Radio Free Tobias: April 2006

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Miranda Sound - Western Reserve


Here's a review of Miranda Sound's latest record. It's a good one.

There's a more edited version featured in the Otterbein College student-run newspaper, The Tan & Cardinal. It's a fledgling website, so don't be a hater.

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Go Cavs!



Edit: No, Cavs. :(

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Picture the Sound - John Vanderslice Pictures



Kim from Picture the Sound took some better pictures of the John Vanderslice show than I did.

In case you got lost, you can see more of them right here.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Dr. Frank of The MTX releases King Dork


Dr. Frank, lead singer of The Mr. T. Experience, done wrote a book. It's called King Dork. It's a novel. I know almost nothing about it other than that.

I will try to track down a copy ASAP.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

(Someone Else's) review of Miranda Sound - Western Reserve

I am currently researching for an upcoming review of Miranda Sound's newest concoction... I poked around on the interweb for perhaps another review which could give me some listening points. There is only one that I was able to find, and it's written by Jeff Wenzel from the Denver Post.

And while positive, it really really sucks. It's short enough for me to post in its entirety.

Columbus, Ohio, quartet Miranda Sound crafts intelligent, cathartic post-punk epics that waver between lanky and tuneful. It's deceptively simple music that would do bands like Dismemberment Plan and Mission of Burma proud.

What sets Miranda Sound apart from those hallowed names are the inexorably Midwestern melodies of lead singer-guitarists Billy Peake and Dan Gerken. Despite the weighty lyrics, the choruses sound like a Frankenstein's monster mash-up of Matthew Sweet and Robert Pollard - sweet, gritty and soaring.

Miranda Sound also sports a studio sheen previously unrealized thanks to producer/D.C. legend J. Robbins (of Jawbox and Burning Airlines), whereupon Sean Sefcik's propulsive bass and Dan Bell's succinct drumming get the slick sonic treatment they deserve.

"Western Reserve" finds Miranda Sound fulfilling its considerable potential amid the white noise of so many other post-punk poseurs.


I'm not going to deconstruct it point by point, but that, my friends, is a review that says absolutely nothing. Either this guy can't write, or his preparation was listening to one song off the internet and reading the press release. What garbage.

John Vanderslice & Wooden Wand @ High Five 4/18

Robert Duffy of Done Waiting, who books at the High Five bar on the side, really did a great job pulling this together. Eric Metronome opened for John Vanderslice and Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday (his backing band) and Wooden Wand from Kill Rock Stars (JV's touring opening band).

I love Eric, but I was a little bummed Crystal Skulls didn't tag along for this show. They played their last date with JV the night before and went off on their ways.

I got to this show a little bit late because of the earliness of it -- I had to catch some dinner and I took a walk in the beautiful Alum Creek Park on campus. I just missed Eric (and the vegan snacks being handed out at the JV merch table). Anyway, without getting into too much depth.

Wooden Wand, who get classified as freak-folk, played a pretty straightforward folk set. It's rough playing mellow music in a bar when people aren't there to see you, and I thought Wooden Wand aka, James Toth did a really great job. It was a pretty short set and it was still light out at this time.



Now, John Vanderslice and his backing band basically played an amazing 2-hour set. They played material from all five of JV's albums and even played a few requests.



Let me say that it is immensely refreshing to see someone who has a decent amount of fame act so down-to-earth and even gracious. He and his band played Speed Lab even though they hadn't practiced it.

He took the time to take a picture with me and Tyler, the music director at WOBN and Rachael from CD101, and told us to wait around until he could take the time to talk to us for awhile.



I took just a few more photos. Nothing spectacular (and I will surely post once Kim from Picture the Sound gets some things up.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

The Editors @ The Newport

I saw The Editors tonight at the Newport Music Hall (along with Mobius Band, South, and Stellastarr*)... these guys have gotten quite a bit of buzz lately, as I imagine regular readers of this blog already know.

