Birmingham Box Set

The inaugural Birmingham Arts and Music Festival is now behind us, and I’m sure the organizers are already buzzing with ideas for next year. (I can’t wait to hear what they have in mind.) Until then, here’s a look back on a few of the weekend’s sets.

First, two videos from the Saturday listening party we hosted with Urban Standard. (Missed this one? Join us next month, when we’ll preview Azure Ray’s forthcoming album Drawing Down the Moon, during Artwalk. Details here.)

The Greenleaves, whose first show was our July listening party, played Saturday afternoon at WorkPlay. This is “The Life That You Save.” (Check out that link for a free download of the demo.)

Josh Vasa, who served on the BAAM committee, spoke to us about the festival earlier in the week. I know how much he was running around during the festival because it seemed I ran into him (and the rest of the committee!) at every turn.

What was your favorite act this weekend? What did you think of the inaugural festival?

Photo courtsey of matthewmayfield.com

Matthew Mayfield is a hometown darling with a draw that reaches beyond Birmingham, so it’s only appropriate that he headline the final evening of Birmingham Arts and Music Festival. Tonight’s show will kick off the first of several concerts Mayfield will play with Landon Robertson (drums), Mikey Wilson (guitar) and Bryan Rust (bass). The group will play Asheville, N.C.’s Orange Peel (Sept. and Tuscaloosa’s Bama Theater (Sept. 9), supporting NEEDTOBREATHE. But first, the band will take on BAAM. Mayfield spoke with Birmingham Box Set about the festival and what portion of his rapidly growing catalog fans will hear at the upcoming shows.

Matthew Mayfield
Sunday, 10 p.m., WorkPlay
Latest Album: The Blue Cut Robbery
Website: matthewmayfield.com

Birmingham Box Set: Since BAAM is your first show with these guys, I guess it’s a testing ground in some sense.

Matthew Mayfield: I’m excited. For me, it’s just an opportunity to get a feel for each other on stage. I think it’s a cool thing to be a part of, too.

BBS: You’ve released so much new music this year. What are you going to be playing this weekend?

MM: We just finished that new full length in Nashville with this guy Paul Moak. Five of the 10 on that record are new versions of songs that were on the EPs, and five were brand new. We’re playing eight off the record, then two of the [Blue Cut] Robbery tunes. I’ll be doing one just kind of a solo, acoustic thing. I’m excited about it. It’s a good mix.

We’ll probably end up playing a little bit longer than we’re supposed to, but we’re headlining so we’re playing last. We won’t have anyone breathing down our neck for us to get off stage. I don’t usually do that.

BBS: Will you have a chance to catch some of the other acts during the festival?

MM: I’m going to try. I always like watching Duquette [Johnston]. He’s on the bill Sunday night. There were a handful of others on the list that I want to go see. I think I’m just going to check out the schedule and head down to a few places.

That’s the cool thing about it, is it’s all here and it’s all so close. Birmingham’s a small city, small market, so you can get from show to show really fast. If there’s a couple bands you want to see in a night, you can just move it over.

I’m about to pack up and leave for Birmingham magazine’s monthly listening party featuring the Delicate Cutters, which today is part of the Birmingham Arts and Music Festival. But before I do, I’m looking back over today’s BAAM schedule. There’s a lot of music to choose from!

Of course, I strongly recommend heading to Urban Standard to hear the Delicate Cutters in an intimate setting before they rock Rogue Tavern tonight. We’ll kick things off at 4 p.m., and admission is free to all. (If you’re not hanging with us, check out Van Hollingsworth at Rojo, also at 4 p.m. Alas, there’s too much going on to be everywhere at once!)

I’ll take off quickly after the party, because I’ve got to get to WorkPlay before the Greenleaves’ set ends. The band, which goes on at 4:45 p.m., played the magazine’s last listening party, and their musical interpretations of Flannery O’Connor short stories were stunning. Do not miss this show.

