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RVATrack Drops New Video For Spooky Cool’s ‘Strange Rooms’

Amy David | February 19, 2018

Topics: prog-pop, prog-rock, RVA Track, Spooky Cool

Richmond five-piece outfit Spooky Cool has been one of the more elusive bands on the scene for the last few years. Up until recently, there was no social media or recordings to track them down, but determined fans caught them at their epic live shows, where they have carved out a name for themselves with their unique prog rock/psych pop math-y sound.

But back in October, the band released a video for the genre-defying, catchy song “Black Wine,” courtesy of the folks over at Good Day RVA. And now Spooky Cool is back with a video for their single “Strange Rooms,” which the group dropped in September.

It’s fun and upbeat and I’m mad at myself that I haven’t heard it until now. Spooky Cool worked with local film collective RVATrack to record their live music video and it looks like they had a good time rocking out.

Spooky Cool just kicked off their Winter Tour a few days ago which will take them from North Carolina to Tennesse, to Georiga, to Pennsylvania to promote their upcoming debut album, Every Thing Ever, slated to drop in June. Give this video a watch and be sure to catch Spooky Cool March 5 at their show at Strange Matter.

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Night Idea: Richmond’s indie prog rockers on new album, tour, & Friday’s release show at The Broadberry

Amy David | October 17, 2017

Topics: Antiphons, Citrus City Records, experimental rock, Magnus Lush, Navi, Night Idea, prog rock, RVA Track, The Broadberry

Last time we checked in with Richmond’s indie prog group Night Idea, the guys were releasing their first LP, Breathing Cold at The Broadberry. A year later, the quartet is back with a new album in tow and they are coming off the road to throw a release party at the very same venue on West Broad Street this Friday.

Unlike Breathing Cold, which shows a darker side to the band, the new album, Riverless, has the band experimenting with a wide range of sounds, spanning multiple genres.

“We are getting more comfortable with each other’s strengths as writers and players, and I think this is our most successful effort so far at harnessing a dynamic that bridges the large gaps between our musical selves and preferences,” said drummer Ethan Johnstone. “Also we had more fun than ever putting these songs together and making sense of it all. Having vastly different vibes from one song to the next made for fun opportunities to work on interesting ways to transition from one song to the next and try and keep it feeling organic. The way these songs came together was organic to us and we try to not to force anything if it doesn’t feel right.”


And while guitarist/keyboardist Reid LaPierre stressed that wasn’t their intention, he echoed Johnstone’s sentiments on Riverless.

“All of the members are into a lot of different genres,” he said. “Now that we’re all playing a larger hand in the writing process, I think its inevitable that we’re going to move through sonic styles from song to song.”

Some of the songs have been in the Night Idea vault for the last three or four years, but the band, which is rounded out by Carter Burton, (guitar/vocals), and Joey Anderson (bass), only started working with local sound genius Bryan Walthall of Stereo Image last year for this record.

“We did three or four pre-production sessions with Bryan in our old Hardywood Brewery practice space,” LaPierre said. “Each time, we would sit with him in a tiny room and record the session while Bryan gave us some suggestions on how to tweak the songs. On the final demo, I tracked all the overdubs we thought we would want over top of the mixes Bryan gave us. Violins, synths, acoustic guitars, and vocals filled up the mix nicely.”

The band tracked drums and bass in the upstairs of Backstage, at The Ward. Walthall then set up a mobile recording rig in Burton’s house for Night Idea to record the violins, keyboards, and guitars and having worked with the sound engineer in the past, it made for a smooth recording process.

“We were definitely more prepared to record these songs than previous releases,” Burton said.

Not only did they switch it up musically on the album, LaPierre said the writing on this album was much more of a collaborative effort than previous releases.

“We’ve been trying to take advantage of the fact that all members can hold their own on guitar,” he said. “It’s resulted in a few songs being built from chord progressions Joey wrote on guitar. One specific section was dictated to us by Ethan singing out the melodies he wanted to hear. Ethan also ended up writing the lyrics for multiple songs. All in all, this record shows a bit more of each member’s writing styles than our previous material.”

The nine-track album, which dropped online Oct. 13, starts out very Zeppelin-esque with the track “Canopy” and from there is a complex, eclectic mix of songs. Riverless tells a unique tale with each song revealing a different layer and creating visuals for the listener to envision the world Burton describes in his lyrics.

“Riverless follows a storyline and many of the lyrics are meant to create imagery that relates to the hopefully ‘otherwordly’ nature of some of the music,” Johnstone said.

Johnstone wrote a short story, which serves as an accompaniment to the beginning of the record, that will come with the vinyl copies of the album.

“It sets the scene for the events that unfold,” he said.

“Leaves shudder away as dark figures pass through the woods along a carved path. The figures show no sign of reflection on their faces as they move together. The only light coming forth under the canopy is emanated in occasional beams from luminescent creatures sulking within the tree line. The figures do not notice the lights. Their nearly endless pilgrimage stops in a clearing of woods; the forms file into the clearing, where a massive silver structure cuts upward out of the ground and arcs off to the south, out of sight.”

This is just an excerpt from the segment Night Idea’s drummer wrote to introduce Riverless, you can find the full story here to get an idea of the musical journey the band is trying to take you on.

In anticipation of their album release party this week, the group has been building momentum with track releases, a music video, and a tour.

“Gift Horse” is a hazy, psychedelic and almost trance-like track that the band released as a single in September. And this month, Night Idea collaborated with RVATrack to put out a live music video for their jazzy song “Let Me Out”.

For both Burton and Johnstone, there are a few songs on Riverless that hold a special place.

