A Free Man

Since becoming a parent, actually since I knew I was to become a parent, I’ve been planning my strategy to avoid spending the next several years listening to The Wiggles. In addition to exposing my baby boy to my favorites, I’ve been checking out the occasional “kids” compilation by “adult” artists. Last autumn, my partner bought me Nettwerk’s “For The Kids Three” which featured tracks by Moby, Over the Rhine, The Barenaked Ladies, Of Montreal and others. This was a great compilation both because it was full of clever and well-played kids music and because it introduced me to the Great Lake Swimmers.

Great Lake Swimmers is the vehicle for Toronto based singer-songwriter Tony Dekker’s pastoral folk-tinged music. They released a self-titled debut in 2003 and followed this up with two more records for Toronto’s weewerk. Last summer, Great Lake Swimmers released their big league debut “Ongiara”, on Nettwerk. On the latest record Dekker was joined by Erik Arnesen on guitar and banjo and Colin Huebert on percussion. “Ongiara” is full haunting, lyrical and seductively textured acoustic music.

Tony Dekker joined A Free Man on the virtual couch recently to answer a few questions about Great Lake Swimmers.

AFM: I’ve got to kind of abashedly admit that I first heard your music on a compilation called “For The Kids 3″. “See You On The Moon” was one of my favorite tracks off of that compilation and encouraged me to check out more of your music. How’d you get involved with that project?

TD: I was invited to contribute a children’s song to a compilation for a Toronto record label, and so wrote one & recorded it in an afternoon. It originally came out on Paperbag Records, on a compilation which they named “See You On The Moon!: Songs For Kids Of All Ages” after the song I wrote for it. That compilation also had Allan Sparhawk, and Sufjan Stevens on it, among others. The song was later picked up for the “For The Kids” series.

AFM: You grew up in Wainfleet, Ontario not far from my old hometown on the American side of the river. I think that the banks of the Niagara River are a beautiful part of the world. I get a really pastoral feeling from your music, particularly the most recent record “Ongiara”. How much of your inspiration is rooted in nature?

TD: I feel very much inspired by the natural world. I think there is an inherent mystery and spirituality in it, and I think it merits further investigation through song.

AFM: I love the string interaction between you and Erik Arnesen on the banjo on the latest record. I know that Great Lake Swimmers started out as a solo project. How long has that collaboration been going on and is it going to continue? Do you prefer to work alone or with the other players?

TD: I started playing with Erik some time in 2004. With the various incarnations of the band, we attempted to rearrange the songs, especially from the first album, for playing live. Leading up to the recording Bodies And Minds, we already had a good number of shows behind us, so continuing that lineup for that record was pretty natural. The interaction has gotten a lot more intuitive the more we’ve played together, and I think that has really come through on Ongiara. Writing is a pretty solitary act for me, but I like collaborating with people when I have something to start the conversation. Erik is definitely a core member of the GLS camp and I expect that our collaboration will continue until we are old and shriveled.

AFM: On your myspace page a fan asks: “When are you coming to Australia? Please, please please?” As someone who’s currently undergoing an Antipodean emigration I’d love to know the answer to that question. Continue Reading »

 

 Great Lake Swimmers - "Your Rocky Spine" [3:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As you may or may not know, A Free Man is bound for Down Under. In anticipation of the imminent move, I’m on a mission to discover the best up and coming bands from my soon to be home. We Grow Up is an Adelaide quintet that got some attention last May after winning a Triple J Unearthed competition, they were selected to open for ARIA award winning singer-songwriter Missy Higgins.

We Grow Up released their sophomore long player, “Night Kitchen”, in February and it’s a cracker! This week, Anthony and Jon of We Grow Up sat down with A Free Man on the virtual couch for a chat about their craft and their home town…

AFM: First of all, let’s get to know you guys. Can you tell me who’s who in We Grow Up and what they play?