The rest of the evening will have me hopping around town. I’m debating between catching the tail end of We Are Artists at Matthew’s Bar and Grill, or running to Parkside Cafe for the end of Extemporaneous Theatre Co.’s comedy act. Tonight, I intend to hear Otiel Burbridge at Rogue Tavern, followed immediately by a Skybucket Records showcase (Delicate Cutters, 13ghosts, Through the Sparks, Vulture Whale).

But then, I’ve also been told I can’t miss Tonal Vision (4:45 p.m., Metro Bistro), and of course I’ve got to pop back to WorkPlay for VASA (8:30 p.m.). I’d like to see Stuart McNair & The Contraband (Stillwater Pub, 9:45 p.m.). Fisher Green’s on at 12:15 a.m. at Stillwater, and if the show hopping hasn’t worn me out by then, you can bet I’ll be there.

Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/bhamboxset for the play-by-play of how the evening unfolds. I’ll check back in tonight with video and a recap of the day’s events.

Birmingham Arts and Music Festival has already distinguished itself from other area festivals by using the existing venues around town, and by focusing almost exclusively on local talent. But there’s another way BAAM stands apart from the pack: Several of the festival’s organizers are also on the weekend’s lineup. Josh Vasa, front man of the group Vasa, will be hopping from venue to venue to catch tunes, playing with his own band and volunteering during the festival. In other words, if you spot him this weekend, you better say hello before he’s off to the next assignment.

Vasa
Saturday, 8:30 p.m., WorkPlay
Latest Album: What You See EP
Website: vasamusic.net

Birmingham Box Set: How’d you get involved in BAAM?

Josh Vasa: I had just moved back from New York. I kind of had this whole “what do I want to do with music?” [thing]. I left for New York, I was there for a few months and thought I was going to pursue music up there. I had this feeling that no, New York isn’t where I’m supposed to be. I’m going back to Birmingham.

[Sharrif Simmons, one of BAAM's founders, had helped Vasa make connections in New York. When he returned to Birmingham, Vasa reconnected with Simmons.] I said, “Hey man, let me repay the favor. Let me help with BAAM.” We met for coffee. It ended up being this meeting of us brainstorming ideas and about the music industry in general, the music scene in Birmingham, how much we believe in it and how much we believe in the city. Everything he wanted to do was exactly what I had been trying to do.

A lot of people in Birmingham, they enjoy Southern Rock covers. [BAAM is] just trying to expand people’s understanding of original  music in Birmingham. Our philosophies totally met.

He’s been thinking about this thing for the past four years. Birmingham has supported him, and this is his way of giving back to the city.

… What’s really great is, this is truly, by definition, a grassroots movement in the sense that we put it out there on the Internet, and within the first month that we started the Facebook page, we had 1,000 fans for the festival. That’s one thing that Sharrif and I talked about when we had coffee, there’s a need out there in Birmingham. We have musicians that want it. Birmingham’s a hotbed for original music. It’s a cheap cost of living, it’s close to Nashville, Atlanta and Charlotte.

I think we’re succeeding in that people are really getting excited about it. The musicians really believe in it. So many musicians are contacting me via email and Facebook or whatever, saying guys, this is awesome. Thank you so much for doing this.

We’re part of a large movement of people in their 20s and 30s and 40s who are excited about pushing original music in Birmingham. Finally, things seem to be clicking.

BBS: How have ticket presales been?

JV: Presales have been great. I think we’re around 500. For a walkup town, I think that’s pretty good for a festival. We’ve done it bare bones. We have a very small budget.

BBS: Is it just me, or is itunusual to have so many organizers playing festival?

JV: It’s highly unusual. And I would not suggest that in the future. Having musicians on a committee, musicians can’t do a damn thing, myself included. No, it’s actually funny. A few of us joked around, why are we musicians doing this?

Joking aside, I think that’s part of the culture we developed with BAAM. Not to sound cheesy, but I think there’s this culture of believing what it is and getting behind it.

BBS: Who are you looking forward to seeing?

