A Special Gig for DM!

Last night, I had the opportunity to open for Ezra Furman of Ezra and the Harpoons. He is a native of Evanston and has been on tour nationally with his band, so meeting him felt pretty cool. Along with me, The Main Men opened the concert. They consist of Chris Kim on Keys, Mike Johnson on Guitar and vocals, Zach Levine on Drums, and Bryant Millet on Bass and Trumpet. They are a really rocking little band with a great dynamic and clear Beatles influences. (All but the drummer lived in my dorm freshman year, and they would ALWAYS cover the Beatles and other groovy '60s and '70s bands of the same ilk.)

As for Ezra, he's amazing solo with a quirky personality that is infectious and an instant hit. He asked me shyly, "Are you staying for my set? If I break a string can I borrow your guitar?" The Tufts graduate of 2008 has been on the scene with his band for a few years and is due to release a new album in April. He's a man of few actions but all he does and says seems to be in earnest and his songs seem to be the only small gateway into his somewhat bizarre and "sheepish" personality as highlighted in "I Wanna Be a Sheep". I am excited to follow him and his band further and felt very happy to open for him.

"Kiss Each Other Clean"--A new and remarkable album from Iron and Wine

So, two days ago on January 25th, Iron and Wine's first new studio album in over 3 years, "Kiss Each other Clean" was released. It had been made available for digital download on the 21st but because I wanted to give it the appropriate time and care when I listened, I waited it out until today so that I had the chance to visit my Sam Beam anthology to reacquaint myself with the music I've been a fan of for years.

Iron and Wine first came on the scene in 2002 with "The Creek Drank the Cradle", a sparse acoustic album that evoked raw emotion purely through gentle picking patterns, vocals, and beautifully thoughtful lyrics. However, I first discovered Sam Beam with his cover of the Postal Service song "Such Great Heights" upon viewing Zach Braff's 2004 anthem to my home state of New Jersey, Garden State. I wanted to hear more and quickly fell in love with "Our Endless Numbered Days", with it's dark, but beautiful imagery.

All of the best elements of these two albums, mixed up with some gentle percussion and layered vocals made 'The Shepherd's Dog" a hit in 2007. With "Kiss Each Other Clean", Sam Beam went a step further and added electronic sound (ghasp!) For die hard fans of the gentle acoustic sound that Iron and Wine has churned out since "The Creek Drank the Cradle", this might come as a shock. Beam really diversified on this album while maintaining the integrity of his personal vocal layering style. The Album's opening track, "Walking Far From Home" has a gradual build reminiscent of "The Trapeze Swinger", but it builds to a great, almost larger than life finish by the end, where Beam is singing impossibly high falsetto notes over his own system of vocal layering. This climatic end is the perfect setup for the start of a diverse and complex album.

"Big Burned Hand" was one of the more surprising tracks off of this new album. It has a funky, 70's jazz feel with the addition of a bluesy saxophone and starts to explore a genre that isn't characteristic of the Iron and Wine that faithful listeners are necessarily accustomed to. Again on "Your Fake Name is Good Enough For Me", the last track before bonus material, the '70s are alive with horns as the 7 minute song grows into a vocal layering section reminiscent of Crosby, Stills, and Nash. When the meter changes about half way through the track, the vocal layering persists underneath Beam's solo and grows to the heights set by the opening track with a full drum set and electric guitar adding tasteful complexity to Beam's simple and beautiful ideas.

I am already gearing up to see Iron and Wine downtown at the Riviera on March 4th and look forward to following him as his style continues to evolve.

More to come.

Peace.Love.Music

Kara Ali

So, it's been FOREVER and so much has happened!---To Recap

Hello Friends of Music and Sound!

Since the summer when I last blogged, I have been back in Evanston, Illinois at Northwestern University for my Junior Year. (For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Norshore region, we are about 30 minutes North of downtown Chicago.)

The reasons for my failure to blog can be summed up by about four words:

Music and Sound Design.

For the first--I just released my second studio EP, entitled Lake Michigan's Chill on my bandcamp page! Since the summer, I have actually recorded and released two EP's! Lake Michigan's Chill is my 3-song tribute to winter, living in one of the coldest, windiest climates EVER! It was recorded while I was on winter break back in New Jersey at Soundwaves Academy in Union, NJ. The first was entitled Time Grasp as an homage to the first ever song I wrote in High School. Although the title song is absent from the album, most of the songs preserve the poppy element of some of my earlier songs.

Both albums can be heard at www.karaalimusic.bandcamp.com and will shortly be on iTunes! Yay digital releases!

Also, check out my new website here

In other news: SOUND DESIGN

I am currently sound designing Sit & Spin's production of A Streetcar Named Desire at Northwestern University. We go up in roughly 2 weeks. STELLLLLAAAAA! The director, the lovely Ms. Allie Gallerani has been one of the most helpful directors ever to work with, offering so much insight into the piece and willing to take a really interesting new spin on Williams' classic piece. I watched a run last night and couldn't have been more thrilled. I mean, rope nets and harnesses are involved...come on!

Additionally, (I guess I should have mentioned this) I am currently interning at Studiomedia, a Recording Studio in Evanston. The studio has been around for 30+ years and walking into their main engineering room is like walking into a time capsule. With the vintage English Trident board from the '70s and a rare combination of analogue and digital technology, it is apparent to me how unique this place is. Being the music and audio nerd that I am, I am chomping at the bit wanting to jiggle every knob and test out every piece of outboard equipment in the room. But I know better--I will be a good observer for now and soak up all I can while I make the occasional pot of coffee and set up mics, stands, and windscreens for the next voiceover session.

Along with my sound design classes, work on Streetcar and my own music, it's shaping up to be an incredibly productive quarter. As I sit in Starbucks and listen to "The Shepherd's Dog", I couldn't be more juiced about Iron and Wine's release of "Kiss Each Other Clean" tomorrow. First album impressions and my own review to come!

I'm back folks, and I plan on sticking around for a while this time. What else will get me through all the snow?

Peace.Love.Music.

Kara Ali