CULTURE MYTH - Days 8: San Francisco

Written by Chad Taylor. Originally appeared on the Culture Myth website on March 26, 2016.

Rae Davis and Sara Routh
all pics by Chad Taylor

California gets progressively more lovely, the further north you head. In the matter of the Great Divide within the state, it is clear that I sit firmly on the NorCal side of things. The greens are greener, the hills are lovelier, and the people are -- if you'll excuse the ad hominem painting -- more chill and genuine.

Rae Davis and Sara Routh are spending their time here quartered in different locations. Davis is staying with friends in Oakland, while Routh and a couple of her friends have rented an AirBnB in The City. After splitting up to unpack at their respective host homes, everyone heads into town for a gig at the Revolution Cafe, and right into a situation that has the potential to be the biggest clusterfuck of the entire tour.

The Mission District is one of the most vibrant, vital parts of the San Francisco landscape. It is exactly what you would expect any large city's heartbeat to look like: colorful, loud, frenetic, slightly gross, beautiful, dirty, and eternally entertaining. Looking for the best cafes? The best little places to eat? The best art? This neighborhood--no matter what each city calls it--is the place to go.

The one potential drawback to that much going on in one small area, however, is the chance for overlap in events. Like, for example, today, when Routh and Davis rock up to the Revolution, and find a full-on street fair happening on the street outside. A street fair including an actual stage with musical performers, literally 10 feet from the Revolution's front door. This could be interesting.

CULTURE MYTH - Day 7: Goodbye, Los Angeles

Written by Chad Taylor. Originally appeared on the Culture Myth website on March 24, 2016.

Our first two-day stint in a town, and it comes immediately before a four-day stop in our next locale. It's an easy week in California.

The appeal of Los Angeles continues to confound me, but more positives are showing their faces all the time. Rae Davis and I start making a list.

- The oppressively Californian weather

- There's a place on Santa Monica that sells $2 thrift clothing. It's all in a giant pile on the floor, but there you go.

- There's damn good food to be found

- The city is large enough and diverse enough to not only have a little China and little Italy, but a little Ethiopia.

So it grows. Today was originally scheduled as an off day. Davis spends most of it relaxing around our host home, while Sara Routh has brunch with a friend, then heads to a photo shoot. The hot LA sun blazes away as errands are run and friends are commiserated with.

CULTURE MYTH - Day 6: Los Angeles

Written by Chad Taylor. Originally appeared on the Culture Myth website on March 23, 2016.

There are people who feel that Los Angeles is a city you know about right away: you pull in, and immediately know in your gut if you're going to love it or hate it. Conversely, I've heard that LA is so big, so diverse, that you really need to spend a couple of years submerged in it before you really have a handle on how you feel about it.

For me, as the most superficial of interlopers into the greater LA biosphere, I can say that it seems very much to be a place with a purpose. Not so much a city, as a tool. As such, I can understand why some people live here. If you're involved in entertainment in just about any way, LA is where you have to be. So for actors and screenwriters and directors and media types, I get it. I can see why people are here. What I haven't figured out quite yet, is why people would WANT to live here, all things being equal. The greater allure of the city, outside of the entertainment industry, has so far eluded me.

There's a shabbiness to LA. Part of that is affected. Shabby-chic is a definite way of life here. But another portion--I'd wager the greater portion--is just how the city has become. It looks tired. The people and their cars are all very shiny and well maintained and beautiful. But the city around them, the set upon which everyone plies their trade, is worn and frayed at the edges. You can see it in the trees and on the faces of buildings. A lot of it is unquestionably the fault of this great drought that is ravaging much of the American west, and hitting California particularly hard. But it's not the only explanation, because there is a general weariness that you can feel in the spirit of the place. I don't know if I've seen more than a handful of genuine expressions of emotion or desire in my time here.

CULTURE MYTH - Day 5: A rest

Written by Chad Taylor. Originally appeared on the Culture Myth website on March 22, 2016.

Rae Davis booked Sara Routh's tour. All three legs of it, in fact. For this west coast swing, Davis focused on finding gigs close to friends houses, which allowed Routh and Davis to save a ton of money on lodging.

