BEADS at Capitol Hill Day broadcast
photo by David Frank

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. Each and every Friday KEXP offers a song by a local artist for their Song of the Day podcast series. I am fortunate in that I get to write about these songs and provide behind the scene glimpses into the music and the artists who make it. I would like to thank all the artists who agreed to be interviewed and shared some of their secrets about their music, lives, and inspirations.

Sometimes I get surprising answers and insight into what it’s like to be a musician. For example, The Blakes practically live on the road touring the country and Europe for most of the year. They shared some of that experience with me when I interviewed them for “So Easy” a single off their latest album Souvenir. Full article here. Other times we get a glimpse of a band’s dynamic like when The Tripwires talked about their genesis and it was easy to tell that they all have known each other for a long time from how their humorous responses rolled off each other so naturally. Read their interview here.

Below are excerpts from some of my favorite interviews of the year.

What is your song about? I ask this question of most the artists because it gives me a richer listening experience to compare what the song means to me to how the artist describes their original inspiration.

No One Knows was easily one of my top albums of the year. BEADS is a side project for Garnet & Snow Keim of The Blakes and this album was deeply moving and personal in a such a way that it makes you feel guilty for being too quick to judge a band/artist.

What is your inspiration for the band/song/album? This is often one of the questions that elicits the most surprising answers.

Some are funny:

Jeremy Enigk at The Triple Door
photo by Laura Totten

Some are honest and give you insight into an artist’s life:

The Nightgowns @ EMP's All Access Night
photo by Chona Kasinger

And some give you a better context to appreciate the artist’s music:

Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts with me this past year!

video by Scott Holpainen

Check out photos from the sessions here.

Day 3 of CMJ couldn’t have been a better time for a power pop pick-me-up by our very own Seattle band The Blakes. The young threesome has managed to obtain the secret recipe for perfectly well-rounded rock n’ roll with their jangly guitars, vocal harmonies and jittery rhythms. Although the dynamic trio can’t claim overnight indie success, Garnet Keim (vocals/guitar), Snow Keim (vocals/bass) and Bob Husak (drums) can say they’ve made a name for themselves the right way.

Maine-born brothers Garnet and Snow left the East Coast in the 90’s hoping to dodge their seemingly inescapable fates of working a lifetime in a paper mill. Busking across the country and working odd jobs to pay for hostels and motels, the two finally made their way to Seattle in 1999 where they met barista Husak in a local coffee shop. Husak must have made one mean cup of job, as the three soon took off for LA where they wrote and recorded their first full-length, self-titled album. After Garnet met late 1700s poet and artist William Blake in a dream, The Blakes were complete. Four self-releases later, the fellows finally had their big break when they hand-delivered KEXP their third full-length record, Little Whispers. Since then, The Blakes have been on a roll in the states, playing mega-festivals like Sasquatch, Bumbershoot and SXSW to name a few. They’ve also leapt across the water, touring in the UK with bands like the Gossip, The Kills, Pete And The Pirates and The Wombats. Check out their Web site for upcoming shows in the U.S.

photos by Gabi Porter
Live at The Cutting Room Studios NYC

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Each and every Friday we offer songs by local artists. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Morning Show Host John Richards, is “So Easy” by The Blakes from their second full-length album Souvenir available on We Are Ok Records.

The Blakes have been a staple here at KEXP since the release of their 2007 self-titled debut album. Fans and DJs alike are drawn to the raw energy and driving beats of their music that is well tinged with the unrefined sexuality their brand of rock ‘n’ roll is famous for delivering. The band has been together for nearly a decade and spends the majority of the year on the road living the lives everyone thinks a touring band lives with all its ups and downs and weird folk you meet along the way. Luckily, much of their exploits are documented on the bands MySpace and Facebook pages.

Earlier this yea, Garnet and Snow Keim took some time away from The Blakes and worked on a deeply personal project that became BEADS. It was during this period they spent a lot of time working with different instrumentation, recording techniques, song structures and lyrical delivery. Although BEADS is entirely a separate project for the brothers, some of what they did with that project inevitably seeped into the songs that became Souvenir. While most of the songs on the album reflect this maturity, they don’t lack the pop sensibilities found on previous releases. Today’s song, “So Easy,” features Garnet’s trademark jangly guitar riffs, easy to remember (i.e. sing-a-long-able) lyrics and an anthemic rhythm provided by bassist Snow and drummer Bob Husak that keeps the song danceable.

