Sputen Duyvil doing the same thing, except with more members, less pregnency, less quirk, more growl and considerably more bad-assery. These ladies were pretty spectacular. A capella and French and at least 1/3 pregnant, Galant, Tu Perds Ton Temps were charming and quirky and the percussionist (hidden in the back) played bodhran, suitcase, and ended the night tapdancing right off the stage. (Formal Showcase at NERFA in Kerhonksen, NY).
An interesting comparison from our friend Gordon Nash:
“I have one more compare and contrast, ilyAIMY and We’re About 9. The two bands are friends with each other. Brian from WA9 was one of the people that told me that I had to check them out at Falcon Ridge. The thing is that someone that didn’t know the connection told me that ilyAIMY was like an edgier version of WA9. I objected to edgier and that’s what got me thinking. What is the difference and why would someone group them together. What they have in common is musical uniqueness. They have their own distinct styles and world views. I always use Brian as my archetype songwriter who expresses himself in his one way unconstrained by other people’s notions of songwriting. He doesn’t try and meet other people’s expectations but his own. We’re About 9 expresses themselves primarily through the songwriting and their unique harmonies for which Pat is largely responsible.
What makes ilyAIMY sound edgier is that they express so much through their rhythms. Their sound is dominated by Heather’s drums and Rob’s percussive style of guitar. There music goes rat-a-tat-tat while WA9’s flows smoothly. ilyAIMY could be a rock band and I’d love to hear them electric. I don’t think that makes them edgier but I can see expressing it like that.”
in true NERFA form, the stairwells are blocked by players a’playin’. Cliff Eberhardt and James Lee Stanley doing Doors covers of all things. There’s a story behind that but I’ll ask you to go see them and let THEM tell it. James Lee Stanley was in a panel discussion earlier in the day and from his manner and way of talking I marked him as someone I HAD to see later in the day – and he didn’t disappoint. Deadpan and clever, he had some of the best song introductions and banter I’ve ever heard. I’ve decided to admire him greatly.
For a week slathered in sunshine, post-NERFA is grey and wet and cold. I have yet to catch up and am just treading water, firing back emails, getting the calendar back up to date, slowly entering contact information. Thursdays are my only “off” day of the week anymore, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow being a segment of sanity in which I will make lists, check them twice, write emails, organize photographs, post to websites, fire off the last of my “thank yous” and pet the cats in between it all.
– just a random shot of the quirkiness of the resot where NERFA takes place. Brian Gundersdorf of We’re About 9 complained to me recently about the photos that find their way online. I’d argue he’s just handing them to me though… come on now! He’s such an amazing writer, I’m proud to probably have known him longer than anyone else in this building... even longer than THESE peeps… We’re About 9 tuning up in the hall before yet another guerrilla showcase at NERFA. Prepping in the hallway with miscellaneous debris…. the Shaw Brothers came out to the conference without making sure they had a place to stay! We owe it to the world to make sure everyone has a floor to sleep on and a shower or three – and so we invited them in to sprawl themselves and their cases and their stuff and their things… it was like having little Shaw bears roaming in the darkness.
This past year has seen ilyAIMY embraced by a community that I never thought I’d be acknowledged by. I don’t know if the folk community is changing (though I’m sure it is, folk is ever-evolving) or we’re just getting a lot stronger, mellowing a bit and smoothing our coarser edges (I’m sure we are, ilyAIMY is ever-evolving) but it’s good to have these friends, this level of respect, it’s good to not see the blank stares when we say our name anymore.
Heather Lloyd joins in a song circle and the Shaw Brothers (friends from Columbus OH) show they AREN’T two old men in a cover band called the Shaw Brothers!
Coming home I’m trying to keep track of everyone’s faces – I don’t know how people did it without the easy reference of the internet. Even Heather seemed a little overloaded, and her memory is close to infallible.
I’m going to probably let Heather write the specifics as I fill in from photographs in the meantime, but even that is overwhelming. I’m sitting listening to Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits and wondering where my own personal tastes overlap and project from the folk traditions. Loving the dark stories that aren’t quite as linear, I often try to imagine what the reaction would be coming to these writers cold – if they just showed up at an open mic and wailed forth their distorted blues and over-wrought, frightening tales… whether or not we’d take them seriously or not… or for that matter, folked versions of the metal and pop songs, the writing critique as applied to things that certainly have mass-market appeal. And how I critique my OWN words as I’m STILL stuck between these aesthetics, trying to decide if I like the sound of something, or if it’s expressive enough, or if it communicates ANYTHING at all. It’s enough to drive me crazy.
