THEY MEAN IT, MAN: Whitey. |
Trying to write something original about Whitey, Andy Newman’s new band, requires a lot of invention. It’s not like much out there. It’s closer in spirit to Newman’s stuff with Glazed Baby. That band came close to capitalizing on the post-grunge major label boom before getting swallowed up in red tape, label bullshit, and yer basic gobbledygook. Whitey, which now boasts Treah Ruiz on bass and Brian the Drummer, is Newman’s first real crack at getting back in the game and his latest disc, The Whitey Album, is his ticket to ride. Hang on to your hat, is all I can say.
Whitey is like the Go! Team on meth, pummeling, rhythmic thrash with distorted vocals and relentless power. At its best, it’s sick, warped fare that shares sensibilities with extreme personalities such as the Jesus Lizard’s David Yow, the Cows’ Shannon Selberg, and the Touch & Go school of post-indie rock. It’s flavored with the blues, but it’s also modern as hell, with doses of distorted metal. It makes wide swings and covers some serious turf but, as Newman likes to state, “We’re not fuckin’ around.”
Recorded by Newman and all-around idea guy/ major talent George Dus¬sault, the record presents a number of surprises. There are covers of Jeff Buckley (“Nightmares By the Sea”) and John Lennon (“Well Well Well”) that hit the mark, and a bizarre banjo-led version of “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Within the parameters of what you hear before it, this one is just plain scary. All of Whitey’s covers, get the job done; for the moment at least they make you forget about the originals and force you to rearrange the song in your brain. The record wraps up with “The 7% Solution,” which features samples of Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, another extreme personality that has somehow fired Whitey up with inspiration and psychotic rock and roll.
Whitey + Anomalous + Hircine | September 14 | AS220, 115 Empire St, Providence | 401.831.9327
The rocky road
With all the hullabaloo about You Must Be This Tall, the new Rocky Point Park doc, ricocheting through Rhode Island, not much lip service has been given to the film’s soundtrack. Director David Bettencourt handed the musical assignment over to local artists, mainly Johnny Carlevale and Chris Daltry. Carlevale and Greg Burgess, along with Jack Hanlon, Jeremy Kroger, Dick Lourie, Ace Brown, and Kris Merritt, were chosen to write tracks for the film.
The world premiere happened last weekend in Woonsocket, and there’s another screening on Thursday (the 13th) at the Jane Pickens in Newport. Carlevale and his band the Bomboleros will perform at 6 pm before the film is shown at 7. You can get tickets at www.rockypointmovie.com. The rest of the state will be able to relive its roller coaster of memories at the Showcase Cinema in Warwick beginning Friday, September 14. So while you’re enjoying that kaleidoscopic trip through your childhood memories, be sure to notice the music. The soundtrack is now available on Rhode Island's own 75 Or Less Records.
Pawtucket calling
The Pawtucket Arts Festival kicks back into gear with the 2nd Annual Open House at the Hope Artiste Village. Over the next few weeks, the vibrant arts community will be inviting 11 live/work tenants and a handful of new retail and studio businesses to the village. Festivities on Friday will run from 6 pm to midnight, showcasing resident, local, and regional artists in a gallery-style show. There will also be some good tunes, with ZOX headlining the venue’s music stage, along with HEATHER ROSE & THE DRAMA and HEAVY WEATHER. There will also be a Stone Soup Folk Festival with performances on Saturday by the DAVE ROWE TRIO, MAGNOLIA, and SANTA MAMBA. Sunday’s bill includes MINOR SWING, JERIMOTH HILL, and FOREVER YOUNG: THE NEIL YOUNG TRIBUTE BAND, with BECKY CHACE, JOHN FUZEK, DAN LILLEY, PETE VENDETTUOLI, and MARK CUTLER in the round playing individually and together. All have particular empathy with Young’s material and come at the songs from different, satisfying angles. The music can be heard at Slater Park in Pawtucket. Stone Soup is also sponsoring a blood and marrow drive with the Rhode Island Blood Center and the National Marrow Donor Program. For more information, go to www.pawtucketartsfestival.org. Incidentally, Stone Soup is opening its 27th season on Saturday with LUCY KAPLANSKY and CHRIS CAPALDI, which means acoustic music fans may gorge from a full plate all weekend long. Head to www.stonesoupcoffeehouse.com for more details.
Wandering eye
On Saturday at the Blackstone in Pawtucket, it’s KILLING PABLO, SHAWN WATERS & GROUPTHINK, and THE PROPELLERS. Call 401.726.2181. There’s a big all-ages show at the Living Room on Saturday featuring POORLY DRAWN PEOPLE (Storm Davis/Reason/Dox/DJ Sterbyrock), PROLYPHIC, RADIX, LABELESS ILLTELLIGENCE (CasUno/ESH/DJ Al Bums), NEED NOT WORRY, JDO, and BIG CITY. Doors open at 9 pm, the cover is $10, and the first 100 people will receive a free sampler with new and unreleased music from various acts on the bill. Call 401.521.5200.
Becky Chace returns to the Vanilla Bean Café in Pomfret, Connencticut, on Saturday at 8 pm. Chace is preparing a new CD and is poised to embark on an East Coast tour next month. Hit www.VanillaBeanCafé.com.
Psychedelia will be oozing from Firehouse 13 on Saturday. New Bedford’s TEMPLE OF BONMATIN will perform before embarking on a European conquest. XERXES GUTTERHELMET (the duo of Redfearn and McLaren) and CRUDE HILL (with Forcefield’s Leif Goldberg and Urdog’s Erin Rosenthal) join the melee. CHRIS MOON (local head honcho of the record label Last Visible Dog) tops it off with visual mayhem. Go to www.myspace.com/fh13 for more input
E-mail me at bobgulla@verizon.net.