The Blakes are currently on the road supporting the new album but took a moment to check in with us earlier this week to talk about Souvenir and life on the road.

Where in the tour are you right now? Any favorite moments from the road thus far?

We just finished our west coast leg and now we’re driving to Texas. Favorite moment so far was probably opening up for Joe Perry (Aerosmith) at The Viper room. He had quite the entourage of the Sunset Strip’s elite: Nikki 6, Slash, Perry Ferrel, Tom Morello and on it goes. It was all together pretty strange.

What do you like best about being on the road? Do you have any superstitions or rituals that you adhere to on the road?

I like the openness and time off to think. I have 7 hours a day of reflection. No rituals or superstitions. Just try to stay calm and patient. There might be an 11 am Chilada ritual developing. If you’re not familiar, it’s Budweiser and Clamato pre-mixed in a tall boy can.

You guys are self-releasing this album via your own record label, We Are Ok. How are things different now that you guys are the record label?

10 times more work and 10 times less stress. It feels easier in ways because it is less pressure. It’s up to us. We’re running our own show.

Was the recording process on Souvenir different from your previous albums?

Yes, it was recorded live straight to tape. The songs on Souvenir were collected from 3 recording sessions over a year and a half. The record has a more diverse sound than the last.

What is the story behind today’s Song of the Day “So Easy”?

The story is in the lyrics. It’s about the loss of friends and relationships… and how quickly those relationships can turn.

How did you come up with the album art?

We were on tour with The Presidents [of the United States] playing at The Troubador in LA. A 16 year old kid showed up with his sketch book and had us take a look at it. We instantly fell in love with his illustrations and knew we wanted to use him for something. A year and a half later he made the art we used for cover. MacAttack Art’s design concept and BENDOW’s illustrations fell together naturally. All of our past records Garnet has done all of the illustrations partnered with MacAttack Art. This is our first time showcasing another artist. We’re really excited about it.

The Blakes should be back home in Seattle sometime after the New Year. You can check them out live on KEXP during the CMJ live broadcasts from New York on October 21st at 10:00 am. Check their MySpace page for tour dates and information. For now, enjoy this video of The Blakes performing “Streets”:

True Adolescents, written & directed by Craig Johnson
(USA, 2009) 88 min.

Festival Screenings:

June 4, 2009 9:30pm, The Egyptian
June 6, 2009 1:30pm, The Egyptian

Act Your Age: True Adolescents SIFF Party
June 6, 2009 8:00pm, The Comet 21+ $7 at the door

The Effort (featuring members of The Blakes), The Fucking Eagles, Basemint (featuring members of Wallpaper), Black Daisy, and DJ sets by Mono In VCF’s Hunter Lea.

Review by Leigh Bezezekoff

When you set out to film a movie about a thirty-something Seattle musician, you better have one thing right: the music. Jaded Seattleites accustomed to rolling their eyes when Singles is brought up in conversations know what I’m talking about. Seattle music is diverse, and we have a long history of great music to choose from and that should be represented when a movie is located here. One glance at True Adolescent’s soundtrack should be enough to let you know that this movie not only has a good handle on the music, but also offers an excellent sampling of local artists as well-owing to the local roots by writer/director Craig Johnson and Music Supervisor Sandy Wilson (the film & TV licensing guru at Seattle’s own Light in the Attic Records).

But, True Adolescents doesn’t rest on the soundtrack alone.

On the surface, the film is about a guy who gets kicked out of his girlfriend’s house and goes to live with his aunt (Academy Award Winner Melissa Leo) who guilts him into taking her son and a friend camping. Thrust into a weird father-figure type role, Sam and the boys embark on a road trip that’s filled with wise cracks, misunderstandings, and worse case scenarios as one of the boys goes missing in the woods.

Johnson’s warmth, depth, and humor shine throughout the story, and the lead character Sam played by Mark Duplass (Humpday, The Puffy Chair) is not just one-dimensional-even if he doesn’t know it. I found myself instantly relating to many of the characters in this story, and having more than one laugh as I recognized a lot of my friends in Sam. There were definitely some tender moments too, but they were usually offset by nudity, embarrassing moments, and jokes at other people’s expenses which made it all the more realistic. I don’t want to give too much away, but I can tell you there were definitely a couple of plot twists I did not see coming which made this story more than a typical coming-of-age flick.

