The Memphis Dawls
[slideshow-1]
Categories
Tag: Memphis Dawls
This year of Music Video Mondays ends with a note of holiday melancholy.
Folk rock supergroup supreme Memphis Dawls has announced that their show tomorrow night at Lafayette’s will be their last for the foreseeable future. It’s sad news for Memphis music fans that is happening for a happy cause: singer/guitarist Holly Cole recently got married and is moving to Hawai’i with her new hubby.
The Memphis Dawls (left to right) Jana Missner, Holly Cole, and Krista Wroten Combest
The three high school friends leave behind a rich, if too short, legacy of songs, and a couple of great music videos, like last year’s “Skin LIke A Cage”, directed by Jared B. Callahan. The video was shot at Midtown musical landmark the Buccaneer and stars Memphis actress Annie Gaia.
Memphis Dawls – Skin Like a Cage from Second Light on Vimeo.
Music Video Monday Special Edition: Memphis Dawls (3)
The Dawls first video was for “Hickory”, from their self-titled debut EP. The haunting video, which artfully combines archival footage from the 1960s and live images of the band shot at Beale Street Studios, was directed by Laura Jean Hocking.
Music Video Monday Special Edition: Memphis Dawls (2)
Since the director of “Hickory” also happens to be my wife, I was at the video shoot, which took place just before Christmas, 2011. After we’d wrapped, we were celebrating and the band started talking about the cover of a holiday standard they had worked up for their next show. We convinced them perform the song while we turned on the camera one last time. This is the result.
Music Video Monday Special Edition: Memphis Dawls
Best wishes to the Dawls, and Happy Holidays from the Memphis Flyer film blog. Next week, we’ll reveal our Best Memphis Music Video of 2015. If you have a music video you shot in 2015 which you would like to put into consideration for the Best Memphis Music Video, please email a link and details to cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.
Categories
Skinny’s Birthday Bash
JD Reager
Skinny McCabe
This weekend the Hi-Tone will host a two-day, all-star celebration in honor of the birthday of the club’s new-ish owner, Brian “Skinny” McCabe.
After serving as general manager for years at the now defunct Highland Strip nightclub Newby’s, McCabe took over the Hi-Tone last December after forming an agreement to purchase it from the previous owner, Jonathan Kiersky. Since then, McCabe has made few changes to the Midtown club, preserving the aesthetics, vibes and entertainment programming that helped turn the Hi-Tone into one of Memphis’ premier music venues.
“It’s been a roller coaster, but not anything I’m not used to,” says McCabe. “It’s a lot of work but I’ve got an amazing cast and crew. It blows me away how so many people are eager to help.”
For his birthday shows (dubbed “Skinny’s Super Sexy All-Star Celebrity Weekend: Birthday Edition”) this Friday and Saturday, McCabe booked some of Memphis’ higher profile acts, including Dead Soldiers, Mark Edgar Stuart, The Memphis Dawls, and Lord T and Eloise.
“I wanted to showcase some of the insane talent our city has to offer to people that may not make it out often. I’ve also been personal friends with most of these folks for years and really dig the music,” he says.
For a complete schedule and ticket information, visit www.hitonememphis.com.
Sons of Mudboy play the Beale Street Saturday Night release show on Sunday, April 19th at Shangri-La.
Outdoor shows are the place to be in the 14th edition of my weekend roundup. From block parties to shredding at the Cooper Young gazebo, here are ten shows worth checking out this weekend.
Friday, April 17th.
Digital Leather, Alicja Pop, Aquarian Blood, 9:00 p.m. at the Buccaneer, $5.00.
Weekend Roundup 14: Digital Leather, Sons of Mudboy, Memphis Dawls
Memphis Dawls, Belle Adair, Christian Lee Hutson, 9:00 p.m. at the Hi-Tone, $10.00.
Weekend Roundup 14: Digital Leather, Sons of Mudboy, Memphis Dawls (2)
The Rough Hearts, J.D. Reager and the CB3, Faith Evans Ruch, 9:00 p.m. at Murphy’s, $5.00.
Weekend Roundup 14: Digital Leather, Sons of Mudboy, Memphis Dawls (3)
Graham Winchester and the Ammunition, 10:00 p.m. at Bar DKDC, $5.00.
Saturday, April 18th (Record Store Day).