These newer-wave bands all have a sound that are proven formulas. Commercial success for these bands depend the generation gap to prevent any recollection of said previous success. This phenomenon was demonstrated tonight when the crowd, which had been singing along with many of the words, stopped singing when The Editors played a cover of "Stop me If You've Heard This Before" by The Smiths.

I'll just let the irony of that sink in naturally.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Show Review - The Cinematic Underground at Neo

So I went out on a Tuesday night. I accompanied a friend to a friendly local art gallery which for one night only was home to one of the densest collection of hipsters I have ever seen -- I was absent when Clap Your Hands Say Yeah rolled into town. For the second time in the past six months, New England's The Cinematic Underground brought their veggie-powered bus to our fair city.

The smell of whitewash stung my nostrils as I noticed the white splotches on the wood grain floor. New painting. As a spectator, I was part of the display and I was art. Bunnies hung from the ceiling as a part of some sort of bunny-themed mobile (think the kind of thing that hangs over a toddler's crib -- now think of it with bunnies). There was definitely some sort of bunny exhibition going on. I love bunnies.

As I have mentioned, the irony levels in this place had reached critical mass. I saw all the tattoos, ironic Backstreet Boys shirts, tight pants, etc, that I would have expected to see at something like this if I'd had a better idea of what was going on.

The interesting thing is, though, that I had little to no expectations upon my arrival. My friend had only told me "oh, we're just going to go see some friends of mine play". I was expecting to see Shaq and the Brain Farts doing a ska cover of David Bowie or something along those lines.

A member of the CU handed me what was very much a playbill a few minutes prior to the show starting (I had missed the performance troupe Mew's opening act since I had fruitlessly ventured off in the night for something to eat. As you can see to your left, the performance had three 'scenes' and twelve total 'acts'. Especially as someone whose expectations were such a non-entity as mine were, this was something I hadn't even anticipated anticipating. Apparently, I had come to see a performance entitled Annasthesia. (for those keeping score at home, this is the title of their debut album).

Inventory of the special instruments which accompanied the normal E-Bow-toting lead guitar, bass, keys, and drums: telephone receiver, bicycle-wheel vests, trash can, goblets of water, a suitcase, an ascot, theatre lights, digital projector, and a Powerbook. Unfortunately I did not have my camera to illustrate, but these items were used in conjunction with music, dance, theatrics and lighting to create a visually stimulating experience in an intimate and bunny-filled setting. Think of the Decemeberists' as indie-rock performance Lite while The Cinematic Underground constitutes 16 oz. soy-steak.

"Writer/director" (or lead singer, for you Philistines) Nathan Johnson particularly had tons of charisma and really did a great job as presenting himself as the face of the project without distracting from artistic concept Annasthesia was striving for. His gyrating performance reminded me of the master entertainer Beck Hansen. I will abstain from making references to GWAR, but the whole package was comparable to a more avant-garde and ambient translation of the Flaming Lips. The show managed to be generally enjoyable and relatively unpretentious, probably because of the evident genuine emotion that went into it. The crowd was definitely drawn in to the experience.

I have to say I was disappointed by the recording of Annasthesia I procured. The live show had a total different mood, and it seems like the visual element could distract from any weakness the music would have, but the CU were very tight live and showed a lot of musical creativity intermixed with good old pop sensibility.

For how unique of an affair as their live show is, the CU will no doubt begin gathering some real grassroots attention. They seem to be touring in cabarets and galleries for now, but it's interesting to think of how their show would translate to theatres. If they can somehow better encapsulate the experience of their live show onto a sound recording and win over some national critics, The Cinematic Underground should have no problem selling out. Or achieving artistic nirvana atop their pile of money. Or at least getting a newer veggie-bus. Whatever.

Brief sidebar: playmaster Johnson also wrote the soundtrack for the feature film The Brick.

Monday, April 10, 2006

How Pitchfork Sucks

Pitchfork. Love it or [and] hate it, but it's a great resource and is one of the best websites to stay on top of independent music. For every unreadable, dense, jingoistic piece of crap, there's an insightful and interesting review. It's really give and take, and I think that's partially what they bank on.

