Beth Thornley's latest EP, Septagon, is out now (you can listen to it below). The Los Angeles-based, Alabama born, singer songwriter admits a fondness for EPs despite one glaring drawback.

"I love EPs--it is hard to get people to review EPs though." says Thornley.

It is, of course, difficult to get people to review anything unless you've been anointed by the proper hipster authorities.

As a listener, however, an LP also has drawbacks. Thornley says she has a hard time digesting an entire album. There are too many songs to really absorb. With an EP?  The listener can check out the entire thing.

"I notice in digital download sites the first five songs are the most popular. The four songs on Septagon hook together well." she says.

This EP is a digital only release. Up until now Thornley has released physical product.

"The last was full of liner notes, an insert, lyrics and pictures. I still love holding a physical release--makes me sort of sad." says Thornley.

Whether the release is an EP or an LP, physical or digital, you have to create it first. Every songwriter has a process; what is Thornley's?

"In the beginning I wrote lyrics first. I always wanted to know what the song was about. Then lyrics would shift," she says. "I'd have an idea lyrically, that was where the feeling came from."

She could write the music without that feeling, without those lyrics.

"After I got the music down I would let the lyrics float in there. It almost never happens at the same time for me."

To avoid getting stuck in a rut she starts with music she has tried to change this up. In part she did this by thinking of all the instrumental music--going back hundreds of years--that is imbued with feeling with meaning. Ultimately, even when shaking things up, her work maintains the same focus.

"I think those people hear melodies in their head. I hear words." she says.

Septagon came together without a name.

"I started looking at songs and thought' these all relate'." she says.

Thornley was going through a period where she was trying to look at the world and her life in a different way. The songs were about seeing a different truth.

"One day driving through the Midwest, looking at farmland, there was a sign on the side of a truck that said "Septagon" and that was it," she says. "We did Iowa,

Nebraska, Illinois, I looked out the windows for miles and miles looking at little houses--but they were not really little. There is so much space."

Thornley lives and works in L.A. but is originally from Alabama. Her second EP was about that move and the struggle that went with it.

"I left home, Alabama, to come out here. You work really hard but wonder if it was the right move," she says. "Sometimes I am melancholy or nostalgic for what I left behind."

But other times she feels she did the right thing. Her song, It Could Be, is about this transition.

"Of course in the song I don't answer the question. You present the picture. You hold up a mirror. I have no idea what the right thing for someone else to do is." she says.

Thornley, like many musicians, has to find ways to sell her music, to make a living. What is the best way?

"Television is the best thing. Every time my song has been on a TV show I see a bump." she says.

This "bump" is in online plays, sales and views on Youtube. Television placement is also the gift that keeps on giving; when a show re-airs she also sees a bump.

Lipsync Music represents her. She sends music and it gets into the hands of producers who need it.

"The biggest bump I ever got was from a show in Canada, Degrassi. It has a huge following among teenagers," says Thornley. "They are also going to pass it around and listen to it on Youtube."

Her biggest payout was a song used in the Steven Soderbergh film, Magic Mike.

"A film is going to pay more than a television show." she says.

She also saw big bumps in traffic from songs on Royal Pains and Hung.

Just because her music gets used, with some frequency, in television doesn't mean she tailors it to the medium.

"I actually thing I am writing about the common human condition and that is what my job is anyway." she says.

She also thinks "chasing it," trying to create songs you think will work for television or movies.

"It is a needle in a haystack anyway. The problem is you just never know. Writers sit down and write a dance song or a ballad. Then you are targeting a market but it is a broad goal."

Just write good music and hope it appeals to a music director.

What is next for Thornley?

"I've got two separate EP ideas in my head. I have two songs a piece for each. I am sort of writing and recording them at the same time." she says.

Her last release was in 2010. One reason for the years between that release and Septagon is that Thornley and producer/musician Rob Cairns wrote a musical, Bad Apples. It was produced in Los Angeles in 2013 and will be on stage in Seattle in the fall of 2014.

Hands, an indie rock/dance/pop band out of Los Angeles, recently finished a U.S. tour to support their debut LP, Synesthesia. The group's Ryan Sweeney took the time to talk to Mapanare about the band’s music, live show and other odds and ends about the band. One of the first things we chatted about was comparisons to other bands (inevitable for any group). In Hands' case Hot Chip and Cut Copy are among the bands that come up.

"We feel great about those comparisons! Those bands are rad and have amazing careers," says Sweeney.

Sweeney was even offered a chance to dump on reviewers (a fairly easy thing to do these days). He wouldn't take it.

 "I don't want to strangle anyone who writes reviews." he says. 

Comparisons to successful bands are, of course, nice but what about what makes Hands unique. How do Sweeney and the band differentiate themselves as a group?

"We try to put as much emphasis as we can on staying true to our personalities and bringing it in to our music in as unique a way as possible," he says. "I still feel like we are growing into our own musical minds in a lot of ways but the journey towards finding our voice as a band is definitely punctuated by trying to sound different in a pleasant way."

Like many bands that mix electronic elements with indie rock (ish) music Hands music is a different story live from in the studio. They are as much a band to see live as they are a band you want to listen to on headphones while chair dancing at the office.

"Our songs definitely have a different feel and energy when played live," says Sweeney. "We all like to dance around on stage and our drummer really spices things up.  If I could, I'd just watch him and leave my guitar on the ground or something."

The band recently finished up a tour of the USA. Generally there is good and bad on tour; it is fun to play but then you have to sit in a van full of guys you've sat in a van with for weeks. Sweeney is a more positive sort of person. He sees the touring glass as half full.

"The best part of tour is getting to interact with all the people involved. Other bands, crew, fans, radio, bloggers, etc.," he says. "It is amazing when you get to experience the world of music in the real world and not on the internet.  I love touring.I really can't think of a worst part.  Oh wait, yea I can, speeding tickets."

They must have played in Kentucky.

The band is originally from Philadelphia but they moved out to Los Angeles. There were multiple reasons for the move but none of them were about Hollywood superstardom--it was about school.

"Geoff (Halliday) went to study recording and I learned to build guitars.  I actually play the first guitar I ever built at all the Hands shows," he says. "When I was living in Philadelphia I was in school for graphic design and, I don't know, moving to California made me realize that music is what makes me happy.  I guess you could say that the move created the career!"

After the tour (which ended in February) the band has begun working on writing songs for a new record. Keep an eye out for more from Hands soon.

William Burgess of London-based Women’s Hour took some time to chat about the haunting new band’s upcoming LP on Secretly Canadian. A 7 inch, Her Ghost, comes out March 24, 2014. A debut LP from the synth-heavy pop act is coming soon.

“We are currently putting the final touches to our first LP so hopefully it should be with you in the summer all being well. It's been a long process for us, and one we haven't been keen to rush. A couple of the songs on the record have been in the works for over two years,” says Burgess. “These older songs have informed who we are as a band and given us a musical identity, so they sound cohesive to us with the newer songs. They've all been recorded from the last week of November 2013 up until just about now.”

Woman’s Hour is set to play for the first time in the USA shortly. What do they expect from a USA tour?

“We're expecting to have a lot of fun; it's going to be a new experience for us though. We've never played in America before so we're not going over there thinking anyone cares about us, it's just down to us to work hard and play the best we can and just hope it connects with some people.” he says.

And when Burgess says “people” he means you. Get out to one of these shows if you are lucky enough to have the band playing in your town (current dates are below).

March 11th - 16th  South By South West Festival, Austin, Texas
March 17th  Bardot, Los Angeles
March 19th  Mercury Lounge, New York
March 21st  Glasslands, New York
April 3rd  The Purcell Rooms, London
April 25th  Gulliver's, Manchester
April 26th  Cathedral, Sheffield
April 27th  Bodega Social Club, Nottingham
May 7th  Louisiana, Bristol
May 8th  The Great Escape Festival, Brighton

When asked how the band creates “the average” song Burgess is equivocal.

“It's a tough question; we haven't actually tried too hard to analyze how we write because we don't want to formalize the process. We've got a couple of techniques that allow everyone to feel like they've expressed themselves though,” he says. “The main one is that we let everyone push a song as far as they can with their own ideas and then we rein it back in together and sort of trim the fat off it.”

Great now they will be thinking about formulizing and they can BLAME Mapanare for it.

When it comes to recording Woman’s Hour has one piece of gear they consider essential to the recording process—the venerable Roland Juno 60, a synth that first appeared on the market over 30 years ago.

“The arpeggios on that thing are insane and the pads are used in just about everything we do. The inbuilt chorus sounds are a thing of great beauty.” says Burgess.

Making good music isn’t just about the latest gear. There is a great deal to love about middle-aged synths (that are a bit less costly than some of the elderly synths out there).

When it comes to bands that are inspirational to Burgess it is as much about their philosophy, their feel, as their sound.

“Personally any band that is honest and doesn't seem contrived. I know it is a job and everyone wants to make a career out of it,” he says. “But it's also art and if you're bold enough to try and create something new that isn't obviously 'commercial' sounding then I take inspiration from that. Bands and artists like Animal Collective, Wild Beasts, Oneohtrix Point Never and The War On Drugs spring to mind.”

The band, as mentioned, is getting down to finishing their LP. There will also be more touring and stops at festivals. There will also be a great deal of writing in the future.

