The inventive folk-pop of Grand Rapids’ Ribbons of Song: The Local Spins Artist Spotlight

Posted: 24th May 2013 by John in Local Spins Artist Spotlights
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

Singer-songwriter Ben Scott-Brandt’s unusual new Ribbons of Song project, “Waterbugs,” gets previewed in some inspiring ways: in-studio on Local Spins Live and in an outdoor pre-release performance Sunday. (Podcast, video)

Brotherly Project: Ben Scott-Brandt, left, and his brother, Jonathan, joined forces on the new Ribbons of Song album. (Photo/Anna Sinkevics)

Brotherly Project: Ben Scott-Brandt, left, and his brother, Jonathan, joined forces on the new Ribbons of Song album. (Photo/Anna Sinkevics)

 

Leave it to a sibling to nail it on the head.

Musicians and songwriters usually have a tough time describing their own musical approach, typically insisting their songs can’t be pigeonholed into a particular genre or category.

Ben Scott-Brandt (Photo/Anna Sinkevics)

Ben Scott-Brandt (Photo/Anna Sinkevics)

For Grand Rapids’ Ben Scott-Brandt, aka Ribbons of Song, that’s understandable, considering the sound-expanding and eclectic cornucopia of laid-back folk-pop he’s created over the past six years.

But his brother, producer Jonathan Brandt, has little trouble in cleverly characterizing the music on Ribbons of Song’s upcoming new album, “Waterbugs.”

“I describe it as electri-coustic left field,” he offers. “It has some very, very weird sounds on it that somehow work, like for instance, French horn and a … grand piano. I also have soda tabs flicking for percussion and I think I have an aerosol spray can in there, too. All of these things get warped and blended into a soundscape with Ben on top of it singing with his lovely voice.”

I certainly couldn’t take a better stab at it than that. Suffice to say, Scott-Brandt’s Ribbons of Song project covers some lush territory, with a serene-yet-touching indie-folk gracefulness.

He demonstrated that – without some of the aforementioned unusual sound effects – on Local Spins Live this week, performing the song “Afterword” on acoustic guitar in the studio at News Talk 1340 AM (WJRW). Listen to the podcast here and watch video of that performance below, with a photo gallery from Ribbons of Song’s Local Spins Live appearance.

Growing up in Niles, Michigan, Scott-Brandt attended Calvin College and has lived in Grand Rapids for about 16 years. “I definitely grew up in a very musical family and my mom taught me piano lessons when I was a little kid,” he says. “Sang in church and sang in choirs and always had music around. But no, I didn’t have a lot of formal training. I took some guitar lessons in high school, but nothing since then, so pretty self-taught.”

Folk-Pop Power: Ben Scott-Brandt on Local Spins Live. (Photo/Anna Sinkevics)

Folk-Pop Power: Ben Scott-Brandt on Local Spins Live. (Photo/Anna Sinkevics)

Inspired by the slow, moody and captivating music of artists such as Elliott Smith, Scott-Brandt has long brought songs he’s written at home to other musicians and friends – with “wild variations in instrumentation” – to help build his Ribbons of Song projects (with more than a half-dozen albums, EPs and singles released since 2007).

“Sometimes that gets me into trouble because then I think of 15 friends that I have and it’s a huge production and I get really worn out and it falls apart,” he says.

So, he decided to streamline things on “Waterbugs,” doing most of the singing and instrumental work himself, and calling on his producer brother, who lives in Portage, to further develop the soundscapes. Singer Jesy Brenner also pitched in.

The resulting mélange of acoustic instruments, synthesizers and sound effects behind Scott-Brandt’s engaging voice oozes melancholy beauty and tranquil power.

waterbugscd

It’s not surprising that Scott-Brandt’s unusual musical approach might also spawn an unusual sort of album pre-release party. Rather than unveiling the project in a bar or traditional live music venue, he’s chosen to gather friends and fans in an informal way outdoors at the Cattail Crossing at Huff Park on Grand Rapids’ Northeast Side around 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

With a guitar in hand, the singer-songwriter will perform songs from the new album – which will be officially released in digital-only format on June 1 through iTunes, bandcamp.com, soundcloud.com and elsewhere online.

