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TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2008 (SO FAR)

1. Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s Lie Down in the Light - Lie Down in the Light is a thoughtful folk record full of weird moments, beautiful singing, oddball musical turns and memorable, hum-worthy melodies. Oldham sounds happy, which might prove throwing to longtime fans; me, I’m happy to hear the big weirdo grinning and howling like a drunken bear. This is the work of an artist who knows how to take the best of his abilities and turn ‘em upside down for the purpose of moving forward.

2. Lee Miles’ Heathen Blux - The growth shown on Lee Miles 2007 album, 1,000 Lions, while significant, is doubled on Heathen Blux, an 11-track songwriter album coiled from a batch of 23 well made home recordings. The lyrics. The small details. That voice. The lyrics! Limited resources and all, Miles has crafted a long-studied junk drawer classic that resonates with more knuckle-splitting guts and lo-fi craftiness than believable.

3. Portishead’s Third - It took 11 full season cycles, but against the odds these trip-hop soul experimentalists have put out their best album with Third. Every song here is worth getting to know, as each minute of each song is full of surprises that only surface after repeat listens. Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley’s arrangements are finally inventive enough to be mentioned alongside those of King Radiohead. Don’t call it a comeback.

4. Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks’ Real Emotional Trash - Seventies stoner jams meet The Indie Kid in an alley and come out silly, loopy and fresh. Though the backbone of the album is still wholly Malkmus, the sound is new for him; pounding, sometimes excessive and always organic, Real Emotional Trash is the sound of a long-proven artist spreading his wings for the sake of exploration and growth. Malkmus, as always, comes out looking at once smart and smart alecky.

5. She & Him’s Volume One - M. Ward’s champion arrangements and actress Zooey Deschanel’s cutesy-as-hell vocals make for an album full of peaks and valleys that instantly brings to mind Jenny Lewis’ memorable Rabbit Fur Coat. The high points on this roots-y 60s girl group-meets-country-pop album are some of the best so far this year. An album - and singer - to not only crush on, but also to grow old with.

6. A.A. Bondy’s American Hearts - Technically released in very limited quantities in 2007, A.A. Bondy’s debut solo record, American Hearts, beats out similarly roots-y and word-focused 2008 reissues by Bon Iver, Bodies of Water and Bowerbirds - not a bad freshman class (summer session). Bondy’s fragile voice as his weapon and his fearless writing as his ammo, the 12 songs on this snowballing introduction only grow better with time. Hooks, too. Can’t forget the hooks.

7. The Breeders’ Mountain Battles - Thirteen songs spread over around 35 minutes, Mountain Battles jumps around just as much as any other Breeders record, adding a few mellow, spacey stoner tunes to the band’s poppy indie-rock flexing. I never thought I’d say this, but The Breeders – with the help of Steve Albini and the benefit of those killer “stoner” tunes – have put out one of the year’s best albums.

8. Silver Jews’ Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea - After touring for the first time in 2005 (over a decade after the release of his first album), David Berman realized that, hey, “there are young people who like my music.” Back to the studio he went - armed with a rare smile and his first steady band - to record an album’s worth of “advice for the young.” Advice, that is, buried under a lifetime of clever wordings, strange arrangement and often annoying backing vocals supplied by his wife, Cassie. Maybe the worst Jews album yet - but still very worthwhile and well written.

9. Eef Barzelay’s Lose Big - Maybe the greatest indie-rock writer of the decade to have both popular and critical accolades elude him, Eef Barzelay is back with Lose Big, his most consistent batch of songs since 2001’s near-perfect The Ghost of Fashion. Are you a loser? No? Do you at least like to sometimes pretend like you can’t catch a break? Thought so. Here’s your soundtrack.

10. Sun Kil Moon’s April - Mark “Sun Kil Moon” Kozelek’s post-Red House Painters career has been increasingly celebrated over the past couple of years, specifically his Ghosts of the Great Highway record, which April seems to somewhat of a sequel to. Forever equally indebted to American Music Club and Neil Young, Sun Kil Moon offer up 11 new songs here, some three-electric-guitars-at-a-time rockers, others bare and honest acoustic ballads.

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TOP 10 RECORD LABELS

1. Sub Pop Records - There’s an entire era of ears fumbling around the country as we speak, all who claim Sub Pop Records as The Beatles of their youth. After a few spotty years this Seattle mainstay is back in fine form, celebrating their 20^th year with a slew of top-shelf records, including releases from Wolf Parade, Fleet Foxes, No Age, Flight of the Conchords, Grand Archives, Mudhoney and many others.

2. Matador Records - Mission of Burma reissues. A new, excellent Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks record. An upcoming Mogwai album. Jay Reatard. Times New Viking. Cat Power. You get it. Matador slips from time to time, but their roster is quality right now, including new signees like Times New Viking - maybe the loudest band on planet earth right now.

3. Drag City Records - Never compromising, always creative and mostly consistent, this Chicago-based label has released two of the best records of the year from two of the best songwriters of the decade. Will Oldham. David Berman. ‘Nuff said. Yes, they do have other arists - most of whom are quite good - but records like Oldham’s Lie Down in the Light and Berman’s Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea are, well, lifers.

4. Merge Records - Taking a chance by putting out a record by that girl from that one David Gordon Green Film (All the Real Girls) would have sounded gutsy just a few months ago. No sweat off Merge Records back, not when they have forever and ever stud M. Ward kicking around. Between She & Him’s excellent debut, a bevy of vinyl reissues, a new Destroyer record and an upcoming Conor Oberst solo album, Merge Records is following up their best year ever with yet another fine year. But wait a second, what ever happened to that much-discussed Brit Daniel solo record!?

5. Secretly Canadian / Jagjaguwar / Dead Oceans - These three labels are, more or less, one in the same. They’ve released more records than anyone could ever count already this year, including Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago, a new Richard Swift album and an excellent Wilderness side project called The Lord Dog Bird. Lookout for a new album from one of the world’s greatest bands, Okkervil River, before the clock strikes ‘09.

6. Team Love Records - Conor Oberst might seem like a one-dimensional, post-emo era poster boy with an empty tank, but his Team Love Records proves the opposite. With great albums from The Felice Brothers, Tilly and the Wall, Nik Freitas and, most importantly, Flowers Forever already on shelves this year, the still new Team Love imprint is off to a killer start.

7. Yep Roc Records - Trotting out those nearly forgotten Robyn Hitchcock gems at the end of 2007 was smart. And needed. Yep Roc, really, has always done what’s needed. They have a new Loudon Wainwright III album later this year, a new supergroup called The Baseball Project and many other exciting things going, including a just announced new album from the great Mercury Rev. Robert Forster anyone? Sloan? Jesus of Cool!

8. ATO Records - Reissuing Liz Phair’s amazing debut, Exile in Guyville, to a new audience was brilliant. Attempting to push a Westerberg-inspired band called The Whigs to the forefront of indie-rock was noble. ATO hasn’t done a whole lot else worth mentioning in 2008, but Exile and The Whigs are, well, good enough.

9. Asthmatic Kitty Records - Castanets’ singer/songwriter Ray Raposa just might be the best young songwriter in the country right now. That said, a man like that needs a label who will let him breathe while still supporting his every crazy wish. Thus far Raposa has not only released a DVD/EP in 2008, but also announced that he plans to put out three new records within the next 12 months. Now that’s what I call “label support.”

10. Bloodshot Records - Aside from an Old 97’s record here and a Ryan Adams classic there (speaking of the Heartbreaker, duh), I’ve never really followed Bloodshot Records too much. Quanity never beats quality. This year, however, the folks at Bloodshot are stepping up their game, already releasing to essential discs: Mark Pickerel’s Cody’s Dream and Justin Townes Earle’s oh-so-pleasing The Good Life. Hopefully Bloodshot can hold their focus - at least for the remainder of the year.

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WRITING SAMPLE NO. 1

COLUMN: NEW MUSIC 2008 (Pt. 3)

Go to the record store - either online or down the street - and buy some new music. Do it. It’s important. If you’re one of the few soulful people who still pay artists for their hard work, well, that’s not just good enough anymore. Make your light-fingered friends pay for their music. Every eight weeks Ease profiles a few recent albums, hoping at least one reader heads out to the store. So here we go you tightfisted thieves, Ease’s third – and best yet – New Music installment for 2008:

The Breeders’ Mountain Battles: I never expect much out of the Deal sisters (they’re known to be drunken buffoons, don’t ya know), yet somehow they always seem to come through. This, only their fourth proper album, is a follow up to Title TK, a surprisingly good, often strange album that took the band eight years to create. Thirteen songs spread over around 35 minutes, Battles jumps around just as much as any other Breeders record, adding a few mellow, spacey stoner tunes to the band’s poppy indie-rock flexing. I never thought I’d say this, but The Breeders – with the help of Steve Albini and the benefit of those killer “stoner” tunes – have put out one of the year’s best albums. 9/10

Elvis Costello’s Momofuku: Oh man, where to begin. Fine, okay, I’ll say it: I have no use for another Elvis Costello album that sounds like this limpy Momofuku plate. I have plenty of Costello albums as is – probably too many. Yes, the songs are fine, even a bit looser and more organic than most of the man’s work (two traits Ease usually loves). That said, the 12 songs on Momo do nothing for me, nada; they sound like Elvis trying to be his late 70s self again, which I imagine is probably exciting for longtime fans. Like the songs on Neil Young’s Living With War album (which, like Momo, was quickly written, recorded and released), these no-frills tunes sound great for a while before falling flat. 5/10 Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s Lie Down in the Light: Whew. Finally, after a few years worth of sometimes amazing but mostly self-exploratory albums, Will “Bonnie” Oldham has released another solid (read: downright classic) set of songs. His best written album since Master and Everyone and his most accessible since, oh, I don’t know, Viva Lost Blues (1995), Light is a thoughtful folk record full of weird moments, beautiful singing, oddball musical turns and memorable lyrics. Oldham sounds happy, which might prove throwing to longtime fans; me, I’m happy to hear the big weirdo grinning and howling like a drunken bear. Light is the work of an artist who knows how to take the best of his abilities and turn ‘em upside down for the purpose of moving forward. “I wander and lay in whatever old bed / With good earthly music singing into my head,” sings Oldham on the album’s opener, “Easy Does It,” a song that sets the stage for the album’s title track, in which Oldham sings “Why do you frown? / Why do you try? / Why don’t you lie down in the light?” It’s an album full of heart, love, sunshine and moments of unmatched sweetness, almost as if ol’ Push has entered a second phase. 10/10

Spiritualized’s Songs in A&E: I’m sure some very deep thoughts could go into reviewing this record, but, to me at least, the Spaceman’s second band has never been nearly as groundbreaking as the music media would lead you to believe. Spiritualized’s songs are good, always, but on Songs in A&E they’re really not that different than, say, those Oasis mods. Better, easily, than the average Oasis tune, but no more inventive. In theory, these guys are one of the best of their time. In reality, they’re just another good, brainy band. A&E is probably their second best effort after the classic Ladies and Gentlemen. 7.5/10