One cool thing to note is that in addition to a couple of spots on the soundtrack, local band and KEXP faves The Blakes also make an appearance in the movie as Duplass’ band The Effort. Snow Keim even snatches up a credited role in the film as JR and was actually quite good. I was really impressed with the music in the film which ran the gamut on genres and eras. It could have been a KEXP playlist with classic songs from The Sonics and The Free Design, along with emerging artists like Devendra Banhardt, Band of Horses, The Black Keys, The Blakes, Wallpaper, Mono In VCF, Hazelwood Motel, Black Daisy, Sunset Valley, and The Fucking Eagles.

I had the opportunity to talk with the film’s music supervisor Sandy Wilson about how the soundtrack came together.

How did you get involved with the film?

Craig and I had mutual friends in Aubrey Nehring and Rena Bussinger (Associate Producer/Art Director for True Adolescents) who recommended me for the position. I met up with Thomas Woodrow and Craig Johnson at the old Twilight Exit for drinks and we seemed to hit it off pretty well.

Did your role as Light in the Attic’s Film & TV Licensor help or hind you?

It definitely helped. Especially since I represent bands for film/TV licensing that are not on the Light in the Attic catalog - many of which (luckily and thankfully) made it into the film. The fact that I had the right bands readily available and the knowledge of licensing music was everything. However, there are some bands in the film that were beyond my immediate network - which is where the actual work began.

Approximately how many times have you seen the film?

Oh jeez, including all of the rough cuts over the last 2 years…let’s just say that there’s not much left of my poor computer.

How did you choose the bands featured in the film?

The film itself dictates the music. It was a matter of studying the film and having a true understanding of the scenes themselves and the film as a whole. That’s what gets one ‘in the ballpark.’ From that point on it’s really about trial and error. There were songs that I thought, after reading the script, would be perfect for a certain scene - but once you drop them into the actual scene and see how they fit, you find out right away what floats and what doesn’t. A big part also is the dialogue that I had with the director, producer, and editor. At the end of the day they are the client and I give them what they want.

I heard somewhere that you were instrumental in getting The Blakes into the movie as the band Mark Duplass’ character Sam plays in (The Effort). Is that true? How did that come about?

I did in fact. In another meeting with Thomas and Craig they had asked me if I knew of a band that would be able to act as Sam’s backup band, and they mentioned that they wanted a band that looked like The Blakes. As they were on Light in the Attic at the time and, unbeknownst to Thomas and Craig, were also good friends of mine - I smiled to myself and said “I’ll see what I can do.” In the end The Blakes still had to audition and get the part, which obviously they did. That, I think, was the most important part.

Your band Black Daisy had an interesting placement as “Slacknut” in the film. (Note to the readers: In this scene, young Bret Loehr’s character Oliver is being schooled by Sam on proper road music, i.e. Sam throws Oliver’s Slacknut CD out the window and proclaims it as crap.) Were your band mates ok with “Slacknut” being used that way?

Yeah, they were more than okay with it, they loved it. It couldn’t have been more perfect. But let me state for the record that I was not, at that time, in the band. That was how I met Troy Nelson and Cody Hurd. As it turned out someone else had recommended to Craig that we use the Black Daisy (aka Voltage Periscope) song “Bearing Down On Me” for that scene as it’s a parody of that kind of music (”bro-metal”). Any other band would have been appalled to have their music in that cue. We revel in it.

What was your favorite song placement in the movie?

There were a couple. But my absolute favorite is the scene when Oliver throws a squid at this girl in his class and the squid flies through the air in slow motion to the Wallpaper song “Bottom Top Blues” because the lyrics couldn’t match up more perfectly. “Got a toluene taste, got a toluene taste, got a vitamin A, got it stuck on your face” as it smacks her in the face. “Need a sea swirl girl and it’s just like the ocean.” I had one of those moments where you feel like all of your clothes and have static cling. It was a good feeling.

The majority of the music is from local indie artists. Did that direction come from you or from the writer/director Craig Johnson?

It came from Craig at the start. His story was influenced by the same things as the music in the film. He was adamant that you can’t have a real Seattle film without real Seattle music. Coming from Seattle, myself, it was easy to see what a rock show at The Comet on a Tuesday would be like, or what song you would play over and over after a break up as you sit in a coffee shop.

Are you working on other films or have anything else in the works?