JV: Friday and Sunday night I’m going to be working [the festival], but Saturday night I’m free. I’m excited about seeing several bands. I don’t want to do the favoritism thing, because all of them are so great, but I will highlight several things.

One of them is the Skybucket showcase at Rogue on Saturday. I think it’s great that we have a local label with local people. I’m excited that GreyHaven has a spot [Friday]. The Sunday lineup is great: KT Taylor, Taylor Hollingsworth, Duquette Johnston, Matthew Mayfield. And right before Matthew is Armand Margjeka, he’s a very talented musician and a good friend of Matthew’s.

There are so many good bands, and they’re all doing original music–which, as any musician knows, is very difficult to do, to put yourself out there with music and words.

BBS: It’s exciting to hear what y’all have lined up.

JV: Can I give a big shoutout to Jason at Stillwater Pub? He’s been so instrumental. I think Jason was the first venue that [Sharrif] met with, and Jason was all over it. Jason said I’ll contact the bands, I’ll provide the backline, I’ll provide the sound system.

Had Jason not gotten totally behind this, there’s no telling where this would’ve been because it probably would’ve taken the wind out of [Sharrif's] sails. But because Jason was so gung-ho about supporting this festival—at that point, it was a complete risk. To hand everything over to Sharrif … all of our committee gives huge props to Jason for being the first venue to step up and just believe in it.

There are varying levels of support from the venues. It’s great to see a venue step up and not just provide its space, but to poster it, to have the owenr of it in every single committee meeting we have, to himself book all of his bands. He has a tremendous lineup.

Day one of the inaugural Birmingham Arts and Music Festival is finished, and already I’ve seen several perks of the event’s format. It’s always a challenge to hit a full evening of festival activities after a full day of work. There’s no way around that (except taking the day off work!). But since BAAM is located inside Birmingham’s existing venue, it is easy to find an air-conditioned place (a big perk in August!) to sit, then stay there all night.

Bonus: You may not even have to head home from work if you choose a venue that also serves dinner. I started my festival experience off with the GreyHaven showcase at Bottletree Cafe. Two friends and I arrived during Caleb Chancey’s ukulele-filled performance. With Chancey and a small chorus of female singers in the background, we snagged seats at the bar and snacked on Bottletree burritos and nachos. (If you haven’t had the cafe’s vegan chili on nachos, you’re missing out.)

That gave us a great vantage point for the rest of the showcase’s singer/songwriters, including Rachel Hebert, Neil Couvillion, The Greenleaves, Duquette Johnston and others. Much of the GreyHaven crowd headed on to their next destination, and new music fans came in, before The Green Seed took over around 10 p.m. BAAM founder Sharrif Simmons also stopped in to say hello and catch some music. Though Simmons is understandably busy (after all, he’s running a festival and performing several times this weekend), he seemed thrilled that BAAM has come to fruition.

For more on GreyHaven, read “All Together Now,” from the September 2009 issue of Birmingham magazine.

Delicate Cutters. Photo by Stacey Shirley.

Local band Delicate Cutters have a packed weekend ahead. Lead vocalist Janet Simpson is playing alongside Daniel Duquette Johnston tonight at Bottletree, the entire band will be featured at this month’s listening party tomorrow afternoon at Urban Standard and play a set as a part of the Skybucket Showcase at the Birmingham Arts and Music Festival later that night. Simpson recently spoke with Birmingham Box Set contributor Laura Sibley about the band’s role in this weekend’s events.

Delicate Cutters

Saturday, 8 – 8:45 p.m., Rogue Tavern

Latest Album: We Are Not Lovers

Website: myspace.com/delicatecutters

Birmingham Box Set: How do you and the rest of the band feel about playing at the first annual Birmingham Arts and Music Festival this weekend?

Janet Simpson: Well, we’re definitely excited to be a part of it. I think this is a good thing to celebrate all the great facets the Birmingham music scene. It’s really grown over the last few years, and we’re thrilled to be a part of that.

BBS: Your music has been described as a mix of folk, country and pop with elements of humor and literary storytelling. Where does this style come from?