Scott-Brandt said he often goes to the wetland areas of Huff Park to de-stress. “It feels peaceful, it calms my blood pressure, whatever,” he offers. “This record is called ‘Waterbugs.’ It’s about being outdoors and it’s about being relaxed. So I thought, ‘What a perfect setting.’ ”

For more information about Ribbons of Song and the new album, visit the official website.

LOCAL SPINS LIVE PHOTO GALLERY: RIBBONS OF SONG

◄ Back
Picture 1 of 5

Ben Scott-Brandt and Jonathan Brandt of Ribbons of Song. (Photo/Anna Sinkevics)

 

Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music

Pat Carroll’s ‘Glow in the Dark’: Earthwork artists rally around Kalamazoo singer’s epic music

Posted: 23rd May 2013 by John in Album reviews
Tags: , , , ,
0

West Michigan musician’s compelling new album released as he awaits a double lung transplant at Cleveland Clinic.

Inspiring Musical Voyage: Pat Carroll's "Glow in the Dark" was released this week.

Inspiring Musical Voyage: Pat Carroll’s “Glow in the Dark” was released this week.

 

Starting with the lonely drone of a violin, Pat Carroll’s journey through “Glow in the Dark” is unlike any other venture by any other folk-rock artist.

Born with cystic fibrosis and undergoing a double lung transplant at age 20, the Traverse City native and Kalamazoo-based multi-instrumentalist, sound engineer and social worker spent six years on this heart-rendingly powerful and wondrously rich collection of tunes, the last part of it even as his body suffered chronic rejection of his new lungs.

With the brutal honesty and forlorn yet inspiring tack of an artist facing his own mortality, Carroll delivers a masterpiece of human frailty and passion on his Earthwork Music debut, with cleverly arranged horns, muscular acoustic and electric guitars, and desperately beautiful vocals.

Now back at the Cleveland Clinic, Carroll currently is sedated on a ventilator “because he’s not currently strong enough to breathe on his own” as he awaits a second double lung transplant, according to his partner, Samantha Cooper. Carroll’s status on the transplant list has temporarily been suspended due to serious infections. But Cooper says once these infections “are under control, they’ll lift the list suspension and he’ll be at the top of the lung transplant list.”

Pat Carroll, "Glow in the Dark"

Pat Carroll, “Glow in the Dark”

In the meantime, his pals at the Earthwork Music collective have stepped up to the plate this week to promote release of the album with email alerts and listening parties, starting in Carroll’s hometown of Traverse City where some high school students performed a few of his songs.

A Kalamazoo listening party followed, with more to come in places as far-flung as Chicago, Nashville, Oakland, Seattle, Boston and Mexico City. Grand Rapids will host a house concert/listening party at 8 p.m. Sunday. Get details and directions online here.

The attention is well-deserved for one of 2013’s most important releases by a Michigan artist. As fellow Earthwork singer-songwriter Seth Bernard puts it, “ ‘Glow in the Dark’ is epic, gorgeous, heart-opening, tender, powerful and absolutely brilliant. It is such a vital work of heart and there is so much darkness in there too. I get chills and misty eyes just thinking about it.”

Carroll himself says it in even more compelling fashion on his poignant title track: “When your life leaves not even a spark, all you can do is glow in the dark.”

This is his glow.

For more information and to purchase the album, visit the Earthwork Music website here.

Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music

Grand Rapids rock band Devin & The Dead Frets: The Local Spins Live Artist Spotlight (video, podcast)

Posted: 23rd May 2013 by John in Local Spins Artist Spotlights
Tags: , , , , ,
1

With an endearingly ragged, bluesy rock sound, The Dead Frets will celebrate release of a self-titled debut during a Founders Brewing show. But before that, they revved up Local Spins Live with a rare acoustic gem.

Goofing Around: Devin & The Dead Frets, from left, Eric Batenburg, Devin Weber, Zach Nelson and Jordan Kerbyson.