Lucero Family Picnic with North Mississippi Allstars, Clay Otis, Marcella & Her Lovers, Robby Grant, 2:00 p.m. at Minglewood Hall, $25-30.00.
Weekend Roundup 14: Digital Leather, Sons of Mudboy, Memphis Dawls (4)
Blackberries, Aquarian Blood, 1:00 p.m. at the Cooper Young Gazebo (for Record Store Day), free.
Zeke Johnson’s Jug Band, 8:00 p.m. at Otherlands, $7.00.
Lucero Family Picnic After Party, 9:00 p.m. at Murphy’s, Free.
Sunday, April 19th.
Sons of Mudboy, Luther Dickinson, 2:00 p.m. at Shangri-La Records, free.
Weekend Roundup 14: Digital Leather, Sons of Mudboy, Memphis Dawls (5)
Artistik Lounge featuring Dejanique, 8:00 p.m. at Minglewood Hall, $10.00.
Categories
Record Reviews
The Memphis Dawls
Rooted In The Bone
Madjack Records
The best Memphis music has always put the pieces of popular music together in unexpected and novel ways. On their debut full-length, Holly Cole, Jana Misener, and Krista Wroten plunder country, folk, rock, and soul to create a mix that transcends genre. Album opener “Please Don’t Leave Me” shows off all their tricks: lush orchestration, propulsive pizzicato, and mini-symphonic song structures worthy of Brian Wilson. On “Where’d You Go My Love” they show they can construct a three-minute Carter Family hymnal hoe-down single. And then there are the vocal harmonies. When supporting Cole’s Linda Ronstadt lead lines, Misener and Wroten hover on the periphery, reinforcing harmonics and providing counter melody. Misener plays Carla Thomas with guest stars Teenie and Charles Hodges on soulful album highlight “Liar,” and Wroten channels Paul McCartney on the Beatlesque “Ride Alone,” whose spacey string coda shows off the depths of the band’s compositional talent. But it’s on cuts like “Shadow in The Room” when the ladies sing together, and the distinctions between lead and harmony, vocal and instrumental disappear, that the Memphis Dawls show what they do better than anybody else. These are songs you can sink into; sonic landscapes you’ll want to live in. — Chris McCoy
GRYSCL
Finding Comfort in Obsolescence
Broken World Media
Bands and critics throw the term “screamo” around so often that it has begun to take on many different shapes and sounds. But GRYSCL is a needle in the haystack. While some bands take years to finish a record, the screamo outfit has released a 7,” two splits, and three EPs since the tail end of 2012. Finding Comfort in Obsolescence, the band’s latest EP, was released earlier this year through Broken World Media. Six tracks long, it showcases a band rich in dynamics and range. “The Sandbox” opens the EP like an explosion, and their clear-cut post-hardcore influences mesh with complex guitar riffs reminiscent of the bands the Fall of Troy and Minus The Bear. Remove one member of the four piece, and they probably wouldn’t sound like the same band. The rhythm section serves as a twisted backbone for the group. On “The Worker,” the bass and drums display a systematic madness as the track moves from soft beginnings to the unpredictable, never-saw-it-coming progressions that reoccur throughout the EP. Whether they are shouting, screaming or singing, each member contributes to the vocals. The multi-faceted melodies further separate GRYSCL from other bands that fall under the “screamo” moniker. “The Sermon,” an ambient, spoken-word digression from the fast-paced controlled chaos that precedes it, bleeds into “The Clock,” a hard-hitting finale to the EP, highlighting the band’s brightest moments. On every front, GRYSCL delivers. — Joshua Cannon
Nots
We Are Nots
Goner Records
On We Are Nots, the synth-driven, bare-boned band has stripped punk rock down to its necessities: driving bass, dirty guitars providing powerful riffs, and screeching vocals. In fact, Nots gets so much right on their debut full-length, a more than adequate addition to the Goner Records catalogue, that it’s hard to find a place to start. “Insect Eyes” opens the LP drenched in synth that fills out the track while vocals howl over the thumping bass and noisy guitar. Take note, this is a reoccurring theme throughout the album. We Are Nots is more steady-handed and polished than their earlier EP, Dust Red. The production kicks the dirt off the vocals and allows each member to lend a helping hand to the other while maintaining the raw energy that embodies the band. From start to finish, the drums are a driving force, providing a home for the other instruments to return to when they aren’t exploring their boundaries. On “Strange Rage,” a guitar soaked in echo and reverb peaks in at the beginning of the track while a groovy bassline follows the drums and synth trails in and out. The nine-second “Get Along” immediately follows, a group-vocaled nod to traditional hardcore. Goner released the record on November 11th, but Pitchfork has been streaming it since the beginning of the month. We Are Nots is much more than a title. It’s a statement, and it’s a big one. — Joshua Cannon
