner gets two VIP tix to the March 18th show and a limo to get you there and back. Winners will be announced Thursday, March 15.