JS: Well, we’re all sort of influenced by different music. My songwriting is very pop- and folk-oriented. Chance Shirley, the drummer, and I are big fans of The Velvet Underground, so I think that kind of seeps in there sometimes. Our fiddle player comes from an Irish tradition, and I think that reinforces the kind of country and Appalachian sound that we have.

BBS: Where does the name Delicate Cutters come from?

JS: Well, I just pulled a name real fast one night for our first show in Montevallo. I didn’t really want to go by my name anymore, because the band was really starting to develop a sound. The term “delicate cutters” refers to people who cut themselves, especially women who cut themselves – it’s kind of a gendered self-mutilation thing. The name just sort of stuck. I thought it was kind of appropriate, because at the time a lot of my songwriting was just about “woe is me,” how do I get myself into these kinds of situations. I thought that was a bit like self-mutilation. (Laughs) But we’re not really that morbid or anything. It was a joke that just kind of stuck.

BBS: There are tons of bands playing this weekend for the festival. What shows are you going to try and catch?

JS: Well, I’m really excited to see 13ghosts who are also a part of the Skybucket Showcase. Another one of my favorite bands, Sunny So Brite, is going to be playing that night at Metro Bistro. It’s so hard to make it around to all of the great shows, but I’m really excited about the Skybucket showcase in particular. The other three bands that we get to play with are some of my favorite bands in Birmingham, so I’m very excited about that night.

BBS: What’s in the future for the band?

JS: Right now we are finishing up the mixing for our record, Some Creatures. Then we’ll send that off for mastering and sort of get our ducks in a row to release that on Skybucket sometime in the next few months. That’s our most immediate plan, and then hopefully we’ll just play as many shows as we can here and around the Southeast.

Tomorrow night, the inaugural Birmingham Arts and Music Festival will kick-off with a launch party at Above, the rooftop bar of Redmont Hotel. The party, which features DJ Coco and will include a cash bar, runs from 7 to 10 p.m.

That means it’s time to begin plotting your schedule for the weekend, and that’s exactly what I’ll do today. BAAM! features local talent performing in area venues, so it will be a great chance to see what Birmingham offers on so many levels. In the days approaching the festival and throughout the weekend, you’ll also see interviews with the musicians and coverage of each day’s events right here on Birmingham Box Set. For minute-by-minute updates, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/bhamboxset (and send a DM if you’re at the same show and want to say hey!).

I know one show that’ll definitely be on my weekend schedule: our monthly listening party at Urban Standard, featuring live music from Delicate Cutters. We’ll have CDs to give away, as well, starting on Twitter tomorrow. Check out details here, and I hope to see you there! The video below highlights Delicate Cutters and other Skybucket Records bands that will play the festival.

PS: If you’re not familiar with all of BAAM’s many venues, and you’re an iPhone user, might I recommend Birmingham magazine’s City Guide iPhone app? It’ll help you navigate between venues as you take in this weekend of music.

Headed to the beach this weekend? The folks at Sandestin offer one more reason to make your way to the Gulf: the inaugural Sandestin Music Festival.The festival will feature a variety of musicians representing diverse genres: Country’s Lari White, Jeffrey Steele, Danny Myrick, Marty Dodson, James Slater and Kree Harrison; singer-songwriter Lee Roy Parnell; and blues musicians Steve Cropper and Delbert McClinton. Throughout the weekend, music fans will see several of these musicians join each other on stage, singing for the Gulf Coast. Tickets are free, though they must be requested online at the festival’s website. VIP packages are also available to the first 150 overnight guests to book weekend rooms at Sandestin Florida Beach Resort. Visit sandestin.com for accommodations.

What should you do between acts? Well, Birmingham magazine’s August issue has a few suggestions for that.

