Tag: B-Side Memphis

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Music Music Blog

David Collins’ B-Side Residencies Bear Fruit

David Collins (Credit: Carly Nicole)

Recently, in the wake of the Memphis Flyer‘s coverage of the local classical scene, a reporter asked me what venues I would recommend to hear exciting, new composers at work. After listing a few of the usual suspects — the Green Room at Crosstown Arts, the Cannon Center, the Germantown Performing Arts Center, etc. — I wrapped it up with the words, “Oh yeah, there’s also this bar …”

A bar where one can hear composers of new music? Yes indeed, thanks to the venturesome spirit that is alive and well at B-Side Bar in Midtown. The club nestled among the various shops of Minglewood Hall has become a favorite of the experimental set (among many other genres) in recent years, and one regular there has been David Collins.

Since before his 2021 debut album, Memphis, Collins has demonstrated a knack for inhabiting the interstices between classical, jazz, rock, and “new music,” whatever that is. Along the way, he’s been incredibly prolific, not just in composing his own music, but in tackling other composers from the worlds of both jazz (e.g., Horace Silver) and classical (e.g., Erik Satie). And he’s often performed at B-Side, typically with his primary group, Frog Squad.

As of July of last year, he ramped that up considerably, as his spin-off group, Freak Squid, took up a residency there on the last Tuesday of every month in order to work out some of Collins’ newer material. It still preserved Frog Squad’s rock-friendly approach to instrumental music — “sometimes we had four guitars, which was awesome,” Collins quips — but with a slightly different feel.

And, because of the quality of the sound at B-Side, usually overseen by live sound veteran Joe Holland, that July-December residency will soon yield more tangible fruits. Having recorded every Freak Squid performance from last year, Collins has now mixed the best cuts into a new collection, due to drop later this week. “It’s maybe more indie-rock-ish, like Radiohead-ish,” he says of the imminent album. “We also have some really free stuff on there. I’m gonna put it out in two parts. And the second part is going to be a lot more aggressive kind of avant garde. It will be released under my name David Collins, and the title is Freak Squid One.”

Meanwhile, Collins has already moved on. Now he has a group simply called David Collins’ Acoustic Septet, and they currently occupy the coveted last-Tuesday slot. “I’ve got a new band, and probably in six months I’ll have another new band after that,” Collins remarks. “I’m hoping that every six months I’ll do a new band and then we’ll record it live, so I’ll get two albums a year from this residency. This new band features two guitarists, me and Logan Hanna. Ethan Baker’s on violin, Ben Walsh is on double bass, Aaron Phillips is on bass flute, Delara Hashemi is on alto flute, and Haley Ivey is on concert flute.”

David Collins’ Acoustic Septet (Photo courtesy David Collins).

This material is decidedly less indie-rock, particularly as it has no drums. “This is nice because it’s really quiet. Kind of intimate,” says the composer. “I’ve got everything arranged. There’s a few tunes that just have lead sheets for the rhythm section, but flutes are generally scored out. The idea is that the flutes will have a calliope kind of sound.”

David Collins’ Acoustic Septet appears on Tuesday, February 27th at B-Side Memphis, 10 p.m., and the last Tuesday of every month after that.

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Music Music Blog

Jon Auer Hits His Stride

Jon Auer (Credit: Erica Burgess)

“Memphis is like a second musical home to me now,” muses Jon Auer, best known as a veteran of the Big Star revival(s) and, once upon a time, the Posies. He’s been in town since last Saturday, when he performed with the Sonny Wilsons in their jangling, harmony-laden opening set for the Baseball Project at Overton Park Shell. Today he begins his Sweet Southern Sojourn tour through Nashville, Knoxville, and Asheville, then back to B-Side Memphis on Sunday, September 10th (click here for tickets). And with the Bluff City serving as his base, he’s been staying busy.

