EVER WONDER WHAT happened to all those Italian-American doo-wop groups of the late 1950s and early 1960s after the British Invasion bands rendered their vocal harmonies unfashionable?
Veteran character actor Robert Davi did. So he made a movie that documents the plight of one such fictional group, The Dukes, a vocal quartet who find themselves so hopelessly out of style decades later that they can't even get plugged into the oldies circuit. Instead of collaborating on musical endeavors, they work together to pull off a heist in hopes of getting some bucks to fund a doo-wop club.
That's the plot of "The Dukes," an independent comedy that marks Davi's first outings as both director and screenwriter. His debut has been, as the saying goes, auspicious. When "The Dukes" made the rounds at film festivals earlier this year, it was met with rave after rave. The "Spinal Tap"-with-Brylcreem plot scored laughs, but the film's deeper message earned Davi deeper respect than he ever got playing villains such as Franz Sanchez in the 1989 James Bond film "License to Kill."
Variety magazine praised the comic chemistry between Davi and co-star Chazz Palminteri, who play the hapless band member who try to pull off the hopeless heist. The Monte Carlo Film Festival handed the film a Platinum Award for Best Screenplay, while the Queens International Film Festival hailed hometown boy Davi as Best Director. "The Dukes" also nabbed a Best Screenplay award at the Monte Carlo Film Festival de la Comedie.
The film will get a D.C. premiere at the American Film Renaissance Institute's fifth annual film festival, taking place Oct. 1-4 ("The Dukes" will then open in New York Nov. 14, and get a wide release the following Friday). Davi was named the festival's "featured star" and will do a question and answer session after the Oct. 1 screening.
Express caught up with him by telephone.
Continue Reading "Harmony as Allegory: Robert Davi on 'The Dukes'" »
PINBACK GUITARIST/VOCALIST ROB CROW is kind of a nerd.
Here's some evidence: Back when the band toured in support of its sophomore record, "Blue Screen Life," Crow had the "Star Wars" Rebel Alliance insignia prominently displayed on his guitar cabinet. He also has a metal side-project named Goblin Cock, and he plays the video game "Rock Band" at the highest available skill level.
But however dorky Crow might be, Pinback's most recent record, "Autumn of the Seraphs" (Touch and Go), is undeniably cool.
With its lilting arpeggios, whispered melodies and dynamic songwriting, the album is among the year's catchiest and most consistent pop records. Those extra coiffed and fashionable bands can pose all they want, but Crow is the man with his songs on "Gossip Girl."
The guitarist spoke to Express about comic books, Pinback fellow core member and vocalist/bassist/pianist Armistead Burwell "Zach" Smith IV and how it feels to have his band's music stocked on shelves at Target.
THERE ARE FEW BANDS that "High Fidelity's" Rob Fleming can stand, and few more the snobby record store owner actually likes — so when the drone-pop group Stereolab was included in the 2000 film adaptation of Nick Hornby's cult classic as one of the "good ones," it was pretty high praise.
The nearly two-decade-old English band — led by singer Laetitia Sadier and guitarist Tim Gane — is back with a bubbly new CD, "Chemical Chords" and a new tour.
Express spoke to Gane about the recording process, what fans should expect from the tour and why Japanese editions of albums always have those pesky extra tracks.
IF YOU CONSIDER Shakespeare too easy, if you sneer at those lowbrow lovers of Moliere, you might be a Congreve fan.
You also might not have very many friends.
William Congreve's play "The Way of the World" is the epitome of Restoration comedy — dense, wordy, festooned with ruffles and, if you can wade through the culture shock, often hilarious.
It's set in a society in which class reigns supreme. Sound familiar, Washingtonians?
» Shakespeare Theatre, 610 F St. NW; 7:30 p.m., $23.50-$55.50; 202-547-1122. (Gallery Place)
Photo by Scott Suchman
GIVE DRESSY BESSY CREDIT for truth in advertising: You'd expect a band named after a Gen X toy doll to have a catchy retro power-pop sound and a thrift-store aesthetic, and the group doesn't disappoint.
"When I first started the band I was really into '60s bubblegum like The Monkees and The Hollies and early Beatles. Something you can dance to and sing along with," says bubbly frontwoman Tammy Ealom from her Denver home.
Dressy Bessy's new release, "Holler and Stomp" (Transdreamer), moves things up a decade, featuring lots of '70s power chords and even more harmonies, though "Shoot, I Love You" is rollicking '60s bubblegum with a call-and-response tambourine in the chorus.
The slashing guitar riffs on "Dressed the Part" seem taken from the Shonen Knife songbook, a comparison Ealom bristles at and adds, "We used to get lazy comparisons to No Doubt since they had the big female vocalist at that time."
Meanwhile, "RoundDABout" features a sound from a British GPS message. "That whole song is inspired by that. We toured the U.K. two years ago in a Volvo with a GPS unit. And I recommend it; it's the only way to get around in London. I think it's a deep woman's voice; the rest of the band thinks it's a guy."
IT'S FINALLY OCTOBER, and that means it's time for beer. Really, anytime is time for beer, but now you can wave your arms wildly and learn ridiculous German compound words that take weeks to say and also grow an impractical beard. "An Octobeard!" one of my silliest friends called his before we shaved it off in the night as part of a prank, which may sound mean but believe me we were doing him a favor. As I recall, there was beer involved in that decision as well.