I just wrapped up a Canadian short film directed by Mike Schultz called Funky Prairie Boy and have another one in the works.

True Adolescents is celebrating their Seattle homecoming and SIFF screenings by throwing a party at The Comet on June 6th. Scheduled to perform are bands whose music is featured in the film: The Effort (featuring members of The Blakes), The Fucking Eagles, Basemint (featuring members of Wallpaper), Black Daisy, and DJ sets by Mono In VCF’s Hunter Lea. Doors at 8pm | 21+ | $7

For more information about screenings, please visit http://www.siff.net.
For more information about True Adolescents please visit
http://trueadolescents.com

Along with The Stranger and Caffe Vita, KEXP 90.3 FM is proud to present The 2009 Capitol Hill Block Party, Seattle’s Premiere Celebration of Independent Music on July 24 & July 25th.

The first part of the lineup has just been announced:

Get daily updates, videos, special promotions and more on their new website

Tomorrow, Tuesday April 28th, 10:00am, through April 30, is a special pre-sale (promo code is BLOCKPARTY)

After that, early bird tickets are available from May 1 through May 15: 2 day passes - $40 / single day tickets - $22

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Each and every Friday we offer songs by local artists. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Morning Show host John Richards, is “Evil” by BEADS from their self-released debut album No One Knows.

The Morning Show faithful have no doubt heard today’s Song of the Day on a few occasions but may not be aware that BEADS is a side project of The Blakes led by Snow and Garnet Keim. No One Knows is markedly different than the music people have come to expect from The Blakes and is generating quite a bit of well-deserved interest from its release earlier this month. The sparse arrangements and raw vocals give the listener time to connect with the deeply emotional and personal lyrics. Not many people know that the brothers Keim are both prolific songwriters and generally have a cache of songs, melodies, etc. at their fingertips but BEADS came about after a personally trying year for the brothers and originally was not intended to become an album. I got the opportunity to talk with Snow Keim about this project and how it came to be.

KEXP: Snow-you collaborate with your brother Garnet on much of the songwriting for The Blakes, but I understand you took over much of the songwriting on this album. How did the material for BEADS come about and what was your original inspiration?

Snow: In this collection of songs we explore an entirely different sound than The Blakes. We are coming from a very different place. (Because Everyone Always Does Something). We felt we had to do this for us. It was my idea and I played most of the instruments but I didn’t do it without collaboration. Garnet brought some very nice songs to the table for this that he had been hiding away for years! Each of us sing lead on the songs we wrote and the other of us comes up with the harmonies.

KEXP: You use a lot of different instruments and sound techniques on many of these songs. What was the recording process like?

Snow: We had the opportunity to wake up and work on whatever we wanted. Usually it started with vocals and guitar as one take to capture the moment and then everything was built around that. It was more about capturing the feeling or essence of the songs- it was very spontaneous. Garnet wrote this song on the piano first then we just built on top of that.

We never used a grid or metronome that is why this record feels so organic and “loose” -also recording to an 8 track adds color and noise that can be pleasing.

KEXP: Can you give me any background information on the song Evil? What’s it about or can you give me any ideas on what listeners should take away from this song or this album?

Snow: Evil was written through the eyes of a child looking at a man and what he will become when he reaches adolescence. We used the ideas of innocence and evil throughout and that is part of the bi-polar nature of this song’s movements. The bridge has an angelic sort of quality that feels like something you might feel in a chapel. The recording of this song was mostly about letting the music come through us and to try to let it do the talking. The song “Voices” was another one that came from somewhere else, a dream with words and a melody. That was an easy one to write. When you’re sleeping and you are on autopilot but yet you are still dreaming music — that is always fun. You never know what you’ll find after midnight!

One thing no one knows is that Snow is making his acting debut this year at the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF). He has a small role in a locally filmed movie called True Adolescents that also features The Blakes playing a previously unreleased song with Mark Duplass (Hump Day, The Puffy Chair) as The Effort. Check out the festival website for screening dates.

You can catch BEADS’ first official performance during KEXP’s Hood to Hood broadcast from Capitol Hill on April 17th. They will be live during the Morning Show at 7:30 am from Café Vita. They are working on booking some more shows in the near future but in the meantime, keep your eye on their MySpace page. It’s also worth mentioning that The Blakes are back in the studio and may have something out in the near future.

Here’s a video for the title track, “No One Knows,” which features a very hirsute Snow exploring some of his innocence: