Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 27, 2016)
3C THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016 W H A T ’ S O N T H E I R PLAYLIST T he Daily Astorian invites people to share the music they are enjoying and describe a few thoughts about the work. This week, James Dean Kindle, of the Eastern Oregon Playboys, gives us some of his inspirations. The song- writer is also the executive director of the Oregon East Symphony. To submit a playlist, send to news@dailyastorian.com Q: Your band’s name is the Eastern Ore- gon Playboys. Is that a play on Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys? A: The band name is indeed a play of of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. The name came to me long before I had formed the band. I knew that I wanted my future band’s name to be geographically representa- tive. At the time I came up with it I was on a western swing kick and thought that I’d like to front a western swing band so making the name a pastiche of the Texas Playboys seemed appropriate. I never really found the right combo nor wrote a large enough body of original songs in that genre to have a such a band and ended up using it for my rock band. Giant Sand Q: Do you enjoy country music of that era? A: Country music of the Depression through the immediate post-World War II-era holds a strong presence in my fam- ily and igures from that time like Bob Wills, Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams loom large in my musical DNA. Wills’ liberal mixing of genres, Lefty’s crooning vocal inlections, and Hank’s emotionally direct and precisely metered songwriting are all elements that I’ve tried to assimilate into my style. Q: Your band’s most recent album is country. But you also do pop. What pop inluences are you favoring these days? A: I’ve been listening to Red Jacket Mine, a band from Seattle, a lot lately. Their front man Lincoln Barr’s songwriting has evolved from power pop to something more sar- donic and sophisticated like Steely Dan or Elvis Costello. He recently recorded an album with John Convertino of Calexico on drums and Susan Pascal, a Seattle jazz vibraphon- ist, which I’m anxiously anticipating. In con- cert I’ve heard him play a song from the upcoming album that I think is titled “Fond of Surprises” which sounds like a timeless minor key jazz ballad a la “Cry Me A River” or “Almost Blue.” Q: What’s something new that you’re listening to this week? A: I recently picked up a copy of Giant Sand’s “The Sun Set, Vol 1.” The music isn’t new per se, though it is a new release. It’s the irst installment of a retrospective collec- Red Jacket Mine tion of the Tuscon band’s entire catalogue in light of their impending retirement. Giant Sand’s leader/songwriter Howe Gelb has a lot of great word play in his songs and his recordings feel like the sonic embodiment of the Southwest desert. I’d like to get to a sim- ilar place with my own music in terms of it being representative of the Eastern Oregon landscape. Q: You are also executive director of the Oregon East Symphony. What are some of your classical music inluences? A: The irst classical music I really con- nected with were minimalist composers like Steve Reich and Terry Riley. I discovered them through psychedelic bands I was lis- tening to at the time (Spacemen 3) and was drawn to the harmonically shifting sonic textures they created. As a cinephile I also enjoy ilm composers like Ennio Morricone and Angelo Badalamenti for their ability to E.J. Harris/East Oregonian James Dean Kindle of the Eastern Oregon Playboys. create atmosphere and heighten emotional tension. I guess minimalist and ilm composers are generally considered outside the canon of classical music though. Its only been recently that I’ve started developing an appreciation for composers who are part of classical music orthodoxy. My day job as executive director of a symphony has led me to dig deeper into the works that we’ve performed recently. “The Adagio” from Joaquin Rodrigo’s Con- cierto de Aranjuez has such a simple and powerful melody that I can’t help but try to pick it out when I’m noodling on guitar. I also catch myself humming the irst movement Mendelssohn’s “Italian” symphony a lot. Dylan Fest honors a still living legend Tribute began in a bar on the Lower East Side By KRISTIN M. HALL Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In a year when the musical world is still mourning icons Prince, David Bowie and Merle Hag- gard, musicians of all genres and generations have been cel- ebrating a still active legend — Bob Dylan — in an annual all- star concert series for 15 years. This year’s two-day Dylan Fest, held in Nashville, Ten- nessee, includes classics like “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Tan- gled Up in Blue” and “All Along the Watchtower,” and performers such as Ann Wil- son of Heart, Wynonna Judd, Emmylou Harris, Kacey Mus- graves, Jason Isbell, Butch Walker and Kesha. The fes- tivities kicked off Monday and more performers took the stage Tuesday — Dylan’s 75th birthday — at the historic Ryman Auditorium. The performances were livestreamed on AOL.com. The Dylan Fest started at a bar the Lower East Side with a small group of friends get- ting together to sing his songs on his 60th birthday. Since then, the concert series has expanded to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin and Chi- cago, raised money for char- ities and included musical celebrations of other icons including Tom Petty, George Harrison, Fleetwood Mac and the Beach Boys. “It’s quite a trend when someone dies to try to pay trib- ute to them,” said Dylan Fest organizer Austin Scaggs, a music writer and musician. “I like to celebrate when these people ...are alive and I want them to know there is another generation behind them, or two generations now, that are feeling the same feeling about their music.” A day after her impres- sive performance of Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me, Babe” at the Billboard Music Awards, pop singer Kesha was back in Nashville on Monday to deliver a standout version of Dylan’s gospel song “I Shall Be Released,” and got a stand- ing ovation. She performed barefoot in a sparkly light blue suit. The singer, who had hits with “Tik Tok” and “We R Who We R,” is part of what Scaggs likes to call the “Fest Family,” which also includes the Kings of Leon, Norah Jones, Dhani Harrison and Jakob Dylan. “I sense a specialness about her, a uniqueness,” Scaggs said of Kesha. “And I know that manifests itself with her acting crazy or acting wild, but the bottom line is she has an incredible voice and she has a real passion for music.” Backstage the crowd of musicians waiting to perform was mostly young millennials from Americana, folk, indie rock and country, a second generation of Dylan fans. Laura Roberts/Invision via AP Artist Emmylou Harris performs at the Dylan Fest at Ry- man Auditorium on Monday in Nashville. “If you want to listen to great songs, instead of going to a thousand artists, you can just go to his catalog and ind so many great ones,” said sing- er-songwriter Holly Williams, who sang his classic “The Times They Are A-Changin”’ on Monday night. “No matter how old, how young you are, we can all relate to the lines, ‘Come gather round people wher- ever you roam and admit that the waters around you have grown,’” she said. W hile other n ew spa pers give you less, The D a ily Astoria n GIVES YOU From left: H illa ry Borru d , M a teu sz Perk ow sk i, Pa ris Achen O u r n ew M ORE C APITAL B UREAU covers the sta te for you
