BURSTING WITH IDEAS Garzone |
The Columbus Theatre has quickly become a central hub for some of the area’s most acclaimed artists (the Low Anthem among many others), but there is an unheralded music man behind the curtain, if you will, and his name is Alexander Garzone. He serves as a creative linchpin and utility player amongst the Columbus’ talented inhabitants. Garzone recently decided to corral his steady flow of ideas and musical concepts into a solo project called Divey. A single spin through a rough demo of “Faded Dailies” was all it took for me to get onboard. Divey will open for Death Vessel (!) at the Columbus on the 19th; tix are going fast, so stop by the box office or go to columbustheatre.com.
We recently covered Vudu Sister’s Household Items, which is hands-down one of this year’s best locally-sourced albums. Vudu Sister frontman Keith McCurdy and close friend Garzone co-wrote the record, and the latter served as drummer at the CD release show held in the Columbus Theatre’s attic lounge/performance space. Garzone will also appear on the next Low Anthem album, which was recorded at the Columbus. TLA’s Jeff Prystowsky and Ben Knox-Miller were the catalysts behind the Theatre’s musical renaissance (both serve on the Columbus Cooperative board) and also nudged Garzone toward fulfilling his musical goals.
“Alex recorded drums with us, but he’s more than a drummer,” Knox-Miller said via email. “He is always coming up with parts that transform songs, and his ideas come a mile a minute. There’s also this ominous quality in his writing — an alien in the basement, a suicide risk, a warped romance. . . .”
Garzone elabortaed earlier this week: “After long talks with Jeff and Ben during the TLA sessions, they both noted that I need to find an outlet where I can cultivate my own ideas from beginning to end.”
For starters, I had to inquire about the band name.
“I just remember starting to call things ‘divey’ that stirred an aggressive nature of excitement in me,” he said. “For me, it certainly carries over into my music.”
Divey serves up a “playfully dark and charming brand of rock and roll,” as he likes to call it, and “Faded Dailies” surely fits the bill. The track is a stoner’s delight (think Beck meets ’60s psychedelic pop) — heavy on the Moog, insanely catchy, and just quirky enough to fit alongside other Divey jams (“Alien In the Basement,” “Suicidal Girlfriend,” and “Little Lover” ) played at recent shows.
Garzone began his Divey project as a duo with guitarist Noah Chevalier but recently recruited some talented friends: former bandmate (from their stint in the Famous Winters) Sean Kennedy on drums and keys and Mackenzie Elizabeth on guitar and vocals. Garzone said Elizabeth has joined in on the songwriting process, and the Divey set will feature several pieces of her original material arranged with the band.