No Age’s Nouns: This is an album that demands very few words to describe. It’s just creative enough to be called creative, just poppy enough to be called poppy and just raucous enough to be called essential. Everything sounds familiar on this proper debut album – which is a blast of loud, endlessly stylized fun – yet no one sounds like No Age. And that, friends, is why this is a special album, made especially for refined pop ears. 8/10

Portishead’s Third: It took 11 full season cycles, but against the odds these trip-hop soul experimentalists have put out their best album with Third. Every song here is worth getting to know, as each minute of each song is full of surprises that only surface after repeat listens. Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley’s arrangements are finally inventive enough to be mentioned alongside those of King Radiohead. Don’t call it a comeback. 9.5/10

Justin Townes Earle’s The Good Life: Steve Earle’s son, JT, recorded his debut album with old equipment, doing all he could to make it sound as timeless as possible. It worked. I’m not yet sure how great of a talent this young songwriter is, but The Good Life is the best debut I’ve heard in some time. JT sounds nothing like his dad, sings nothing of social concern and does everything right on this criminally overlooked record. 8.5/10

The Felice Brothers’ The Felice Brothers: Clocking in at 15 fully baked songs (many of which demand sing-along vocals from the listener), The Felice Brothers is an album almost entirely indebted to The Band’s Basement Tapes sessions with Bob Dylan. The “good ol’ boy” posturing is a bit embarrassing, but people said that same thing about another young band called Whiskeytown in 1997. Not every song hits, but the ones that do pummel with authentic lo-fi post-folk, pre-Americana fumes. 7/10

The Old 97s’ Blame it on Gravity: Not much needs to be explained here; if you’ve heard the 97s’ two classics, Fight Songs and Too Far to Care, then you’ll want to buy this Americana pop gem immediately. Gravity isn’t as good as those two lifer albums, but it’s close, and almost certainly the third best album in the band’s excellent catalog. 8.5/10

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WRITING SAMPLE NO. 2

FEATURE: RECORD STORE DAY 2008

If Wooden Nickel owner Bob Roets and his crew of record studs (and studettes) would allow it, I’d work open to close at his stores, spending most of my paycheck on records and CDs, sleeping under his always-stuffed racks in order to save rent money for, you know, more records. As much as I love live shows, music journalism and Paul Westerberg’s cigar, new albums have always been what keep me obsessed. In my early 20s I’d skip meals in the few days before getting my next paycheck, all so I could buy whatever new music came out that week. (Do “kids” like this still exist? I used to know quite a few.) Have a bad day? Buy a new album. Bad week? Find a new artist with a killer discography to obsess over. Life’s easy when you have a stack of Joe Strummer- and Ray Davies-penned records waiting for you at home. I take much comfort in knowing that there are other people like me – some crazy enough to make me look like a lazy listener.

Enter Record Store Day, my new favorite day of the year. This past Saturday, April 19, a few hundred independently owned stores around the country did all they could to raise awareness for – and celebrate – the small fraction of non-corporate music outlets still functioning since the onslaught of recordable CDs and downloading. (Troopers, all of ‘em, and, given the odds, clearly good business people, too.) All around the country live music was played, free swag was given to customers and, hopefully, lots of albums were purchased and enjoyed. Fort Wayne’s own Wooden Nickel Music Stores, all three of ‘em, did the day up right, giving out 300 gift bags, hosting live performances from six bands and, most importantly, providing a warm, welcoming environment made for audiophiles for all ages. While most stores around the country “celebrated” for an hour or two, Wooden Nickel made a full day of it, scheduling shows at all three stores throughout the whole afternoon. Ease knows how unlivable Fort Wayne could sometimes seem without these three stores; hopefully Record Store Day helped to remind others.Show-hopping from store to store through the day I promised myself that I’d buy at least one item at each store – but more on that later. After unfortunately missing the Possum Trot Orchestra’s show at the North Anthony store (due to a long night of drinking and rocking with The New Pale Swimmers the night before) my girlfriend and I rolled into the parking lot of the Time Corners Nickel. Having spent a large chunk of my teenage years shopping at both this store and a little place called Twist & Shout that used to be located across the street a decade or so ago (one of the many stores that didn’t “make it”), it was nice to see this often overlooked local treasure full of people and, most significantly, the artist responsible for the best new album I’ve heard so far this year, Lee Miles. Miles and a crew of way-too-talented musicians strummed their way through a loose, well received set that converted my girlfriend and, from what I could tell, many others into huge fans. Miles’ sparse banter, as always, was excellent, as were his song selections, a new cut called “Catch a Snare” in particular. Miles’ longtime stage partner, Kyle Morris, added strong vocals and a general presence that was also very memorable. After chatting with friends for a bit, I eventually left after buying a copy of Pavement’s Westing (By Musket and Sextant), a collection of EPs from the band’s early days, on LP for a fair price.

Next came sets by Riverbottom Nitemare Band and I, Wombat at the famous Clinton Street store. Both bands rocked loud and rowdy, I, Wombat even giving out copies of their debut album for free to any interested customers. Before leaving, store manager Zach Smith gave me a goodie bag full of cool swag, including two Record Store Day-issued LPs and a Destroyer 7″, among other items. Before leaving the store I picked up a copy of Ryan Adams’ always fun Rock N’ Roll album on LP. Hangover officially cured.