Anyway, here's an example of the worst, an excerpt from their Appleseed Cast review:

The ice-blue arpeggios of "Ceremony" ring out bell-clear; offset by shuddering washes of noise in the background, they begin to wrap around themselves and are soon shattered by pounding drums. The shards coalesce like rewinding film several times before they blow apart into a final, triumphant cacophony...The glitchy, staticky drums hop adroitly between channels; sonorous feedback stutters and blinks like reflected light...


The fact that they liked it and I didn't is immaterial. That was one of the worst things I've ever read. English majors who are reading this, take heed; don't let this be you!

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Music Editor Stephen Slaybaugh fired from the Columbus Alive

This is pretty self-explanatory. I'm upset because this makes it seem like my city (and Columbus was feeling like my city a bit) can't support some semblance of an alternative media presence, and I was under the distinct impression it could.

As a brief addendum, Chad Painter (the arts editor for the Other Paper) is leaving too. Looks like an exodus for Columbus music critics.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

More Radio Free Photos

Once again, I bring you the inside look at Radio Free Tobias. On tonight's program, I died and we changed our name to "Andrew Tobias and the Radio Free 5."


This is Andrew doing his job. As in, being witty and intelligent and discussing music over the airwaves.


This is Mallory doing her job, which is discouraging horseplay and making sure we stay as serious and commited as possible during our time on air.


This is Mallory eating the ribbon we awarded her for being a "Dancing Star." Sometimes I think we should bring snacks into the studio so that things like this do not happen.



This is Andrew demonstrating his Tainted Love for us. I was so impressed that I seriously considered declaring him a "dancing star" as well.

So once again, Radio Free Tobias remains awesome. I hope that this photopost only furhter proves this fact.

Saturday, April 01, 2006

The Kyle Sowashes - What's Important (and What's Not) Review

Remember my Fine Dining Review? If you want, you can read that right now by clicking on 'Fine Dining Review". Did you read it? Great.

Kyle Sowash, aka Tom Foolery of Tom Foolery and the Mistakes, has ditched the pseudonym and is going out on his own in this big, scary world. It's ok though, because he's bringing some stalwart musical influences to keep him company: Pavement, Guided by Voices, Yo La Tengo, Superchunk, etc. Expect all the 'woo-woos', little guitar hooks, some not-really harmonies, catchy melodies, analog tape, 'quirky' humor, et cetera, that comes with the territory.

Let it be known: this record is a testament to what happens to college-rock musicians that hold on too long. Fine Dining, take note. Sowash has written “Being an Underemployed, Underappreciated Musician for Dummies”.

But c'est la vie, these gripes come with the territory. What's Important and What's Not is a no-holds-barred, barbed-wire old indie-rock nostalgia cagematch, and Kyle Sowash unashamedly has the chair.

The lyrics are built on a foundation of self-effacement and dry humor. In "Shadow of my Stephens" Sowash promises that "if I could put into a song the way I feel about you, (baby, yo) that would be so awesome" but "I just can't write the hits". In "In the Mail", a member of the Kyle Sowash's fan club wins "the remnants of [his] life's destruction" on Ebay.

Sure, writing songs about being an unknown loser drinking beers in parking lots isn't really glamorous, but it rings true. Between taking swipes at himself, Sowash targets white-belted hipster music critics, the scene, and life in general. More than once he comes across as being more than a little bitter, but he presents his empty plate with a smile.

The ‘he hate me’ aesthetic is artfully presented. This record, 28 minutes of enjoyable pop songs, is itself a tribute to enjoyable little pop songs of yesteryear. I can't imagine Kyle Sowash was trying to write the album of the year, nor would he think himself capable of doing so.

From upon his pedestal of obscurity, Kyle Sowash is directing his nihilistic/nostalgic message to the American people, whether they care or not.

The Kyle Sowashes - In the Mail.mp3
The Kyle Sowashes - Pitchforks.mp3