We've talked about it before, but one can not put too fine a line on it: indie artists know they aren't going to make money on their self-funded tours, so every expenditure becomes vital to track. Anywhere you can find to cut costs, and potentially extend your tour one more day, you do it. This is what most galled indie artists who read about Pomplamoose's horrendous debacle of a tour back in 2014.

CULTURE MYTH - Day 4: Albuquerque and Santa Fe

Written by Chad Taylor. Originally appeared on the Culture Myth website on March 22, 2016.

We haven't even gotten the New Tour Smell out of our clothes yet, and Sara Routh and Rae Davis already find themselves in the middle of the longest, hardest stretch of the whole thing.

Leaving Omaha on the morning of day three, they drive eight hours to Oklahoma City for a show that night, then pile right back into the car for another seven hours of driving to Santa Fe where they grab a few hours sleep before playing an afternoon show in Albuquerque, followed by an evening house show back in Santa Fe.

Everything after this is cake.

CULTURE MYTH - Day 3: Oklahoma City

Written by Chad Taylor. Originally appeared on the Culture Myth website on March 20, 2016.

There's nobody here. That's not even that big of an exaggeration: the crowd is so small, that at one point Sara Routh makes everyone go around the room and introduce themselves. And yet, this place is what you wish every show could embody.

The venue. Holy shit, the venue. JJ's Alley Bricktown Pub is a tiny, dirty, glorious clusterfuck of kitsch. The walls are covered with such a jumbled, eclectic collection of doll heads, signs, doors, toys, glasses and various random fuckery as to be nearly overwhelming in their incomprehensibility. The first thing one does when entering JJ's for the first time is gape.

CULTURE MYTH - Day 2: Omaha

Written by Chad Taylor. Originally appeared on the Culture Myth website on March 19, 2016.

"This is so easy, since you gals don't really sing."

That's Kevin, the sound guy. He's a dick, but on the upside, he also doesn't know what he's doing. We'll get back to him.

The road will always find a way to test your patience. Sometimes, as everyone found out tonight, it won't even wait that long to do so. We are one day onto the road, a literal stone's throw from our home state, and a solid nap in the back seat away from our actual homes. And yet...

Omaha is a fine town. I've been to some really good shows here, and there has always been a genuinely solid music scene, thanks in no small part to the bands that helped established the Saddle Creek sound back in the early '90s. But I don't care where you find yourself in this world, nothing is perfect.

CULTURE MYTH - Day 1: Des Moines

Starting today, and continuing on or near the 10th and 25th of every month, we will be reprinting a post from Chad Taylor's blog, Culture Myth. Chad Taylor was the music reporter for Cityview magazine in Des Moines, although he has also written for other publications like DSM Magazine.

Written by Chad Taylor. Originally appeared on the Culture Myth website on March 18, 2016

Rae Davis' cousin came to see her play tonight.

"All this time, I didn't even know we were living in the same city," she says afterward, still in disbelief. "Then I look up from the stage, and there she is."

The Davis clan is not the only one represented in the Des Moines Social Club's Basement Bar tonight, either. For both Davis and Sara Routh, the venue is full of parents and relatives and friends and loved ones. It's full of family.

For nearly 500 years of our human history, it was customary for people at home to come to the shore and watch ships leaving the harbor. It was a chance to say a final farewell to loved ones standing on deck, and a way of wishing the vessel good luck as it pushed forth into the great unknown or, at very least, the great known but still really dangerous and unpredictable.

OTHER SOURCES: Band Bombshell's "Completely Covered"

"Completely Covered" was an interesting little project started by Chad Taylor, former music critic of "Cityview", when he was managing editor of the now defunct Des Moines music website, Band Bombshell.

Chad, though, described the project better than I ever could on his own website, Culture Myth and on the Band Bombshell:

"Almost exactly two years ago, in January of 2015, I came up with an ambitious idea.

"I was, at the time, the Managing Editor for a site called Band Bombshell...

"...I came to Erika with what I still feel is the best idea I've ever come up with: gather together 10 local acts, give them all a single, well-known song, and have them cover it. The idea of 10 different points of view on the same song intrigued the hell out of me, and everyone I pitched the initial idea to was just as excited. Erika loved it, we got Nova Labs' resident genius Bryon Dudley on board to help with the production side, and we were off and running. Eventually, we wound up doing a second edition, with new acts and a different song.

"The bands almost universally hated the songs they were given; seven acts would wind up not turning anything in at all. Both editions were plagued by recording delays due to scheduling conflicts, and ultimately traffic remained flat, so the songs themselves were almost completely ignored.

"The actual songs were absolutely glorious."
- from the Culture Myth post, Band Bombshell, Cover Songs and a Cluster Fuck: A Retrospective

"The idea in and of itself wasn't a new one. As soon as the first song was ever written, the first cover song probably followed closely behind...

"There were, however, a couple of things that made "Completely Covered" unique. Firstly, most cover song projects give the bands involved at least a certain modicum of choice... But for "Completely Covered" what intrigued me was... how a bunch of different minds and talents would choose to look at exactly the same material. It was meant to come off less like a tribute CD, and more as an examination of perspectives.

"But more importantly, of course, it was local. Musical projects that try to incorporate a large number of Des Moines-area musicians are few and far between. There's the occasional local music festival.. Juice has been producing their terrific "Side Sessions" video series since August, and it really highlights what kind of fun, creative things you can do with local music in Des Moines when you've got a little money to throw at your ideas.

"But Band Bombshell had no cash, and one really can not heap enough praise on Bryon Dudley and Nova Labs for his willingness to hop into the project with both feet, and do all of the recording and mastering for nothing more than the fun of the project, a banner ad and a hearty thank you. The series also stands as a credit to the musicians who took part. When I pitched the idea to them all, they were given the basic premise, but were not told what song they were going to be working on until after everyone had said yes. It was a bit of a gamble for everyone involved and one that required more than a little adventurous spirit. It was incredibly fun to watch it all come together."
- from the Culture Myth post, Covering a Local Music Retrospective, Day 2

"The concept was simple: to see how different people, with different tastes and influences, would approach the same material. How much different would a song sound, if it were tackled by a metal act as opposed to a country one? The idea was intended to both challenge the artists artistically and creatively, while simultaneously showcasing the wealth of talent within our state's borders. Plus, it just sounded fun as hell.

"And so, at the beginning of the new year, these are the ground rules we gave our 10 participants:

"The song may have been written by a different artist, but it's yours now. Own it. Don't like the chorus? Change it. Hate that one verse? Drop it. Change the perspective, add to it, strip it down, make it your own. You've got 30 days to re-imagine, write, rehearse and record your cover. Don't tell anyone. With those scant instructions, we turned everyone loose. On the back end, the absolutely amazing Bryon Dudley at Nova Labs in Ames generously offered his studio and his time to help bands get their tracks recorded and mixed, and it really can't be overstated: this project would not have happened without him.

"For the first round, our song choice was a controversial one. It's by an artist who's polarizing on just about every front. Not all of the lyrics are appreciated by everyone, and people have found the subject matter offensive. So why did we choose it? We wanted to see what people would do with a song they didn't necessarily like."
- from the Band Bombshell post, COMPLETELY COVERED: 10 BANDS, 1 SONG

"Our song of choice, Kanye West's "Gold Digger", was not the most popular of choices. Kanye isn't the most popular of artists among the bands we tapped, and "Gold Digger" is far from his best song, so covering it—and making it into something entertaining—required a little more effort on the part our bands. Not everybody was up to it, and three of our bands dropped out, with varying degrees of grace."
- from the Band Bombshell post, COMPLETELY COVERED: THE STORY THUS FAR


Chad has written a post of each version in the first series on this Culture Myth website. You can read them here...

Ira Grace and The Bible Belt Prophets - http://culturemyth.net/blog/2016/12/22/band-bombshell-cover-songs-and-a-cluster-fuck-a-retrospective

The Other Brothers - http://culturemyth.net/blog/2016/12/23/covering-a-local-music-retrospective-day-2

Patresa Hartman - http://culturemyth.net/blog/2016/12/26/a-continued-look-back

Strong Like Bear - http://culturemyth.net/blog/2016/12/28/more-looking-back-things-get-crazy

Cover Grrls - http://culturemyth.net/blog/2017/1/10/completely-covered-retrospective-5-cover-grrls

Murder Earth - http://culturemyth.net/blog/2017/1/11/completely-covered-retrospective-6-murder-earth

Monday Mourners - http://culturemyth.net/blog/2017/1/12/completely-covered-retrospective-7-monday-mourners


