Tag: A Good Read a Good Listen and a Good Drink

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A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: High Priestess Nighthawk, Heavy Temple

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

Heavy Temple are from Philadelphia, PA, and their next release, Chassit will be out on January 27th. Sonically, they meld doom metal and prog rock with just enough jam band flair that the final effect is compelling rather than exhausting. They also do interesting things with the contrast of static and array of different pulsing tones.

Key And Bone, the first song from the record, is embedded below as a teaser and/or enticement. I think my favorite track, though, was the last one – In the Court of the Bastard King – because the second movement has a more distinctly upbeat metal vibe.

And now, I turn the floor over to High Priestess Nighthawk (bass/vocals) who is on the far right in the picture below.

A GOOD READ

It may be an obvious pick to nerds everywhere, with the next Heavy Temple album being titled Chassit, I feel like this is a perfectly serendipitous occasion to talk about the Dark Tower (I purposefully chose not to italicize). I have many books that I’ve enjoyed reading, and I can’t exactly say that the Tower series is my favorite, but it’s fucking good.

I’ve read Stephen King off and on since I was about 12. My first book was the illustrated Cycle of the Werewolf, also known to some as the movie Silver Bullet. The Tower books took me roughly 6 or 7 years to read. I would blow through a a book or two, then stop for a long time. I finally finished during the writing of the first Heavy Temple record, and decided then that I would write the next one about the Dark Tower.

The foremost reason I chose this book (or books, rather), is because I’ve never been so absorbed. There were many things happening in my personal life that the story seemed to know before I did. I can’t explain it. It just happened. Whether I was projecting or not, I don’t know. I started seeing the number 19 everywhere, and hearing Someone Saved My Life Tonight by Elton John on the radio all the time. Beyond this, the first book of the series is so perfectly written that he could have just stopped.

Much like the opening bells of Black Sabbath’s eponymous debut album and aptly named title track, the first line of the story is so righteously badass you can’t help but want to find out more. “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”

A GOOD LISTEN

Flower Travellin Band, Made in Japan


Flower Travellin' Band – 1972 – Made In Japan… by meir-rivkin

A GOOD DRINK

Moonshine, don’t judge.

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A Good Read A Good Listen and A Drink: Union Sound Treaty

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

Union Sound Treaty are based out of Morgantown, West Virginia, and Next Year is their first record. It was released back in November 2016, and the short version of my initial reaction is: “Awwwwwwwww YEAH.”

The long version: It’s the first record for a while now that I let go on repeat because I liked the songs and wanted to hear them again so I could get a better idea of the nuances of the lyrics. Musically, it’s solid, but the pedal steel is particularly great, like a cold glass of sweet tea on a hot day.

WHile I encourage you to go to their Soundcloud and listen to the whole thing straight through – this is a record which supports such an approach, in the sense that it is cohesive, complete work, not a collections of disparate tunes all going in different directions – here are some of the highlights:

Peaked: This is a song about playing a gig that is also a fashion show, and the attendant difficulties in concentrating on the task at hand. I was tremendously amused.

Sad Country Standards: It is both an example of the genre and metacommentary upon it, which I always enjoy, in a song.

Needle Fall Down: It’s a little grim – okay, fine, it’s really grim – but – it’s beautifully, evocatively and powerfully grim. You can really feel the despair, and the sense that music helps a little bit but not quite enough, and the joy is strongly mixed with more pain.

And now I’m going to turn the floor over to the band – John Schooley (Guitar), Shawn Wilhelm (Bass Guitar), Ross Justice (Drums), Nate Colombo (Pedal Steel Guitar), Charles Wesley Godwin (Vocals & Rhythm Guitar) – all of whom are joining us today to talk about a favorite book, record and drink.

Left to right: Ross Justice- Drums, John Schooley- Guitar, Charles Wesley Godwin- songwriting/vocals/rhythm guitar, Shawn Wilhelm- Bass Guitar.
Not pictured: Nathan Colombo- Pedal Steel Guitar

A GOOD READ

John Schooley: I’m not much of a bookworm at all but, while I was living in New York I had about 90 minutes a day to sit and read while riding the subway between Manhattan and Queens. I definitely enjoyed the stuff from Kurt Vonnegut (Breakfast of Champions & Armageddon in Retrospect) and Chuck Palahniuk (Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey & Invisible Monsters).

Shawn Wilhelm: You Can You Will: 8 Undeniable Qualities of a Winner, Joel Osteen. This isn’t necessarily my favorite book but it helped me not too long ago. It’s a good motivational read. I had planned on starting my own business, but I was unsure about leaving my former job. Every time I set an exit date I would chicken out and drag my feet. A friend of mine in the music business told me about this book. It definitely gave me the confidence boost I needed and helped me move forward.

Ross Justice: Admittedly, I’m not the biggest reader in the world, but I do collect old history books, in particular ones that cover West Virginia history and politics.

Nate Colombo: Earl Scruggs and the 5 String Banjo. While not technically a novel or anything, it’s hard to think of a piece of media, book or otherwise, that has had as dramatic an influence over my life as Earl Scruggs and the 5 String Banjo. The story on how I started playing music is longer than this write up allows for, but I started my musical life as a banjo player. Any beginning player will tell you that this book is the banjo player’s Bible.

Every note Earl ever picked has been meticulously recorded and transcribed into to the book in a way that allows even the most novice of players to understand and master. So having said that, I’m not exaggerating by saying, I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for this book and its contents.

Charles Wesley Godwin: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. My Mom got this book for me in either first grade or second grade. I became obsessed with it until I finished it (and the rest of the series). I attribute this book for making me a “reader” for life.

A GOOD LISTEN:

JS: A Good Listen for me is Blast Tyrant from Clutch. I’m a Riff-Rock type of guy and these guys nail it, big fan of this group. From front to back the album delivers heavy, groovy, riff-oriented rock & roll.

SW: Dreaming My Dreams, Waylon Jennings. My Grandfather is my biggest musical influence. He sang and played guitar, bass, piano, mandolin and banjo. In middle school I developed an interest in music, he began teaching me the basics of guitar and bass.

Along with instruments, he Introduced me to classic country music and bluegrass. We would spend entire weekends in the summer picking and listening to Waylon, Willie, Hank Williams and Gene Autrey. This album was a staple in our “set list.” Nearly every song on this album could have been a single. This was Waylon Jennings’ first album in which he was given complete control from RCA records. You can tell. Nothing sounds forced, and every song seems to blend perfectly. The simple melodies and warm bass lines are perfect. In my opinion, it’s one of the best country albums of all time.

Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way (Remastered)

RJ: One of my favorite albums to relax to is Before These Crowded Streets by Dave Matthews Band. Carter Beauford is a “drum idol” of mine, and I love the arrangement of that album.

Pantala Naga Pampa

NC: Whiskeytown, Stranger’s Almanac. I picked this album because it always gets heavy play in my car this time of year. Stranger’s Almanac is my go to answer when someone asks me to recommend an alt-country album. In my personal opinion, it’s one of the few albums that I feel are a near perfect 10/10 from start to finish.

The reason it gets such heavy play this time of year is its strong vibe of “back in your home town.” Maybe it’s the power of persuasion from songs with titles such as Inn Town, but when I’m back home for Christmas (like I am now), Stranger’s Almanac is always the soundtrack to meeting up with friends out at our favorite bars, staying out drinking beer all night, or sitting around a fire catching up.

So as I write this, Stranger’s Almanac is my “top of mind” answer. Additionally, and with more connection to the music we play, the pedal steel solo for Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart is probably the first time I fell in love with the idea of playing steel guitar. Most steel players cite guys like Buddy Emmons or Paul Franklin as their primary steel influences, and don’t get me wrong, those guys are gods behind the steel, but “Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart” was the first time I had heard the steel utilized in a format that wasn’t expressly classic country. It’s really the only song on that album that has a strong steel guitar presence.

What had an impact on me was the steel guitar’s ability to influence the overall sound of the track. It took what would have been a traditional rock and roll sound (guitar, drums, and bass) and gave it a distinct country flavor. Adding that small instrumentation to the song makes the listener say, “this is a country song.” That’s what drew me to the steel guitar. Being able to introduce that type of influence is really attractive to me. So ultimately, that’s a song that helped me make the decision to dive into playing the steel guitar.

Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight

CWG: Little Victories by Chris Knight. It’s been a long year. A struggle. Hard times. Chris’ songs spoke to me in this one. I’m grateful for them.

Chris Knight - In The Mean Time

A GOOD DRINK:

JS: I don’t start the day without coffee (two cream one sugar) and I have to agree with Nate’s endorsement of Yuengling. That’s one of my favorites.

SW: Big Wave, Kona Brewery. I discovered this beer while living in Hawaii. Fresh out of college I was used to party beers (Bud Light, Natty Light etc.) This was the first full flavored beer that I fell in love with. For the longest time you could only enjoy it in Hawaii and on the West coast, but in the last two years it has popped up everywhere. Do yourself a favor and twist open one of these sweethearts, you will be dancing the hula in no time.

RJ: I definitely couldn’t get through the day (or morning for that matter) without black coffee. As appears to be a band trend, I’m also big on Yuengling, Lagunitas IPA, and West Virginia brewed Halleck Pale Ale from Chestnut Brew Works.

NC: Yuengling. Not much to say here other than I think everyone else in UST would agree that this is the official drink of the band. Never gets old to me. Haven’t played a show where Yuengling wasn’t involved in some capacity or another. So Yuengling, if you’re reading this, we’ve been looking for a beer sponsor.

CWG: Chamomile honey tea. This gets me through weeks that I have 5+ shows. Without it I would lose my voice a lot.

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A Good Read A Good Listen and A Good Drink: Carter McNeil, Ghost King

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

Ghost King is one of the bands I was sorry to miss at SXSW, not least because I arrived at the venue not two minutes after they got finished.

SO CLOSE. AND YET SO FAR.

However, in much happier news, their new record – Bones – has been turned loose upon the world, and we can listen to it any time we want.

It’s an oddly-shaped little gem. The best way I can think of to describe it is “occasionally syrupy surf pop with an undercurrent of fuzzy menace.”

Ghost in Love is one of the poppier tunes:

While the two-part title track reflects the, uh, syrupy fuzzy menace:

And with that I will turn the floor over to Carter McNeil (vocals/guitar; center, in stripes, below), who joins us today to talk about a favorite book, record and drink.

GK PRESS COLORS

A GOOD READ
The Hobbit. Elves are pretty cool.

A GOOD LISTEN

12 Bar Bruise By King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.

I like to put it on and jump around in my room.

A GOOD DRINK

Red wine. It just feels really good . . .

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A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: BANDITS

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

One of the bands I saw at SXSW this year was BANDITS, a three-piece crew from Colorado. Members are Lulu Demitro, her brother John, and Andrew Oakley, and they play blues-inflected rock and roll, with the occasional burst of guitar-heavy jamming for spice.

Here, as an example, is Kill Tonight, a musical foray into the power of shared madness and the dark places that can lead.

And with that, I turn the floor over to the three of them, who join us today to talk about a favorite book, record and drink. NB: They were extra good sports and did this LIVE and IN PERSON in a bar early in the day on St. Patrick’s Day, on the second day of SXSW.

BANDITS, #texas #sxsw

A photo posted by Rufus (@rufusowl) on

A Good Read

Lulu Demitro: My good read is East of Eden by John Steinbeck. It’s sort of one of my favorite books because it takes place in California and I love the story and how many characters are in it and the development.

John Demitro: My favorite book is the Beatles Anthology. Because it’s a book that kinda lets you in on the life of the Beatles that a lot of people didn’t know about. I, I don’t know, I can relate to that book a lot and I enjoy it.

Andrew Oakley: My – I don’t want to say favorite book – but a great one that I just finished, is The Monkey Wrench Gang, by Edward Abbey. Growing up in Colorado and the Southwest and spending a lot of time out in the desert it’s really relatable for me and it’s just a great story.

A Good Listen

LD: I’m going to say a good listen is Iggy Pop’s new album Post Pop Depression. I think it’s so great. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see his concert last night – I wish that I did! – but his album, the new album, is just great and there are a lot of great musicians on it, so that is my good listen.

Iggy Pop - American Valhalla | #PostPopDepression

JD: My good listen is, I’d have to say – kind of a hard one – but I’d have to say Led Zepplin I. It’s just like the cornerstone for rock and roll bands. Every time it comes on it’s pretty awesome.

Good Times Bad Times

AO: My good listen is Gris Gris by Dr. John. Dr. John’s first album.

Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya

A Good Drink

LD: I’m going to say – I don’t do a lot of alcoholic drinking – I’m going to say a cold glass of sasparilla. Love a good rootbeer.

JD: I on the other hand do do a lot of alcoholic drinking, and my favorite drink is Jack Daniels on the rocks. Because it’s good.

AO: My good drink is just an ice cold IPA.

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A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: Stephen Charouhas, Cetacean

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

Cetacean are from Los Angeles, CA, and their sound is an unusual fusion of black metal, prog rock and experimental jazz. In practice, this means that sometimes the first three minutes of a song will be experimental (but jazzy) ambient noise, the kind of thing that is good to put on low for background noise at cocktail parties, and then WHAMMO the ogre roar explodes out of the deep, the drums pick up speed and the guitars take a turn for the doomy.

It can be kind of startling, I guess, but not in a bad way. In fact I specifically liked it because of the change in tempos and general vibe that happen within and between songs.

Here is Breach | Submerge, their most recent release, so that you can listen for yourself:

And with that, I turn the floor over to Stephen Charouhas, multi-instrumentalist currently playing bass, who joins us today to talk about a good read, a good listen, and a good drink.

Cetacean; Stephen Charouhas is on the far right in black. Photo by Erin Stone

Cetacean; Stephen Charouhas is on the far right in black. Photo by Erin Stone

A GOOD READ: Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

Now widely regarded as one of the greatest novels of the 20th Century, McCarthy’s story takes place in the late 1800’s and follows a drifter, simply named “the kid”, as he roams the southwest of the United States and finds himself joining a band of mercenaries as they head south into the bordering Mexican territory on a bloodthirsty hunt for Indian scalps. Gorgeously written, despite its graphic gore and stark depiction of the unforgiving capacities of land and man alike, the book is bleak, harrowing, visceral and, to me, absolutely essential.

A GOOD LISTEN: Henryk Gorecki: String Quartet No. 3 (…Songs Are Sung) by Kronos Quartet

This 2007 album, paying tribute to the music of Gorecki, is dark, brooding, menacing, and captivating. The execution and expression in each movement makes the music sound as though it’s breathing with every emotion from angst and panic, to exhaustion and resignation, to acceptance and relief. Gorecki was a follower of such composers as Stockhausen and Penderecki. His music exemplifies that same strangely dissonant and beautifully abstract feel, and the Kronos Quartet capture and recreate it perfectly.

I. Adagio-Molto Andante-Cantabile

A GOOD DRINK: Bourbon, neat

Quite simply, a liquor that has enough character to enjoy on its own, in just the way it ought to be enjoyed. I prefer to have mine warm, held in my hand, so as to unlock the aromas that lay in the liquor- from smoky oak to sweet vanilla. Those who don’t enjoy the initial bite of the drink may want to dilute a couple of fingers with an ice cube.

A GOOD BONUS: Try pairing all three recommendations (Book, Album, and Drink) into one sitting simultaneously. It may not be the most comfortable night of your life, but you’ll probably never forget it.

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A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: Twilight Fauna and Jennifer Christensen

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

Good morning, NTSIB. We’re doing something a little different with A Good Read today. The two people joining us today – Twilight Fauna, aka Paul Ravenswood, and Jennifer Christensen (solo, Disemballerina) – are not in the same band. Instead they are equal halves of a two-song split.

Both are established black metal artists: Twilight Fauna is a one-person atmospheric metal band from Appalachia, and Jennifer Christensen is a composer and multi-instrumentalist from the Pacific Northwest whose sound is more traditionally classical. For the purposes of this split, they decided to chuck genre limitations and match their works based on emotional content.

The result: Sickness unto Death, by Christensen, and Crossing the Threshold by Twilight Fauna.

Sickness unto Death is a spare, sweet, delicate and melancholy, but also menacing. If the Tell Tale Heart had come with a soundtrack, it would probably have sounded something like this song. Crossing the Threshold, in stark contrast, is the slow death throes of the big machine and makes ample use of grinding fuzz to set the mood.

And with that, I turn the floor over to Jennifer and Paul, who join us today to share a favorite book, record and drink:

Twilight_Fauna_Photo_1Jennifer_Christensen_photo_1

A Good Read

Paul: An Uncomfortable Life by Nicholas Trandahl. An Uncomfortable Life hits home for me on a lot of levels. The exploration of the individual within nature and with fellow humans has been a constant theme in my own life. The searching for one’s place, a sense of belonging, and the struggle to live an authentic life even when that places you in conflict with others makes this a powerful read for me. I’ve had the opportunity to speak at length with Nicholas Trandahl about this book and have found this struggle to be a common theme in both of our lives.

While I’m a fan of Nicholas’ writing in general, I identify with this book especially. You know how at times you’ll find a perfect piece of music or a book at what feels like the moment you need it most? An Uncomfortable Life came into my life shortly after I experienced some major losses. This book spoke to me not only about losing people, but of finding my own place in the world. While that is an ongoing struggle to which I still haven’t found an answer, An Uncomfortable Life helped me to start asking the right questions. For that I will be forever grateful.

Jennifer: I’m currently reading the biography of the modernist abstract artist Lee Krasner by Gail Levin (2011). I just picked this book up from the library today and I’m already engrossed. Reading about this period of time and the artists, musicians and authors that thrived during this era in our collective creative history is something I often find invigorating and significant to the writing or composing that I do. Especially when I’m stuck wondering where a composition is headed, I like to reference artists from the past I’ve found to be energizing—like Krasner!

A Good Listen

Paul: Earthborn by Evergreen Refuge. Earthborn consists of a single 45 minute, all acoustic track. It’s basically the soundtrack to a journey through the forest. Every time I listen it transports me to somewhere else. As you listen, even in the most congested city, you’ll find your mind wandering to wild places. Your eyes will naturally begin to search out the greens of nature or the blue of open skies. In my own life I am drawn to wild places, I spend a lot of time hiking in the isolation of the mountains. On this release, Evergreen Refuge manages to capture the spirit of those places and transforms it into 45 minutes of beautiful sound. Each listen takes me back to places I’ve been or places I’ve yet to travel.

Something else that strikes me about this album is that it’s entirely instrumental. There is great beauty is being able to carve out an experience, to say so much, without needing words. Evergreen Refuge is able to paint pictures, entire forestscapes without bringing vocals into the mix. The only words you’ll find in Earthborn are your own. Those of your own experiences, your own hopes, dreams, and the journeys you’ve yet to take. Digital download/CD here. Highly recommend getting the cassette here.

Jennifer: Them Are Us Too – Remain (2015). While on tour with Disemballerina, I recently stumbled upon this album in California and I have been obsessed with it ever since. The dreamy tracks on Remain are perfect for basically any situation I can imagine; driving, bathing or walking anywhere. I find their creativity, innovation and the sheer beauty of this work to be highly inspiring and influential, as does everyone I’ve recommended this album to ever since.

Them Are Us Too - Eudaemonia (Official Video)

A Good Drink

Paul: I’m a big craft beer guy. When I travel I’m always on the look out for small microbreweries. Especially in the last 10 years or so, it seems every small town has a least one locally owned small brewery usually where you’ll find local people having a good time. So in general, as far as a good drink I would consider that anywhere that you can share a good beer with friends and soak up the local culture. Where I live, that place is Johnson City Brewing Company. I’m a dark beer drinker, my favorite is their Raspberry Mocha Stout which is a rich, slightly sweet beer that is perfect for cold winter days.

Jennifer: Fresh pressed apple cider. I grew up in Red Bank, New Jersey and fresh pressed fresh apple cider is both a local treasure (at nearby Delicious Orchards) but also my favorite thing in the world to drink. This is especially true in the fall but really all the time. I have wonderful memories of pressing the apples myself and tasting the juice with my mother and the taste (along with often the accompanying apple cider cinnamon donut!) brings me back to a very happy and innocent time in my life which remains intact inside it’s crisp flavor. Definitely a somewhat unacceptable substitute but I even brought dehydrated apple cider with me this summer on the month long stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail I did through the Sierra.

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A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: David Majury, Slomatics

  By , ,

It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

The Slomatics first formed in Belfast in late 2004, and since then have released several records. Recently they re-issued their first two albums, Kalceanna (2007) and Flooding the Weir (2005).

I’ve listened to both of them; my reaction was this is like being run over by a cement mixer and I mean that in the best possible way.

Here is my advice: lie down somewhere comfortable, rest your listening device on your stomach, put your headphones on, and turn it up. It might feel like meditating with a jackhammer, but it’s good for what ails you, I promise.

This is Viking Sea, from Kalceanna:

And, so y’all can see how they’ve grown over the years, here’s The Carpenter, from Estron (2014):

And with that, I turn the floor over to Slomatics guitarist David Majury, who joins us today to talk about a favorite book, record and drink.

Slomatics, live.

Slomatics, live.

A GOOD READ:

Krautrocksampler by Julian Cope.

I’m not a particular fan of Julian Cope’s music, nor was I a fan of Krautrock when I first read this book. I do enjoy music biographies though and will read pretty much anything related, and this book was recommended to me in the mid nineties by a friend. I’ve chosen this book as its one I frequently re-read, often picking it up to read just a chapter, and I cant think of many other books where that’s the case.

I love this book because of how it’s written – Cope doesn’t go for the stuffy, over-earnest approach that makes so many biographies seem like dull lists of facts/events; instead he writes like its a wild ride full of excitement and amazement at this weird music. He makes words up (Ur-punk??), uses grammar as he sees fit and occasionally loses it completely, all with his innate sense of what he deems cool underpinning every opinion. His stories of the formative years of such obscure heroes as Ash Ra Tempel are written as if he were there and it’s impossible not to be transported to early 70s Germany when reading this.

The book also gives me a sense of nostalgia, as I read it pre Internet, when it was nearly impossible to actually hear any of the bands involved. At the time I was permanently skint, and £20 for an import of an album I’d never actually heard was big money in the mid 90s. It reminds me of a time when music wasn’t all immediate, when bands could still hold an air of mystery.

As much as I like the immediacy of YouTube, I remember how it felt like a real quest to hear obscure music, how it took months of searching in ’89 to finally get a badly recorded tape of the Misfits ‘Legacy of Brutality’ and how important that made it feel. I’d agonise over whether of not to mail order Yeti by Amon Duul II, half fascinated by the description of its eastern-sabbath riffs, half panicked by the words ‘folk rock’. That the music described in the book has never disappointed me, and pretty much all of it is now there in my collection, listened too all the time, is testament to this book.

A GOOD LISTEN:

Part Chimp, Thriller.

When people find out I play in a band they always ask what sort of music it is, which is a natural enough question. The difficulty is describing the band without sounding like an arsehole. I’m not claiming that we’re some genre defying band, but to go on about being a fuzz-doom sci fi metal band with a sniff of shoe gaze and Hawkwind thrown in is just too much, so I stick with ‘heavy rock’.

This is usually followed by ‘You mean like Bon Jovi/Iron Maiden’ etc. It makes me realise that although very little of what I listen to is metal, a lot of it is heavy.

This album fits the bill perfectly, it’s unbelievably heavy in a way that no metal band could come close to, but it has absolutely nothing to do with that scene. The guitar tones are just massive, insanely fuzzy and bordering on being totally out of control. The songs are rammed with hooks and melody, yet avoid any conventional structure. Part Chimp are still the loudest band I’ve ever seen live and somehow they’ve managed to make records that sound every bit as loud, which is quite an achievement. It’s completely beyond me why this record wasn’t huge. An absolute classic.

Part Chimp - Dirty Sun

A GOOD DRINK:

Pint of Smithwicks Ale

In the Hipster Age of corksniffing craft beer freaks, this is probably a very uncool beer to drink. I don’t know if you can get it outside of Ireland. It’s kind of seen as an auld lads pint, and for people who can’t handle Guinness. I’m both of those things now, so I’m very comfortable with that.

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A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: Bahhaj Taherzadeh, We/Or/Me

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

We/Or/Me (Bahhaj Taherzadeh) occupies a unique place in the musical world: he’s a Persian/Irish singer-songwriter. He grew up in Dublin and now lives in Chicago; he got his start when, after years of writing songs on the sly and sharing them with only a limited circle of friends, Glen Hansard called him to the stage one night and commanded him to sing.

His first record, Everything Behind Us is a Dream, will be turned loose upon the world at the end of January 2016. I have listened to it, and, ladies and gentlemen, it is a delight. His songs are spare, delicate, elegantly constructed, and overall just lovely.

Sea Wall is not the first single, but it is my favorite:

And with that, I turn the floor over to Mr. Taherzadeh, who joins us today to share a favorite book, song and drink:

Photo credit: Liza Mitchell

Photo credit: Liza Mitchell

A Good Read

Werner Herzog — Conquest of the Useless: Reflections from the making of Fitzcarraldo

A filmmaker’s production diary doesn’t necessarily scream “highbrow literature” but Werner Herzog is not an ordinary filmmaker, nor was his film Fitzcarraldo an ordinary undertaking. In recent years Herzog seems to have become a caricature of himself, an uncompromising and severe man who makes nothing but extreme and bleak statements about art and the futility of existence. And while he seems to have lightened up enough to be in on the joke, that doesn’t make his convictions any less real. You won’t learn a lot about filmmaking by reading Conquest of the Useless. You won’t even learn a lot about the specific film that the book documents.

What you get is the internal landscape of Herzog’s mind as he navigates life in the Amazonian jungle. He observes the unyielding savagery of nature, he confronts cobras, witnesses death (both animal and human), curses financiers, negotiates with native tribes, and embraces a wild conflict with one of his actors. That he has to oversee the dragging of an actual steamship over a mountain in order to realize his vision and complete his film seems perfectly natural in the context of everything that surrounds it.

The action described in this book is chaotic and disorienting, but Herzog’s voice is steady and calm throughout and it is rendered in achingly beautiful prose. If you ever find yourself overwhelmed by an artistic project, read this book. It will likely put your struggles in perspective and it might make your convictions a little firmer.

A Good Listen

Songs:Ohia — Farewell Transmission

I don’t understand anything about this song. I don’t know what it’s about. I don’t know what he’s saying exactly, what he is describing, but it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time. Jason Molina’s music has always had a harrowing, damaged quality to it, but since his death it is all the harder to listen to. There is something transcendent about this track though. Something indefinable. No one is quite sure if this is a Songs:Ohia record or a Magnolia Electric Co. record. It now serves as a transition between the two identities. Almost everything leading up to this point in the Molina canon had been sparse and lonely sounding. Suddenly it sounded as though there were a lot of people in the room.

It was the opening track on a record that represented a new chapter in the life of an extraordinary artist. To me it is the sound of a man putting all his cards on the table. It is triumphant and desperate all at once. I met Jason on a train once. I was listening to his music on an ipod, and I turned around to find that he was standing behind me. We were the only ones in the car. It was a strange, dreamlike experience. We spoke for some time and then kept in touch a little after that. If I didn’t have some record of our correspondence, I’m not sure I would be certain the encounter was real. John O’Donohue wrote that “transience makes a ghost of each experience.” It is a line that seems to pretty well sum up my connection to Jason and his music.

Songs: Ohia - Farewell Transmission

A Good Drink

I don’t drink alcoholic beverages, so I have no craft beer suggestions or cocktail recipes to share. I drink a lot of coffee, usually Americanos. I use an aeropress at home but I have a love/hate relationship with it. I’m struggling to think of something to recommend. Oh, I’ve got it! Reed’s Premium Ginger Brew. It is the most refined soda you will ever drink. They claim to sweeten it with “Canadian white-water clover honey.” I don’t know if that’s a real thing, but the taste is unreasonably good. Maybe if everyone who reads this tweets about it to Reed’s, they will send me a lifetime supply of the drink for free? Please everyone do this. I’m counting on it.

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A Good Read, a Good Listen, and a Good Drink: Fold

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Fold

It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

Well, I did threaten on the Twitters, after featuring the gorgeous Post War Glamour Girls, to just write about Leeds-based bands from here on out, and then came Fold with their self-titled full-length debut to help me work toward that goal.

I immediately felt the hook catch with the shrewd, jazzy hip hop-trip hop of standout track “A Victim’s Mentality”, featuring London poet Mr. Gee. The music is the sounds of the city, downbeat, the soundtrack to the survival hustle. The words are the soul of a resident finding his way, grappling, fingertips bloody from trying to surmount the concrete peaks in a world that uses those concrete slabs to keep certain citizens from rising up.

 

Fold - A Victim's Mentality

 

The vibe continues throughout, without click tracks or pre-sequenced samples, layered with the words of Malcolm X, Jimmy Carter, Lena Horne, Kurt Vonnegut, and more. The words are reflective, questioning, delving, while the music floats you along, alternately cushioning and jabbing. Gorgeously atmospheric, but not allowing the listener to be lulled into complacency. It is an album full of meat to chew on.

I am very pleased to introduce the members of Fold to give us some more meat to chew on in the form of book, music, and drink recommendations.

 

Seth Mowshowitz (benevolent dictator, beats / keys / guitar)

A good read:
A lot of reading has fed into the album we’ve just completed. One book that had a significant impact on me personally was The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Alex Haley’s brilliant foreword was essentially a book within a book. Taken as a whole an account is made that clarifies and demystifies to a large extent the story of both the man’s life and the popularised version of the surrounding history. By the end I felt like I knew Malcolm well enough to mourn his passing 50 years later. The thing I admired most apart from his wit, intellect and capacity to overcome adversity was the fact that despite everything he remained open-minded enough right until the end to be able to reconcile new experiences with clashing preconceptions. Like many luminaries capable of articulating the experiences of oppressed groups sadly he was removed right at the point when he’d become most capable of uniting people.

A good listen:
Settling on an album is tougher. One recent discovery that brings me frequent joy is War’s Platinum Jazz. The range of moods, the long and glorious jams and those lilting extended melodies create something that I will happily absorb at any time of day or night. It is a deeply atmospheric experience embodying a strong social conscience in more subtle ways than we do. A masterpiece in my opinion and the first platinum selling album on Blue Note Records. How is it possible that I hadn’t listened to it until earlier this year?

 

 

A good drink:
I came across a cocktail called The Bee’s Knees that turned out to be a little too easy to make at home (if you have a decent shaker). It features gin, honey and freshly squeezed lemon juice. I can easily convince myself that it is healthy enough to drink several in a row.

 

Josh Gardziel (guitar)

A good read:
Charles Bukowski, Ham On Rye springs immediately to mind. I discovered Bukowski rather ironically with a vodka and Coke in hand.

“Getting drunk was good. I decided I would always like getting drunk. It took away the obvious and maybe if you could get away from the obvious often enough, you wouldn’t become obvious yourself.”

I found an honesty and pain in his writing. Finding his place amongst the world was a battle of social constraints, personal reflections, escapism and alcohol fuelled fantasy. Charles Bukowski and his thinly veiled autobiographical portrayal of Henry Chinaski’s struggle with adolescence is one that struck a chord within myself.

A good listen:
So many to name but there is an album that I come back to again and again. Having recently moved house I set up a record player in the spare bedroom and the soundtrack to unpacking was Bon Iver, Bon Iver. It’s an album that for me conjures up warmth and security and has yet to become old. My girlfriend has framed the inlay artwork and it hangs politely above the dansette. I discovered Bon Iver via a video by La Blogothèque; upon which he was singing an acapella version of a track called, For Emma. He was amongst the narrow streets of Mont Martre in Paris and having recently returned from walking those very streets as a tourist, I fell in love with his falsetto.

 

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago | A Take Away Show

 

A good drink:
Not much of a stiff drinker anymore and never much of a fan of fizzy drinks or coffee I have to put forward my case for good old fashioned water. Although not adventurous or exciting I have to admit that I drink more of this than anything else.

 

Ben Walsh (bass)

A good read:
Never been a massive book geek to be fair, I would say my love is in a good film. It interests me to hear people’s opinions on how a book is presented and received in film format. Usually not a good opinion most of the time. My last conquest left me a little shook up though. The book was A Child Called It, the first novel of many by author Dave Pelzer. It’s a shocking read about his childhood and relationship with his mother. It left me on the edge of my seat at every turn of the page. I think I remember screaming at the book many times. If you have not read this book, I would suggest you do as it will change your perspective on a few things.

A good listen:
Now a good album, this is a tricky one. I’d have to say Finest Hour by Submotion Orchestra. I have liked this band for a while now and this album sends me off somewhere, sleep sometimes! It has stunning vocals, deep music and is a great album – I would recommend it to anyone.

 

Submotion Orchestra - Thinking

 

A good drink:
Now…..DRINK! Now everyone who knows me would say “he likes good old jack” (stories I won’t/can’t go into). But no, I think I’m going to say Jagger this time. It’s strange that his drink takes me back to my childhood a little and the only way I can explain this is………CALPOL!!! Love it!

 

Kane Rattray (drums)

I’ve decided to be a smart arse about this and combine a good read, listen and drink into one beautifully themed evening.

To set the tone, first pop-on possibly one of my all time favourite albums Tom Waits Rain Dogs. Let the broken vaudeville sounds of Tom’s whisky infused voice wash over you and, you guessed it … grab a whisky, preferably a nice strong old fashioned (Marlboro Reds optional).

