2003-08 Vital Source Mag – August 2003
The Pernice Brothers, The Decemberists, The New Pornographers
By Jeremy Saperstein The Pernice Brothers Yours, Mine and Ours Ashmont Records www.pernicebrothers.com The Decemberists Castaways and Cutouts Kill Rock Stars www.decemberists.com The New Pornographers Electric Version Matador www.matadorrecords.com A long time ago, in a galaxy far away (well, suburban Chicago, anyway — which is like another galaxy), I bachelor-roomed in a worn old bungalow with this guy whose behind-his-back nickname was “Mr. Negativity.” Being as we were both single, disaffected twenty-somethings, our weekends usually revolved around thirty-packs of watery domestics and slices of pizza to go, consumed voraciously in front of a silent television. Ah, youth! We would listen to favored records while we ate and drank and watched the silent moving pictures. I was taking off a record, probably the Beatles, when he slurred, “That’s great stuff, but let’s face it — guitar-based rock is dead.” We were young and single and drunk, so this led to a lengthy and intricate argument, of which I can thankfully remember little but my housemate’s central point. Time has passed now, though, and I haven’t seen or spoken to said housemate since before Britney Spears came on the scene (or since Tiffany left it, for that matter). And the guitar-based hits just keep coming. Three records came across my desk this month, which I’d love an opportunity to use as evidence (or a blunt object) against Mr. Negativity if that argument is ever renewed. The first sneaks into the new release reviews section despite the fact that it was initially released back in summer of 2002 by the ultra-indie Hush label. Happily, it’s being re-released this summer by slightly larger and better-distributed Kill Rock Stars. If this was a just planet, Castaways and Cutouts by the Decemberists would be the sort of record that VH1 specials are made about — y’know, like “…the story behind the classic release that was the soundtrack to our lives…” I find myself waking up in the middle of the night with the lines from “Leslie Anne Levine” — easily one of the saddest lyrics I’ve ever heard, twisted up in a charming, accordion-fueled pop tune — going through my head. Lines like “My name is Leslie Anne Levine/My mother birthed me down a dry ravine/My mother birthed me far too soon/Born at nine, dead at noon.” Equally sad lyrically and utterly pop musically is Yours, Mine and Ours by the Pernice Brothers. Pernice’s previous band, the alt-country Scud Mountain Boys, performed their languid songs onstage while sitting around a kitchen table, as if performances were late-night song-swapping sessions that the audience had stumbled across. Songs from the Pernice Brothers (and Pernice’s solo releases, for that matter) tend more towards energetic and perfect guitar pop, with Pernice’s angelic vocals and sharp-tongued lyrics (“I hope that this letter finds you crying/It would feel so good to see you cry” from Number Two) rising above impeccable arrangements. Electric Version by The New Pornographers is the final entry in this triumvirate of exciting new guitar-based releases, a case of […]
Aug 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Breast is not "best." It’s standard.
By Lucky Tomaszek The first week in August is World Breastfeeding Week, and several international organizations invest lots of time and money into raising the world community’s understanding of the importance of breastfeeding for mothers and babies all over the globe. The decision of how to feed your baby is a deeply personal one, and often starts heated debates. It’s one of the first decisions you will make for your baby and it’s one that most expectant moms spend quite a bit of time reading and thinking about. I want to be clear that it’s not ever my intention to hurt the feelings of any other mother out there, or to anger anyone who has made different choices. I hold the firm belief in my heart that each mother has made the best decision possible for her child with the information she had at the time and based on what she feels will work best for her and her family. Not “best,” standard. The statement “breast is best” is one we’ve all heard for years. It’s in every parenting book, every magazine article about infant feeding and every commercial for baby formula. It’s often accompanied by the statement, “breast milk is a perfect food.” These are very drastic overstatements of fact. I’m going to let you in on a little secret: Breast isn’t best, it’s standard. We were designed as a species to feed our young milk from our breasts. It’s how we got our name, Mammal, from the mammary glands. There are other unique things about Mammals we could have been named for. For instance, we are the only species with hair, and the only species that gives birth to live babies. But it’s our mammaries for which we’re famous. That’s because universally, mammals nourish their babies with breast milk. When you say “breast is best” or “breast milk is a perfect food,” it leaves a lot of room for other things to be good or even great, because perfection is an unobtainable goal. Everyone knows the saying, ‘nobody’s perfect.’ But when we are honest and we say that breast milk is the standard food, it becomes obvious that artificial baby milk is substandard. It’s perfectly logical. The same logic follows for the other benefits of breastfeeding. We are often told that breastfed babies are healthier than their formula fed counterparts. This is another statement that should be turned around. If breastfeeding is the standard, then the babies who are breastfed are not healthier, but simply the standard of health. And so it follows that their formula-fed counterparts (like me) are not as healthy. Think of other, similar statements we hear all the time. Breastfed babies are smarter, talk earlier, need less orthodontic work and have fewer allergies. The list goes on. The logic is easy to follow. Obviously, breastfeeding is not just the standard for babies, but for their mothers as well. We have seen a marked increase in female cancers, heart disease in women, and osteoporosis since […]
Aug 1st, 2003 by Lucky Tomaszek
Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham
By Jeremy Saperstein Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham L’Avventura Jetset http://www.jetsetrecords.com There’s an old joke about a guy who passes on his review of a buffet to a friend. “The entrees all tasted the same, the desserts weren’t much better than Jell-O with fruit cocktail and the sodas were flat,” he says. “Sounds pretty awful. I bet you won’t be going back, huh?” asks his friend. “Oh, I’m going again tonight!” “But, I don’t understand. You said the food was awful.” “It was, but there’s so much of it!” This release from Luna frontman Dean Wareham and bass player Britta Phillips makes me think of that joke, with a major difference: this is good. It’s just not that substantially different from a Luna effort, which — if you like Luna — ain’t a bad thing. Arrangements are slightly quieter without Luna guitarist Sean Eden, but he’s nicely replaced here by lusher instrumentation, and Phillips’ lead turns at the microphone make me want to hear more. Nary a review of Dean Wareham’s work gets written without mentioning his clever songwriting, and this one can’t be different. Favorite couples include “In 1984/I was hospitalized for approaching perfection” and “They make it so you can’t shake hands/When they make your hands shake” (from “Random Rules”). The band gets additional points for including another cover The Doors “Indian Summer.”
Aug 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Hog Heaven
By Frizell Bailey This August, Harley Davidson riders from all over the country and around the world will rumble into Milwaukee for the Harley Davidson 100th anniversary celebration. For three action-packed (and very loud) days, from August 28 — 30, folks who have a talent for advanced planning will descend on the Summerfest grounds for an orgy of Hog-style entertainment, including concerts by Montgomery Gentry, Peter Frampton, Steppenwolf and Kansas; custom and antique bike exhibits; the Harley-Davidson workforce exhibit; stunt and drill team performances; a cornucopia of summertime food and drink; fireworks of the sort that keep Milwaukee famous, and “much more” (according to Harley’s website). Again, that’s for those who just can’t sleep at night until they have dotted and crossed their vacation i’s and t’s. Ticket packages are long sold out, and only a limited number of single day passes will be available at the gate. Same goes for hotel rooms. Long, long gone. So what’s left for the “free spirits” that once epitomized Harley culture? Where do you go when you want to witness the majesty of the centennial celebration, without the pre-packaged, pre-planning mentality so common in modern times? Although the profile of the Harley Rider has changed dramatically since Easy Rider (no need to expand on this, everyone knows that acid-loving road warriors have been largely replaced by the Titanium AmEx set), there are still remnants of the spontaneous spirit that once characterized hog riders. For a taste, grab your leather vest and head on down to the Rider’s Ranch. Brian Lash, CEO of Target Sport and proprietor of the Ranch, says that Rider’s Ranch visitors are not only last minute, but also interested in staying in a friendly environment with other riders. “Our attendee is someone who appreciates the outdoors and wants to experience the camaraderie the Ranch offers.” Come for the bikes, stay for the party. Diane Bozeicizich, housing finder with Mega Housing, a reservation service partnering with Target Sport, agrees with this assessment. “It will appeal to riders because it’s less expensive and because of the party atmosphere.” It’s that festive air that makes the Riders Ranch a destination of choice, but the sprawling campground cum three ring circus was born out of need. The Ranch was first conceived in 1997 when Harley Davidson became aware that every hotel room in the Milwaukee area was booked. Under pressure from Harley riders who could not get accommodations, Harley contacted Target Special Events, a Boston-based firm that has helped to organize events such as the two Woodstock concerts in the 90s and the Atlanta and Salt Lake City Olympic Games. According to Lash, the 95th anniversary Riders Ranch went off without a hitch. “We did not have a single complaint to us or Harley, and we had over 20,000 visitors.” Lash says that they expect to be at full capacity for the 100th anniversary celebration, and anticipate 45,000 visitors over the course of the three-day event. Life at “The Ranch.” For all its air […]