And Band Bombshell interviewed each artists about covering the song:

Ira Grace and The Bible Bible Prophets - https://erika-owen-phgm.squarespace.com/most-recent/2015/2/10/completely-covered-episode-1?rq=completely%20covered

Patresa Hartman - https://erika-owen-phgm.squarespace.com/most-recent/2015/2/17/completely-covered-episode-2-patresa-hartman

The Other Brothers - https://erika-owen-phgm.squarespace.com/most-recent/2015/2/24/completely-covered-the-other-brothers

Strong Like Bear - https://erika-owen-phgm.squarespace.com/most-recent/2015/3/4/completely-covered-episode-4-strong-like-bear

Monday Mourners - https://erika-owen-phgm.squarespace.com/most-recent/2015/3/18/completely-covered-episode-5-monday-mourners?rq=completely%20covered

Murder Earth - https://erika-owen-phgm.squarespace.com/most-recent/2015/3/25/completely-covered-episode-6-murder-earth?rq=completely%20covered

Cover Grrls - https://erika-owen-phgm.squarespace.com/most-recent/2015/4/1/completely-covered-episode-7-cover-grrls?rq=completely%20covered

James Biehn - https://erika-owen-phgm.squarespace.com/most-recent/2015/9/2/completely-covered-series-2-episode-1-james-biehn?rq=completely%20covered

Microwaved - https://erika-owen-phgm.squarespace.com/most-recent/2015/9/10/completely-covered-series-two-episode-two-microwaved?rq=completely%20covered

Bonne Finken - https://erika-owen-phgm.squarespace.com/most-recent/2015/9/24/completely-covered-series-two-episode-three-bonne-finken?rq=completely%20covered

Randy Burk - https://erika-owen-phgm.squarespace.com/most-recent/2015/10/1/completely-covered-series-two-episode-four-randy-burk


Other IMSC websites and links:
Feed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/IowaMusicShowcase
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Iowa-Music-Showcase/364796883703114
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/iamusicshowcase
Instagram:
https://instagram.com/iowamusicshowcase

Labels: alternative music, Americana, Band Bombshell, Chad Taylor, country music, cover versions, covers, Culture Myth, electronic music, folk music, Golddigger, Other Sources, rock music, When Love Comes to Town

IOWA MUSIC SHOWCASE PODCAST - Episode 33: A Chad Taylor Dedication

https://twitter.com/chadtaylor

"On this particular day, the youngest, tiniest, most blatantly adorable of the children becomes intently interested in what I am doing on my computer, and why, exactly, none of those activities involve watching Elmo. Truth be told, she's not really listening to me as I explain the blog." - Chad Taylor on his blog, Culture Myth

There's no two ways about it. Chad is a controversial figure in the music scene. I had more than one person request NOT to be part of this tribute.

But I had number who were happy to be a part of this. I'm obviously in the second camp, or I wouldn't be doing this.

Can Chad come off as rude and obnoxious? Sorry, Chad, but yes you can.

But part of this stems from Chad's desire to speak from the heart and speak straight and honestly. He doesn't pussyfoot around. He tells it as he sees it.

And some times Chad doesn't like what he sees and isn't afraid to say so.

To be fair, though, some times he does like what he sees and he doesn't hold back on that either!


But I'll say it right now. I think Chad is something the Des Moines music scene needed!

Cheerleaders are important and needed. I consider that part of my job on this web site.

But cheerleaders aren't enough in any artistic endeavor. You also need someone who will speak honestly, and tell you if you're not doing so hot.

Does it hurt? Yeah. Does it suck? Yeah. No one wants to hear something they worked hard on isn't that great.

But someone can't improve if they'll only told "Good job!" and given a ribbon just for participating!


Did I always agree with Chad? Hell no. But I'm grateful that the Des Moines music scene had someone who wasn't afraid to speak his mind.

And I think Des Moines is going to be hurting without Chad's honesty and straight opinion.

So I'm grateful that Chad loved and cared about the Des Moines scene enough to take that role.
And if you read enough of his stuff, you should he did care, and he did love the local scene.


So, Chad, this is just my way of saying thank you. And I know I'm not the only one who will miss you!

"I look at her giant, stupid brown baby eyes for a moment, then do a Google image search for Elmo. Ellie loses her shit."