“I’ve worked with Memphis artists a lot,” he explains. “Obviously there’s the Big Star connection, so I’ve played here a lot. Part of that’s also due to wanting to only play with people you like. Like, Jody Stephens is a longtime friend of mine. It’s hard not to love Jody Stephens. I’m really fortunate to have had all this time with him in things related to Big Star. Now I’ve been coming to the Crosstown Concourse a lot, and I just made this record with the Sonny Wilsons at Ardent and High/Low Recording. So I’m starting to feel like there’s actually a little community here related to me that makes it feel very homey now. It’s not like I’m just going someplace to do some work. I love the vibe of Memphis. And technically, I mean, I’m in the Memphis Music Hall of Fame! I don’t know how that happened. It kind of makes me laugh, but I’ll take it.”

Indeed, Auer proved his mastery of the original Big Star’s oeuvre only last December, when he, Jody Stephens, Chris Stamey, Pat Sansone, and Mike Mills celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Memphis band’s debut. But while Auer made several songwriting contributions to the latter-day Big Star’s In Space album, that project is forever bound to be focused on the past. These days he’s more future-oriented, getting back to writing and performing as a solo artist.

“It’s kind of emotional to be back out touring because it was taken away for a variety of reasons,” he reflects. “The pandemic really did a number on everyone, myself included.” His first touring after those days of lockdown only came late last year, “playing the recent Big Star 50th Anniversary celebrations in Memphis, New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. And I did my first post-pandemic solo show in Richmond, Virginia, around those days. So this Southern tour is actually me kind of getting back to it.”

He says to expect a bit of music from the great bands he’s been associated with, perhaps including Posies hits like “Coming Right Along” or “Going, Going, Gone,” mixed into a healthy selection of solo material exemplified by his 2006 masterpiece, Songs from the Year of Our Demise. That album, critically acclaimed 17 years ago, hits even harder in the current dark era with songs like “Six Feet Under” or “The Year of Our Demise.”

While that album does rock out dynamically, it also has a vulnerable edge not unlike Elliot Smith’s most homespun work. “That was the first proper, full-length original thing that I did. It was 15 songs and I played everything on it, with the exception of a few drum tracks and a few other instruments. It sold a few thousand copies, got great reviews, and I toured the world: Australia, Japan, the States, and all of Europe. And that was where I discovered the solo part of me, as far as really going out and actually doing a show, getting something together, and really being able to communicate with people.”

He seems eager to do just that at Sunday’s B-Side show. Auer says he’s here for the music and ready to play. “I don’t even have a website. I’m one of those guys. No one would accuse me of over-promoting myself, though I’m better at it these days. I just want to work on music that I enjoy. Certainly it’s nice to get paid, but ultimately this Memphis show isn’t about the money. And I think B-Side is going to be the perfect place for this. I’m just looking forward to having it be a good time with a lot of friends who are coming.”

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Music Music Features

WiMM Fest

Glockianna (Photo: Duke Nitty)

Over recent years, DJ Liz Lane, the host of WEVL’s Modern Girl show, was especially tuned in to the wealth of women in Memphis music. Seeing them sporadically here and there, she felt the city was reaching a kind of critical mass of women performers — you just wouldn’t see that reflected in show bills around town. “I would be going to these venues,” she recalls, “and I’m like, ‘Where are all the females on the lineup?’ You would look at the events calendars, and it was definitely a minimum of 80 to 90 percent all males for the month.” There was a sharp disconnect between that and what she was seeing on the ground. “I was meeting so many female musicians that I was like, ‘Why? I don’t understand why they’re not on the boards more.’”

That, in part, is what motivated Lane to team up with local performer and producer Miz Stefani early in 2022 to initiate the Women in Memphis Music (WiMM) group, “bringing female/female-identifying musicians in Memphis together to create a community that thrives.” And right out of the gate, they were hosting monthly “WiMM Presents …” throw-downs at B-Side Memphis, a tradition that has steadily grown in popularity. Now, something bigger is afoot: the inaugural WiMM Festival, an all-day event at the Hi Tone this Saturday, June 24th.