Aug 1st, 2003 by Frizell Bailey
Three Chords and Some Hard Questions
By Richard Walters These are arguably the most difficult and frightening times within memory to be an American citizen. Not since the days of Kent State have we confronted so disturbing a landscape, in which our role as citizens is so much in question, or in which our moral compass seems to have been misplaced along with our cell phones. For the current crop of middle-agers, the political context of that time, thirty or forty years ago, was much simpler, much more comprehensible. There was one big issue (the war), one big bad guy (the government), and one big solution (love one another/give peace a chance/power to the people). It wasn’t so much a question of what should be done, as much as what shouldn’t: stop the war, and the rest would fall into place. Today, though, the problem is that no clear dragon presents itself for beheading. Rather, we confront a wearying mass of issues with no apparent solution, until a single galvanizing event, the Trade Center tragedy, is offered to us as a focal point. With it we are given “them” to hate and blame it on, and our government embarks on its response abroad, with wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and domestically, with the PATRIOT Act, electronic surveillance on an unsurpassed scale, suspension of civil rights, and the death penalty at every turn. Questioning the government’s leadership has become unpatriotic in the eyes of many, and anything less than unqualified support for the wars has become nearly treasonous. Where have all the voices gone? Against this backdrop, the voices of protest and activism in popular music are largely silent. Unlike the days of the Great Folk Scare, and the politicization of rock in the 70s, today we hear virtually nothing of questions or doubts in the musical media. The amalgam of Clear Channel/Sony/Dreamworks and other media powerhouse corporations has provided a platform on today’s focus-group formula radio for such performers as Toby Keith and Darryl Worley, both embarrassingly right wing. The difference between the two, both mainstream country chart toppers, is merely stylistic — Worley’s maudlin, jingoistic sycophancy for anything in desert camouflage, and Keith’s redneck, bullying “we’ll plant a boot in your ass” aggression. As a friend recently observed, “The lines between Country Music Television, NASCAR and the WWF are getting pretty blurry, even when I haven’t been drinking.” He could have thrown Fox “News” and “reality television” into the mix as well. So what do we have for voices, not even on the left, but simply other than the hard right? Well, there’s Bruce Cockburn, doomed however unjustly to being typecast as incessantly beating the drum about the Third World. There’s Ani deFranco, with her (some would say) over-shared personal growth. And then there’s Steve Earle. Enter Steve Earle. For those who have been locked away in a monastery for the last few years, Steve Earle is quite possibly the finest songwriter at work in popular music today, and certainly the most controversial. In September […]
Aug 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
The Bad Plus
By Jeremy Saperstein The Bad Plus These Are The Vistas Columbia www.thebadplus.com Although it could be easily dismissed as a calculated and cynical move, I find it hard to dislike any band that presents jazz-trio covers of Nirvana’s über-punk anthem “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and Blondie’s “Heart Of Glass”, especially one who does them as well The Bad Plus. Yep, it would be easy, but the Bad Plus have the audacity to be better than hack musicians trying to milk the last drops dry from alterna-madness. Really, all the trio (Reid Anderson on bass, Ethan Iverson on piano, David King on drums) is doing is to continue in the tradition of jazzbos from the 40s and 50s, who would put their own stamp on popular songs of the day (John Coltrane’s take on “My Favorite Things” comes to my mind, for example). Indeed, there are some other fine songs on this disc, like the airy “Keep The Bugs Off Your Glass And The Bears Of Your Ass” (which actually made me think of the open road even before I read the C.B.-inspired title) and “1972 Bronze Medalist” (which evokes weird visions of Peanuts characters competing in the Munich Olympics). The Bad Plus have made a daring bid. Time will tell if they can back it up. I’m hoping they can.
