Eric Fergus McKinzie Erickson
@ Dupont Circle
Q:If your dog was a celebrity, who would it be?
A:"Lindsay Lohan. My dog is popular for no good reason. "
THE CHURCH IS 29 years old. While that's a drop in the bucket compared to many European houses of worship, it's forever in rock 'n' roll.
"I always said this is a very special chemistry which works beyond the logistics of surviving, beyond the occasional personality conflict or philosophical disagreement," said guitarist Marty Willson-Piper.
"All that is irrelevant. ... There's something that we do that you can't just hire somebody to do. So, if that's the truth, you want to be holding onto it really, really hard."
But it's been 21 years since the Australian band's "Under the Milky Way" was a mainstream hit for the former college-radio faves, and that has meant the Church has had to learn to work smart.
ADAM FRANKLIN HAS always sounded reserved, even when his previous band, Swervedriver, was crushing psychedelic riffs that sounded like The Stooges and Hawkwind engaged in a cosmic joy ride.
But with his new solo record, "Spent Bullets" (Second Motion), he's finally nailed his laconic post-Swervedriver voice.
Perhaps it was because Swervedriver's 2008 reunion tour went so well, or that his Magnetic Morning project with Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino was so well received, but Franklin's songwriting on "Spent Bullets" is as confident as it is consistent, presenting 10 mostly midtempo songs that capture his folky, dreamy melodies and quietly soulful voice.
"Various people have said — and I agree — that it's good that the whole album has a consistent sound," Franklin said. "But the songs are from various periods — some of the songs are quite old — but somehow it all kind of all falls into place thematically. ... But you never know quite how it's going to turn out: You start recording and there's one song you think might be the main song, then it falls by the wayside. Then another song that you think is a complete throwaway comes up at the last minute."
When Swervedriver was on hiatus, Franklin started recording and touring under the name Toshack Highway — mostly because he felt odd about being a solo artist.
"When you go out under your own name — it feels a bit strange," Franklin said. "That's partly why I went for Toshack Highway initially, but then I thought people didn't remember the name Toshack Highway. And basically when you're a band on the road, and you're at a truck stop, sitting down getting your coffee, and the waitress comes over and says, 'Hey, are you guys in a band?' And we say, 'Yeah, we're in a band.' And she says, 'What's the name of the band?' And it seems weird to say, 'It's named after him.' Now we can say, 'It's named Bolts of Melody.'
So, you named your backing band based on the fear and loathing you'd receive from truck-stop waitresses?
"I suppose so," Franklin laughed.
Express did manage to get the reserved Franklin to open up a bit with a track-by-track tour of "Bolts of Melody."
Continue Reading "Liner Notes: Adam Franklin, 'Spent Bullets'" »
MONDAY: If you like Norah Jones, you'll be entranced by Melody Gardot. Her voice is jazzy and vaguely European — romantic but not kitschy. Her songs are original, with witty, complicated lyrics and melodies that sound like Harold Arlen standards. The woman can even scat sing. She's absolutely worth the trip to Annapolis. Her opening band, Beaucoup Blue, is great too: an earnest father-son bluegrass duo.
» Rams Head Tavern, 33 West St., Annapolis; Mon, June 22, 8 p.m., $22.50; 410-268-4545, Ramsheadtavern.com.
Photo courtesy Retts Wood
YOU MIGHT THINK you're signing up to be e-mailed a coupon for a free exercise class, but the gym just wants to sell you a membership. And if it keeps its newsletters interesting enough, maybe you'll bite. That's e-mail marketing done right. And whether you own your own business or are part of a large company, Constant Contact has a workshop for you. At a recent seminar held in Old Town Alexandria, about 15 participants saw a demo of the company's mailing list management software and some pertinent tips.
» THE BASICS
Yes, the free seminars double as sales pitches, but the pressure is low and many techniques (building a distribution list, writing interesting newsletters) are applicable regardless of the service you use.
Washington, D.C., Constant Contact representative Gina Watkins, who leads the sessions with flair and has the ability to work "Constant Contact" into almost any sentence, asks participants to consider the nuts and bolts of e-mail marketing.
Continue Reading "Crash Course: Get the Word Into Inboxes" »
LAST YEAR, MONTGOMERY COUNTY became the first jurisdiction in Maryland to deploy speed cameras on its roadways as a traffic safety measure. Now, lawmakers in Annapolis will soon consider legislation that would expand their use.