 

Jockey Full of Bourbon

 

After your first drink, with a slight buzz going pick up a copy of F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and fully absorb yourself in the moment.

Unfortunately, I’m currently sat in a flat, in chilly West Yorkshire (UK), on a Monday Evening, but lets pretend its New York.

 

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A Good Read A Good Listen and A Good Drink: Martin Macphail, Blitz//Berlin

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

Blitz//Berlin, collectively of Toronto, Canada, who last appeared in these pages in late 2013, have just released a video for their new song Jesus Shoes from their upcoming record Distance.

It is Halloween-themed in the sense that there are people wearing masks and there is some super weird business going on.

It is beautifully shot and atmospherically lit – truly capturing the bruised look of the world in late fall in northern latitudes – but it’s not . . . it’s not festive, and I mean that in the best possible way.

I watched it and thought about monsters, and community, and that sometimes loving a monster means being the one to put that monster down. Which might be heavy freight for a tiny video, but – I think it can carry the weight.

Blitz//Berlin - Jesus Shoes

When not rocking out, they also make movie soundtracks; their most recent effort was for Extraterrestrial:

Extraterrestrial - Complete Sound Track

And on that note, I will turn the floor over to Martin Macphail, lead singer, who joins us today to tell us about a favorite book, record and drink.

Center: Martin Macphail of Blitz//Berlin

Center: Martin Macphail of Blitz//Berlin

A Good Read

Neuromancer. Good is a weak word for how super-duper-good this book is. I’m sure most have read it by this point, and for me it’s a touchstone, not just for science fiction, but for sheer imagination and world-building in any genre. Although the world of Neuromancer feels familiar, having inspired countless books and films (not to mention an entire genre), very few works can compose a vivid, lush, and imperfect atmosphere the way Gibson conjures Night City, The Sprawl, or The Villa Straylight.

From the very first (and very famous) sentence “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel” Gibson paints a terrifying future with such confidence and poetry, he makes the styrofoam sea, fluorescent sky, and drug addicted burn-out main character feel incredibly real and exciting.

Aside from his aesthetic brilliance, Gibson’s thoughtful exploration of artificial intelligence, and the ways he ultimately defines consciousness and cognition i think are pure genius. If you can’t tell, i really really love this book. In fact after writing this, I’m going to start re-reading it.

A Good Listen

Spaces by Nils Frahm. As a vocalist, I’ve recently discovered that I really dig instrumental music. This year I’ve mostly listened to film score and various instrumental albums, which i find so inspiring. Nils Frahm for me is one of those special artists whose music feels like like a warm massage for my brain.

I tried to tell him this once, before a show in Toronto – actually this is a funny story, time for a quick detour. Nils played at The Drake last year, and I bumped into him at the bar upstairs before his set. I don’t get starstruck often, but German pianists really do it for me? Anyways, I got up the nerve to approach him, which involved me uttering a long run-on sentence where I complimented him awkwardly, humble bragged about some film score work (CRINGE), and then tried to ask him a question – if he would ever consider composing for film. The whole time he stared at me like he was ready to slap me.

He then said something like “Absolutely not.” which sounds scary in a German accent. Then for some reason I brought up that the film I had just worked on was being mixed, and how I liked handing the mix off to a pro who I trusted, to get some fresh ears on it. To this he said “Agree to disagree. I would never allow someone else to mix my music.” Shortly after that he walked away, and then played an amazing set of music later that night. He’s also now scored a film, and other people have mixed his records . . . so I guess he was just in a mood? In retrospect, that’s exactly who I wanted Nils Frahm to be – a phenomenally talented maestro who has no time for Canadian fools like me.

Back to the album, I love listening to Spaces while reading or driving (never at the same time FYI). I’m sure Nils would hate the concept of me haphazardly pairing his music with other mediums, but you know what Nils, you’re not the boss of me. Or are you? I’m not sure.

The best moment during this Neuromancer / Nils pairing is in the track For – Peter – Toilet Brushes – More, where these long beautiful ebbs of analogue synth wash over you like sizzling incandescent waves. This movement goes so well with literally any part of Neuromancer, and in certain moments it especially elevates the reading experience.

Nils Frahm – Toilet Brushes – More (Live in London) from Erased Tapes on Vimeo.

A Good Drink

My beverage of choice for reading or writing or listening is always Wild Turkey bourbon. I know, I know. But I love it. Wine makes me too foggy, beer too sleepy, and other hard liquor I just get distracted. Wild Turkey (on the rocks) for some reason, just helps sink right into a vibe. Little factoid – the fourth track on our album is called 81, because it’s named after Wild Turkey . . . because it practically wrote the album.

In closing, I think I’ve actually combined these things enough times that that I’m facing a somewhat Costanza-esque scenario where each of these ingredients makes me crave the other one.