Home for a quick nap and snack, I found myself spread out on my apartment floor, examining all my new goods while listening to Thunderhawk’s Thunderhawk IV in anticipation of their upcoming set at the North Anthony Wooden Nickel, a former workplace of mine. Browsing the LPs during Alabaster Fox’s awesome set I found myself soon enough chatting Randy Newman and Neil Young records with Roets and trading updates with my old North Anthony boss, Tim Hogan. As the store filled in anticipation of Thunderhawk’s upcoming set I found myself becoming a big fan of the Foxes. Guitarist Jon Keller’s natural throwback swagger and playing left many a dude with slight man-crushes, and the miniature Andrea Harvey’s vocals were far more memorable and enchanting than anything in that celebrated Amy Adams Disney film released last year. Really, the whole band – led by the very talented C. Ray Harvey – was great at what they did.Thunderhawk, the only out-of-town band of the day, finally took the stage for the final show of Wooden Nickel’s first (annual?) Record Store Day. Plenty of young kids in the crowd, this was the band’s first official all-ages show, a fact that didn’t keep the Hawkers from playing what was easily one of the loudest sets I’ve ever heard. They made new fans, surely, while satisfying their Fort Wayne fanbase and selling some albums. Before heading home for the night I picked up a slew of LPs, including Neil Young’s Time Fades Away. It was an amazing day that never would’ve happened had the Roets family, their employees and loyal customers not hung in there while the majority of independently owned stores not located in big cities or college towns closed shop.

Moral of the story: Simply paying for your music isn’t good enough; if you’re lucky enough to have the option, pay for it at your locally owned record shop. They love you. Check out Bob Roets’ YouTube page for visual documentation of the day that was.

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WRITING SAMPLE NO. 3

FEATURE: SANKOFA: HOME AT LAST

Don’t be fooled by his madcap performances in the Whatzup Battle of the Bands III; Stephen “Sankofa” Bryden isn’t always totally comfortable with his newfound role as the figurehead of the Fort Wayne hip-hop scene. After coming in second place out of 60 bands in this year’s much-attended competition, not even Bryden will deny his place in the local scene, admitting that “whether or not I care, I feel my level of visibility in the scene makes me a figurehead of sorts. Believe me when I say I’d happily be invisible when the show is done.”

Things are quite the contrary right now for Bryden as nearly every music-minded Fort Wayne resident seems to have either seen a Sankofa show or heard all about one from someone else. Not long ago Bryden was known, at most, as the tall, bearded guy with shiny basketball shoes and a video camera in the crowd at the 2004 Whammy Awards. Now, less than three years later, Bryden is not just the BotB III runner-up, but also one of the more recognizable, socially active guys you’re likely to find around town. And oh, did I mention that his Still Means Something album nearly walked away with the 2005 Whammy for local “Album of the Year”?

With recognition and praise stacking up a little more with each of his endeavors, you, the loyal Whatzup reader, very likely can’t wait to see what the almighty Sankofa has in store for you next. As the saying goes, every great song has a story behind it that is just as inspiring as the musical translation. Bryden’s, for one, is a story of epic proportions – crammed full with adventures, struggles and both personal and artistic growth.

Coincidentally, I discovered Bryden’s music via the Internet in 2000. A year or so after first hearing snippets of his work on the then popular mp3.com website (the MySpace of it’s time), I found myself sweating midsummer bullets in Bryden’s mother’s upper level apartment in the historic West Central neighborhood of downtown Fort Wayne. Freshly withered down to a thin, bearded man with bleeding ears, Bryden had only days earlier arrived in Fort Wayne, the latest stop on his nomadic trek around the country where he had just completed 662 miles of the great Appalachian Trail.

After brief introductions, Bryden informed me that he had left the trail to surprise his mom – who had just moved to Fort Wayne – only to find a temporarily empty house. A fallback of his exploratory nature, Bryden found himself without possessions, food or a real clear idea of what his next move should be. The man, literally, had nothing more than the clothes on his back, the songs in his head and a credit card tucked into a zip-lock bag.

First things first; we headed to the grocery to get food and toothpicks, a staple to Bryden’s routine. As the day went on I persistently asked questions. Bryden gave increasingly elaborate answers, often wavering into stories of his travels and friends, always eventually finding his way back to the focus of his current subsistence: hip-hop music – most prominently the then unrecorded Rosetta Stone album he’d be carrying in his head for 662 miles. Bryden also began discussing the upcoming 2001 Scribble Jam event in Cincinnati, which I was also planning to attend. Already committed to the exclusive emcee battle portion of the event and a performance with his group at the time, The White Collar Criminals, Bryden and I decided to meet back up before the weekend of the Scribble Jam, talk some music and come up with more concrete plans for our impending adventure.

Four and a half years later, on the brink of the preliminary round of the Battle of the Bands, you’d have found me hard at work on a Saturday afternoon – slinging pop-rock and death metal CDs to kids too old not to know better. Just as soon as the mid-afternoon rush hits, in walks Bryden looking a bit out of his element. “I just bought two rings dude, my head is spinning; I think I’m gonna go take a nap,” he said without so much as a breath of ‘hello.’ I look over and see his then girlfriend (now fiancé) Jenn Nickell, who also seemed slightly dazed.

Slow to the punch as ever, I too fall into a spiraling world of momentary puzzlement. Notorious for not knowing what to say when put on the spot, I congratulated them on the news, asked them their business at the mall (duh, to buy the rings) and asked Stephen to call me in a couple of hours to discuss a pending writing project.