Marcella & Her Lovers
The Bronze Age
Swamp Soul Music
There is perhaps no current Memphis musician with more buzz surrounding him or her than Marcella René Simien. The past couple of years have seen Simien evolve from a largely unknown Louisiana transplant/art student playing house shows to a very much in-demand solo act and bandleader about town. Last week, Simien and her band, dubbed Marcella & Her Lovers, unveiled a long-awaited debut EP titled The Bronze Age. And to my ears, anyway, it absolutely delivers. Expertly recorded by local producer/engineer/musician Scott Bomar at his Electraphonic studio, the EP shows Simien and her band — which features Simien’s drummer/writing partner Rory Mills Sullivan, guitarist Dave Cousar, bassist Dirk Kitterlin, keyboardist Jonathan Schallert, and the horn section of Victor Sawyer and Randy Ballard — indulging a myriad of influences, including Memphis soul and R&B, zydeco, post-punk, and pop, to great effect. What’s more, Simien herself is a tremendous singer and an engaging performer, which clearly comes across on the recording. Honestly, there really are no duds here, but two stand-out tracks would be the up-tempo groover “Branch Strewn Sky” and the spacey march “We Rewind.” — J.D. Reager
Categories
New Records from Memphis’ Madjack
Memphis artists are showing up in all sorts of cool places. After a 23-year absence, the Replacements hosted their first hometown show last weekend in Minneapolis. The music press and the Twittersphere were all-ears. Memphis meta-alt favorites Lucero were the opening act. On another front, Memphian Cory Branan has his guns loaded with a new record attracting attention in everything from Rolling Stone to Noisey. Lucero and Branan have in common Madjack Records. While Lucero and Branan have moved to other labels, Madjack continues to foster the careers of several people from Memphis’ ponderous talent pool. This year, Madjack will release albums on the Memphis Dawls, Mark Edgar Stuart, and James and the Ultrasounds.
“It was just a coincidence that it all came together,” Madjack partner Ronny Russell says of the trio of new releases. “We did that a couple of years ago too with three records on Kait Lawson, Mark [Stuart], and John Kilzer. They all came at the same time. Usually, we let the creative side dictate the timing of it. It seems to come in phases. It happened back in the day with the Pawtuckets, Lucero, and Cory Branan. Those happened right in a row.”
Mark McKinney started the label to market his band the Pawtuckets, a regional success that released three albums in the early 2000s. At that time, Russell had been working with engineer Jeff Powell, who produced Memphis Dawls’ Rooted in the Bone, to be released this month.
“Jeff Powell and I hooked up on a band called the River Bluff Clan in the late 1990s. They came to me. I was a friend of theirs from high school. They came to me on the business side, for some advice on how to make a record. The Pawtuckets used to come see the River Bluff Clan when they were really young. I met them in the Poplar Lounge and other places. I got to know Mark McKinney. Mark was putting out the Pawtuckets records through Madjack.”
It didn’t take long for people to notice Lucero. Madjack released their self-titled debut in 2001.
“When it came time to put out Lucero, he wanted a business partner and some of that kind of help. He
came to me, and we wound up striking up a partnership in Madjack. We just heard music that was really good. And we were learning how to get records out in a good way. When we saw Cory at the Hi-Tone, he was in the same boat; didn’t know where to turn. So we all just jumped in it together and went forward. Then we had some luck. First of all, the people were very talented, as you know. Pawtuckets were very good and did well in town. Lucero might be the hardest working bunch of guys I’ve ever met in my life. Then Cory is a unique songwriter.”
Output slowed in the middle 2000s, but Madjack released albums by Rob Jungklas, Susan Marshall, Keith Sykes, and others. But it was Mark Stuart, the bassist for the Pawtuckets’ original act, who got things moving for this latest round.