Goofing Around: Devin & The Dead Frets, from left, Eric Batenburg, Devin Weber, Zach Nelson and Jordan Kerbyson. (Photo/Anna Sinkevics)

 

If The White Stripes had a musical fistfight with The Black Crowes, they might end up sounding like Devin & The Dead Frets.

And that’s a good thing. Really.

The Grand Rapids-area band – lead singer/guitarist Devin Weber, lead guitarist Eric Batenburg, bassist Zach Nelson and drummer Jordan Kerbyson – will unleash its self-titled debut album on Thursday night during a live show at Founders Brewing Co., and chances are, folks won’t soon forget what they see and hear from the one-year-old group.

“We pride ourselves on our live performances. That’s where we shine, I think,” Weber acknowledges. “We have the most fun. We feed off the energy of the crowd and Founders is our place. We basically got our start – we just decided we’re going to play open mic at Founders and we said, ‘Hey, these people don’t hate this music, so we should continue doing this.’ We love everybody up there and we always have a great show when we go up there.”

Official Sponsor of the Local Spins Live Artist Spotlight

All part of the Hopkins High School graduating classes of 2007 and 2008, members of Devin & The Dead Frets have quickly established themselves as a fresh force on West Michigan’s rock scene – a garage-styled outfit that describes its approach as “grungy blues rock.”

“We taught ourselves to play and we don’t know anything about music at all, so it’s pretty impressive that we’re able to do this,” jokes Weber, 22.

They’re clearly quick studies. In fact, Nelson, who started as the keyboard player, took up the cello just a week ago after the band realized it would be performing acoustically on the air during Wednesday’s edition of my Local Spins Live show on News Talk 1340 AM. So with Nelson on a three-quarter size cello and Kerbyson slapping the back of an acoustic guitar for percussion, Devin & The Dead Frets hammered out a sweet rendition of “My Life,” a song from the new album. You can listen to a podcast of the complete show here, and watch a video of their performance below.

The band’s name is a backhanded tribute to early rehearsals, when Weber says “all of our guitars were terrible.”

“We came from humble beginnings. Most of our guitars had dead frets on ’em so we couldn’t actually play all of our songs,” he recalls. “It made it a little difficult. We had to improvise here and there, but we got through it. Now we’ve been able to afford nicer things.”

In The Studio: Devin & The Dead Frets on Local Spins Live. (Photo/Anna Sinkevics)

In The Studio: Devin & The Dead Frets on Local Spins Live. (Photo/Anna Sinkevics)

The band recorded its album at The Outer Vibe’s studios south of Rockford fairly quickly after working out songs during band sessions. “Stuff just kind of falls out of my mouth. I don’t usually use the pen and paper very often,” Weber says. “We just start playing and the song becomes what it is and we kind of let it go where it wants to.”

The organic music that emerges represents a melting pot of influences. For Weber, those range from George Jones and Johnny Cash to Led Zeppelin, Nirvana and The Foo Fighters. “It’s really all across the spectrum for me and I think for these guys it’s probably the case, too,” he says.

Thursday night’s free Founders show begins at 9:30 p.m., with Mississippi folk-rock band Rosco Bandana and Allendale alt-rock outfit The Dockside Fever also on the bill. For Devin & The Dead Frets, it amounts to a brew pub homecoming aimed at pumping up fans.

“We want it to evoke an emotion,” Weber says. “That’s what we’re going to go for, every show.”

Devin Weber. (Photo/Anna Sinkevics)

Devin Weber. (Photo/Anna Sinkevics)

Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music

Quinn & Tuite’s to celebrate 500th open-mic night in Grand Rapids with special Friday show

Posted: 22nd May 2013 by John in Features
Tags: , , , ,
1

For a decade, the Friday night sessions have been a tradition at the Grand Rapids pub, so this week’s milestone show will feature bands such as The Willeys and Significant Otters with ties to hosts and sound guys.

Open-Mic Guests: The Jukejoint Handmedowns, with open-mic host Craig Van Otteren on mandolin, will play Friday night at Quinn & Tuite's.

