Reading is rereading (and then listening to good music)
Ever dog-eared a page in a magazine, then returned to find you have no idea why? Happens to me all the time. In this month's instance, the page was from the New Yorker's music listings. Split between rock and jazz listings, the page had nothing obvious leaping at my lapels. (Or, more accurately, my hoodie.) I reread it once. Nothing. Twice. Nothing. Third time? I began to guess. From the guessing, I started googling.
And found two plausible reasons. The second reason I plan to cover at greater length tomorrow afternoon. But the first reason came quick, in a question. How does an album sound after your house burns down?
JOE'S PUB
425 Lafayette St. (212-539-8777)–Butch Walker left his post fronting the chart-grazing modern-rock band Marvelous 3 to produce songs for Avril Lavigne, Simple Plan, the Donnas, and many other artists, but he hasn't lost his taste for the rock-and-roll life. In fact, he glamorized it to great effect on his 2006 album, "The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let's-Go-Out-Tonites," which is full of tales of sex and glitter. But his life hasn't just been one big party. In the fall of 2007, the house he was renting in Malibu, containing all his possessions, was destroyed in a wildfire. His 2008 solo album, "Sycamore Meadows," is named for the street where that house once stood. He's here Dec. 4-6, playing a full album each night. The first show features his 2004 release, "Letters," the second is devoted to "Rise and Fall," and the third focusses on "Sycamore." He'll also do some covers and maybe a track or two from his forthcoming LP, "I Liked You Better When You Had No Heart."
Had never heard of Butch Walker before, but digging into samples on iTunes, I like the post-fire album the best. (Figures.)
December 29th, 2009 at 2:18 PM
[...] other curious item on the dog-eared page was this one: Dec. 3-6 [at the Jazz Standard]: The pianist Chano Dominguez reinterprets Miles [...]