Putting the festival together, they found that some artists’ success actually prevented them from participating. “We kind of put this wish list together,” says Miz Stefani, “and we had people who we wanted to be on the lineup, but, you know, Alicja Trout was out of town, Louise Page, out of town, Cyrena Wages, out of town.” And yet there was no shortage of equally stellar talent to choose from. The festival will feature two pioneers of women in Memphis music: the master jazz vocalist and harp player Joyce Cobb and The KLiTZ Sisters. The latter band is fronted by two founding members of the KLiTZ, “Memphis’ very first all-women punk band,” as Stefani notes.

Aside from their thriving current careers, these two acts represent an important era of Memphis history: the gonzo days of the 1970s. Cobb came here in 1976 to pursue a contract with Stax Records just as the label went under, but nevertheless found the polyglot musical culture of the city to her liking. By the decade’s end, she would enjoy some chart success with the prescient, Afro-pop influenced “Dig the Gold.” Meanwhile, the KLiTZ came together in 1978, adjacent to Alex Chilton’s scene and his work with the Cramps, whose Poison Ivy was another icon of women in punk.

A third marquee name on the bill also represents the height of musicianship among Memphis women today: saxophonist extraordinaire Hope Clayburn. Beyond work with her own group, Soul Scrimmage, she can often be seen in her many side projects, including the rock/jazz/classical hybrid group Frog Squad.

Raneem Imam (Photo: Jamie Harmon)

Other familiar names in the ongoing renaissance of women in rock will also be at WiMM Fest, including Mama Honey, Little Baby Tendencies, Oakwalker, Rosey, and Maggie Trisler’s Mystic Light Casino. Stefani also points out two artists less often seen in Midtown haunts. “Raneem Imam is an Arab-American girl, a really great composer and songwriter. I was blown away when I found out how young she was because her songs have the maturity of somebody who knows the R&B that I grew up with. And Glockianna is a rapper from South Memphis who’s already gone viral on social media. She is on fire! And she’s already played festivals in Miami and Austin. She’s kind of in the vein of Gangsta Boo, RIP.”

Stefani, for her part, is excited to see that critical mass of female artists made real. “It’s absolutely a celebration. And we also hope that WiMM Fest is a connector for a lot of attendees to find their new favorite local band, to learn more about the history of women in Memphis music, and just for the artists to meet each other. Because sometimes scenes can be very insular, where people are only over here or there, or only go to certain shows. But we are all musicians. So we want to strengthen the community and build the community of women musicians here as well.”

WiMM Fest 2023 is at the Hi Tone on Saturday, June 24th, 5 p.m.-midnight. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit wimmfest.com. Tickets cost $30.

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Music Music Blog

After a 15-Year Hiatus, the Return of The Glass

The Glass, ca. early 2000s. L-R: Justin Lloyd, John Argroves, Tommy Pappas, Brad Bailey (Photo: Heath Davis)

Tonight marks that rare thing in the revival market: the return of the early 2000s. Even the ’90s are getting their due these days, but for those wishing to press ahead into the future of retro, this Friday night is your night. The Glass return to the town they started in 20 years ago.

“It’s been 15-plus years since we did this!” exclaims drummer John Argroves at the prospect of tonight’s show at B-Side. Yet the players have been recording together more recently. As Argroves explains, “Justin Lloyd [guitarist in the Glass] wrote some tunes of his own and we decided to meet him in Monticello, Mississippi, last fall to do a weekend session with the old guard. That band is Red Ocher, and the album’s called The Owl.”

As Red Ocher is also on tonight’s bill, fans of The Glass will get a double helping of sorts. Though the material and the singer for each project are unique, they sit well together. Also on the bill is Jeff Hulett, who’s been making his mark on Memphis music for more than 20 years as well, both with Snowglobe and as a solo artist. Tonight the solo artist has a full band.

For the uninitiated, the music of The Glass holds up well. The shimmering dissonances and angular harmonies in the guitar interplay provide a captivating setting for Brad Bailey’s musings, with an underlying angst that seems appropriate to this era. And the boutique label Small Batch Records agrees, having re-released the band’s 2002 debut, Concorde, only two years ago (reviewed by the Memphis Flyer at the time). Seattle-based owner Aaron Rehling has also featured Hulett on the label, 2018’s Around These Parts.