A few hours later I found myself at Bryden’s mom’s house for the first time since our bloody introduction. As “Mom” bubbles with excitement over the good news, good-news phones are passed and I’m eventually led to an upstairs studio where Bryden is assembling a beat CD for his set to take place in a few hours later at the old Convolution Records location.

Bryden first found his way into the local hip-hop scene by happenstance a few years ago when his now-defunct public access television program, “Shoes and Movies,” led him to national street dance champion/local show promoter Josh “Jedi Glide” Rowlett. The two bonded over their love of hip-hop culture and quickly began feeding off of each others energy. As time went on, Bryden seemed increasingly more interested in the local hip-hop scene and thus, more open to the idea of taking up long-term residence in Fort Wayne.

Sub-Surface emcee, Levon “Rhymewise37″ Williams recalls his initial dealings with Bryden candidly, “I didn’t hear about Sankofa until the summer of 2004 – around the time of the first 32 Deadly Masters event. I asked Glide about him, since I had never heard of him; all Glide said was something to the effect of ‘prepare to be impressed’ and that was it. Once I did meet him, he tried to give a copy of The Rosetta Stone – we ended up quibbling over how much I should pay. I really didn’t know what to think of him then. The first time I even really got to listen to him was in the first round of the 32 Deadly Masters emcee battle, when he battled (House of H.E.M.P. member) Cheezus. Just by knowing Cheezus’ status as one of the area’s top battle emcees, and by the look of Sankofa (plaid shirt, blue Ford hat, lumberjack beard, and kangaroo-skin Adidas), I remember thinking ‘that sucks he got Cheezus in the first round; he’s done.’ He ended up surprising the hell out of everybody. I mean, he lost, but he came better and stronger than I think anybody expected. He earned a lot of fans that night.”

With hip-hop culture and scene building ideas on his mind arguably more than anyone else you’ll come across in the Fortress City, Glide offers some insight into Bryden, sans his Sankofa costume. “Stephen is a very intellectual person. He’s a very positive, fun and unique individual. A lot of people see a complete different guy up on stage, but I don’t at all. I just see a Stephen that is being represented through the art of emceeing. Hip-hop has a way of making your soul and experiences come through with your element. Whether it be rapping, breaking, graffiti or djing, it’s a parallel to one’s life. So in reality, when I see Sankofa on stage I see a super version of Stephen. There’s really no difference, expect the microphone gives him superpowers.”

For a man of his age, Bryden has done his share of living and seen his share of the world. After spending his childhood in Belmont, Australia, he moved to North Mankato, Minnesota for his teenage years, eventually relocating to Saint Peter where he attended Gustavus Adolphus College. Upon graduating, Bryden went onto Changchun, China, where he taught for a year, eventually landing back in Minnesota for a period before heading out to California to work on music and be with friends.

In time Los Angeles seemed disadvantageous, thus leading Bryden to the escape of the Appalachian Trail and eventually the trap of the Fortress City. Now, ostensibly committed to the Three Rivers city, Bryden has taken an interest in things other than his art.

“Access Fort Wayne was my first step into becoming a Fort Wayne local – they really helped me feel at home. It kills me to see the old buildings torn down. It seems like this city has so much promise, but downtown is tumbleweed central once the weekend sun rises. Fort Wayne strikes me as more a collection of communities than a city – there’s no real geographic cohesiveness. It’s almost like the zoning board fell asleep at the map.”

While 2004 saw Bryden coming into his own as a resident, 2005 saw his exposure grow greatly. “Stephen did a lot in 2005 to get his name out there,” says Glide. “I mean the guy was averaging almost three shows a month all the way through the year. He opened for national groups like Glue; he pushed his merchandise and at times used it as a crowd control tool during his stage shows. You had people all over the Fortress rocking Sankofa shirts. He killed it on the work ethic, and it shows. Also, his music is very likeable to people of all genres. A lot of hardcore, punk and rock lovers feel Sankofa’s stuff. He’s diverse, and that comes in great use on a promotional level.”

Rhymewise37 also had much to add about Bryden’s success. “Dude really put his foot down in the Fort Wayne hip-hop scene in 2005. It’s him as a person; people dig him, and even though he probably doesn’t consider himself a people person, I think he does just fine. And then there’s also an element of crossover appeal. Basically, he’s white and he raps, so for a lot of people in the rock scene it’s already a lock. I think that, although its really messed up on a lot of levels, a lot of people in this (still) very rock-centric town who would be close minded to hip-hop will listen to Sankofa because he’s less threatening to them or whatever. But like I said, the positive side to it all is that he’s opening a lot of people’s eyes to the music and I know he’s well aware of what’s going on. I respect that about him.”

As one of the Fort’s most prominent performers in 2005, many had plenty to say on local message boards following a Sankofa show. Whether he’s dancing during sets or a crowd member, you could always find Glide front and center during Bryden’s sets. “He’s one of Fort Wayne’s greatest entertainers right now,” says Glide. “I mean, he jumped from a tree and dove into the Freimann Square fountain in the middle of his 2005 Three Rivers Festival set – then hopped back out and continued to rock another song. That’s not something you see every day. You never know what he’ll be wearing at his shows; it could be just basic hip-hop gear or it could be purple footsy pajamas. You just never know what to expect at his shows. That’s what makes his performances so dope to me. He backs his art with a give-all performance for the sake of the crowd’s enjoyment.”