“’Perfect Water’ and ‘Dream Sequence’ are two tracks that I still get excited listening to. To me, as a pair they offer a kind of duality between a lighter (Perfect Water) and darker (Dream Sequence) side of the more adventurous side of the music that we go for,” Johnstone said. “‘Perfect Water’ makes me want to hike a mountain, ‘Dream Sequence’ makes me want to dwell in a glistening cave. The end of ‘Villainous’ makes me want to escape danger riding the wings of a giant prehistoric hawk.”

Although Night Idea toured earlier this year to promote the album and again last month, they will hit the road again Oct. 21 for about a week for a tour down south.

“I love being on the road and it was rewarding meeting a lot of cool nice people. It’s always reaffirming meeting welcoming new communities while traveling,” said Johnstone.

The band is releasing vinyls of Riverless through Gigantic Noise Records, and cassettes through Citrus City. They will also have CDs and the album is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.

Be sure to catch Night Idea at their album release party this Fri., Oct. 20 at The Broadberry. Magnus Lush, Antiphons   , Navi, and Eric Slick will also be performing. $8 ADV $10 DOOR. Grab your tickets here.

 “It’s going to be a banger. We’ve got a whole slew of friends and surprises!” Johnstone said. 

 

Charles Owens Quartet Bring Jazz Fire On “Losing Victory” Video for RVA Track

Christopher McDaniel | September 25, 2017

Topics: jazz, richmond, rva music, RVA Track

Charles Owens Quartet was the featured artist for RVA Track’s monthly music video for September 2017. “Losing Victory” is the latest single from the Quartet’s last album, As One, which was released back in April. Owens’ Quartet is another big name from the Jellowstone Records crew. The quartet features Jellowstone impresario and Butcher Brown leader Devonne Harris on piano, along with Harris’s Butcher Brown bandmate Andrew Randazzo on bass, and Kelli Strawbridge (KINGS) on drums.

The video lasts for about 10 minutes and it is a full exploration of the quartet’s range in jazz sounds. Owens owns his sax lines, and Harris hammers away at a precise chaos that is quite familiar in the piano sounds of their style. Randazzo watches diligently for all the cues that Owens and Strawbridge lay out. Much of jazz revolves around improvisation, but this conductor-less ensemble relies on each other at a fundamental level.

“Everyone has certain songs that help them through hard times, and these songs did just that for me,” Owens said about As One via Bandcamp. “’Losing Victory’ was written while in my mid 20s for my now wonderful wife of almost 15 years, Vijay. I love you Vijay!”

The video was filmed by Craig Zirpolo, Daniel Bagbey, Gabrielle Silvers and Joey Wharton at American Paradox Records, with audio by Scott Lane (The Congress) and edited by Daniel Bagbey.

Charles Owens has no upcoming performance dates listed on his website, but did get to perform with the Roots at the recent “Concert For Charlottesville” at UVA’s Scott Stadium. Keep an eye on his facebook for upcoming dates.

Richmond jazz songstress Kenneka Cook on looping, her creative process & debut album

Christopher McDaniel | September 14, 2017

Topics: American Paradox Records, Cary St. Cafe, funk, jazz, Kenneka Cook, rva music, RVA Track, Scott Lane

For the seventh installment of RVA Track’s monthly live music video series, the local film collective chose to spotlight Kenneka Cook, an up and coming, talented jazz singer who calls Richmond home. Cook has been looping her funky jazz vocals in Richmond venues and that combined with her pipes have earned her a solid place in the local funk and jazz club scene. She has performed with local band Mikrowaves, and now the powerhouse blues singer is stepping out on her own with a debut album due to drop this winter.

“I’ve been looping for about four years,” Cook said of her recent public performances. “Looping requires a machine, an effect pedal, and you say whatever you want into it, record it, and it will repeat on a loop. After I’ve added all my vocals, I beatbox to put it to a beat. I actually got the idea from Reggie Watts, and when I tried, it was so cool!”


The whimsical sounds that arise from Cook and the jazz ensemble make the listener yearn for more. Cook has a couple songs out on YouTube, plus a TEDx Talk, but that isn’t satiating enough for those of us who want to hear more. If the music emanating from the seventh RVA Track video is any indication of how Kenneka Cook’s debut album will play, then Richmond is in for treat.

“I’ve been singing all my life,” Cook said about the origins of her music. She takes inspiration from the greats like Billie Holiday, Betty Carter and Sarah Vaughan.

“I like to sing about love, how the world needs more love, heartbreak, and my intimate surroundings. I’ll read something, or someone will say something, and I’m like, ‘Huh…’ I’ll run with it.”

Her live music video by RVA Track, “Brings Me Back”, premiered Aug. 14 and as soon as Cook opens her mouth to belt out the tune you can feel the passion and the soul behind it. It’s captivating. The video was filmed by Craig Zirpolo, Daniel Bagbey, Gabrielle Silvers and Joey Wharton at American Paradox Records, with audio by Scott Lane (The Congress), edited by Daniel Bagbey, and features a cool short animation by Leslie Herman.


Cook just finished recording her 10-track album with Lane and it’s currently out being mastered. Fans can expect a mix of covers as well as several of the singer’s original tracks.

“About half of them are mine, with one song I wrote with Scott Lane, and the rest are covers,” she said. “There’s a Vampire Weekend cover, a Nancy Sinatra cover, a little bit of everything.”

Be on the lookout on RVA Mag for when Cook’s album drops and in the meantime, you can catch the jazz singer next at Cary St. Café on Mon., Oct. 2,  alongside Big Lean and Pheen.

Top photo credit: Melissa Brugh Photography

 

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