Aug 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Dreaming on Midsummer Nights
By Ken Morgan THE FIRST DECADE: The Unsinkable Molly Brown…Guys and Dolls…Fiddler On The Roof… Brigadoon… Oliver… West Side Story… No, No Nanette… On The Town… South Pacific… Anything Goes… It’s not the oldest youth theater company in America. It’s not the biggest. But there is nothing else quite like it anywhere. Most people would be surprised to discover Manitowoc, Wisconsin is ripe with a thriving art scene. With a population of only 35,000, Manitowoc boasts an unusual level of diversity in both industry and arts. The Rahr-West Museum is a venue for all genres, there are two dinner theaters nearby, and there’s the Masquers Little Theater, now in its 72nd year. A Lyceum Circuit-era theater serves as a venue for both local and touring productions. But it’s the Peter Quince Performance Company that truly stands out. Founded in 1969 by two stage struck youths, the company produces one musical every summer and, for 35 years, has been managed by the local youth involved in the productions. While children as young as seven have worked there, the age requirements — originally 13 to 21, now up to 23 — mean adults have had little to do with the success of the company. It is perhaps America’s only true youth theater. THE SECOND DECADE: Bye Bye Birdie… Oklahoma!… Carousel… Dames at Sea… The Boy Friend… The Pajama Game… Gypsy… Grease… The Wizard Of Oz… Where’s Charlie… “The company adopted its name from a character in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” according to Co-founder Reed Humphrey. “Peter Quince is a carpenter who organized an acting troupe to entertain for royalty. He worked under adverse conditions: none of the cast was professional, there was no rehearsal stage until shortly before the performance, and there were few props. The willingness to seek responsibility for what seems to be an impossible venture is the contagious spirit of Peter Quince and the real magic of theatre.” Stage Trek – Generations. At least one “Quincer” has gone on to act on Broadway, another is now a famous composer and one has even crossed to the other side as a theater critic; however most of the people work there for the love of performing and producing musical theater. Dropping in at rehearsal for the current production of Footloose, the enthusiasm of young people is infectious. Originally, productions took place at local schools. They now enjoy the main stage at the Capitol Civic Center. Technology not available in the 1970s has further improved production values. Shows are now miked. Boom boxes and a synthesizer are used as the cast snaps into the opening production number. The rehearsal hall at the Masonic Temple in Manitowoc trembles as the 20-plus voices of musical youths hit the notes both high and low. Sets and costumes are designed, built and crewed by the members. A full orchestra with brass, woodwind and percussion instruments fills the theater with sound. The local dance schools turn out top-notch choreographers —Milwaukee Ballet principal Amy Fote learned her […]
Aug 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Bishop Allen
By Jeremy Saperstein Bishop Allen Charm School The Champagne School www.bishopallen.com One of my favorite songs is from a thrift-store record made by a Midwestern high school choir in the mid-70s. The chorus, sounding so sincere that it almost makes my teeth hurt, is a peppy cover of “Kites Are Fun”, full of optimistic voices and youthful enthusiasm. Bishop Allen’s Charm School is sort of like that. Recorded entirely in the apartments of Christian Rudder and Justin Rice (on a single microphone, we’re told), the songs are simple and upbeat and the voices bouncy and ebullient, occasionally slipping into the mannered vocals of that high school choir. It would be easy to dismiss Bishop Allen amongst the horribly serious artistes of the alt-rock world today — the ones who deliver stern messages about our lives and failings — but it would be wrong. The songs on Charm School aren’t as much about particularly weighty topics as they are about pretty girls in sundresses and throwing couches from the roof (“Bishop Allen Drive” ). Even when lyrical expressions of angst or ennui slip in (“Sleeping on the subway in my interview tie/Wander through the rain, sit and wonder why/I haven’t got a plan, I haven’t got a clue/I’ve only got one lonely thing that’s gonna see me through” from “Little Black Ache” ), the surrounding music chases them away. Another favorite is “Busted Heart,” which uses spirited ensemble vocal interplay to soften the blow of lyrics like “Did you ever think, think/A lotta people everyday who will surely drown.”
Aug 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Vegetarianism as spiritual choice.
