AUDACIOUS: Ferreira in Spanish Dancer mode. |
After debuting two years ago, Honeyhander made an immediate impact on the Providence rock scene with its dizzy brew of psychedelia and indie shoegazer. Frontman Anthony Ferreira served up powerful melodies and instantly represented tons of potential. But then disaster struck. Before they even gave themselves a chance to succeed, Honeyhander burst like a fat bug on a windshield. They didn’t even get their initial full-length out before all hell broke loose. Though we’re not sure what happened (and Ferreira isn’t forthcoming about it), at a CMJ show he appeared solo and explained that his band had been “killed in a freak gasoline fight accident.”
Well, after the smoke of that incident settled, Ferreira stood alone. But rather than reinvent the ill-fated Honeyhander, he redefined himself — not just his band, but his entire MO. Ferreira, 24, became Spanish Dancer, a greasy, disco-fied duck: Public Image Ltd. meets George Michael with a smattering of Superfly-era Curtis Mayfield . . . Or Marc Bolan as seen through the eyes of Robbie Williams. Indeed, his latest four-song EP as Spanish Dancer is a long way from the deep, dark indie rock of his past.
In fact, Spanish Dancer might be closer to who Ferreira really is. Born to an Italian mom and Dominican dad, both immigrants, he spent most of his life commuting between Miami and Providence. His first band, Trillion Barnacle Lapse, formed while he was still in high school, made an immediate impact, and proved that the frontman had celebrity blood coursing through his veins. Ferreira has freaked audiences out with his glittery audacity and brazen hodgepodge of dance chaos, go-go boots, and gold necklaces.
Late last year, after the dissolution of Honeyhander, Ferreira journeyed to NYC to see what he could find. What he found was himself, an unveiling of a disco boy buried beneath a hard indie-rocker shell. He introduced his new self and stole shows covering R. Kelly and filtering Madonna through a Suicide kaleidoscope. Spanish Dancer returned to Providence with new ideas and an executive producer, Tio Abbot, willing to preside over a self-released unofficial bootleg EP, Break Bread, Move Grams, Keep It Basic (Bermuda Triangle). Then Ferreira quickly hooked up with Nebraska madman the Show Is the Rainbow for a tour. A single, “Hustler,” will follow soon. Previewed on MySpace, the song reveals a dance-rock juggernaut coming out on glorious gold vinyl. Also in the works down the line is an expanded version of Break Bread, a full-length genre-bending groove machine based on the greatness of “Hustler.” We already have our chains picked out for the party.
Spanish Dancer + Marnie Stern + Barr + Misty Roses + Paperrad | March 23 | AS220, 115 Empire St, Providence | 401.831.9327
Poorly drawn people
Providence has a few hip-hop posses, each one located within a different community, motivated by different reasons, and focused on certain aesthetics. Poorly Drawn People is the cadre of emcees and producers drawn to the early ’90s beats of Soul II Soul, Eric B & Rakim, and the chill, literate school of rap. It diverts the idea of hip-hop away from the bling-based concept and directs it to social concepts: words, action, meaning — and great beats.
Poorly Drawn People features a handful of likeminded rappers, including Storm Davis, Reason, Dox, and SymmeTry. They intermingle on each other’s albums, and Dox, aka Justin Sayles, produces much of the material. This weekend, SymmeTry, aka Mike Slap, celebrates the release of his second full-length, Dusty Pickup and, frankly, it’s a cause for celebration. Built on creative cornerstones of jazz, soul, and R&B samples, the album finds Slap, 22, going old school beat-wise, with a progressive and well-tuned lyrical edge. Produced by Dox, who supplies a bevy of tasty sampling, Dusty Pickup finds Slap musing on some serious issues similar to the approach of local rap hero Sage Francis. By avoiding the genre’s miserable clichés, Slap finds freshness in his content, from drug addiction to more traditional lost-love type of stuff.
In addition to SymmeTry’s latest, PDP has a new Storm Davis disc on the horizon. Davis, who released the eye-popping Kegstand Poetry for the Recovering Alcoholic in May of ’06, is a chatty philosopher savant with deeply emotional undertones and some serious rhyme skills. We look forward to his next outing, and from here on we suggest that if you’ve lost your patience with hip-hop, find it again. And once you do, check out Poorly Drawn People, the hope and future of Providence beats.
Symmetry + Waterbed + Channel Zero + John Tierney | March 23 | The Living Room, 23 Rathbone St, Providence | 401.521.5200