“Even my partner Mark, who was in the Pawtuckets with him, you could have knocked us over with a feather when he started writing,” Russell says of Stuart. “We’ve known him for years. The quality of it was unbelievably good. Mark can tell you himself, he had some life experiences that made him more contemplative. He played with Cory on Letterman. He was the bass player on that. He’s a dear friend. And with material this good, it’s a no-brainer to put it out.”
That album, last year’s Blues for Lou, dealt movingly with Stuart’s 2011 battles with cancer and grief. Jeff Powell produced that record, and it touched a nerve in anyone who heard it. Stuart, having experimented with songs, began exploring the process of making records. His second solo record is due in early 2015. Stuart played bass for basically everybody and left a lot of folks without their low end when he started playing a guitar and singing. Enter Memphian James Godwin.
“At the time I didn’t really have a band and was picking up bass gigs,” Godwin says. “That’s when I really started tinkering around with my own songs, recording stuff on four-track, and playing it for friends. I just kept building on it over the years. When Mark started doing his solo thing, I started doing a lot more bass gigs with John Paul [Keith]. So there was a group of musicians helping each other out. It’s kinda nice.”
Godwin is another bassist-turned-songwriter who leads James and the Ultrasounds. Their debut full-length Bad To Be Here is due on Madjack in December. Bad To Be Here is Mark Stuart’s first record as a producer. The Ultrasounds come from a different place than the alt-country landscape of Madjack’s earlier catalog. The record veers through references to Abbey Road, punk rhythmic fervor, and some damn fine shouting. Jungklas’ 2013 The Spirit and the Spine also demonstrates an open-mindedness or perhaps adaptability in McKinney and Russell’s approach.
Memphis Dawls’ Rooted to the Bone comes out in Memphis on September 26th and nationally in November. The sound centers on the harmonies, both vocal and instrumental, among members Holly Cole, Jana Misener, and Krista Wroten Combest. The latter two work as string arrangers and performers on cello and violin. Engineer Powell lets Cole’s vocal lead the way and gives it just enough support from well-written parts. The sounds of each song are cherry picked from a range of country-inspired sounds, creating a rich entanglement of voices, strings, and other instruments, notably the Hammond organ.
Russell enjoys seeing the roster diversify and helping artists develop their careers.
“Jeff kept talking about how the blend of their voices is unique,” Russell says of the Dawls. “We got to listening to it, and it evolved over time. They felt like Madjack was a good fit. They knew that we could bring some resources to the table. We’re not Warner Brothers or anything. We can help with press promotions and radio promotions. To me, even though they are a completely different style of music, they are similar to Lucero in the sense that they work. It really helps us on the label side if someone is out traveling and touring.”
Asked if it was difficult watching his early talent shine at other labels, Russell remains passionate about watching his friends succeed.
“I’m actually going to dinner with Cory tonight. You talk about an incubator label. I’ve always described it as AA or AAA baseball. The major labels these days seldom sign someone off the street without any track record at all. If we just like it — and these people are so talented and creative — we try to help them and put it out. If they move on, more power to them. We’re their biggest cheerleaders. That’s what we do.
The Memphis Dawls had a very good 2012: The acoustic-based folk/alt-country trio — guitarist Holly Cole, cellist Jana Misener, and violinist Krista Wroten — gave their 2011 debut EP a bigger promotional push and starting playing out more — a lot more. In the process, they emerged as one of Memphis’ best and most buzzed-about live acts. And it’s looking like 2013 could be even better, with a recently recorded single at Ardent Studios on deck and hopefully setting the stage for a full-length debut. The band’s instrumental and vocal interplay is well-honed now and appealing to lots of different audiences. They’ll put it on display on Saturday, January 12th, at the Hi-Tone Café, with acoustic cohorts the Sleeping Bulls, from Oxford, Mississippi, also on the bill. Doors open at 9 p.m. Admission is $10.
Categories
The Year in Local Music
The local music scene took a holiday hit with the recent announcement that the city’s most prolific club for touring bands and original local music, the Hi-Tone Café, would be closing in February. While it’s impossible to say how much this news will impact the immediate future of Memphis music, there are no such complications looking back. Here, three of our writers put the spotlight on their favorite local albums and artists of 2012.