With his music and live show gaining more and more attention, Bryden keeps pushing forward, not only on his next project, which he has dubbed The Tortoise Hustle, but also on his personal life. Looking back to the night of his dizzying engagement, I found myself shadowing Bryden as he prepared for his set at the aforementioned Convolution show. Suddenly Bryden seemed more interested in talking about his personal happenings than his music.

“My next album is the release I care least about. My life is full,” he said. “Upon meeting Jenn, all my priorities dropped three notches. I used to be able to get a beat, write to it, record it and have it mailed to the producer in about three hours. Now I get a beat from (Tortoise Hustle producer) El-Keter and let it marinate. The way I look at it, final versions of all songs will be banged out in a short time period. I plan to put it out myself, maybe 300 copies or so and just keep it small. It should drop in 2007, but I have a wedding and such to save up for now, so who knows.”

Before the show began we chatted with EDS and photographer FlashOne before eventually going on to explore the innards of Convolution. Somewhere along the way I was finally able to get the story of Bryden’s beginnings as a hip-hop artist.

“My school buddies had a garage band,” Bryden explained. “Once Rage Against the Machine became popular they said, ‘You listen to rap, so you can rap for us.’ That got me started writing. Outside of two jam sessions nothing other than memories came of it. I typed lyrics online starting in ‘95 and didn’t consider making songs until visiting [his rap mentor] Kashal-Tee in ‘98. That’s when he taught me the fours, and I recorded my first song, ‘Emasculation.’”

Eventually Bryden found his way back to what had become the real topic of the day, his recent engagement. “Impending, thinking about it makes me smile because of the possibility of something more than just me. It’s not Jenn and I, it’s us, and that’s as simply as I can put it.”

With The Tortoise Hustle well under way, a couple of “classic” performances at the Battle of the Bands, Whammy nominee cred and a solid base of good friends, things seem to be going as well as ever for both Stephen Bryden and Sankofa.

Before meeting Jenn, Bryden had already made his commitment to family life and his work clear, often talking candidly about his mom – who he describes as “The one I run to. She’s brave, compassionate, adventurous, silly and always supportive of me doing that which I love.

“After graduating college, I told Mom I’d never be a teacher because my family history is such. Flash forward to Fort Wayne, and I’ve been doing substitute teacher work for about four and a half years now. I really enjoy working with children and have been fortunate enough to find a job in that field. It’s too late to go back to school this year for my teaching degree, but I fully intend to do so as soon as possible. Seeing kids I taught in kindergarten who are now in third grade is a bittersweet sensation.”

To go along with his recent BOTB success, Bryden has even bigger things on the horizon such as a wedding, new career moves and fresh music projects. Stephen Bryden, or Sankofa, depending on the accomplishments, seems to have things pretty well in place these days, and Fort Wayne is the better for it. Just ask anyone who saw his performance in this year’s Battle of the Bands semifinals.

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WRITING SAMPLE NO. 4

ALBUM REVIEW: GRINDERMAN: GRINDERMAN

Grinderman’s self-titled debut album has the rare ability to make spirited gutter punks – both real and costumed – feel okay about their socially shunned lifestyles of perceived slackerdom. Whether you’re broke, horny, sick, desperate or just plain ol’ ticked off at the world, the 11 songs on this Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds side project will make you feel normal. In a way, through it’s street-smart darkness and ripped-raw atmospheres, Grinderman might even make social lowlifes feel, well, happy. Isn’t that how rock n’ roll was originally designed to make us – the nonconforming froth of the world – feel? Not normal, never that … but happy.

For starters, the typical Stooges fan who’s going to fall for Grinderman probably isn’t much of a fan of Cave’s The Birthday Party or any of his expansive Goth-themed “solo” catalog. While his talent and originality make him both a critical favorite and a cult icon, his brand of sick oddball music has always kept his pale-skinned fanbase at a modest size. Grinderman, on the other hand, will make listeners feel eight-feel-tall and harder than Lenny Dykstra, rather than five-foot-whatever and soft as a stack of tattered bath towels. Goth in a different way than Cave’s recent work, Grinderman builds most perceptibly on not just The Birthday Party’s later work, but also on some of Tom Waits’ darker moments, making them into directly accessible and edgy rock n’ roll. It also helps that the men behind the Grinderman mask, a bearded batch of 50-year-old balding rockers, sound as fresh and youthful as they ever have. And, most surprisingly, they even manage to sound convincing.

How exactly are Cave (vocals, guitar, organ, piano), Warren Ellis (bouzouki, fendocaster, viola, etc.), Martyn Casey (bass, guitar) and Jim Sclavunos (drums) able to pull off 40 minutes of primitive, cool, enriching, youthful rock after years of semi-progressive, overly pretentious Goth/folk? Well, for one, Cave decided to stop sitting at a desk to write his songs. Rather than e-mailing lyrics and tabs to his Bad Seeds before gathering to rehearse, Cave, Ellis, Casey and Sclavunos convened in a practice space, drank some beers and ripped through Cave’s purposefully simple blueprints. The result is not only Cave’s best work in years, but also his most collaborative and air guitar-worthy release to date.

Packaged like a gatefold LP to the scale of a CD, Grinderman starts with the anathematic “Get It On,” full of perfectly fuzzy and crunchy guitars and lip-curling vocals. Next up is the album’s first single, “No Pussy Blues,” a ferocious, hootin’ n’ hollerin’ blues rocker complete with one of the most epic rock n’ roll climaxes since QotSA released Songs For the Deaf. As far as Grinderman’s lyrical and vocal content go, Cave comes off like a horny, rambunctious, stoned-out rock spirit (again, think Fun House-era Iggy Pop), ready to arm-wrestle Henry Rollins while shooting up with Alice Cooper.