The Glass, Red Ocher, and the Jeff Hulett band play Friday, December 9th, at B-Side Memphis, 8 p.m.

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Food & Wine Food & Drink

A Visit to the B-Side Memphis.

CREDIT: Photographs by Justin Fox Burks

The winds of change have blown through the Memphis bar and restaurant scene over the past couple of years. Some old favorites have closed or, more appropriately in the case of the Buccaneer, been burned and razed. From the ashes rises B-Side Memphis, opening in the seemingly unlikely location of Minglewood Hall. Minglewood has been home to a random hodge-podge of businesses over the years, but not many of them have been a beacon shining bright to the crowd that now finds its way to B-Side. It hasn’t been for lack of trying on Minglewood’s behalf: We are just naturally skeptical of ample parking and clean toilets. These amenities are outside of our comprehension when coupled with our treasured local acts.

“We’re doing music every night,” general manager Brad Boswell says. “The focus is on Memphis music.” In a market that hasn’t always been kind to out-of-town bands, this makes sense. Boswell books B-Side himself and stacks each bill with those treasured local acts. He explains that B-Side isn’t just a restaurant or a bar, but a place to go check out music. The focus on Memphis doesn’t end with the tunes, either. The bar serves Pancho’s cheese dip, hummus, and feta dip from nearby Casablanca, kolaches from Howard’s Donuts, and meat pies made by local musician, tattoo artist, and apparent meat pie connoisseur Mark Svetz. Boswell and his brother, Ben, have a full menu planned for the spring, but honestly, can it get any better? There is no stopping you, dear patron, from dipping your locally sourced meat pie in the Pancho’s.

Photographs by Justin Fox Burks

Brad Boswell at B-Side

As if B-Side’s focus on Memphis music and beloved local dips wasn’t enough, Boswell also corralled some familiar talent. His staff is full of former employees of both Old Zinnie’s and the Buccaneer, so pounding beers at B-Side will feel, for many of us, just like home. B-Side has a happy hour starting when they open at 3 p.m. each day and running through 8 p.m. It features $1 off of everything, excluding the already-affordable High Life pony bottles. On Saturdays and Sundays, they open at 6 p.m. Each night of the week, they’re open until 3 a.m., allowing for maximum hell-raising and music-listening. B-Side itself isn’t the cramped, grubby bar that we’ve all embraced in the past. Its ceilings are high, its bar long, its floors hardwood. It’s a space that finally affords us the square footage to rock without fear of the walls caving in or the floor giving way.

Boswell wasn’t kidding about the whole “it’s a place to see music” thing. While there are plenty of tables and booths, there is way more emphasis on space to stand, inviting us to actually pay attention to what’s on the stage. On the night that I went, the crowd stood quietly, enraptured by the peaceful sitar-playing of Naan Violence, the first of a four-band, all-Memphis bill. Each Monday, Devil Train takes the stage, yet another tradition borrowed from bars long gone. And yeah, it’s an actual stage! A dedicated space that doesn’t require moving tables or stacking chairs!

Is this where we are now, Memphis? Have we finally traded in and traded up? Have we finally gotten what we’ve long deserved? This is a bar that has finally answered to all of us who have grown up. We’ve long stood in puddles of bodily fluids in the dive bars of Memphis, smoked in spaces without fans or ventilation, suffered a from-behind soaking from a domestic beer. We’ve gabbed loudly through sets, stumbled into restrooms with no toilet paper, and hugged walls stained with years of sweat and smoke. B-Side has taken all of us in, shown us the light, and graced us with its actual adult bar presence. We loved our falling-apart-at-the-seams dives, and we still love the ones that remain. B-Side Memphis, however, is the beautiful new bar that has all the feel (and all of the people) of the good old days with less of the trash and germs. We’ve arrived, guys, and there are plenty of meat pies and parking spaces here.