Chris Herrington:
1. Women & Work — Lucero (ATO): After more than a decade on the road and with a discography eight full-length albums strong, Lucero hit a new stride this year, embracing and mastering their Southern-rock big-band sound like never before. Onstage and on record, I don’t think frontman Ben Nichols has ever led his band with this much assurance, and Women & Work hits all its diverse marks, from hip-shaking opening anthem (“On My Way Downtown”) to boogie-rock party-starter (the title song) to country-soul torch ballad (“It May Be Too Late”) to blues stomper (“Juniper”). And those are just the first four songs.
2. Ex-Cult — Ex-Cult (Goner): As with a couple of other recent faves — Ex-Cult labelmates Eddy Current Suppression Ring and California’s No Age — this is rhythmic art-punk that doesn’t let the former curdle into pretension or the latter curdle into regiment. Honestly, I would prefer the recording quality to be a little less lo-fi, but the band’s power and insistence still break through.
3. The Wandering Diaspora: At the dawn of the year, Luther Dickinson had the eureka-quality idea of bringing four talented regional roots musicians, all women, none who had collaborated in any serious way, into the studio together: guitarist Shannon McNally, bassist Amy LaVere, drummer Sharde Thomas, and guitarist/banjo player Valerie June. With Dickinson producing and filling in where needed, the Wandering was born. On their debut album, Go On Now, You Can’t Stay Here, this Mid-South Monsters of Folk cover everything from the Byrds (“Mr. Spaceman”) to Robert Johnson (“If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day”) to “You Are My Sunshine” with a spirited interplay and a beautiful blend of voices.
As good as they are together, they’ve been perhaps even busier apart. Dickinson was nominated for a Grammy for his instrumental album Hambone’s Meditations and reteamed with ornery partners Alvin Youngblood Hart and Jimbo Mathus for “Old Time’s There …,” a nervy second album from their South Memphis Jug Band. LaVere and McNally took their newfound chemistry on the road and into the studio with their recent EP Chasing the Ghost — Rehearsal Sessions. And June, whose wayward career earns the band’s moniker more than most, struck a deal with a French label and released the terrific single “Workin’ Woman Blues” with a Hungarian gypsy-folk backing band. Her looming debut album is likely the most promising Memphis-connected album on tap for next year.
4. Guerilla/Help Is on the Way — Don Trip: Trip has the surest flow, most grounded perspective, and most soulful sound of any hardcore Memphis rapper since 8Ball, and if an actual major-label-released debut album is proving predictably elusive, that hasn’t stopped him from dropping mixtapes well above the form’s norm. Released early this year, around the time Trip landed on the cover of national rap magazine XXL as part of its latest “Freshman Class” of up-and-comers, Guerilla is probably his most cohesive collection, with the more recent Help Is on the Way not far behind.
5. Mutt — Cory Branan (Bloodshot): The Memphis ex-pat, now Nashville-based singer-songwriter’s third album richly earned the over-deployed “long-awaited” descriptive. It has been six years since Branan’s 12 Songs, and Mutt shows his songwriting chops undiminished. The opening “The Corner” is a sardonic deconstruction of Branan’s own good press and gallows-humor appraisal of his stop-and-start career. “Survivor Blues” is an escape scenario in the Springsteenian tradition, but the romance is laced with a darker, more dangerous undercurrent.
Honorable Mention: Barbaras 2006-2008 — The Barbaras (Goner), Hi-Electric — Hi Electric (Evangeline), I Can’t Wait — Star & Micey (Ardent Music), Coast to Coast — River City Tanlines (Big Legal Mess), The Switchblade Kid — The Switchblade Kid (Miss Molly Music), Hex & Hell — Jason Freeman (BR2), Life’s Quest — 8Ball (eOne).
J.D. Reager:
1. Hex & Hell — Jason Freeman (BR2): This long-overdue debut from one of Memphis’ most distinctive voices contains just the right amount of Beale Street swagger without foraying into that cheeseball “Blues Hammer” territory that so many white blues bands can’t seem to avoid. This record is rough, raw, and fun and features cameos from several noteworthy local musicians, including Amy LaVere, Krista Wroten Combest and Jana Misener (both of the Memphis Dawls), Adam Woodard, and the vastly underappreciated Daniel Farris (Coach and Four), whose thunderous drumming helps keep things interesting in the jammier bits.
