Tag Archives: Big Sur band

Arts & Entertainment, Music

Curtains for You Members Take Solo Flight on Saturday

There’s something quintessentially Seattle about the new recording by Michael and Matthew Gervais, better known as two-fifths of Seattle pop band Curtains for You — especially the way it charms without ever seeming like it’s trying.

The Gervais brothers, wearing the rather ungainly moniker of Mikey and Matty, have just unveiled Harbor Island, their first effort outside the Curtains for You umbrella. Don’t expect the seamless pop craft of a typical Curtains for You record here: Harbor Island isn’t meant to be that. It’s a treasure chest of rough diamonds, delivered with such loose-limbed ease that the beauty of the songs almost takes you by surprise.

Mikey and Matty get a little bit of help on Harbor Island – The Head and the Heart’s Charity Rose Thielen contributes some lovely violin on “Greyscale,” and “Sheryl’s Bane” gets an assist from vocalists Melissa and Stephanie Reese and Curtains bassist Nick Holman on trumpet — but by and large, it’s hand-crafted solely by both Gervais brothers. The tunes play like looser, stripped-down offshoots of Curtains’ winning pop mini-symphonies: There are luminescent melodies galore, but most of the percussion is gently-brushed drums or tambourine, and songs often amble to a close like a daydreaming kid wandering into a forest. Spare acoustic guitars and piano anchor the lion’s share of the melodies alongside Matt and Mike’s harmonies.

Those harmonies are what infuse these unpretentiously great songs with real magic. Few singers this side of Jonathan Auer and Ken Stringfellow harmonize with the telepathic effortlessness of the Gervais brothers, and their voices intertwine magnificently throughout Harbor Island. One of the unexpected joys of the record is hearing Michael (usually a background vocalist on Curtains’ releases) take the lead on several tracks with a limber, rootsy tenor that contrasts and blends with his brother’s pure-pop croon sublimely.

Harbor Island flows so wonderfully it makes singling out individual tracks almost moot, but there are plenty of moments that’ll take your breath away. “Aurora Borealis” fuses the earthy loveliness of a Fleet Foxes song with back-masked Beatles instrumentation, and a rolling piano and snare drum offset the exquisite melancholy of Michael’s and Matthew’s duetting on “Of All The Limbs to Cling To.” The track that’ll likely occupy the most repeat time, though, is the album’s opener, “Floor Underneath Us.” With its autumnal lyrical imagery, stately piano melody, and harmonies so subtly beautiful they ache, it meets romance squarely at the intersection of sunny warmth and bittersweetness. And like any great pop song, it refuses to leave your head.

Mikey and Matty celebrate the release of Harbor Island with a show at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center (Saturday night at 8 p.m.; tickets: $10 advance/$13 at the door). The strong bill includes preceding sets by Big Sur, Ghosts I’ve Met, and Not Amy, and with the headliners joined by members of the Seattle Rock Orchestra, those rough-cut pop jewels should be just a little bit more polished onstage.

Arts & Entertainment, Music

Seattle’s Music Community Celebrates Big Sexy Man Jake Hemming

Full disclosure time: Big Sur singer/guitarist/songwriter Jake Hemming gives the greatest bear hugs in Seattle (and I’ve been the fortunate recipient of a few), so pardon the sentimentality over the next three paragraphs.

I first met Jake in August 2011 at that year’s Doe Bay Fest. It was 11:00 on a Wednesday night, pitch-black, and I was fumbling pathetically to assemble my tent. Inside of two minutes, Hemming–then a stranger–came to my rescue, providing a literal beacon and helping me construct my makeshift shelter in record time.

During some downtime the next morning I wandered through the resort’s trailways, mesmerized by Doe Bay’s verdant lushness. Somewhere in my reverie, music–sung with rough-hewn beauty and strummed out on a lone acoustic guitar–floated from one of the path’s detours. Inside of two minutes, the tune–melancholy yet tinctured with a core of hope–ensnared me. Sure enough, the amiable bear of a guy who’d given me a hand the previous night was standing at the Doe Bay busking station, pouring his heart out musically.

By the end of that weekend, Jake Hemming was greeting me like a decades-long friend, freely bear-hugging me with the the unreserved genuineness of a cherished brother. Even in a music community rife with communal warmth, his friendship and instantaneous goodwill took me by surprise. Scores of Jake’s friends, however, could tell you similar stories, so it’s not surprising that a small army of musicians have his back the way he’s often had theirs.

Jake underwent extensive back surgery to correct a debilitating herniated disc last fall. The condition had spawned nerve pain so acute that it made most tasks, even playing music, physically agonizing. Happily, he came out of the risky procedure (which involved the removal of his larynx and voicebox so a cadaver bone could be inserted to repair the condition) with flying colors. In recent weeks he’s even resumed performing his trademark stable of richly-rendered songs live. All told, he’s speeding towards a full recovery…in every way but financially.