As easy as it is to describe Grinderman as a dirty album that spits rock bullets, it’s actually a quite artful collection of songs, full of inventive twists, turns and sounds; an aspect one would just have to assume is by now built into The Bad Seeds’ DNA. Other highlights include “Go Tell the Women,” “Grinderman,” “Depth Charge Ethel” and the amazing closer, “Love Bomb.” Really though, aside from the subpar “Honey Bee (Let’s Fly to Mars)” and “(I Don’t Need You) To Set Me Free.” Grinderman is solid straight through, offering a varied mix of fast and slow, arty and straight-ahead. That, and it’ll sound good on your skateboard, in your car, at your desk or in the van on the way to play your next gig.

Grinderman’s debut is – similar to Jim Jarmusch’s raw, beatnik-friendly film, Down By Law – a grimy riff of city-slicking art, told from the perspective of a worldly, street-smart poet capable of making words like “pussy” seem commonplace. If you need a soundtrack for your next appearance as the black sheep at whatever family function lies ahead, Grinderman have you covered with their comfortably acute riffs and “kick down the door” spirit. Either way, be sure to pack two air guitars: one to smash and the other to bleed on.

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WRITING SAMPLE NO. 5

FEATURE: MILES DOWN THE ROAD: SONGWRITER LEE MILES

Before breaking into places-you-been questions with lo.automatic’s chief singer/songwriter there was a purely superficial issue to address. Was his simple, poetic name – Lee Allen Miles – a gift his parents gave him at birth, or was it a stage name? Miles’ response was stripped-bare-honest: “Stage names, like beards and expensive cars, are for people with something to hide.” Miles’ uncommon guts-without-glory stance seems to reign over every aspect of his life, most notably his music. Onward with the places.

After graduating from Fort Wayne’s Wayne High School, Miles headed to Bethel College in South Bend, where he studied music, philosophy and literature. Aside from the humdrum task of graduating with a liberal arts degree, Miles kept busy. “I spent my time working random jobs for the school, landscaping and playing music,” he said.

His band at the time, Dark Blonde Water (originally named “Hagas”), saw success in South Bend, a town known for its competitive original music scene. While there, Miles learned the importance of playing original material. “If you weren’t doing something truly creative there, then no one gave you the time of day. [Fort Wayne] isn’t like that, but I think the tide is changing as more folks forsake the bar scene for house shows,” he said.

Dark Blonde Water played shows, recorded songs and, unfortunately, ended with a fall, as the young band ran into major problems with their management.

“It was all a learning experience, and the issues with our management eventually proved to be the undoing of the band,” Miles explained. “We were a moderate success, sold a decent number of albums and played a ton of shows. We had one song, ‘Cadillac Dawn,’ that was a No. 1 single on South Bend radio for two weeks,” explained Miles, adding “It was a horrible song, but I wrote it when I was 19 years old.”

One of the first things anyone will mention when discussing Miles’ music is his distinct voice. “I can’t stand my voice, but some folks seem to love it. Love it. They’ll come up to me and say this or that about it, but I usually think they’re lying. When I first started playing music, I couldn’t hold a tune in a bucket. I would write the songs and let the other guys in the group sing,” Miles said.

Miles ultimately found a new, “booming” slant to singing while taking a sight-singing/ear-training course at Bethel. “I learned to sing from my diaphragm, which gives singers a powerful, robust voice,” said Miles. “It can also be overbearing and obnoxious, which is how I sang up until recently.” Miles’ “robust” approach to singing – which can be most defining heard on the booming “Mrs. James” – helped him find comfort as a lead singer.

After the dissolution of Dark Blonde Water, Miles found himself back in his hometown of Fort Wayne, in time recording his debut solo album, So Much Pain, So Much Sorrow. Somewhere along the way Miles began having brutal problems with his digestive system due to over four years of antibiotic use, leaving him bed-ridden for two years. Remembers Miles, “I slept 12 hours each night and at least six hours through the day. I lost most of my friends because I could no longer spend quality time with them.”

Miles’ health problems led to anxiety and food allergy problems, ultimately resulting in the need for a lifestyle overhaul. “My family saw me through [the problems] when it became clear that if something didn’t change I might not last much longer. I still wrestle with the food allergy and anxiety problems to this day. However, they are much less pronounced.”

During this time Miles made his first mark on the Fort Wayne music scene with the release of his second solo album, Bear, in 2005. Despite looming health issues he started playing out frequently, eventually meeting like-minded songwriter Kyle Morris. The two solo artists soon began playing shows around town as a duo. Said Morris about first meeting Miles, “When I met Lee at an open mic two years ago, I had just been fired from my job and he was sick. Even though we were both pathetic, we saw promise.”

The rare circumstances of their meeting led to a musical kinship that hit its stride as the two artists formed lo.automatic, eventually adding other players, including James “Longsleeves” Musselman, who has since relocated to San Diego, where he recently released an excellent, Radiohead-in-your-pocket EP called Killing Aesthetics.

“James and I were both on a bill for a show at Convolution Records,” explained Miles, “He found me on Myspace. At the time I was still very ill, but I was on my way up. One thing I would say to myself as a means to stay positive was that I was stronger than 1,000 lions. I posted this blatant lie on my webpage. James saw it and, not knowing my situation at the time, thought I was being cocky.”