By Sanut Gloria Tarrer Humans are individuals. That is, we are an indivisible duality. And although body and spirit are divisible by label, and by energy and matter, they are still one and the same. The body is a vessel for the spirit, which grants the foundation of spiritual development, provided the body receives the essential elements to nurture optimal health. Thus, the healthier the body is, the greater the potential for spiritual growth. The connection between vegetarianism and spirituality is profound. But what does it mean to “be spiritual”? Humans function out of three faculties — mental, emotional and spiritual. Most people primarily utilize the first two faculties. They use their thinking abilities and their feelings to solve problems, find a mate, be employed, etc. A spiritual person functions primarily from their spiritual faculty, actively working to overcome conditioned behavior and habits. For instance, it’s not natural for people to be angry, sad, excited, etc. If it were, all people would share the same emotions about the same event every time. Not everyone is overcome by sadness upon losing a loved one. Not everyone gets angry when confronted or accused. These are programmed responses. Spiritual growth takes place when one learns to ignore these emotional responses. Vitality is essential to spirituality. A major component of spiritual growth is vitality. Vitality is essential to ignoring negative thoughts and emotions. Have you ever noticed that when your vitality is high, you have a sunny outlook on life, greater mental clarity, higher decision-making capacity and feel more disciplined and tolerant? Have you noticed that when your vitality is low, you tend to be more emotional, pessimistic and forgetful? An important key to vitality is the quality of food one consumes. Extensive research has shown that vegetable protein is superior to animal protein. The quality of vegetable protein, i.e. nuts, has a greater chance to be more nutritious, especially in raw form. Vegetable protein is full of enzymes. Science shows us that the more you cook food, the more enzymes it loses. Enzymes act as catalysts for chemical processes in the body that produce energy. And many sources of vegetable protein can be consumed raw. For how many sources of animal protein is this also true? Almost none. And if one consumes animal protein raw, what effect does it have on health? Usually it’s harmful. Also, to believe animal flesh must be consumed in order to sufficiently supply the body with protein is unreasonable. If one looks at protein from a spiritual perspective, unfettered by desires and unbound by taste, one will find that protein is abundantly found in beans, peas, nuts and some whole grains. When one consumes food merely based on taste, it demonstrates a violation of spiritual laws, because the pleasure-seeking desires are in control. The spirit is a force of nature, not nurture. With all that said, one must realize that spiritual development is not something that comes when one eliminates animals from the diet. Eliminating the animalistic behaviors […]
Aug 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
William Parker Violin Trio
By Jeremy Saperstein William Parker Violin Trio Scrapbook ThirstyEar www.thirstyear.com There’s something so right about violinists playing jazz, especially when they can rock it like Billy Bang does on this CD. Evoking styles and songs as disparate as classical, jazz, old-time pop and blues, soundtrack and avant-garde skronk (sometimes all within the same song), the William Parker Violin Trio (Bang on violin, William Parker on bass, Hamid Drake on drums) delivers a solid collection of six songs ranging from the bluesy “Singing Spirits” to the spritely “Urban” to the reverent “Sunday Morning Church.” Bang’s violin freneticism may not be for everyone, but if the idea of a violin trio working in the jazz idiom makes you tingle for that groove, the William Parker violin trio brings it on.
Aug 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
"I know what I want to do for the rest of my life."
By John Hughes What do the Pfister, the Milwaukee Athletic Club, Comet and Fuel Cafes, the Hi-Hat, Sanford’s, Trocedaro, St. Bessie’s, The Social, Sol Fire, Sendik’s and the 300 Club at Miller Park all have in common? You might guess, with a group as wide-ranging as that — nothing. But the answer is Wild Flour Bakery, which bakes wholesale for all of the above. Because of that, they all have Greg and Dolly Mertens, the owners of Wild Flour, in common. You might say Greg and Dolly are the leaven in Milwaukee’s yeast. So much the better for us. During a recent visit to the couple’s beautiful, Mayor’s Design Award-winning bakery on 28th and Lincoln, Dolly shows me with beaming pride the stripped original woodwork in the 80 year old shop, the original laminated bread cases, the original tile floor. She shows me the new, hand-built brick oven, which turns 600 pounds of dough into delectables on slow days, 850 pounds on busy ones. She informs me that there are two other bakeries under the Wild Flour name; one in New Berlin, and one baking pastries and croissants at Grand Avenue Mall. She takes me on a tour of her sparkling kitchen, bustling with hard-working Latinos from the neighborhood, and speaks with strength, conviction, and enthusiasm, her brown eyes bright. “Ten years ago I bought a loaf of bread,” she says. “And when I bit into it, I said to my husband, ‘I know what I want to do for the rest of my life.’ He said, ‘what is that?’ I said, ‘be a baker.’ He just said, ‘I’ll support you.’ He’s a honey.” She smiles with megawatt authenticity and leads me back to the front of the store, where employee Rosa is sweeping with vigor and cheer. “I was the 13th of my parents’ 14 kids,” she continues. “And I was raised on a farm in central Wisconsin. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my mother. I became an expert dishwasher, I’m great at that. And I learned from my mother the art of sharing. I learned that bread is not so much to feed your belly, but your soul. I learned that when you bake for others, you are sharing not so much food but yourself. And we heal one another through food. So, now I’m doing that, and I love what I do.” Greg is, as Dolly reports, a honey, with an easy smile, gentle voice and approachable spirit. He was one of eight children, but his father died when Greg was 11, and he watched his mother raise the children by herself. He informs me that he decided to marry Dolly when he was 14 and she 13, during the 1950s in rural Wisconsin. The wedding had to wait several years, but they’ve now been married for over three decades. These are people who know the value of hard work and community, pulling together with other “good, honest people” to make something […]
Aug 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
