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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 12, 2000)
<Jliv ^orttani» ffibeeruer Music CONTRIBUTED STORY tor T u t P ortland O bserver “ I decided I had to get fearless,” says A ngie A paro. “ I realized that if you ’ re truly an arti st, w hether you ’ re W oody G uthrie or a m edieval artist, y o u ’ve sim ply got to com m unicate. It’s in those m om ents that y o u ’re re a lly a liv e . C o m m u n ic a tin g , creating - th a t’s w hat I have to do.” W ith characteristic intensity, the s in g e r /s o n g - w r ite r /g u ita r is t is talking about the soul-searching behind his rem arkable M elism a/ A ris ta d e b u t, T he A m e r ic a n . A p a ro ’s so n g s are u rg e n t and in sp irin g , an d c a p tu re th e full breadth o f hum an em otion. They are subtly arranged and m elodically indelible, telling the story o f the April 12, 2000 Focus Page 5 A n g ie A p a r o , th e A m e r ic a n c o m m o n m a n . A ric h a u ra l landscape o f prim al g u itar and insistent rhythm, o f strings and horns and evocative vocals, The American is m usic that will last. The album introduces a voice w h o ’ll be around for a long time: a street poet for the 21“ Century. T he journey tow ard The Am erican began roughly tw o years ago w hen A ngie began collaborating w ith producer M att Serletic (M atchbox 20, E dw in M cC ain, A erosm ith, C o llec tiv e S oul). In a g en u in e m eeting o f m inds, the pair traded ideas and insights, w orking out how best to derive the full m easure o f m eaning from A p aro ’s m usic. ‘I’d been w orking w ith a groove-box for a long tim e, ju st com piling tape after tape o f ideas,” A ngie says. “ I w rite every day - generally starting in the m orning, w hen I ju st open up to a kind o f stream o f consciousness. And about 90 percent o f the creati ng happens w hen I’m driving in my car - 1 get ideas that I shape into finished songs later, I ju st follow the music. The music knows what it’s supposed to be.” E ventually landing in studios in A tla n ta (A n g ie ’s h o m e b a se ), N ashville and M iami, A paro and Serletic assem bled an ace corps o f players to augm ent A n g ie’s guitar, groovebox and spell-binding vocals. T he m ethod they arrived at w as em phatically collaborative, a real syn erg y o f forces. F eeding the players groove-box riffs and scratch vocals. A paro began crafting, piece by p iece, m usic o f an in ten se im m ediacy. “W orking that way, putting things together in the studio. m ade the songs fresh for m e,” says A ngie. “ It was a m ethod Matt and I first cam e up with on ‘Spaceship,’ laying dow n about 40 tracks on the song in a single day.” S in g in g a b o u t fa m ily an d fatherhood, ab o u t rom ance and heartbreak, A paro creates a cycle o f songs that illustrates the many facets o f the human condition. And, as h e p re p a re s to ta k e th is rem arkable m usic on the road, h e ’s thinking o f another kind o f sharing. “To me, perform ing is about much m ore th an even th e p erfo rm er getting into the songs,” he says. “T hat phenom enon happens, o f co u rse , an d it’s am azin g . But perform ing is an interchange: it’s m u tu a l. F ro m a u d ie n c e to perform er, there’s a gift going on. It’s a co llectiv e ex perience, o f people united - ju st by the simple fact that w e ’re all hum an.” Human, honest and real. T h at’s The American. T h at’s A ngie Aparo. Deep Soul CD brings back old funk sound by for D anny B ell T he P ortland O bserver For you local o l’ schoolers back in the day, rem em ber local stand-out in the R& B arena like Lanny Hunt, Frankie Redding and M ontereys? This w as the era o f R u d y ’s Pool Hall and the Cotton Club. A m ong the bright and shining stars o f the 60s and early 70s w as the lead sin g e r o f th e M o n te re y s, U ral Thom as. Ural has ju st released a sel f-produced C D cal led “It’s a God T hang.” His voice is still in fine form , ju st as m uch like the sm ooth, clearten o r o f 30 plus years ago. Since then, he has am assed a w ealth o f experience from perform ing with O tis Redding to taking tim e out to raise his son. But there is one thing that has been constant - he has been true to m usic, his craft and his art. Ural T hom as w as a m essenger o f funk before the phrase w as ever turned. H is big hits “ D eep Soul” and “T hing in G ” attest to that. On this CD , he traverses terrain from u p -te m p o to b a lla d s to e v e n H endrix-like rock and roll. “ It’s in the B ook,” the first cut on the CD , is rem iniscent o f W ilson P ick e tt’s school o f m usic, delivered in U ra l’s unique, infectious way. T he ballad “ Is A nybody O ut T here (I M iss M y M om m a)” is a touching and pow erful statem ent about a ch ild ’s love for their m other. The last cut “ Froggy” features a m ean guitar solo. For those o f you w ho are fans o f Jim i H endrix, this cut is evocative o fh is music. A lthough I w ould have enjoyed m ore upbeat tunes on this CD , Ural said that there will be m ore on the next one. For those o f you w ho are interested, Ural is back to perform ing and can be reached at 503/281-0822. A tlanta-based singer. A ngie Aparo fu se s the anger o f rock and passion o f fo lk , the fir s t single. "Spaceship" investigates the im pact o f m odern technology and its current relationship to spirituality. P hoto by S asha W a i . dman A Ticket A Tasket The place for cards, gifts and baskets Easter Headquarters Easter baskets starting at $8.00 Customized baskets fo r all occassions Order your Easter basket before April 16 and receive $5.00 off any order over $25.00 We will also be carrying a variety of fresh flowers. Hurry, you don't want to miss out! 1305 NE Fremont Portland, Or. 97212 284-7344 tisketgiffs@yahoo.com