Musselman and Miles began working together in the spring of 2006 on what would become Miles’ third solo album, the aptly titled 1,000 Lions.

“After the Convolution show we spoke at length and discussed music, recording gear and other topics,” said Musselman, “Before the end of the night I offered my recording services in the event he needed them.” The project quickly fell into place as Musselman worked as the album’s co-producer and engineer, offering Miles his lo-fi mobile recording techniques, a set-up that Miles welcomed compared to the expensive studio sessions he’d been a part of in the past.

Eventually Musselman’s wandering spirit landed him in California.

“We’d marched on through the recordings despite real-life obligations until James disappeared to California, leaving me to sort it all out. I called (lo.automaic guitarist) Jon [Keller], who is a registered engineer, and he took over as producer,” said Miles when asked about the recording of 1,000 Lions.

Quickly becoming known as one of the area’s most stirring young guitarists, the 20-year-old (E-bow-clad) Keller – who Miles says “can play any Elliott Smith song” – hit it off with Miles quickly following the same Convolution Records show at which Miles and Musselman became acquainted at.

“I wasn’t really looking to join a band and had never met another musician that I wanted to be in a band with,” said Keller. “After Lee and I met I found that we liked a lot of the same music.”

A studying guitarist now for over half his life, Keller also had much to offer on the topic of Miles’ modus operandi, “Lee is very opinionated and doesn’t put up with [much]. Those qualities tend to make people think he’s a jerk, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Lee is a quite sensitive and honest musician that puts his heart and emotions into his music and lyrics.”

Trying to explain Miles’ aforementioned “guts-without-glory” stance is not always easy. He’s the type of artist that takes his work very seriously and isn’t afraid to make the kind of music he loves, even though it might not go over well in a city like Fort Wayne.

When asked about his influences and approach to songwriting, the highly literate Miles mentions writers Charles Bukowski, Ayn Rand and Allen Ginsberg as well as songwriters Jandek, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Elliot Smith and, most notably, Will Oldham (Palace, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy), adding “I’d say Will is my … yeah, he’s probably my favorite songwriter.” While the actual sound of Miles’ music would most easily be compared to the typically cryptic and oddly whimsical Oldham, his “thanks but no thanks” approach brings to mind the spirit of Jandek.

Known as an “outsider musician,” Jandek has self-released some 49 albums since 1978, never offering his real name, personal information, interviews or anything else resembling self-promotion. Basically, Jandek lets his music, and only his music, speak for itself.

“I saw Bob Dylan play at Notre Dame in the late 90s. He didn’t say a word in between sets. He didn’t have to. This is the kind of music I want to hear, the kind of music that doesn’t need to be sold with a bag of [B.S] tricks,” said the ever-candid Miles. This attitude, along with his penchant for substance and originality over accessibility, echoes the attitude of both Jandek and Oldham, two artists who have never seen much commercial success yet continue following their own artistic progressions regardless.

While in correspondence for this very article Miles sent over a new song called, “Wait for Thee,” with an accompanying note that simply said “Here’s one I just finished.” Weeks earlier Miles had also passed along an early, unfinished copy of 1,000 Lions and a covers-only album titled Leaves That are Green. While Leaves was full of bare, well arranged interpretations of off-the-cuff tracks, 1,000 Lions was a loose, lyrically dense offering full of subtly varied Americana tunes that featured, as hinted at earlier by Miles, brilliantly detailed, toned-down vocals reminiscent of early Oldham. Anyone familiar with the famed initial home recordings of both John Darnielle (Mountain Goats) and Oldham himself will have an instant soundcrush on 1,000 Lions.

But don’t be fooled by the expression “home recordings.” Miles craft is long-labored, and he knows how to use his resources. The results, frankly, are better than the previously mentioned (and often spotty and lazy) early work of Darnielle and Oldham, two artists who’ve gone on to release shelves full of first-rate, fully-baked Americana albums. Explaining the sound of Miles’ recent work any further is tempting, but probably better saved for a future review. Let’s just say that Miles rightfully calls 1,000 Lions the best work of his life.

On the subject of his plans for his latest, greatest batch of recordings, Miles seemed nearly exhausted when thinking about 1,000 Lions, an album he’d originally planned to have completed long ago. “I wanted it out by 2006,” he said, “but it’s already a fourth of the way through 2007 and it’s still not out. It will, however, be out by mid-April.” When then asked about marketing for the album, Miles’ honorable Jandek-inspired spirit came to the forefront. “I’m sick of marketing. Marketing is for T-shirts and hair products and other [stuff] you don’t need. If people want my music they’ll find it. Otherwise, they can obviously live without it.” Upon further prodding, Miles did say that people interested in acquiring his music should start by checking his website at www.leemiles.us.

This lack of enthusiasm for selling himself to potential fans doesn’t necessarily mean that Miles is against the concept of getting his music out to record labels. When asked about his intentions in this regard, Miles said that he plans to shop the recordings to labels in hope for some interest, adding “I will single out [Chicago’s] Drag City, most certainly.”

Though not a big label by any means, Drag City has – over the last 15 years or so – established a reputation as the label for often misunderstood, too-smart-for-their-own-good songwriters. Songwriters like Smog’s Bill Callahan, the Silver Jews’ D.C. Berman and, naturally, Will Oldham. Sounds like good company for Fort Wayne’s most uncompromising and persistent young songwriter and his ante-upping new album, 1,000 Lions.

More writing samples can be found by exploring this website, or by e-mailing a request to the below address. Thank you for taking the time to visit my site.

gregwlocke@gmail.com

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