2. The Switchblade Kid — The Switchblade Kid (Miss Molly Music): Local musician/producer Harry Koniditsiotis distills his various projects — the Angel Sluts, Twin Pilot, the Turn-it-Offs, etc. — into one megaband. And it totally works.
3. Coast to Coast — River City Tanlines (Big Legal Mess): The venerable Memphis power trio stretches out a bit on this latest release, incorporating elements of indie-pop, metal, and noise-rock into the mix alongside pop-punk gems like “Pretty Please.”
4. Loud Cloud — Tanks: A ferocious 26-minute slab (all contained in one track) of heavy metal.
5. I Can’t Wait — Star & Micey: This EP sneaks in to the top five on the strength of the hauntingly gorgeous opening track, “No Pets Allowed.” At other times, it seems a tad overproduced but still showcases the band’s impeccable songwriting and vocal arrangements.
Honorable Mention: New Black Sea — Good Luck Dark Star; Hello Monday — Chad Nixon, Snorlokk — Hosoi Bros; Ex-Cult — Ex-Cult (Goner); I’m Just Dead I’m Not Gone — Jim Dickinson (Memphis International).
Chris McCoy:
1. Barbaras 2006-2008 — The Barbaras (Goner): The recordings for the debut album of this young Memphis band that splintered into the Magic Kids and the late Jay Reatard’s backing band were thought lost, but last year they turned up on a hard drive of Reatard’s and got a Goner release this year. The album is nonstop brilliant and four years after the last note was recorded still sounds ahead of its time.
2. The Memphis Dawls live: High school friends Holly Cole, Krista Wroten Combest, and Jana Misener took off in a big way this year, building on the success of an excellent 2011 EP by releasing a music video for their song “Hickory” and scoring an opening slot for Jack White. Their live shows got better and better as the year went on, culminating in a perfect afternoon set at the Cooper-Young Festival. If you get a chance to see these women do their folky thing live, go. It will be well worth your time.
3. Ex-Cult — Ex-Cult (Goner): The Midtown punk group’s debut record is an atomic blast of straight-ahead power. The album’s “Shade of Red” is my favorite song produced by a Memphis band in 2012, and their debut Gonerfest performance in September made fans out of the entire packed room.
4. The Modifiers return: This year saw the rebirth of a Memphis legend. For more than 20 years, Bob Holmes and Milford Thompson’s pioneering punkers the Modifiers have been spoken of in hushed, reverent tones by those who saw them destroy the Antenna club in the ’80s. Thompson passed away several years ago, and Holmes had retired, but Flyer contributor J.D. Reager, whose father had been in the original band, convinced Holmes to play his classic tunes with Reager and the crack River City Tanlines rhythm section of Terrence Bishop and John “Bubba” Bonds. Catch one of their rare appearances, and hear some lost Memphis gems.
5. Hex & Hell — Jason Freeman (BR2): Jason Freeman has played guitar for the Bluff City Backsliders and Amy LaVere, so we knew he was good. But his debut album is still a revelation, taking blues-based rock into the 21st century with explosive slide guitar and blistering vocals. Hex & Hell makes Stonesy rock loose and fun again.
- ERIN JENNINGS
- The Memphis Dawls
The Memphis Dawls were at Ardent Studios last week taking advantage of a new recording package offered by engineers Jeff Powell and Lucas Peterson. The Dawls (Holly Cole, Jana Misener, and Krista Wroten Combest) tracked two songs, “Where’d You Go” and “Let’s Leave This Place.”
The Powell/Peterson deal includes two songs tracked live to analog tape and mastered to vinyl in the same day. The two have extensive experience at Ardent and can dial in sounds that are appropriate for vinyl mastering.
“We just use the balance we get, touch it with a little EQ, and print it,” Powell says.
The Dawls were cutting the tracks to the second song and not to be bothered. The first track blends American string-band music with sharp female harmonies harkening to the 1940s. The second track moved gorgeously through its changes as they cut the rhythm tracks. These ladies specialize in harmony, and that shows in the part writing of the instruments as well as in their captivating vocals.
The masters were headed to Nashville the next day. Check their website for details about availability. Hear their latest EP below.
The Memphis Dawls EP: