It’s never easy to park in New York’s Lower East Side, particularly on the corner of Bowery and Delancey, and Lotus’ Jesse Miller is learning the hard way. Luckily he’s brought along someone with “crazy parking skills” who’s in the process of squeezing the Lotus van and requisite trailer between a fire zone and parked car directly outside The Bowery Ballroom.
Along with most of his band, he’s huddled on the sidewalk this cold November afternoon, visibly tired from a high-profile gig the night before (with DFA artist The Juan Maclean), watching his tires rub slowly against the curb. Relief is near: Lotus is just a few hours away from the final night of its current tour, a crosscountry marathon that has helped place the group at the head of the livetronica scene’s current class.
“No one’s selling as many albums as they used to, so it’s a lot more important to get out there and perform,” a reserved Miller admits, sipping coffee near the Bowery a little while later. “And I think we’ve all seen our share of really boring guys on laptops.”
Went out, just before closing time, to the local co-op grocery to pick up some homeopathic cough syrup for my daughter.
The clerk behind the counter had dreadlocks and a long shaggy unkempt beard. The man leaning on the other side had a neatly trimmed grey one. He favored an older Michael Stipe, had he become a college professor instead of a musician. They were debating with a young college-aged woman about beards. I noted that she didn’t have one and seemed to be opposed to what she referred to as this new trend of men growing them.
I couldn’t help but eavesdrop, partly because the co-op is so small and partly because I tend to do that since I make my living turning little anecdotes about people and the way they talk, think and interact into songs and little rambling paragraphs like these. I also have a beard and have had one, most of the time, for about a decade and a half.
John Bell on befriending Jimmy Herring, exploring reincarnation and recording Free Somehow.
Meet Jimmy
Jimmy Herring has his genetic imprint on Free Somehow because he was there for its birth. But through the recording experience as a whole… just us hanging out together… we ended up getting to know each other better. It’s a little tougher now that we’re older, because, when we were younger, we loved and trusted everybody. There was nothing to lose, there was no history and it was still a daydream. We made hundreds of friends a night, going out to parties and sleeping on people’s floors, so we could play out-oftown gigs. You lose friends along the way either by death or just people changing their venues or moving away. You get a little more guarded about your friendships. With Jimmy, it’s neat to have met somebody who’s cutting through the cynicism you acquire over the years.
Internet Killed the Radio Star
Jimmy comes with his own fans, but he’s brought a huge respect for what we’d already been doing as a band, the songs we’ve written and a respect for Mikey [Houser’s] imprint. I don’t go on the Internet and look at chat rooms because I’d probably just go insane. It’s like, “Whoa! Dude, go to therapy.” But I get a report from our agent and I’ve never heard one negative thing about Jimmy. He walked in with his own sense and his own abilities, but, for the time being, it’s some-body else’s neighborhood, somebody else’s house and you have to wait until the dog gets used to you.
Redux has performed under many names over the years, the most recent being Ripplegroove. “Now we’re Redux,” says Joe Hanley, keyboardist for the band. “We went through a lot of feedback from industry people. They refused to even listen to [us] because the name was so bad. We spent a couple of months looking for a new name. I fell upon the name on the Internet; it means ‘new interpretation of.’” The new name couldn’t be better suited for a band that changes so frequently. Not only has Redux been through numerous names, they’ve been through three drummers and two bass players. In fact, they only recruited bassist Jamie Bishop in late February. Though the band once flirted with adding vocals to the mix, for now their happy as an instrumental outfit. “We have messed around with it, haven’t played anything though,” says Hanley. “We haven’t found a way to make it fit into our style.” Responding to a quote by Jambase.com’s Josh Klemons on how Redux seems to be “living outside the box,” Hanley says, “A lot of musicians make the mistake, when they’re writing music, to think too much about it. It’s more that we don’t think about it much, but we just do it. And it ends up being very unique.”
Wasabi, Fort Collins, CO
Though drummer Marshall Van Stone believes his band is “the cure to the ailing music scene,” he’s referring more to the world of Britney Spears than the jam scene Wasabi has been associated with since forming in 2002. In addition to Van Stone, Wasabi features lead guitarist Sean Waters, rhythm guitarist Ehren Crumpler, bassist Eric Skjerseth, saxophonist Tom Gray and keyboardist Brian Collins, the latter of whom has been blind from birth. “He may be blind but his musical ability along with his other senses are heightened,” Van Stone says. “We forget that he’s blind until someone points it out to us.” When not playing, the members of Wasabi hold down other part-time jobs, a restriction on their performance flexibility. “We’re weekend warriors,” Van Stone continues. “Most of us have day jobs. The small kinds of tours that bands our size do just don’t cut it. Right now we’re hoping to do more festivals.” Last summer the sextet played Colorado’s Desert Rocks music festival and, looking ahead, the group hopes to release a new album by either the end of 2008 or early 2009. “We have enough material for two or three CDs. Music is the only spiritual release any of us have and we look forward to playing every day of our lives.”
Three Legged Fox, Wallingford, PA
The members of Three Legged Fox signed up for their university’s battle of the bands, settled on a name, wrote an original song and took top honors in that competition all in the same day. But speed and precision aren’t the group’s only talents, as Kyle Wareham jokes: “I am really good at hula hooping. We produced the last CD in my basement, it was so frustrating,” he continues, “but it was our first project and it was good to do it exactly the way we wanted.” Though the band had only been together for six months before beginning work on their first album and didn’t even have a stable group of songs to work with, Three Legged Fox’s debut has already generated some buzz. “It never got hung up, it just sort of kept happening,” he says. This summer the group hopes to complete their second album while they’re on break from school. As for the band’s name, Wareham came up with it after a three-legged fox came through his backyard. “We were sitting outside and there was this three-legged fox. He kicked it with us and let us feed him.”
Colin Lake and Wellbottom, Portland, OR
After “finding” his inner musician and establishing himself as a blues soloist, Colin Lake reached out to bass player Kevin Marcotte and drummer Jason Stewart to back him up as the group Wellbottom. The band’s first real tour is scheduled to begin at the end of March and will run through Colorado, Montana and Idaho. Lake defines his music as progressive blues: “This isn’t your Dad’s blues,” he says, “We essentially take Delta-based blues and hype it up.” The same goes for their latest album, which is scheduled to be released April 1st. Bullet consists of a dozen songs, eight that Lake wrote himself; the rest were written by Ian Mouser, one of Lake’s good friends and beloved collaborator. “We’re taking it to the next level,” says Lake, “it’s got a lot of energy.” He goes on to say that the name of the album came from a concept he learned about gunpowder, and that if you put a match to gunpowder when it’s loose, it just burns; but if you compress it before lighting it, it blows up. “[The album] is alive,” he says, “to me, the music has got to be living.” As for his recent JamOff nod, Lake couldn’t be happier that the Relix staff chose
“Red Cross.” “It’s a blues, pop sort of tune. It’s the perfect rock tune. It’s smart and it’s got attitude.”
Corinne West, San Francisco, CA
After dropping out of high school at 15 to wander with traveling artists, Corrine West heard the music industry calling to her. “I was just frustrated with what high school and that culture offered me,” she says, “It really wasn’t going anywhere and I wasn’t engaged in school or any social circles. High school sucked! I just had a really hard time and I knew there was more and the music told me there was more and so when that door opened I did jump in with two big feet. I don’t remember being scared; the reality of high school was more terrifying than going with these people.” Like many, West first met her nomadic “family” at a Grateful Dead show. “I honestly just said that I wanted to learn the way of the road and this guy said, ‘Well, get your bags.’” Has West “unlocked the secret” of singing that some musicians never find? “I don’t know if it’s a secret, but what’s important to me is to tell a story or hit on an emotion.” West’s latest album, Second Sight, was released in 2007 and her third is currently in the works. “I’m still writing for it. Second Sight still feels real fresh out of the gate but I still have my eye and heart on the next album.”
Mercury Landing, New York, NY
Though officially at it since 2005, Mercury Landing initially had a hard time holding on to a lead guitarist because of personality conflicts, according to bassist Dan Haller. Now, they’ve filled the position with Dave Rosenthal. “He’s one of the guys now,” Haller says. “Things are working great.” The group released its first album, Eyes Against the Sky, in September 2007 and hopes to issue yet another by October. “We’re trying to go back in the studio this summer. We’ve been focusing on writing and our live music.” As far as touring goes, the group still stays relatively close to home. “You know, we’d love to [do a national tour],” he says. “Right now it’s a little too expensive for us to get out of the Northeast. We’re waiting for the opportunity to do something on a broad scale.” Haller continues: “What we’re really trying to do right now is play as much as possible. We’re trying to hook up with bands and gig swap. We’re just trying to get the word out right now. We’ve got something really special and we want people to know about it.”
Dolly Parton is about as sincere as bona fide music legends come. Having grown up one of 12 children in a poor family in east Tennessee, Parton had immense talents that were modestly nourished. Getting her big break on the Porter Wagoner show in 1967, Parton’s career saw meteoric rise (that her song “I Will Always Love You” hit #1 three different times is only one part of it). And now with a new album, Backwoods Barbie, a Broadway musical and biopic in the works and an everexpanding non-profit, Dolly Parton is back in full gear. And, lest you forget, she also has her very own theme park: Dollywood.
It’s never easy to park in New York’s Lower East Side, particularly on the corner of Bowery and Delancey, and Lotus’ Jesse Miller is learning the hard way. Luckily he’s brought along someone with “crazy parking skills” who’s in the process of squeezing the Lotus van and requisite trailer between a fire zone and parked car directly outside The Bowery Ballroom.
Went out, just before closing time, to the local co-op grocery to pick up some homeopathic cough syrup for my daughter.
Meet Jimmy
Redux has performed under many names over the years, the most recent being Ripplegroove. “Now we’re Redux,” says Joe Hanley, keyboardist for the band. “We went through a lot of feedback from industry people. They refused to even listen to [us] because the name was so bad. We spent a couple of months looking for a new name. I fell upon the name on the Internet; it means ‘new interpretation of.’” The new name couldn’t be better suited for a band that changes so frequently. Not only has Redux been through numerous names, they’ve been through three drummers and two bass players. In fact, they only recruited bassist Jamie Bishop in late February. Though the band once flirted with adding vocals to the mix, for now their happy as an instrumental outfit. “We have messed around with it, haven’t played anything though,” says Hanley. “We haven’t found a way to make it fit into our style.” Responding to a quote by Jambase.com’s Josh Klemons on how Redux seems to be “living outside the box,” Hanley says, “A lot of musicians make the mistake, when they’re writing music, to think too much about it. It’s more that we don’t think about it much, but we just do it. And it ends up being very unique.”
Though drummer Marshall Van Stone believes his band is “the cure to the ailing music scene,” he’s referring more to the world of Britney Spears than the jam scene Wasabi has been associated with since forming in 2002. In addition to Van Stone, Wasabi features lead guitarist Sean Waters, rhythm guitarist Ehren Crumpler, bassist Eric Skjerseth, saxophonist Tom Gray and keyboardist Brian Collins, the latter of whom has been blind from birth. “He may be blind but his musical ability along with his other senses are heightened,” Van Stone says. “We forget that he’s blind until someone points it out to us.” When not playing, the members of Wasabi hold down other part-time jobs, a restriction on their performance flexibility. “We’re weekend warriors,” Van Stone continues. “Most of us have day jobs. The small kinds of tours that bands our size do just don’t cut it. Right now we’re hoping to do more festivals.” Last summer the sextet played Colorado’s Desert Rocks music festival and, looking ahead, the group hopes to release a new album by either the end of 2008 or early 2009. “We have enough material for two or three CDs. Music is the only spiritual release any of us have and we look forward to playing every day of our lives.”
The members of Three Legged Fox signed up for their university’s battle of the bands, settled on a name, wrote an original song and took top honors in that competition all in the same day. But speed and precision aren’t the group’s only talents, as Kyle Wareham jokes: “I am really good at hula hooping. We produced the last CD in my basement, it was so frustrating,” he continues, “but it was our first project and it was good to do it exactly the way we wanted.” Though the band had only been together for six months before beginning work on their first album and didn’t even have a stable group of songs to work with, Three Legged Fox’s debut has already generated some buzz. “It never got hung up, it just sort of kept happening,” he says. This summer the group hopes to complete their second album while they’re on break from school. As for the band’s name, Wareham came up with it after a three-legged fox came through his backyard. “We were sitting outside and there was this three-legged fox. He kicked it with us and let us feed him.” 
After “finding” his inner musician and establishing himself as a blues soloist, Colin Lake reached out to bass player Kevin Marcotte and drummer Jason Stewart to back him up as the group Wellbottom. The band’s first real tour is scheduled to begin at the end of March and will run through Colorado, Montana and Idaho. Lake defines his music as progressive blues: “This isn’t your Dad’s blues,” he says, “We essentially take Delta-based blues and hype it up.” The same goes for their latest album, which is scheduled to be released April 1st. Bullet consists of a dozen songs, eight that Lake wrote himself; the rest were written by Ian Mouser, one of Lake’s good friends and beloved collaborator. “We’re taking it to the next level,” says Lake, “it’s got a lot of energy.” He goes on to say that the name of the album came from a concept he learned about gunpowder, and that if you put a match to gunpowder when it’s loose, it just burns; but if you compress it before lighting it, it blows up. “[The album] is alive,” he says, “to me, the music has got to be living.” As for his recent JamOff nod, Lake couldn’t be happier that the Relix staff chose 
Though officially at it since 2005, Mercury Landing initially had a hard time holding on to a lead guitarist because of personality conflicts, according to bassist Dan Haller. Now, they’ve filled the position with Dave Rosenthal. “He’s one of the guys now,” Haller says. “Things are working great.” The group released its first album, Eyes Against the Sky, in September 2007 and hopes to issue yet another by October. “We’re trying to go back in the studio this summer. We’ve been focusing on writing and our live music.” As far as touring goes, the group still stays relatively close to home. “You know, we’d love to [do a national tour],” he says. “Right now it’s a little too expensive for us to get out of the Northeast. We’re waiting for the opportunity to do something on a broad scale.” Haller continues: “What we’re really trying to do right now is play as much as possible. We’re trying to hook up with bands and gig swap. We’re just trying to get the word out right now. We’ve got something really special and we want people to know about it.”
