The Radar Screen
June 1, 2003
by Alexander Washburn

Quality is Job One. One of the giants in music showed up in New York City one Sunday night. T. Model Ford is everything that the blues is supposed to be. Raw. Dirty. Gritty. Tired. Old. James "T. Model" Ford, 78-years old from Greenville, MS has lived the life of a blues song. By the time Buddy Guy plucked him up a few years ago and took him on the road, T. Model had been shot, stabbed, poisoned, and spent time on a chain gang. That kind of life makes for great blues songs and T. Model has got plenty. Whether its tales of the long lost and wronged women in T. Model’s life. He claims to have 26 children. Or his second favorite subject Jack Daniels, which he consistently swigged at his Sunday night show at NYC’s Mercury Lounge – its all T. Model’s life, pain and blues. And we love it. T. Model Ford has a slew of new records out on the Fat Possum label and a devoted legion of fans willing stay out late on a school night if it means the blues won’t be defined by Keb Mo anymore.

Your Mom Likes to Smoke and Bone. Tobacco Road, the former Savoy Lounge in Hell’s Kitchen, is slowly becoming Radar Screen’s favorite New York venue. The room is just right to not have a bad view, the walls close enough to bounce some serious sound back your way. So, when Bonerama made a rare NYC appearance – an after show to the Funky Meters set at BB King’s – it couldn’t be passed up. Bonerama is Craig Klein, Rick Trolsen, Mark Mullins, Brain O’Neill and Steve Suter all on trombone. Laying down the funky bass lines on tuba is Matt Perrine, and no it’s not a typo, the tuba can be funky. Bonerama gave us a two-hour plus high-energy show that took traditional New Orleans jazz and funk to new heights, while staying true to the roots. The secret is out on Bonerama as Radar Screen even spied someone’s mother who was well into her fifties toking up at the show. Not only does she get a demerit for breaking New York’s fascist 'No Smoking' law, she gets another one for not passing on the left hand side.

INDIE RELEASES PICKED UP ON RADAR

Fans of Tori Amos will flock to the debut CD from Lori Hawk. The former Strada lead singer has a sound and voice that pleasantly reminiscent of Ms. Amos. Like Amos, Hawk has a lot on her mind, yet her complex compositions maintain a friendly, uplifting warmth even in the darkest of times. Hawk says her record Alive in this Dream is "about idealism coming face-to-face with reality." Her vision is reached on Free, which his already gathering college radio airplay. On this record, Lori Hawk is not trying to scare you she’s just too honest not to give it to you straight.

From Thursday Morning Records comes The Dent with their debut record Farewell. The Dent debut sure doesn’t sound like an indie record, and that’s because they have mastered a sound that would land any of these tracks on Top 40 radio. It’s perfectly fine to like The Dent, a self-described art-pop group from Connecticut. Not every group has to reinvent the wheel. The Dent know what they do well and they do it...well. Chorus’ you can sing to dominate this record. "End of the World" is the soundtrack to every boy seeking girl montage you’ve seen in a movie. The pre-requisite song about stardom and fame that every indie band has is called "Fantastic" and it doesn’t fall short of its name. And we love the little funky guitar heard on "Never Found.

When a CD of spiritual chants from Tobago showed up in the Radar Screen newsroom this month it came with it a moment to reflect. It had been three years since the sounds at Sunday School; the weekly midnight party featuring Tobago’s best musicians filled these ears. When my jonesing for Indian-Caribbean rhythms, the smell of curry, and all the British backpacking chicks one could handle had set in, Signal Hill Alumni Choir quelled the craving. Harambee is a collection of African spirituals interlaced with a calypso, religious feel. The traditions of Africa and the roots of African music are well represented on this record, as its energy and spirituality leap from your speakers. Signal Hill has been on the job for nearly two decades and has the awards and accolades to prove it. They recommend to "listen attentively and feel the feel." We couldn’t agree more.