Keep an eye open for music and shows by Woman’s Hour.

There is something relentlessly cheerful about Sarah Dooley. Whether it is having a conversation with her or listening to her music. A sense of fun is in the air with Dooley. Her first fully-realized record, Stupid Things, is out now with what may be the greatest LP cover ever.

Inside is a collection of songs written in the past year and while it may not be a “concept album” (thanks to all things holy) there is something that knits all the pieces here together.

“The songs do touch on similar themes. It’s about nostalgia, childhood, unrequited love and The Goonies.” says Dooley.

 “Watching Goonies at My House is a middle school love song about The Goonies.” she says.

Dooley goes on to explain how her family had a box of old VHS tapes, purchased used at Blockbuster. The videos there were all sort of random but one of those was The Goonies and it crept into her youthful consciousness. Everyone has a movie, usually movies, they watched with their friends, their first crushes and those memories stick.

Dooley wanted to write from an early age.

“I’ve always wanted to be a writer. When I was little I wanted to be a screenwriter. I’ve journaled my whole life and written little stories,” she says. “It wasn’t until high school that I realized I liked writing songs. They are like short stories, the shortest stories. “

The Valparaiso, Indiana native studied play writing. She says that this might well come through in her songwriting.

“I have characters and songs are great for character studies.” says Dooley.

Unlike some songwriters Dooley doesn’t start with a given topic and go from there. Her songwriting is more intuitive.

“I never set out to write a song about a particular subject when I do they turn out like garbage. I improvise.” she says.

She keeps it open and explores different voices in her songs.

“What I like about songwriting is it is sort of mysterious.” says Dooley.

As to the music she starts with the piano. It isn’t always all chipper and cheerful.

“I improvise on piano and get these depressing melodies,” she says. “I do write about sad stuff but I don’t want it to be a big dramatic emo rant. It isn’t me.”

Another interesting source of inspiration is her work.

“I am a nanny and I teach music to babies. I love being around kids. It also feeds into my work. They are little bundles of material. Obviously I make sure they don’t die. “she says.

She also is the Sarah behind the popular mockumentary style web series, And Sarah. Over 160,000 people have viewed the series on Youtube. This is a funny bit of writing Dooley created while studying at Barnard College.

Dooley’s most recent show at Le Poisson Rouge in New York on February 10 was done in a middle school dance theme with balloons, crepe paper and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  She mentions nothing of trying to pipe in that “high school gymnasium smell.”

Dooley hasn’t toured extensively but it is something that is a possibility.

Dooley is always writing. At the moment she is working on two screenplays. She says she wants to bring back the movie musical. Where is Gene Kelly when you really need him?

Singer, musician and songwriter Luke Elliot plays music that on first listen reminds of some unholy hybrid of Nick Cave and Billy Bragg. As you listen a little more you hear all sorts of other influences from folk to rock to blues. But how does he describe his own music?

“Music's a funny thing. To my mind, it's very difficult to describe verbally to someone,” he says. “I’ve had so many people tell me about an artist, then I check them out and they're nothing at all like what was described to me.  I think that's what's great about it- it really needs to be listened to personally.”

Elliot’s EP, Provisions, comes out May 6, 2014. The first single, Benny’s A Bum, is out now.

When it comes to the process of creating songs there is no mystery in what Elliot does.

“I work at it. I try to write a little bit every day, especially when I don't want to. I think that inspiration comes whenever it's gonna come, but if you're sitting around with a pen and a piano, you're more likely to do something cool with it,” he says. “There have been so many times that I've had great ideas, and then they've slipped away because I wasn't working steadily at creating something.

His subject matter has no single source; it comes from all over. But the material is all personal but he tries to keep a certain distance between him and the subject—figuratively.

“It’s deeply personal, but I try to remain as objective as possible with the material I'm dealing with (if that makes any sense). I don't want to interrupt a process with my personal feelings.” says Elliot.

Elliot is not a “gear nut” sort of musician. He feels that the musician makes the instrument.There is a lot of truth in that. A beautiful instrument doesn’t make you a better instrument and a lot of musicians—especially early blues musicians—played on what could be considered terrible instruments.

“As long as I have a voice, a pen, and something to keep time with, I think I can always write.” he says.

The new record was recorded digitally but this was more out of budgetary concerns than anything else. Tape costs significantly more.

“At this point, I've been confined by a small budget, but we're hoping to change that. We'll be recording with John Agnello next, and are very excited to be with him during the process,” he says. “I like to record as live as possible. I try to be minimalistic with the overdubbing. For my work, I think that a live feel captures it best. I've tried to record instruments separately, and it always comes out sounding inauthentic.”

Agnello is known for his work with bands such as Dinosaur Jr., Screaming Trees, Drive By Truckers and Sonic Youth (among many others). But that is Elliot’s NEXT, release, after Provisions. What is the upcoming EP about and how will the material created with Agnello be different.

“It was not easy to come up with a title, but I thought that using a word from one of the songs might help. Provisions came from Ballad of Priest and I thought really summed up all five of the EP's tracks- I don't know, there's just something about the word," says Elliot. “The new stuff I'm working on... I always try to write differently than I was writing before- I don't want to be one of those artists that constantly puts out the same record over and over. Not that there's anything wrong with that- it's just not what I want to do. I'd say that the new material is very promising, and will have one of my musical heroes, John Agnello, working on it.”

Elliot started taking piano lessons when he was 8 but quickly noticed that the musicians he liked all played guitar. Naturally he wanted to be like them. He taught himself the guitar and started writing as a teenager. He returned to the piano as well. Music is something Elliot feels he has to do.

"If I'm not writing, I'm usually pretty unhappy,” he says.

He confesses to some envy for people with more traditional careers because he is fond of consistency. If he weren’t a musician?

“I don't know- maybe I'd be a school counselor.  I seem to get along with kids...”

Martin Bowes of Attrition has been making music for over 30 years. He is a musician, producer and mastering and mixing guru. The band recently released The Unraveller of Angels, their 16th studio recording. Bowes also revamped and opened his personal studio, The Cage, to the public for recording, mixing and mastering. He’s worked with an impressive list of bands so far.

Attrition has also been touring around the world to support The Unraveller of Angels and the two EPs connected with it. Dates are ongoing.

“For The Unraveller of Angels  I decided to go back to our real independent roots,  rather than work within the corporate anonymity of a larger label--they just shift boxes--I wanted passion back in there, “ says Bowes. “So I chose to work with a small but enthusiastic German label -Exglageto. They gave us 2 different CD versions of the album and a vinyl record too and I’ve been doing a lot of the sales myself.”

Bowes says it is harder to do some much on his own but that he’s found Bandcamp to be a huge help with his direct sales going through the roof.

“So it’s worth it.  It's going well. We even have a cassette version of the album planned with alternate mixes for early 2014.” says Bowes. “Ultimately it’s about how I feel about the album: I am proud of  'The Unraveller....' I took a long time with it and worked with some incredible people on this record. It’s had so many incredible reviews as well.”

The band has played, or will soon play, shows in: Greece, Canada, Germany, Belgium, the UK and maybe the USA. The maybe comes from the inherent problems with booking a tour.

“It’s always hard work sorting these things out. I book a lot of these myself.  Nothing too horrible you know I still love the adventures-- that’s what it's about--making these things happen. “says Bowes. “It’s a different form of creativity to recording but just as rewarding. I can’t imagine my life without all the travels. The people you meet and become lifelong friends; that I will always cherish.

One Horse Rider is a new EP, with music taken from The Unraveller of Angels. It includes the title track, remixes and a new ambient version.

“We also have a video for this being made by French film maker Daniel Gouyette,” says Bowes. “This will be out at the end of the year.  It’s not really hard on the heels as another breath of life for The Unraveller of Angels.”

In addition to Attrition Bowes is working on another musical project, Engram. 

“ENGRAM is a cross between Kraftwerk and Dolly Parton--no of course not! It is a project I started with my friend John Costello (also an electronic musician in his own right) in 1996. We did one song which was released on Brian Mitchell's Silber records' Alleviation compilation CD. Then things just got in the way and ENGRAM was put on hold. Until last year when we got to talking again and I said, well it’s about time we finished that album. So that’s what we have been gradually  doing. The debut 3 track EP, What am I?, is due for release on November 20th.  Then we follow with a full length album and the first shows next spring onwards.

Bowes describes the music as a mix of synth, minimal wave, dark ambient and experimental. He says it is a little different than anything he or Costello do solo. 

Find Out More About The Cage Studios HERE

As noted Bowes has opened his studio up to the public—after recording his own music for 20 years there. It was mostly used for Attrition but after remastering his entire catalog he started working more and more for other bands and labels.

“When I left the college, where I had taught music technology for 16 years, I set up The Cage Studios as a full time operation. So since 2011 I have been doing a hell of a lot of production, mastering and mixing/remixing for bands from all over the world ( often via file transfers these days),” he says. “And yes working with more and more music it has for so many more hours of the day influenced me and inspired me and I've learned so much too. I always want to do more Attrition material. Attrition is my own therapy rather than The Cage. Finding the time for this is sometimes a problem. “

When it comes to production Bowes says that the most common mistake is mixing music far too loud.

“In the worst cases end up with digital clipping. It’s always best if you leave plenty of headroom. For me or whoever masters the material later. It’s a constant battle even in mastering "the loudness war" if you like to call it that--and everyone has a different opinion,” says Bowes. “And that's the thing; this is art. There are technical considerations but this is whatever we want it to be in the end.”

Bowes also has a new project—interviewing the artists he is working with at The Cage.

“This is a really new thing for me, inspired by the old John Peel band sessions I decided to set up a series of these myself. The Cage Sessions, where a band or musician comes here for a day and records maybe  four songs and I and my wife Kerri interview them at the same time. I then mix and master the tracks and we are releasing these digitally through our official Bandcamp page, “he says. “We've also got a network of radio stations that are broadcasting these sessions. The first session, with Rossetti's Compass, a band with Mark Warner, Per Aksel Lundgreen (ex Apoptygma Bezerk) and new boy Martin Boweswas released on November 5th”

“The Cage Sessions are an opportunity for bands to do something a little different: new versions of old songs, covers, collaborations, whatever the hell they like really,” he says. “I am planning to release one a month. The second session is ATTRITION singer Tylean's solo work.”

Cristina Orbé’s latest project, orbé orbé, is the result of years of work.  Orbé is a writer and vocalist who has worked in projects ranging from folk to soul to rap.  The orbé orbé LP, Invisible Kingdoms, out now is a truly masterful work and the work that could only come from a multi-faceted artist and performer. It is one of those records where you will decide on a favorite song, and then decide in a week weeks that you have a new favorite.

“Before I was an acoustic soul artist and was in another band. I also guested on hip hop LPs and singles.” says Orbé. “I found myself bored in a world of people, on stage, playing instruments. I felt there was a greater, better way to tell a story.”

Her background as a performance artist seems to pervade this LP. Some might take that to mean this is a record of unlistenable and artsy fartsy tunes. It is not. It certainly is artistic but it is also accessible.

Recently Orbé created a circus opera, taking songs and creating a story.  It was minutes long and she narrated, wearing a huge skirt. There were shadow puppets and childlike invisible characters. And this is the sort of feel the LP gives too.

She worked with producer/musician, Jahon Mikal, on Invisible Kingdoms.

 “I think it was lucky, kismet, me and my producer met. I heard his first LP Medulla Transmissions. At the time I was working in a pop punk band, ‘ she says. “He enhanced the songs. They were good and he made them better. Some people are calling it an art album and it is. I am interested in going to this other place.”

She says the two have become fast friends as well.

“When we started working on the album I told Jahon I was looking for something that felt other worldly. I was less interested in taking a band to tour around and more interested in expanding the performance with dancers, props and puppets,” she says. “I wanted to push the narrative and explore costume and characters. He ended up creating an album that fit that vision incredibly well.”

Shows are planned in Los Angeles and in their home-base of Seattle. They also recently played a show in New York City.

“(It was) super fun! It was really fun to perform this show for people on the east coast,” she says. “I am excited for us to continue to grow and evolve the performative elements and share it with more audiences.”

Ultimately the show will head across the country. At the moment the show consists of a DJ (DJ TANGQ), two dancers and various props—parasols, puppets, fans and more. The show is not a finished product. It will change and expand over time.

“We are building it. The point is to create an alternate world, alternate space for 45 minutes,“ she says. “As we perform I would love to add live instrumentation, horn players and a guitar player who could DJ at the same time.”

The aim is to bring her performance art background into the stage performance. She has seen other acts in the Seattle underground working on their performances as well.

“They are making it a  performance, choreographed, sitting on couches doing interviews," says Orbé. “I see the performative thing but not artists and musicians collaborating in an intentional way but I see them pushing the artistry of their performance."

She wants to take things that extra step. People, in her view, want more in a live experience. We are all over-stimulated and want multiple stimuli in a performance.

Orbé also is head of a youth organization, the Food Empowerment Education Sustainability Team (FEEST).

“FEEST sets the table for young people to transform the health and
equity of their community by gathering around food and working towards
systems change.” she says.

FEEST was just selected as aFood Hero.

The vocals are pristine, the overall production approaches perfect and the work manages to incorporate Orbé's diverse influences seemlessly. Keep an eye open for performances around North American--hopefully--soon. For more look HERE. You can also get Invisible Kingdom as a download ($1!) or buy the LP on vinyl via the link below.

Greg Friedman’s latest record, Can’t Talk Now, comes out June 4, 2013. Friedman, based in San Diego, has had the “power pop” label hung on him. Like most labels, it does not tell the whole story. There is definitely a strong pop sensibility and there is power there too. But the notion it fits neatly into that power pop basket is erroneous.


Friedman’s record is also one of the last covers done by the legendary Storm Thorgerson. Thorgerson designed iconic rock album covers for Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel and many others. Friedman approached Thorgerson after realizing he was the man who produced many of his favorite record covers. In addition to being a musician, Friedman is a multimedia artist.  He values the artwork--and the connection to the past Thorgerson brought. Thorgerson's covers crossed styles and genres.

Can't Talk Now has a multi-genre sound. It has hints of folk rock, power pop and even So-Cal Punk rock. Hell, there are even hints of bands like Dinosaur Jr. and Meapuppets. Yet, it all fits together but how?

“It's the same question I've always asked of The Beatle's White Album; I mean,  Helter Skelter followed by  Long, Long, Long?! How could that possibly work? But it does. I've been influenced by so many different musical styles and I just let them come out in whatever way they want in my song. But then I do sometimes worry that they won't work together.” he says. “I write my songs not around a particular sound or vibe but around a melody. I love a vocal melody that stretches over many measures before it repeats. Before I record any song, I sit down with my co-producer Christopher Hoffee and play the song with just the vocal melody over chords. If the song doesn't work in its barest form then I know it's not ready to be a song yet. Then the instrumentation gets added to support the emotion of the song. And I have a lot of emotions. So I guess I need a lot of different sounds. Hopefully, all these sounds work together because the making of every song ultimately shares the same approach and emphasis on the melody. “

When he chose the songs he imagined them as a movie soundtrack. He moved the songs around to find an order that had an emotional arc similar to a movie. There is more than just a musical theme, there is a lyrical one.
 
“When I wrote the music for my prior album, I was struggling with depression and I wrote my songs as a form of therapy. As I reflect on those older songs, I see how I used to consider myself the victim of my troubles. But then I had an epiphany,” he says. “I realized that the negative thoughts I was having were not thoughts that I was choosing to have. Some other part of my brain was thinking without my permission. I began to see this part of my mind as an uninvited house guest and rather than frustrate me, his antics started to amuse me. “

The songs still dealt with life’s problems but these new tracks had more humor and optimism. Friedman says there was a sense of joy in this new work.
 
“While stylistically varied, the songs are rooted from a common theme: we can find joy more easily if we stop our minds from ceaselessly grumbling and begin to live fully in the present moment.” says Friedman.

Can’t Talk Now was recorded at CHAOS Recorders studio, which is located in a hundred-year-old house with plaster walls and wood floors.

“The equipment is mostly vintage preamps and compressors and microphones. Even though we are recording to digital, Christopher, likes to record as if we're using tape. That means we've got to be able to play the song all the way through until we get the right take. If we can't, then we've got to keep practicing,” he says. “That may seem obvious, but a lot of songs these days are recorded in pieces and then copied and pasted together in the computer. Pretending we're using tape forces us to improve as musicians, and I personally feel like this process allows the human-ness and emotion of the performance to come through stronger. I'd rather hear a track with good emotion and some mistakes then a perfect track with no feeling.”

The aim is for the musicians to push themselves to play rather than process. On the track, Melancholy Melody, Friedman doesn’t use a delay pedal but works painstakingly at re-playing the guitar part slightly later. 

“It was torture. And fun! “he says. “I'm addressing real issues on the record and so we made it a priority to be real in how we recorded it.”

When it comes to the “gear” that was most important in creating Can’t Talk Now’s palette Friedman has an interesting thought. It wasn’t actually gear.
 
“I discovered that our secret weapon was background vocals. They were one of the last things added to each song, and the anticipation of waiting for those tracks to be laid down made me giddy. There’s a joy and a sense of community that a group of voices brings to a song, and I couldn't wait to hear them.” says Friedman.
 
Friedman says he has played music for as long as he can remember. It is the focus of his life.

When I'm not making music, I'm miserable. It's not really a choice. I pretty much have to keep making music. When I was 13, I started making music with friends. When I was 14, people paid us to do it. But the money was never why I did it,” says Friedman. “In fact, the stress of feeling like I have to make money from music is one of the worst things for my creativity. My solution is to make money by other means, which allows me to focus on the things I like most: writing songs, recording them, and sharing them with people who might enjoy them. And I don’t have to compromise my art to make it commercially viable.”

Friedman says that there are no plans to tour for the current record. He says he tries to “go where the energy is” and at the moment it has been with his “The-A-Song-A-Month-Club.” He records a new song every month.  For some time he had been spending time on things other than music and couldn’t stand it anymore.  

“The concept is that every month I come up with some new musical challenge for myself (whether it's writing a song with a melody that never repeats or re-writing a classic rap as a song) then I have a month to write the song, go into the studio and record an album-quality track which I then have to release on the first day of the following month. And I'm having so much fun! The challenges take me out of my comfort zone and make me grow as an artist.” he says.

The promise to do at least one song a month doesn’t let the “practical necessities of daily life” get in the way of doing music.

“We're in a really exciting time in music history because the old models just don't seem to be working anymore. We've got an opportunity right now to come up with new ways of delivering and consuming content,” says Friedman. “And so I'm trying something new; instead of the traditional spend-a-year-recording-twelve-songs model, I'm going to just keep writing and recording and releasing a new song every month.”

The-A-Song-A-Month Club started on January 1, 2013 and you can check it out HERE.

At one point Friedman made music but didn’t share it with anyone. But he had something of an epiphany.

“For so many experiences in my life, the memories are inseparable from the music I was listening to when they happened. And now when I re-listen to any of those songs, I'm transported back to that moment, to the feelings and the sensations.” says Friedman.

He remembered how all those songs enriched his life and felt he needed to put his songs out there to be part of other people’s memories.

“As far as what I'm trying to say, well, I believe that we humans were given great power but also a great burden with this brain of ours. We're like a baby with a chainsaw. We don't know how to turn it off, so it runs and runs, spitting out fumes and making so much noise we have trouble taking in anything around us,” he says. “If there's a fundamental message on this record, it's to recognize that the mind has a mind of its own, and that its thoughts don't define who we are. Once we can start to recognize these thoughts for what they are, we can quiet the mental noise and begin to truly experience life.”

Playing the Part

by Wade Millward

Cape Cod artist Chandler Travis dons many roles in his music career.

Some nights he’s an in-your-face, pajama-wearing rocker-provocateur.

Some nights he’s an easy, breezy, loungey song man with warm melodies and a casual vibe.

Then there are those other nights, the nights when he’s his booking agent, his publicist, his accountant. He calls it a necessary sacrifice to stay in the music business he’s always loved and to keep the career that’s made him happy.

Travis heads three bands, with occasional reunions for his best-known group, ’80s rock outfit The Incredible Casuals.

The Catbirds are his four-member noisy, bluesy rock band, featuring three other members. Their last album release was “Catbirds Say Yeah!” on June 15.

The Chandler Travis Philharmonic features nine (yes, nine) colorful musicians who put on raucous, theatrical rock performances in pajamas, bathrobes and drag.

Travis spun off The Chandler Travis Three-O (four members, of course) when the Philharmonic proved too populous to play Cape Cod’s bars. The Three-O are a different sound: acoustic, slowed down, with clarinets and keyboards helping create light jazz, pop and rock. They released their latest album, “This is What Bears Look Like Underwater,” August 31, just a few months after the Catbirds release.

Travis says his bands’ attempts at trying and incorporating different styles, unusual live behavior and fondness for absurdity and humor has earned them a devoted audience of all ages throughout his 40-year career. He’s even rapped on a few productions, including his 1992 solo debut writer-songsinger (sic) and the song Crab Napkin.

Samples of his style and dates for his upcoming performances are on his website, chandlertravis.com.

Travis’ various personas and projects can cause confusion. Wait, is he the guitarist tonight, or is he the bassist? Should he wear a jacket and tie or jammies and a flower hat?

“Every now and then I bring the right stuff,” he says. “But every now and then I fuck up completely.”

In his off-time, if such a thing exists, he travels, watches movies and cares for the pets with his wife, Marybeth, a commercial artist and professional wild goose chaser (she chases geese off golf courses with one of their dogs, Mag. Travis says the border collie occasionally earns more than he does.)

His personality seems calm, laid back at first. He emailed to postpone our interview on account of Eastham, Mass., getting one of its first nice, warm days that spring. He wanted to enjoy a lunch and walk the beach with some friends, his horses Patsy and Trip and his dogs Bodie and Mag.

But Travis is quick to self-deprecation and sarcasm and describes himself as the unchallenged leader of the two bands bearing his name. The Catbirds and the Casuals, on the other hand, are democratic projects. Travis likes a sense of definitive direction with his projects, but learned to avoid doing music alone after a solo career.

“I get sick of myself,” he says. “I like to bounce stuff off of other people.”

He started professionally in the late ’60s, early ’70s, a time he calls a boom for the music industry, back when musicians had better odds of their craft translating into cash. He wonders if he would’ve kept his passion for music had someone told him he’d someday be his own booking agent and accountant, and he never would’ve guessed record stores would start going out of business. They were home to goods Travis considered part of his identity. It was records that led to his affinity for music.

When he was young, back when he went by his first name Peter, he heard the musicals and Cole Porter records his parents brought home. His listening habits were typical for a ’60s kid: Bob Dylan, The Kinks, and The Beatles. Today, he says he’s into Brazilian, African and ska music, and enjoys artists from Duke Ellington to Randy Newman to XTC.

Travis came to Boston for college, ready to protest and get involved in the country’s changing social climate. He started going by his middle name, Chandler (his mother’s maiden name) and realized music was his life’s calling.

He formed his first major act, a comedy folk duo called Travis, Shook and Club Wow, with Boston University buddy Steve Shook, who also attended the same Connecticut prep school as Travis. They toured in the 1970s, mostly supporting comedian George Carlin. They performed on TV for The Tonight Show and The Midnight Special.

Club Wow grew into the Casuals in 1980, adding drummer Rikki Bates and guitarist Johnny Spampinato. Eventually, the group drifted. Shook left for a solo career, had kids and became a builder. The other Casuals concentrate on their own projects, making time for the occasional reunion, such as July 7’s show at the Beachcomber bar and restaurant in Wellfleet, Mass.

Bates, who Travis says is 6’4” and plays in drag, is The Catbirds and Philharmonic drummer. The two bonded through a mutual appreciation for the rock group NRBQ. Travis was hooked on how such musical virtuosos could still pull off silly stage antics with reckless abandon. He calls NRBQ pianist Terry Adams one of his favorite musicians.

Regretting the lack of attention Shook’s guitar talents receive today, Travis says the one thing he’d redo is be more serious and get bigger during his first go at music.

“In 10 years we put out one album, which shows we had fun in other areas,” Travis says. “But Steve is amazing, and I wish more people knew about him.”

Travis downplays his own instrumental skills, saying he’s a singer and a writer first. He’s prolific; with nearly 700 songs listed in his website’s song index and formerly a columnist for The Cape Codder newspaper under the name Thurston Kelp (the column was titled “Kelp on Kape.”)

He describes himself as a ham, a natural onstage who knows how to command others and the audience’s attention.

“You give me a hole, I’ll fill it,” he says.

With nearly 40 years’ experience under his belt, Travis, who turned 63 on March 15, is still kicking around a few ideas. He wants to do a live album for the Philharmonic and a retrospective for all four of his bands, which he says have produced around 40 albums. Some new songs he’s kicking around include the African-flavored Strongman in North America and a lullaby for insomniacs titled Shut Up, Shut Up, Shut Up.

Travis tries to keep his groups self-sustaining, doing or enlisting friendly help in accounting, booking and promoting. He says he could use help with the business end of his projects, such as a proper manager. He estimates 5 percent of his time is spent actually playing, but he’s just as fascinated with music as when he started. He never wanted to be an aimless college graduate who fell into a job he didn’t love.

“I don’t know how those people live,” he says. “I’m so glad to be obsessed with something.”

For Travis, the joy is in the creating, the collaborating to design a song’s blueprint before executing it for an audience. His solo work lacked the joy he got in communal accomplishment.

He plays mostly near his home in Cape Cod, where he says his living’s made from Memorial Day to Labor Day, sometimes playing six nights a week. He says springing the Philharmonic and Three-o on new listeners usually gets a good reaction.

His usual venues are bars and restaurants, where he says chairs and tables stifle his theatrical urges (hence the smaller Three-O and Catbirds). Those patrons are less likely to want a show and even get shocked when bands engage them.

To Travis, any strong reaction is a good reaction. Bad days are when his bands can’t provoke, can’t connect at all with a crowd.

“I’d rather be booed than ignored,” he says. “As long as they’re thoroughly jostled, I’m happy.”

His tours have taken him far and wide. Highlights include playing New Orleans with the Philharmonic and bringing the Casuals to Japan, where the crowd’s familiarity with his songs surprised Travis.

He’s played his share of unusual venues. He drove to one of his earliest gigs at a Worcester YMCA from Boston in a pickup truck. Years ago, he plugged into a drive-in, where his music was played through audience’s car speakers out of sync with the performance. The Philharmonic hosted the release party for their 2000 debut, Let’s Have a Pancake, at an actual pancake house at 11 a.m. It was one of their best shows, Travis says.

What keeps him going is fighting against the swarms of shitty music out there, and he’s driven to get the tunes out his head and into his listeners’ ears. He’ll keep experimenting, diversifying, and surprising his audiences and himself.

Going at music a different way, Travis’ way, has been the method since the beginning. Club Wow was only able to put out a best-of album. The first Casuals record was a mock surf album. Throughout this summer, he’ll rock and shock listeners as leader of the Catbirds and the Philharmonic, or he’ll ease them as a Three-O. It depends on what night they catch him.

“One of the drawbacks of being obscure is we don’t have anything to depart from,” Travis says. “We started with a departure, and it’s been a series of departures.”