Well it started of with Jonathan Mortimer (guitar, vocals, keyboard) and Anthony Golding (guitar, vocals, keyboard) who started recording songs together in Jon’s bedroom in late 2006, layering tracks over one another. Since then we have been joined by Prudence Hart (bass), Jakub Tengdahl, (who played all of the drums on ‘Night Kitchen’ but has now moved to keyboard) and our newest member Tom Mackay (drums).

AFM: I’ve got to say that I really enjoyed your new album, ‘Night Kitchen’. One of my favorite things about the record is the kind of narrative, storytelling songwriting. Who’s penning the words and where are they coming from?

WGU: Both Jonathan and Anthony wrote songs separately for the album.

Anthony: I don’t purposely write narrative style lyrics, I feel more as though it’s a rambling stream of consciousness style with no linear ‘plot’. That said, if I’m thinking the same thoughts and in the same mood throughout the writing, it tends to come together to create a formed scene or perhaps just a mood.

Jon: I tend to write story songs. These stories often come from my own experiences, and I tend to write a lot about my childhood. On most occasions I relate these very personal stories through a created character’s perspective. I find that by having this buffer I sound less self indulgent, and have more freedom to twist stories in to whatever direction I want them to go in. Although these stories come mostly from my own experiences, on occasion I change details, or create entirely new situations to better fit the song’s overarching themes (or to fit a line that I like the sound of).

For example, the song “Mulberry Tree” is based on my own experience of falling out of a mulberry tree as a youth, but I related this story through two other characters that only ‘see’ the boy fall out of the tree. My songs often have a strong feeling of nostalgia to them, which slightly obscures the more serious themes within many of them.

AFM: In some of your songs, I hear echoes of the Mancunian Moaner. Who’s your favorite Smith - Morrissey, Marr, Rourke or Joyce?

Anthony: Morrissey, both lyrically cynical and honest to the centre.

Jon: Marr, I love the layers of ideas that he brought to The Smiths… ‘Meat Is Murder’ is so sonically dense, with his amazingly melodic and moody ideas. I also like the work he’s doing now with Modest Mouse.

AFM: My favorite track on your new record is “The Girl Who Threw Her Man Towards The Deep”. Is there a story behind that song? Would you like to share it with us? Continue Reading »

“When I was just a skinny lad on holiday by the sea,
I met a girl in a Rancid shirt, and a tape she gave to me
With the Black Flag First Four Years and the Minor Threat Discography,
And punk rock saved my life.”

-Frank Turner - “Back In The Day”

London based singer-songwriter Frank Turner’s came to some prominence as the singer for London based punk band “Million Dead” in the early Noughties. His solo debut “Sleep Is For The Week” was released at the beginning of last year to a fair bit of critical acclaim, including a much coveted spot in the chrisdellavedova.com Top 10 of 2007. His sophomore effort “Love Ire & Song” is due out at the end of March. Frank was kind enough to sit down on the virtual couch for a Great Interview Week chat.

CDV: Punk rock saved your life, but you’ve kind of left it behind in your solo work in favor of a “folk”-ier sound. What changed for you between the break up of Million Dead and “Sleep is for the Week”? Continue Reading »

“Tequila and red wine,
Beer and vodka that tasted like gin
But slipped down like tears
I was not on my knees by accident…”

-The Broken Family Band - “Cocktail Lounge”

When I first heard The Broken Family Band a couple of years ago they were a refreshing change from the standard Radio 1 Kaiser Monkey fare. They brought a little bit of twang to which helped assuage the occasional creeping homesickness that is part of the expatriate experience. A few critics had picked up on the Cambridge based quartet using terms like “alt-country”, “country-fried” and the “Americana Album Of The Month”. The latter being a particularly good selling point in Britain.

Well, nobody likes to be stereotyped - pigeon-holed in Pigeon Forge if you will. So, when Steve Adams agreed to sit down for the Great Interview of the Week, it’s only natural that things got a touch adversarial as your underwhelming correspondent tried to keep them in a box they are trying to escape….