LATE-NIGHT MUSIC

Well, we made it through a White Stripes record release and only had to see them on Conan O’Brien every day for a week. It got worse: Lisa Marie Presley showed up on Leno and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs showed why their recent New York shows bombed again on Late Night. But it wasn’t all that bad. Jimmy Kimmel abandoned his normal speed medal and hip-hop acts to put on the badass Ozomalti on Cinco de Mayo. They proceeded to do what Ozomalti does best – turn up the tempo with its blend of Latin, funk and hip-hop. Not to be outdone, Saturday Night Live bought out dance hall reggae hit-maker Sean Paul, who took the prize as this year’s best musical guest – narrowly beating out 50 Cent and Ms. Dynamite.

BIG SCREEN MUSIC

Where TV was hit and miss, the movies this month hit a tape measure homerun. No, we’re not talking about the Matrix: Reloaded. We’re talking about the new documentary Only the Strong Survive, which unlike most productions about American roots music doesn’t mourn its demise. Yes, the title suggests it all, and when the subjects are heavyweights like Sam Moore, Isaac Hayes, Wilson Pickett, Jerry Butler and Rufus Thomas, you can’t help but be entertained. Can anyone sing "Land of 1,000 Dances" better than Pickett? Or "Soul Man" better than Cooke? How many bad karaoke versions of "Shaft" do we need to sit through before we deem Hayes the man? Great interviews, great slices of life and a chance to hear great music still being performed well by the original artists. Only the Strong Survive is a must-see for any music fan.

JAZZ AS COMMUNITY

Harlem is not exactly at a lost for jazz. However, finding real players from the neighborhood, in a creative environment that’s not filled with German tourist and doesn’t require a "drink minimum" is a rarity. But the papers say this is new Harlem and if Radar Screen can get gelato on Lenox Avenue – anything is possible. Recognizing the rich cultural history that jazz means to Harlem and realizing that music can be a central and vital part of building community, the year-old lifestyle store Xuhuma offers live jazz, free every Friday night. Owner Georgia Booth said she just wanted to invite the ever growing and diverse community of Harlem into her store, offer them a glass of wine, a slice of Brie and a chance to hear a young crop of local musicians keeping jazz alive. Mission accomplished. On any given Friday you can catch a young trumpet player leading a trio through timeless jazz classics or a percussion player peppering Cuban rhythms behind a vocalists words. Xuhuma is located on 183 Lenox Ave (at 118th St) in historic Harlem USA. They're open everyday except Monday and free jazz on Friday's runs from 7:30-10:30pm.

FIVE FOR FIGHTING

Radar Screen was lured by the unusual. In this case it was the billing of a 15-year old girl playing six-string bass, paired with an irrelevant 60’s holdover singer. How could you pass that up? Plus, the show was free and the theater, Collective: Unconscious, was throwing in free wine to boot. Sold. We came in as Nico, your typical aged-60’s radical, like the ones found at the countless anti-war peace rallies, was screaming into the microphone inaudible words that made no sense, sent no message and had no context. If you bill yourself as a singer with something to say then for crying out loud let people hear what you have to say. There was some guy on keyboards but I’m not sure he was just there for the free wine. It was unwatchable and was barely a "song" into the experience before I had to leave. It wasn’t until later, seated at Piano’s Bar, listening to a bad Julian Velard wannabe, that thoughts of maybe perhaps we jumped the gun on Nico, creeped up. So back to Collective: Unconscious to give Nico a second chance we went. Bad move. In this incarnation, the 15-year old bassist was still playing like a 15-year old bassist, and Nico was now screaming profanity-laced tyrades into the mic. Within moments of my arrival, the soundman came down off his perch and proceeded to confront and curse at Nico. It took me a while to realize they weren’t kidding and Nico was actually directing the entire profanity-laced tirade at the soundman. Someone should tell Nico that a good craftsman never blames his tools, and a gentleman never swears in front of a lady, no matter how lame her bass lines are. To make matters worse, I never did get any of that free wine.

~ ~ ~

Liner notes: Radar Screen goes to James Brown's birthday party with a 15-piece Afro-Cuban band, investigates Radiohead Free Long Island and runs down the best free outdoor music festivals the summer has to offer. Know where to find good free outdoor music this summer? Got a CD for review? Send info or comments to: radarscreen@2walls.com

(Alexander Washburn is a volunteer staff writer for 2 Walls Webzine.)