Tag: Sweet Knives

Music Video Monday: Top Ten Music Videos of 2019

Post author By Chris McCoy
Post date December 30, 2019

Music Video Monday is counting down the hits!

The Memphis Flyer is proud to feature music videos from Memphis artists on Music Video Monday. Judging from the mind-bending difficulty of putting together this top ten list, 2019 was a good year. I scored the year’s videos on concept, song, look, and performance. Then, I shook my head at all the ties and did it all over again. It was so close, it was an honor just to be in the top ten, and I had to include three honorable mentions. Congratulations to all our winners!

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

A. Frog Squad’s live space jazz epic “Solar System in Peabody”, directed by Brett Hanover, earns an honorable mention as one of the most incredible pieces of music that came across our threshold this year.

B. Stephen Chopek’s cover of the Pogues “Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah” came with one of the DIY video auteur’s cleverest videos yet.

C. Louise Page’s “Future Runaway Bride,” directed by Joshua Cannon and Barrett Kutas, will get you to the church on time, but what happens then is on you.

TOP TEN:

10. PreauXX – “Steak and Shake ft. AWFM”

The Unapologetic crew gets behind the counter of a sandwich joint in this video from director 35 Miles. This is one of those videos where you can just tell that everybody had a great time making it, and the fun is infectious.

Music Video Monday: Top Ten Music Videos of 2019

9. Uriah Mitchell – “Might Be”

Everything is wound up tight in Waheed AlQawasami’s video of a surreal night at the club with Uriah and his friends.

Music Video Monday: Top Ten Music Videos of 2019 (2)

8. Heels – “King Drunk”

Director Nathan Parten transforms Midtown into a D&D fantasia in this incredible animated video for Memphis’ hardest rocking duo.

Music Video Monday: Top Ten Music Videos of 2019 (3)

7. Talibah Safiya – “Healing Creek”

Director Kevin Brooks brought out Talibah Safiya’s beauty and charisma in this spiritual video, which won the Hometowner Music Video award at Indie Memphis 2019.

Music Video Monday: Top Ten Music Videos of 2019 (4)

6. Sweet Knives – “I Don’t Wanna Die”

Shannon Walton is outstanding as a stranded aviator in this video by director Laura Jean Hocking for the reunited veterans of the Lost Sounds, led by Alijca Trout.

Music Video Monday: Top Ten Music Videos of 2019 (5)

5. The Poet Havi – “Shea Butter (Heart of Darkness)”

Director Joshua Cannon and cinematographer Nate Packard took inspiration from Raging Bull for this banger from The Poet Havi, who clearly has more and better dancers than Martin Scorsese ever did.

Music Video Monday: Top Ten Music Videos of 2019 (6)

4. Impala – “Double Indemnity”

Director Edward Valibus and actress Rosalyn Ross created a heist movie in miniature for the kings of Memphis surf’s comeback record.

Music Video Monday: Top Ten Music Videos of 2019 (7)

3. John Kilzer – Hello Heart

Memphis lost an elder statesman of music this year when John Kilzer tragically passed away in January. Director Laura Jean Hocking created this tone poem in blue for his final single.

Music Video Monday: Top Ten Music Videos of 2019 (8)

2. Al Kapone – “Al Kapeezy Oh Boy”

Director Sean Winfrey knows how large Al Kapone looms in Memphis music, and he finally blew the rapper up to Godzilla size in this video for one of Kapone’s best jams since “Whoop That Trick”.

Music Video Monday: Top Ten Music Videos of 2019 (9)

1. Louise Page – “Harpy”

When this one dropped in October, MVM called it “an instant classic.” Animator Nathan Parten transformed Louise Page into a mythological monster and sending her off to wreak havoc on Greek heroes. Don’t feel sorry for Odysseus. He got what he deserved. Memphis, look upon your best music video of 2019:

Music Video Monday: Top Ten Music Videos of 2019 (10)

If you would like to see you music video on Music Video Monday, and maybe in the top ten of 2020, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com. Happy New Year!

Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Indie Memphis Day 5: High Art, Music Videos, and Penny Hardaway

Post author By Chris McCoy
Post date November 3, 2019

Shannon Walton in Sweet Knives video for ‘I Don’t Wanna Die’

You’re going to be hard pressed to see everything great on Indie Memphis Sunday, so some triage is in order. We’re here to help.

First thing in the morning is the Hometowner Rising Filmmaker Shorts bloc (11:00 a.m., Ballet Memphis), where you can see the latest in new Memphis talent, including “Ritual” by Juliet Mace and Maddie Dean, which features perhaps the most brutal audition process ever.

Indie Memphis Day 5: High Art, Music Videos, and Penny Hardaway

The retrospective of producer/director Sara Driver’s work continues with her new documentary Boom For Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Micheal Basquiat (1:30 p.m., Studio on the Square). Driver was there in the early 80s when Basquiat was a rising star in the New York art scene, and she’s produced this look at the kid on his way to becoming a legend.

Indie Memphis Day 5: High Art, Music Videos, and Penny Hardaway (2)

The companion piece to Driver’s latest is Downtown 81 (4:00 p.m., Hattiloo Theatre). Edo Bertoglio’s documentary gives a real-time look at the art and music scene built from the ashes of 70s New York that would go on to conquer the world. Look for a cameo from Memphis punk legend Tav Falco.

Indie Memphis Day 5: High Art, Music Videos, and Penny Hardaway (4)

You can see another Memphis legend in action in William Friedkin’s 1994 Blue Chips (4:00 p.m., Studio on the Square). Penny Hardaway, then a star recruit for the Memphis Tigers, appears as a star recruit for volatile college basketball coach Pete Bell, played by Nick Nolte. It’s the current University of Memphis Tigers basketball coach’s only big screen appearance to date, until someone makes a documentary about this hometown hero’s eventful life.

Indie Memphis Day 5: High Art, Music Videos, and Penny Hardaway (5)

The Ballet Memphis venue hosts two selections of Memphis filmmakers screening out of the competition at 1:50 and 7:00 p.m., continuing the unprecedentedly awesome run of Hometowner shorts this year. There are a lot of gems to be found here, such as Clint Till’s nursing home comedy “Hangry” and Garrett Atkinson and Dalton Sides’ “Interview With A Dead Man.” To give you a taste of the good stuff, here’s Munirah Safiyah Jones’ instant classic viral hit “Fuckboy Defense 101.”

Indie Memphis Day 5: High Art, Music Videos, and Penny Hardaway (3)

At 9:00 p.m., the festivities move over to Black Lodge in Crosstown for the Music Video Party. 44 music videos from all over the world will be featured on the Lodge’s three screens, including works by Memphis groups KadyRoxz, A Weirdo From Memphis, Al Kapone, Nick Black, Uriah Mitchell, Louise Page, Joe Restivo, Jana Jana, Javi, NOTS, Mark Edgar Stuart, Jeff Hulett, Stephen Chopek, and Impala. Director and editor Laura Jean Hocking has the most videos in the festival this year, with works for John Kilzer, Bruce Newman, and this one for Sweet Knives.

Indie Memphis Day 5: High Art, Music Videos, and Penny Hardaway (6)

If experimental horror and sci fi is more your speed, check out the Hometowner After Dark Shorts (9:30 p.m., Playhouse on the Square), which features Isaac M. Erickson’s paranoid thriller “Home Video 1997.”

Indie Memphis Day 5: High Art, Music Videos, and Penny Hardaway (7)

Music Music Blog

Gonerfest 16 Recap: Thursday

Post author By Alex Greene
Post date September 27, 2019

CREDIT: Anton Jackson

Alex Greene

Limes

“Usually, Thursdays are the slowest part of Gonerfest, but I don’t think that’s the case now!” remarked scenester and overall Gonerfest facilitator Gally Sheedy as she surveyed the packed crowd at the Hi-Tone Cafe last night. It was the only night of the festival that was not sold out, but any uncertainty over attendance was put to rest by the crowds packed in for the opening salvo.
Chris Squire / Allison Greene

Quintron and Miss Pussycat

It all began as music fans congregated near the Goner HQ in Cooper-Young, sampling the free beer and browsing for hard copies of their favorite records. Those checking in at the store received a free copy of The Happy Castle of Goblinburg, a special-edition audio play EP, chock full of synth skronks and other sound effects, produced by Miss Pussycat, longtime collaborator with Mr. Quintron. The New Orleans-based team are here in force for the weekend, with Quintron slated to join the Oblivians onstage tonight. Meanwhile, Miss Pussycat is opening an art exhibit focused on her inventive puppetry, The Puppet Worlds of Miss Pussycat, with the opening party tonight, 6:00-9:00 pm, at the Crosstown Arts gallery on Cleveland Street. The opening features a live performances of her puppet show “The History of Ancient Egypt,” including the music of synth-primitivist BÊNNÍ.

Just down the street from the Goner store, the festival’s thrusters fired up in the Cooper-Young gazebo with the music of Limes, led by singer/songwriter Shawn Cripps. Their mesh of crunchy guitar tones, sharp rock rhythms, and Cripps’ acerbic lyrics were a perfect kickoff to the weekend’s offerings. A sizable crowd flooded the corner, as Cripps quipped, “Gonerfest has really grown over the years. This feels like one of the better ones.”

Later, fans gathered at the Hi-Tone Cafe for the opening night’s lineup. The party spilled out of both the front and back doors, with the sea of humanity surging back into the club when each band’s set began. By all accounts, Green/Blue and the Hussy got things going with slamming sets. Your faithful correspondent arrived just before some hometown favorites, Sweet Knives, took the stage. Their blend of off-kilter riffs, synth hooks, pounding rhythms, and razor-sharp harmonies from Lori McStay and Alicja Trout inspired the crowd to bounce and head-bob with abandon. Alex Greene

Sweet Knives

Trampoline Team, from New Orleans, offered some serious thrashing to bring things back to the basics of slam and speed. Then, MC Bob McDonald set up the set by Simply Saucers by taking us back to their very beginnings in 1973. “Back then, there was no punk. It’s Devo and it’s them.” And the band then launched into a remarkably eclectic set that was a vital reminder of proto-punk’s anything-goes attitude.

Simply Saucers

Much as when John D. Morton’s band X__X was showcased at Gonerfest 14, spotlighting Simply Saucers confirmed the strong historical perspective at work in Gonerfest’s curation. From silky folk-rock harmony interludes, to pounding rock verging on Northern Soul, all built on an alt-rock chassis not unlike a harder-rocking early Brian Eno, Simply Saucer offered musical delights aplenty and kept the beats pounding.

Then Eric Friedl, aka Eric Oblivian, took to the stage to testify that following the night’s closing act, as the Oblivians once had to do, was an impossible task. “Nobody can follow the King Brothers!” he declared, and, as the trio took to the stage, one member in a hockey mask, the club was filled with the sense that a terrible and beautiful storm was about to be unleashed.
Alex Greene

King Brothers

Indeed it was, as soon as they took to the mic. “Are you REAAAAAADY??” screamed lead singer Keizo, before spitting out the words, “ALL NIGHT KING BROTHERS GO WILD PLAY SOME ROCK N ROLL!!”, as the band launched into a ferocious onslaught. With riffs sometimes echoing old rock ‘n’ roll grooves, run through a sludge machine of fuzz guitar, the highlight was the non-stop drumming combined with shrieks and howls that made one’s hair stand on end. Keizo displayed uncanny crowd-surfing skills, standing aloft and delivering piercing screams from near the ceiling. Inexplicably carrying this jet-fueled calamity for nearly an hour, the King Brothers shut down the Hi-Tone with aplomb. Anton Jackson

King Brothers

Tags Gonerfest 16, Hi-Tone Cafe, King Brothers, Limes, Simply Saucers, Sweet Knives, Trampoline Team

Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Music Video Monday: Sweet Knives

Post author By Chris McCoy
Post date June 10, 2019

Music Video Monday is coming in hot!

Today, we’ve got a world premiere from Sweet Knives. The group grew out of the wreckage of Lost Sounds, the legendary Memphis band that counted the late Jay Reatard as a founding member. Alicja Trout, Rich Crook, and John Garland got back together and added Eli Steele and Lori McStay to write and record new music. “Sweet Knives’ new batch of songs sounds different from the Lost Sounds dark-wave synth punk sound,” says Trout. “With this song in particular Rich [drums] wrote the core of the song and the guitar solo, then I built the melodies and lyrics from there. It’s a new approach for us. We don’t want to sound like Lost Sounds. We are a new band, though our set still includes a few old Lost Sounds songs.”

“I Don’t Wanna Die” has a personal meaning for Trout and the band. “Jay, as we know, died of substance complications. All of us are concerned for our health, and I think I speak for the band that we want long, healthy lives; we don’t want to live recklessly and have our lives end early as Jay’s did,” she says.

The video was directed by Laura Jean Hocking, shot by Sarah Fleming, and stars Shannon Walton as a pilot facing a bad situation. “This was a really enjoyable collaboration,” says Hocking. “The concept was Alicja’s idea, but I was given free rein. I’m very attracted to the image of a woman set adrift alone in the world.”

Music Video Monday: Sweet Knives

Sweet Knives sets out on a two-week tour of the Southwest and West Coast this week. Here’s where you can catch this don’t-miss live show.

-Friday, June 14, Little Rock, AR – White Water with Stifft Beat

-Saturday, June 15, Oklahoma City – Blue Note with Psychotic Reaction

-Sunday, June 16, Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad with The Ordinary Things and nowhiteflag

-Tuesday, June 18, San Diego, CA – Whistle Stop

-Wednesday, June 19, Long Beach, CA – 4th Street Vine with Assquatch

-Thursday, June 20, Los Angeles, CA – Cafe Nela with Guilty Hearts and Tenement Rats

-Friday, June 21, San Pedro, CA – Recess Ops with Lenguas Largas

-Saturday, June 22, San Francisco, CA – Parkside with Control Freaks and Dots

-Monday, June 24, El Centro, CA – Strangers

-Tuesday, June 25, Tempe, AZ – Yucca Tap Room with Lenguas Largas

-Wednesday, June 26, Tuscon, AZ – Club Congress with Lenguas Largas

-Thursday, June 27, El Paso, TX – Monarch Theater with Lenguas Largas

-Friday, June 28, Austin, TX – Barracuda outside with Lenguas Largas, Wiccans, more tba

-Saturday, June 29, New Orleans – Circle Bar with Manatees and Dummy Dumpster, Ponk Dance party DJs

If you’d like to see your music video on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com

Tags Alicja Trout, Jay Reatard, John Garland, Johnny Valiant, Laura Jean Hocking, Lori McStay, Lost Sounds, Memphis, punk, Rich Crook, Shannon Walton, Sweet Knives

Music Music Blog

Gonerfest 14: Thursday

Post author By Chris McCoy
Post date September 29, 2017

After a blisteringly hot Cooper Young Festival, the weather for the Gonerfest opening ceremonies in the Cooper Young gazebo was just about perfect.

King Louis and Abe White rock the crowd at the Cooper Young gazebo for Gonerfest 14’s opening ceremonies.

The talent, however, was less cooperative. Gonerfest staple King Louis was scheduled to open the show with former Manatees and True Sons of Thunder member Abe White on drums, leading into Memphis legend Greg Oblivian Cartwright. Instead, Cartwright—in town from Asheville, North Carolina where he’s raising a brood of kids—opened up with some new songs in a more mellow mode, before being joined by Louis on drums for “Bad Man”, “North Cakalacky Girl”, and ‘Hey Hey Mama”. From there on, White, Cartwright, and King Louis swapped around in various configurations, calling out songs, (Louis’ rendition of “Streets of Iron”, a song he performed with Jay Reatard, has become a memorial tradition at Gonerfest) until the permit ran out. As Goner Records owner Zach Ives said, “There are no schedules in rock and roll”.

Goner Records’ Zach Ives and Greg Cartwright

At 9 PM, the party cranked up at the Hi Tone, where a mixed crowd of Memphians, and international visitors sipped the tasty Memphis Made Brewing Gonerfest beers: a Sessions IPA and the ever popular Gönerbraü. A man named Efe was in town from Toronto, Canada for his second Gonerfest. “One of the things I had to think of before coming was whether or not the political climate would effect it,” he says. “Those kinds of things have far reaching consequences.”

The Canadian wondered if the “Trump effect” had suppressed the number of international travelers coming to the festival. “Maybe people are bummed out,” he said. “But I’m here. There’s a lot of bands from Japan, a lot of bands from New Zealand. Other people have mentioned it, too.”

But after last year’s Gonerfest, Efe says he couldn’t bear missing it this year. “It’s great. I wouldn’t be back if I didn’t like it! I love the aspect of discovery. Gonerfest has a mix of legendary bands—we know you know this, or, look it up—and a bunch of new bands that you look up on Soundcloud and go, holy shit, that’s awesome! That’s the most rewarding part. I hope they keep it that way. In America, you’re saturated with all these big music festivals, but it’s very generic, paint-by-numbers type stuff.”

Benni

The diversity of musical styles was evident from the beginning, with Benni, a new act on the Goner roster. The New Orleans-based keyboardist has played with several Goner-adjacent acts rock acts, but his debut album is all analog synths action.

Gonerfest 14: Thursday

By the time New Zealand screamers Blood Bags’ put a cap on their set, Efe’s turnout worries appeared to be misplaced, as the Hi Tone big room filled up.

Hi Tone crowd

Sweet Knives, the Memphis band made of some former Lost Sounds members, including Alicja Trout and Rich Crook, John Garland, and Jonny Valiant, played a blistering set of mostly new songs. The band was in rare form, and the crowd ate it up. Why doesn’t every 14 year old cool girl in America have Trout’s music in their playlists?

Gonerfest 14: Thursday (3)

Los Angeles’ Die Group kept the party rolling with the kind of chunky, muscular riffs that are Gonerfest specialties.

One of the most anticipated acts of the weekend was A Giant Dog, garage rock powerhouses from Austin. Singer Stephanie Ellis was all flailing limbs and piercing screams, grabbing the crowd from the first notes. The band had been hanging out with some folks from down under, so they climaxed their set with a spirited cover of INXS’ “Don’t Change”.

“This is my first Gonerfest,” she said later. “A Giant Dog has been together for nearly a decade. We’ve attended Gonerfest, and we wanted to play. We played the Hi Tone when there wasn’t anybody here. So this is our first Gonerfest, and it’s a damn fucking good one!”