As The Post's Philip Rucker reports, the administration of Gov. Martin O'Malley is preparing a bill that would authorize the use of traffic cameras in construction zones. The Maryland Association of Counties and some lawmakers are pushing for speed cameras near schools and in residential areas. But critics say the use of such automated traffic enforcement infringes on civil liberties and is simply a covert way to raise revenue.
» "Lawmakers May Open the Way for Cameras to Watch for Speeding" [WaPo]
GET READY TO PAY a little more for items and services purchased in Maryland.
As The Sun reminds readers today, a 20-percent sales-tax increase, the first such hike since 1977, will take effect on Thursday:
Consider a pack of gum.Business owners across the state have been adjusting their cash registers to account for the new sales tax rules.If your favorite chicle-based confection costs from 41 cents to 60 cents, the tax to be applied under the old formula was 3 cents. Starting tomorrow, the 3-cent levy applies to gum that costs 34 cents to 50 cents. Chewing gum between 51 cents and 66 cents will now take a 4-cent tax.
IT MIGHT SEEM STRANGE that the first CD of cover tunes by Grammy Award-winning R&B singer-songwriter Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds is a foray into mellow 1970s rock. But reports of "Playlist's" oddness are greatly exaggerated.
First, most of Edmonds' many hit songs transcend stylistic boundaries. And most of the artists he covers, such as James Taylor, Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan, were influenced by soul music. (Taylor, in fact, charted four major hits with R&B covers.)
"It's not a stretch, because James Taylor is soulful music to begin with," Edmonds notes. "But the other things, from [Dan Fogelberg's] 'Longer,' to Bob Dylan's 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door,' are soulful. And I think that's the whole key. These weren't arranged in an R&B way; they were arranged in a soulful way."
HAVE YOU EVER wanted to take a tour of Maryland's State House in Annapolis, the oldest such building still in use? You'd better get there soon. The building, constructed between 1772 and 1779, will close in the spring for major repairs.
The Sun reports today that the state is preparing to shutter the building in April for an overhaul of a pipe system that's in danger of failing:
More than 60 state employees and elected officials will move out temporarily, including the governor, Senate president and House speaker, and preservationists will take careful steps to safeguard the artifacts and trappings that make the State House one of the most visited tourist attractions in Maryland.The State House is expected reopen in time for the 2009 General Assembly session.
Continue Reading "Md.'s Historic Capitol Building Closing for Repairs" »
IT'S PRETTY EASY to figure out who represents the District's disenfranchised voters on Capitol Hill — non-voting Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (or, perhaps Texas Republican Louie Gohmert). For residents in Silver Spring and Takoma Park, however, the congressional borders are drawn so oddly that representation is anybody's guess.
The map at right, though, has the answers. The three members of the Maryland delegation that represent the area are Steny Hoyer (in blue), Chris Van Hollen (in red) and Albert Wynn (in green). It's easy enough to find your street on there, right?
A recent comment at Silver Spring Penguin addresses the confusion:
I voted in the wrong district last year (whoops) because who would have thought moving from Georgian Towers to Twin Towers would change your congressional district!!?? I mean, come on! I realize "Silver Spring" and "Downtown Silver Spring" are [unincorporated] areas ... names with no legal bearing — but you'd think these things would follow SOME sort of logical path! And yes, I realize the reason is that the partisans (uhm.. that'd be the entire [C]ongress) somehow have the authority to move the lines back and forth all day long until they get the balance of power they're looking for — in the process, effectively making some people's votes more or less significant ... but that shouldn't bother us, we're not a democracy or anything.So how exactly can you figure who represents you in Congress, or, for that matter, in Annapolis? Just use this mapping tool. It has overlays that show district boundaries and an address lookup feature so you can find where your home fits in the mix.
» RELATED: "The Race to Gerrymander" [Washington Monthly]
AS MARYLAND GOV. MARTIN O'MALLEY presses forwarded with a proposed plan to overhaul the state's income tax structure to close a looming $1.7 billion shortfall, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett has introduced an alternative that would cushion the tax burden on the county's richest residents, who are facing a hefty bill under O'Malley's plan.
Continue Reading "Leggett: O'Malley's Tax Plan Too Tough on the Rich" »
Addison Road