The Details
Sandestin Music Festival
The Village of Baytowne Wharfe in Sandestin
Aug. 13-14
Free tickets available through the festival’s website; any donations will benefit National Audubon Society’s efforts to help wildlife affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico
www.sandestinmusicfestival.com

Phosphorescent, whose lead singer name Matthew Houck hails from our (currently) too-toasty state, just released its latest video. The video, for the single “It’s Hard to Be Humble (When You’re from Alabama),” has been described as a mini-documentary of the band. What do you think?

Phosphorescent “It’s Hard To Be Humble When You’re From Alabama” from Secretly Jag on Vimeo.

Previously on Birmingham Box Set: Download a free mp3 of “It’s Hard to Be Humble (When You’re from Alabama)”

What is indie music? How do you navigate the scene? Birmingham Box Set reader Matt Lacey is here to help.

Who is Panda Bear and why is that strange girl who wears red Wayfarers and Converse to the office every day still talking about him? Do you have friends that grimace every time you start humming Ke$ha? Why have you gotten punched on two of the three occasions you compared David Bowie to Lady Gaga?

I’m here to help.

Before I shave hundreds of listeners off of this blog because I’m talking about indie music, know this: I’m trying to help you. I’m trying to help breach a language barrier—to help you carry a somewhat informed conversation with someone who might mention the progression between The Bends, OK Computer and Kid A. I know for the average listener, “indie” music (never call it that) leaves one feeling like a 7-year-old after a viewing of La Dolce Vita.

First of all, I shouldn’t be writing this. Consider this a covert mission, because hipster-indie-types are a seldom-porous, tight circle. If you say you listen to “indie” music you’re already out. They’ll know something’s up, like talking to anyone with an accent during the Cold War. This is dangerous territory. Act normal, and think quickly. With that in mind, here’s a concise guide that will at least keep you in the conversation when someone starts talking about the Jónsi’s solo departure from Sigur Rós, or something to that effect.

• Arcade Fire: You might hear this band pop up quite a bit for the next couple of months. They’ve got a new album (released yesterday) called The Suburbs. They’ve had some crossover success into the fringe of the mainstream with songs like “Wake Up.” They have a layered grandiose sound, often using unorthodox instruments like accordions and megaphones duct-taped to microphones. For some “street cred,” ask folks what they think of the new album and their more “mature” sound.
• Animal Collective: If you don’t get this band, you simply don’t get them. You basically can’t talk about them even if you do listen to them. They just don’t really lend themselves to much conversation other than “… good album.” If you want to get an idea, listen to the track “My Girls” from Merriweather Post Pavilion. A bit like the Beach Boys on acid, to do them a too-brief injustice.
• Andrew Bird: If you want to ease your way into the world and find something you might actually like from an “indie” artist, check out Andrew Bird. A sort of neo-folk hero among hipster types, and one of the world’s best whistlers (not joking). Check out the song “Oh No” from Noble Beast.
• Death Cab for Cutie: Don’t mention them. Period. They’ve lost their edge.
• LCD Soundsystem: Their most “accessible” song is the seven-minute-long “All My Friends” from the 2007 album Sound of Silver, if that tells you anything. They are good at what they do, but if you don’t like them, don’t mention them. It’s called “synthesized punk rock” (so the critics say).
• Radiohead: This is an easy bet. Mention Radiohead, and you’re fine. Just don’t overdo it. If they’re all you can talk about, the indie types will know something is up. I once caught my 62-year-old boss listening to In Rainbows and I knew something was up.
• Vampire Weekend: If you can mention this band successfully in a conversation, you got really lucky. They are polarizing in the indie community–the George W. Bush of bands. Most feel a certain unease that they are on MTV and on pop radio. I would steer the conversation towards the merit of their albums as a whole, not singles.

And there you have it. But by the time you read this, I’ll have probably have been ostracized by my fellow hipsters for telling all our secrets. You’ll probably see me holding up the wall at a Bottletree show featuring a band you’ve never heard of.

Matt Lacey is a Birmingham Box Set reader and minister at Woodlawn United Methodist Church in Birmingham. In his spare time, he enjoys listening and talking about bands you wouldn’t find on most radio stations, much to the chagrin of most people around him.