To combat the monetary duress, Columbia City Theater‘s putting on a Celebration and Tribute show for Jake Hemming Saturday night. Tickets ($10 a pop) are an absolute steal, independent of the cause.

Not surprisingly, the line-up boasts some of Seattle’s finest purveyors of roots and folk songwriting, including Kevin Sur of Indian Valley Line, Kevin Long, and Ethan Jennings. But Whitney Ballen‘s dreamy cabaret folk, Invisible Shivers‘ danceable and infectious new-new wave, the gorgeous roadhouse soul-pop of Smokey Brights, and a solo set by Jonny Henningson (guitarist/singer on one of 2012’s best regional releases, Hounds of the Wild Hunt’s El Mago) demonstrate the breadth of Jake Hemming’s influence as a musician–and as good people.

As befits the loose-limbed, easygoing nature of the get-together, CCT promises ‘Super Secret Special Guests,’ an especially promising prospect given Jake’s beloved place in the local music scene. Musical collection plates don’t come more melodic or well-deserved: Here’s hoping said platter overflows tomorrow night.

 

Arts & Entertainment, Dance, Music

Folklife Festival Recommendations for 2012

Wheedle's Groove will surely, seriously funk up Folklife (photo by Tony Kay)

The Northwest Folklife Festival takes over the Seattle Center beginning today. It’s not the only music festival in the Northwest this Memorial Day Weekend (there’s some little thing going on at The Gorge about now, too). But it’s a Northwest tradition, admission’s free, and it’s always no end of fun.

Folklife’s never had much hipster cache (too inclusive, too family-friendly), but a contingent of local acts from Seattle’s indie rock, indie-folk, and soul scenes will be there alongside the traditional ethnic and folk musicians and dancers. Kudos to Folklife’s programmers for introducing Folklife’s broad demographic to some great original Northwest sounds.

Definitely take a gander at Folklife’s full calendar: There’s just too much great stuff going down. But here’s an incomplete list of some of the Folklife performers that we at the SunBreak are especially excited about:

Today (Friday, May 25)

Love Bomb Go Go (3:15, Indie Roots Stage at Broad Street), Orkestar Slivovica (6:30, Fountain Lawn Stage): Multi-culti marching bands with arch theatrical touches are becoming a genre unto themselves, and these ensembles do it right. Love Bomb is a very new Portland ensemble, while Orkestar invade from north of the border (Vancouver) to ply a more traditional brand of Balkan dance music.

Rambling Man: The Life, Times, and Music of Woody Guthrie (8pm, Intiman Choral Courtyard): Folk ensemble The Wanderers have been playing for longer than most of us have been alive, and they’re celebrating the life and tunes of America’s greatest folk troubadour by covering a slew of his songs during this set. Show some respect, kids–and get ready to sing along.

Bollywood Seattle Performers (9:35, International Dance Stage at Exhibition Hall): If you find nothing in the world more hypnotic than the spectacle of Bollywood dancers whirling in time to the mesmerizing rhythmic purr of traditional Indian music, stay late tonight for Bollywood Seattle’s presentation.

Saturday, May 26

Shelby Earl (1:30, Indie Roots Stage at Broad Street): Earl’s dusky and full voice–and her strong, rootsy songs–have been enlivening the local roots scene for a couple of years now, and those pipes never disappoint, live.

Dirty Scientifix (5:25, Vera Project Gallery): It’s always great to hear some hip-hop at Folklife, and this crew’s combo of dub, positive vibes, and Digital-Underground-esque old school beats and rhymes will get the Vera bumping.

Fort Union, Kris Orlowski, Smokey Brights, Big Sur (Indie Roots Stage, 7:00): This great cross-section of indie-folk artists covers the gamut, replete with tinges of the angularly-modern (Fort Union) to raspily-alluring (Orlowski) to heart-on-sleeve balladeering (Smokey Brights) to timelessly-resonant Gram Parsons-esque songwriting (Big Sur).

The Bad Things (9:20, Vera Project): Best drunken cabaret band in Seattle. Period.

Wheedle’s Groove (9:55, Mural Amphitheatre): Self-promotion alert: The SunBreak is proud to sponsor the stage for this sure-to-be-cooking set from the collective of legendary Seattle funk and soul musicians known as Wheedle’s Groove. Truth be told, though, we’d be shouting its praises even if our name wasn’t on it. If you ain’t dancing, you must be dead.

Sunday, May 27

Artist Home Showcase featuring Curtains for You, Koko and the Sweetmeats, Cumulus, and Dude York (3pm, Indie Roots Stage): Artist Home’s showcase slingshots between Curtains for You’s stunning power pop, the spare and enchantingly low-key femme-fronted Cumulus, and Dude York’s precise slam of a math-rock/garage brew. It’s also reputedly Koko and the Sweetmeats‘ final gig, so get their great echoey blend of rockabilly and mournful folk while you can.