AFM: Cambridge is a damn long way from Nashville and is even pretty distant from the heart of the American alt-country movement that came out of Texas and the Midwest in the 1990’s. Yet I can hear those places in your music. What or who inspired four guys from Cambridgeshire to make music that wouldn’t be out of place on Austin City Limits?

SA: We don’t do it anymore, that’s all I can say really. Country music. Well, it’s not our main thing. We got bored of it, and we needed to escape our rootin’ tootin’ peers. We were never dressing up as Americans or any of that. I even dropped the American accent. It was fun for ages, but we’re onto something else now. There’s a lot of music still to get through and we can’t keep getting lumped in with those Americana bands.

AFM: If you could play as the backing band for any singer (living or dead) who would it be?

SA: Roy Orbison. I’d like to have played guitar with The Ink Spots though.

AFM: I’ve got to admit to being a horn lover and that’s one of the things that initially drew me to you guys, the occasional track that broke out in horny glory - “Give And Take” from “Hello Love” is a great example. Who’s that getting down on the brass?

That’s my friend Torsten Larsen from the excellent Larsen & Furious Jane. They’re a Danish band, based in the fine town of Aarhus. We first met when I rode a borrowed bicycle into him and he tried to fight me, but we later realized that I’d been admiring his album cover in a local café. He emailed his trumpet parts, isn’t that futuristic? I’d recommend that band to anyone.

AFM: I got into you guys after hearing “Welcome Home, Loser”. I thought I would check out your newest record “Hello, Love” before writing the questions for this interview. When I went down to the Oxford city center today I despaired to discover two things. First, the last independent record shop in the city center had shut down. Second, none of the big chains had any of your records for sale. Assuming that these are not uncommon events, what’s the future for independent music in Britain?

SA: I don’t know. It’s a shame, but the good stuff always finds its way out there. Hello Love is a grower I think.

AFM: What other bands are in your musical posse? Who are your peeps?

SA: Who do we roll with? We’re good friends with Absentee, they’re good people. Most of our friends probably aren’t musicians. I was out with Larry Love from the Alabama 3 the other night. He just kept telling me off for not behaving like a rock star. He’s very good at behaving like a rock star, and he’s a good gentleman. Also David Byrne. Well I met him once. Years ago.

AFM: The American alt-country scene seems a better fit for you guys? Have you toured over there?

We played in Texas once, but we don’t have enough time to worry about conquering America or anything.

AFM: What kind of reception did you get?

SA: We played our worst ever show in Texas.

AFM: You guys can flat out write a song. And at the risk of overusing the “country” label, a lot of your songs circle that great Country music quartet - love, lost love, booze soaked remorse and revenge…

Thanks. I’m being difficult aren’t I? It’s our fault entirely – we’ve made a bunch of records with acoustic guitars and American accents and even pedal steel and stuff a few years back, but we’ve always been evolving. We’ve evolved, erm, out of that country music now. I have had a reasonably limited palette in terms of what I write about, but that’s because I couldn’t see beyond the remorse and the revenge. Now that I’ve seen the body float away I can move on.

AFM: How about, and I love this lyric -

“You’re a devil woman, your heart is black, but your body drives me crazy
You’re a sick satanic lady, you’re full of hate and I just love that
I just love that…”

Has your love life sucked that bad?

SA: You’re not the first to ask. That’s a made up story and it was always supposed to be funny, like a parody of moaning love songs. It never occurred to me that people would think I wanted them to think I went out with a Satanist.

I just read that verse again and it doesn’t sound so bleak to me. There’s love in there AFM, what are we without love?

AFM: You guys are currently the “hottest unsigned band in Britain” having cut ties with Track & Field. What are you looking for from a new label?

SA: We’re looking for smiling men with bad reputations.

AFM: Speaking of record labels, back in the heyday of Sun Records Sam Phillips used to send all of his acts out on tour together. So you would have a showcase with Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, etc. come roaring in to some dead-end town in Oklahoma. If you had to take a showcase troupe to Nowhere, OK what bands or artists (living or dead) would you bring with you?

The Walkmen, Akron/Family, Rachel Unthank, The Crack Pipes and Dan Michaelson and The Coastguards.

AFM: What’s next for The Broken Family Band? When can we expect a new record and what can we expect from it?

We’re starting a new record in May, and we have our groove on. There are a couple of new tunes on our myspace page that give a clue, but we’re just going to make a very good rock ‘n roll record. We’ll see.

AFM: Bonus - Johnny Cash, Johnny Ramone or Johnny Borrell?

SA: Johnny Cash. The other two aren’t my cup of tea at all.

—————–

Johnny Cash is, of course, the right answer. Well done and thanks to Steve Adams for taking a seat on the virtual couch. Country or otherwise, The Broken Family Band is carving out their own niche in the British music pantheon. Check out three tracks from their three most recent records pasted below. If you like what you hear then buy “Hello Love” and other records from The Broken Family Band at , Amazon and eMusic.

 

 The Broken Family Band - "You Get Me" [4:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 The Broken Family Band - "I'm Thirsty" [3:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 The Broken Family Band - "Honest Man's Blues" [2:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

“I appreciate your courtesy, your well earned politesse
But you got yourself into your own mess
You know the demons in the design
A good idea at the time…”

-OK Go - “A Good Idea At The Time”

Well, Great Interview Week began with self-indulgent navel gazing and thus it shall end. Hopefully the bits in between have made the week worthwhile. For those of you that visit here for details of the minutiae of our lives or pictures of our uncommonly adorable baby, fear not. I will be getting back to that format from today. I have, however, enjoyed doing these interviews and therefore don’t be surprised if you see one now and again. Dr. O’C has suggested running a weekly interview feature - what do y’all think?

This is my second, and final, interview for the Great Interview Experiment. Q. over at Where are the naked pictures? came up with a set of philosophical inquiries that would challenge even the best thinkers, never mind your underwhelming narrator. Without further ado…

Q.: You are going on a long road trip from Mexico to Canada. Who would you choose to travel with you? Besides me of course, ’cause I am coming. It was my idea. Continue Reading »

 

 OK Go - "A Good Idea At The Time" [3:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Great Interview Week continues in a scientific vein today. In last week’s Nature, a paper coming out of Dee Carter’s lab at the University of Sydney described the discovery of a previously unknown marine species. That, in itself, is noteworthy. However, the organism they found - an unremarkable unicellular brown alga - turns out to be an evolutionary “missing link”.

Bob Moore (the lead author on this study), Carter and their colleagues describe Chromera velia, now the closest-known photosynthetic relative to apicomplexan parasites - including the one that causes malaria. The discovery and phylogenetic characterization of Chromera illuminates a murky step in the evolution of photosynthesis. This close evolutionary relationship also means that Chromera will be a powerful model system for studying apicomplexan diseases.

Carter took a seat on the virtual couch to discuss her group’s recent discoveries:

AFM: My readers run the gamut from working scientists to lay persons. Can you clearly and concisely explain to the latter class why they should pay attention? Continue Reading »

I was thrilled when I drew Jennifer from No Place Like It for my second go at the Great Interview Experiment. Like your underwhelming correspondent, Jennifer is an expat (a Canadian in Paris) dragged overseas in a net of romantic entanglement with a furriner. Like myself, she seems happy to stay in her adopted home. Unlike myself, she’s a talented graphic artist - all of the images in this post are hers and she does commissioned portraits as well.

It was great to get to know a little more about Jennifer who gave wonderfully thorough answers to my questions. The only thing I’m left unclear about is exactly what a “shooter girl” does…
AFM: We’re both willing and long term expats. What drove you to make the trans-Atlantic migration?