Anyway, there will be Oktoberfest celebrations all over the city this month, but one of my favorites is at Pizzeria Paradiso and Birreria Paradiso, which will have German-inspired food (and pumpkin beers!) available for the next two weeks. This is one of the few places in D.C. where the beer AND the food are uniformly excellent, so you'll be safe in their hand.
» Pizzeria Paradiso, 3282 M St. NW and 2029 P St. NW; through Oct. 4; 202-337-1245. (Dupont Circle)
Image courtesy Pizzeria Paradiso
SOMETIMES, LIVING in Washington, you just want to show off how smart you are. It worked so well in undergrad at Brown, and maybe even getting your masters at University of Michigan, and now you never get the chance to show off your knowledge except to the other people in your office, and you get the feeling that they might be tired of your anecdotes about Woodrow Wilson because they keep locking you in the closet and forgetting about you until Monday morning.
Fado, the Irish pub in Chinatown, holds trivia nights every Monday — drink the $4 Harp and Bass and chow down while showing off your quiz bowl chops.
D.C. is filled with trivia nights, but Fado's is the only one I know of where you can eat curry fries. It's also one of the harder trivia nights, so winning here will really mean something when you tell the office Tuesday morning.
» Fado, 808 7th St. NW; Mon., Sept. 29, 8 p.m., free; 202-789-0066. (Gallery Place)
Photo by Dudley M. Brooks/The Washington Post
Within days, Abu Marwa and his buddies in the Thunder cell had tracked down the Syrian [Al-Qaeda] gunmen. Within a couple of weeks, they devised an intricate ambush. In their beige Opel sedan, the Syrians regularly drove a desolate stretch of road. ... As soon as the Syrians pulled over, the insurgents shot them dead.AND SO IT GOES in Dexter Filkins' masterpiece of battlefield reporting, "The Forever War.""When my uncle was killed, I promised my aunt that I would avenge his death," he said. She had answered, Abu Marwa said, by repeating an Arabic saying that is often invoked and rarely acted upon: Ashrab min Dambum, I will drink their blood.
After they killed the Syrians, Abu Marwa took their kafiyas and brought them to his aunt, proof that revenge had been taken. She accepted them with gratitude. And then Abu Marwa presented her with a vial of the killers' blood.
"She drank the blood of the Syrians," Abu Marwa said, still seated in the couch, in the darkness.
Filkins, a New York Times correspondent, devotes sections of his book to vivid descriptions of Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and downtown Manhattan in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. The bulk of "War," though, takes place in Iraq, where Filkins effectively wields unvarnished, understated writing to convey an unceasing barrage of indelible scenes.
Filkins watches the looting of Baghdad, listens to "Hells Bells" with Marines as "bullets poured without direction and without end" in Fallujah, goes on the front lines with the Mahdi Army, races around the country with Ahmed Chalabi as he acts like a gangster chieftain, offers a long look at the intricacies of American reconstruction projects, goes inside failing children's hospitals and is repeatedly nearly car-bombed, kidnapped or torn apart by crowds.
As the excerpt above suggests, one can certainly see the seeds of the Sunni Awakening in "The Forever War," but one can also see just about anything one wishes in the horrific kaleidoscope, as the vignettes that comprise the book are contradictory and clashing — which is to say that they are balanced and ring of truth — and Filkins devotes a great deal of time to quoting both Iraqis and Americans who hold see the occupation positively as well as to those who make comments such as, "We will make the Americans leave this country on their knees. Just you watch."
Express spoke with Filkins, who will appear at Politics & Prose on Sept. 30, about his initial impressions of General Petraeus, embedding, the CPA and more.
Continue Reading "From the Battlegrounds: Dexter Filkins on 'The Forever War'" »
IT'S ALWAYS exciting when a new Smithsonian exhibit opens. This one happens to coincide with the National Book Festival, which is inconvenient. But a rainy forecast means that when it starts to drizzle, you can flee inside and check out the Museum of Natural History's new Ocean Hall. Turns out that what's under the sea is fascinating — also there's a giant whale hanging over the whole thing, which is pretty awesome. It'll be family- and geek-friendly.
» National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW; opens Sat., free; 202-633-1000. (Smithsonian)
Photo by Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images
WHEN ROBERT POLLARD broke up Guided by Voices, nobody thought he'd remain silent. The Bard of Dayton wakes up to find the tune tap blasting; he just has to grab buckets before the sink overflows.
Pollard is joined in Boston Spaceships by GBV vet Chris Slusarenko and Decemberist John Moen. Live, trio becomes quintet with the addition of bassist Jason Narducy and guitarist Tommy Keene.
» EXPRESS: Why retire the Guided by Voices name?
» POLLARD: I was tired of looking at it and writing songs for it. I wanted a different perspective.
» EXPRESS: Right now, you're making a solo record. How do you decide when something is a band project and when it's a Bob Pollard project?
» POLLARD: It's in the can. It's called "The Crawling Distance," out January 20 on GBV, Inc. The material I consider for solo records is slightly more sophisticated both lyrically and musically. The songs are more worked out, more thought out. I attack them from the perspective of a 50-year-old mind. Boston Spaceships comes from the mind of a 15-year-old.
Continue Reading "Rule the Waves: Boston Spaceships Are All Living in a 'Brown Submarine'" »
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