Open-Mic Guests: The Jukejoint Handmedowns, with open-mic host Craig Van Otteren on mandolin, will play Friday night at Quinn & Tuite’s.

 

By Mary Mattingly
LocalSpins.com

After hosting nearly 500 open-mic nights, Craig Van Otteren has picked up a story or two.

As emcee of the popular Friday open-mic sessions at Quinn & Tuite’s Irish Pub in Grand Rapids, he’s witnessed the evolution of local talent, the formation of new groups and the spontaneity of collaboration. Friday will mark open-mic No. 500.

“We’ve lasted the longest,” Van Otteren said of the more than dozen open-mic sessions held in the Grand Rapids area. “We’re the granddaddy of the open-mic nights around here.”

Van Otteren has hosted the pub’s open mics since 2003, taking over for former host Dave Molinari.

This Friday’s free show will feature all hosts and soundmen who have taken part over the past 10 years,
including Mark Swanson, Dave Molinari, Larry Gephart, Craig Van Otteren, and Andy, Renee and Ben Willey. Bands on the bill for this special evening of music include The Willeys, 555 Blues, The Strain, The Jukejoint Handmedowns, The Significant Otters and Cliff Thomas.

Each host’s current band will play a 25-minute set, starting at 9 p.m. In between sets, musicians are free to sign up to play one song to keep the music going. The show will be a culmination of the open mics that have taken place over the last decade in the pub at 1535 Plainfield Ave. NE.

“Because we have been doing it for so long, ours is the place for a real showcase,” said Van Otteren, who plays in several area bands, including The Jukejoint Handmedowns and The Willeys. “It’s easier for musicians to get people to come out and see them.”

Mark Swanson

Mark Swanson

The open-mic nights began in 2001, at first only booking featured acts. When Molinari got too busy to continue hosting, it seemed like the open-mic nights might fizzle out. But Van Otteren, with help from Larry Gephart, stepped in to keep them going.

“We enjoyed the open mics so much. We didn’t want them to end,” said Van Otteren, who recognized the opportunities the open-mic nights held for local musicians.

“We saw by that time that a lot of amateur players would come in when they were just starting and they would usually start off pretty rough,” he said. “Over time, they would hone their skills at the open mics and also meet like-minded musicians. We saw a lot of groups form this way. [The open mics are] a service to the musical community.”

Van Otteren got busy hosting while Gephart took over sound duties. “We made it a fixture every Friday night,” he said.

The open-mic nights serve as springboards for local talent. Amateurs often get their start playing at the open-mic nights. “I remember Jesse Ray [Carolina] coming in when he was 16 or 17,” Van Otteren said. “Now he’s turned into quite an act to see.”

The Willeys

The Willeys

Established musicians also take advantage of the sessions. “Pete and Barb Weatherhead [of The Weatherheads] are longtime musicians who will run new songs of theirs,” Van Otteren said. “It’s kind of a testing ground. If the response is good, they’ll add it to their sets.”

Most other open-mic nights around Grand Rapids take place on weeknights. “[Friday night] allows a lot of people to sleep in on Saturday mornings,” Van Otteren said. “It was put on Friday to accommodate working musicians.”

With a stage that can accommodate up to a 7-piece band, the Quinn & Tuite’s open-mic nights draw participants from across West Michigan, including Kalamazoo and Muskegon. “We always get one or two new faces,” Van Otteren said. “It keeps it interesting.”

These days, the pub’s tradition remains as popular as ever, with more musicians showing up to play now than ever before. “Our main goal is to make sure everyone who shows up before 10 p.m. has a chance to play,” Van Otteren said.

Clearly, the pub’s open-mic nights are not going anywhere anytime soon. So, the special Friday show is a tribute to the past and a hopeful look to the future.

“It’s been a real pleasure to be a part of,” Van Otteren said. “I’ve been a part of it for 9 years. It’s always unusual and interesting. I’m fully expecting it to run another ten years.”

Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music

Older Entries