JC: Actually, like most things in my life, it was a question of just going with it… Continue Reading »

 

 Count Basie - "April In Paris" [3:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I enjoyed my interview with Courtney a couple of weeks ago so much that I asked Neil at Citizen of the Month for another go at his Great Interview Experiment. Thus, late last week, I spent a fair bit of time in the role of either interviewer or interviewee. With all the questions buzzing about the internets I realized that a well conducted interview is a great opportunity to get to know a lot more about both parties.

Invigorated by inquisitions, I’ve decided to declare this week as Great Interview Week here at chrisdellavedova.com. I plan to feature a (hopefully) great interview a day for the week. In addition to the Interview Experiment posts, I’ve got a couple of crackers in the pipe, so check back each day this week to see who’s on the virtual couch.

The subject of the first day of Great Interview Week is, with narcissism appropriate for the blogging medium, me! Turnbaby over at And as the world Turns came up with a set of thought provoking inquiries that, surprisingly, got to the serious side of your underwhelming narrator (here’s her version of the interview). Without further ado…

Turnbaby: I see that you met your beautiful wife in college–I want to know how you met and what drew you to her and her to you.

AFM: Aha, an opportunity! A lot of people assume, as you did, that Dr. O’C and I are married. In fact, we are living in sin and have been for a number of years. We are co-habitors, co-conspirators and - in the eyes of the Australian and British governments - common law spouses. Since we’re interested in neither the Church nor the State’s blessing, that’s likely to remain the case until my Mom pesters me to death about it.

We met in Rocheport, Missouri when I was doing my Ph.D. and she a post-doc. I’ve written a couple of posts about how we met. Is it wimping out just to link to them? What drew me to her initially should be fairly obvious, have you seen her picture - absolutely gorgeous. I can only imagine that it was temporary insanity that drew her to me as I was sporting a nappy beard at the time.

TB: The first thing I noticed about your blog was your excellent taste in music. I love the songlist you initially picked to play for your boy, Z, while he was in utero. Are there some songs that you really love that you won’t play for him yet? Why?

AFM: Not really, I sort of play him what comes to mind. I’m not bothered about strong language as his mother curses like a sailor. I tend to avoid some of the really thrashy punk or heavy metal in my library as I think it’s a bit dissonant for him yet. But beyond that, pretty much Z hears what I hear. Oh, and he’s not allowed to listen to crap - no Justin, no Brittney, no Jessica. I am a music nazi.

TB: You are an Obama supporter and a self avowed “political junkie”. I know he “gives good speech”.But I need more than that. So without using the ‘hope’ or ‘change’ rhetoric–tell me why?

AFM: Because Barack Obama gave me a puppy. This is a great question because this election is more about personalities than I can remember in recent history. I thought about using your thesaurus trick for this question (yep, I read your interview - well played, Madam), but it’s a big deal so enough fannying about. It’s a fair question as they are politically pretty similar. My biggest reason for supporting Obama is because the last eight years have been evidence of how poorly a dynastic presidency works. If Clinton won and then won a second term, the same two families would have run the country for 28 years. This is very dangerous for American democracy. Second, the Boomers have had their time in power and to be honest have done a pretty piss poor job of it (I include Bill I and George II). It’s time for the next generation to take a whack at it. Third, America is in a rut and we need a kick in our collective asses. Obama, with his inspirational rhetoric, gets people thinking about the state of the State and what we can do about it. Clinton or McCain seem cynical and jaded. Oh, and Barack Obama told me to tell you hello.

TB: I love the new template and look of the blog. I’m curious about why you wanted a change and what made you pick this look.

AFM: Well, why I changed the look was because I kind of got my ass kicked in a review by Ask and You Shall Receive. It was a great experience and gave me a lot to think about. I do like the sort of clarity and simplicity that they suggested. If you want some honest feedback on your site, request a review from these guys. But beware that they don’t pull punches. Beyond that, I change it up every few months or so because I am short attention span boy.

TB: How did you end up in Oxford and what did you find most appealing about the idea of living abroad? Did that turn out how you thought it would?

AFM: I wanted to live abroad because I was sick to death of Wal-Marts and strip malls and Fox News. Oh, and a certain red-headed Irish/Aussie woman may have had just a little something to do with it.

I applied for jobs all over Europe but Oxford offered the best opportunities for both of us. It has turned out beyond my wildest dreams. I took to the European lifestyle like a duck to water. There’s just such a hugely better quality of life over here. I don’t know if I can do it justice, but it’s like you realize that there is a whole different way of life that you didn’t know existed when you were in the States. I use this analogy: where my parents live in Florida there are two shopping centers across the street from each other - literally 50 yards away from one another - and everyone drives their cars from one to the other. It just doesn’t occur to anyone to walk across the street rather than unparking your car, sitting at the red light until it turns and then reparking your car nearly as far away from the store you want to go to as you were when you started. Takes about 10 minutes. It’s the realization that it takes you 2 minutes to walk it rather than drive. That’s the change that you go through if you have a good expat experience.

TB: I see that your move to Australia is imminent. Do you think upon seeking employment there that you’ll stick with your current field of endeavor or take a leap into the new all the way?

AFM: It’s all about the new. I’m a disaffected academic and am looking forward to joining the “real world”. I’ve got no idea what the “new” is going to be and that’s what makes it exciting. What I’ve learned so far is that no matter what happens it will be as good an experience as I let it be. I am looking forward to a couple of months off in Oz to spend some time with the boy and a lot of time on the beach!

TB: Why did you start your blog and what about it inspires you to keep it up?

AFM: I started it after Dr. O’C got pregnant. One of the reasons that I’m doing this blog is as a sort of virtual “baby book”. We can keep track of his progress, but I also spend a fair bit of time talking about my own. I now find it really therapeutic - I love writing and this gives me a reason to do it. When I get feedback from my few readers it lets me know that someone appreciates it, which is just the best. Yep, I’m a slave to strokes.

TB: You are a big Georgia Bulldogs fan. What plans have you made for keeping up with games now that you’ll have a whole ‘nother time zone thing to worry about?

AFM: Time zones are not an issue for REAL fans. The math may be a challenge but no matter where I am in the world, my Saturdays (actually I think they will be Sundays in Oz) are booked from the beginning of September til the last week in November. I see that you’re a UK fan - I can’t really think of anything to say about that as y’all don’t usually provide much of a challenge on the old gridiron.

TB: Y’all obviously plan on raising Z outside of the United States, What would you like for him to know about growing up in his father’s country of birth?

AFM: For some reason I struggled with this question more than any of the others that you’ve asked. I think it is because I don’t know myself how I feel about this. I can honestly say that I can’t foresee coming back to the U.S. to live. But it is important to me that Z identifies himself as an American - and he is a natural born American citizen. I would love for Z to be able to experience some of the things that I did growing up and would love for him to be able to avoid a lot of the things that I did. Most of the things that I loved and hated from childhood are gone, though, so they wouldn’t be there for Z anyway even if we were in the States. He’s got to have his own journey.

Gosh, this is all very serious and introspective, not like me at all!

TB: What do you miss about US?

AFM: 1. Proper corn bread.
2. Wide roads.
3. Southern accents - not that dumb ass Texan via Yale accent of Bush’s - a proper Georgia, Carolina, Virginia accent.
4. Big old steaks.
5. Waffle House hashbrowns - scattered, smothered, covered and chunked.
6. My family.
7. Wing nut right-wing talk radio.
8. Popcorn with gallons of butter.
9. People that call you “sugar”.
10. Peet’s coffee (good coffee in general, the Brits just don’t get coffee)

That was off the top of my head and I’m surprised how much of it is food. Must be dinner time.

Image Credits:

Waffle House

Cornbread