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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
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Daisy Girl
~ Abstract Brain ~
Belize
5305 Posts |
 Posted - 03/24/2009 : 14:19:47
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| thanks Carl!!! |
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billgoodman
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Netherlands
6214 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2009 : 22:32:01
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Didn't know about that musical at all!
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BF: Mag ik Engels spreken? |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
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Wade
- FB Fan -
115 Posts |
Posted - 04/02/2009 : 05:08:40
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sorry captain link, didn't see you posted the Catastrophic info and made a thread for it. Saw your thread and passed right over that.
Still, very excited about the prospect of the show (especially since it is local to me) and I might even get a little info here and there as I am in another forum with one of the creators of Catastrophic Theatre. We will see. |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
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Ten Percenter
- FB Enquirer -
United Kingdom
1733 Posts |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2009 : 07:53:45
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Metromix Hampton Roads - Grand Duchy, 'Petits Fours'.
Altsounds.com News - GRAND DUCHY ALBUM OUT TOMORROW, TOUR DATES FORTHCOMING.
AfterEllen.com - New Music Tuesday: 4-14-09.
Grand Duchy — Petits Fours (Cooking Vinyl Records)
Violet Clark's vocals are a throwback to 1990s female rock singers, when they would frequent
mainstream alternative radio. With bandmate Black Francis (aka Frank Blank from the Pixies),
Grand Duchy play dreamy and undeniably catchy indie rock.
The 405 - Art Brut - Art Brut vs Satan.
Art Brut are arguably the most notorious love to hate/hate to love band
around at the moment. Admittedly, I put this album on expecting not to like
it, but with Pixies frontman Frank Black taking role as the producer,
combined with Eddie Argos’ witty lyrics about unashamedly reading comics
and stalking girls, it becomes an undeniable guilty pleasure....
....After hearing Frank Black was going to be producing the album, I expected
some dramatic evolution of Art Brut’s sound, but it’s difficult to pin-point
any definite sense of development since their debut single ‘Formed A Band’
in 2004....
....Frank Black’s influence is
definitely highlighted in the later tracks of the album, which wouldn’t sound
out of place in a compilation CD next to ‘Here Comes Your Man’.
AngryApe - Art Brut Give Away Free Download.
"We spent a day getting the sound of the instruments perfect, then
with all of us in the same room at the same time, with the amazing
Black Francis conducting us, we pressed record, jumped around and
played our songs."
Seattlest - Kultur Shock & Art Brut Rock Neumo's in June; Tix On Sale This Week.
The dirty British rockers whose lead
singer can't sing finished recording
their third album, Art Brut Vs. Satan,
in Salem, Oregon over the winter,
produced by Frank Black. The album
drops on April 20. Art Brut burst onto
the scene in 2005 with an amazing
debut record, Bang Bang Rock and
Roll, that produced a series of singles
that charted in the U.K.
Contactmusic.com - Art Brut - Art Brut vs Satan Album Review.
Ex-Pixie Frank Black's been
hauled in on production duties, but the results are still mostly reheated new wave guitar chops, as made
famous by the likes of Gang of Four and more recently hijacked by The Young Knives.
Altsounds.com News - Art Brut Vs. Satan NOW OUT April 21st.
Produced by Frank Black over twelve days last December, new album Art Brut vs. Satan is the
record Brut-o-philes have been waiting for since debut single ‘Formed A Band’ illuminated the
musical universe back in 2004....
....“I love the first Frank Black And The Catholics album” explains Eddie.
“He did that in one day. It made me think-that’s how I want to records to be made. So we came to
the conclusion, let’s ask Frank Black to produce it, and do it like that”
To the band’s surprise, Black –a fervent fan- said yes.
Accordingly, the band found themselves packing their bags and heading for Wavelength Studios in
Oregon last December.
Eddie: “The studio Frank uses is in Salem. It’s in the middle of nowhere. We were staying by the
motorway, and he’d pick us up in his car every day. We’d do eight hour days then back to the
hotel. We did the whole thing in twelve days. It was very simple.”
With the band set up in one big room, their amps in the kitchen and Eddie singing his vocals in a
cupboard (“It was ok, I had drinks in there”) they set about exorcising the demons of the previous
two years.
“I had an album’s worth of songs written, but once we got there we wrote four or five new ones. It
all just flooded out.”
Muso's Guide >> News >> Get your free Art Brut download here.
Muso’s Guide favourites Art Brut have ever-so-nicely put an exclusive new track online for
fans to download.
It’s called ‘Weird Science’ and is taken from the Art Brut Vs Satan sessions, where the band
recorded live with Black Francis.
Clickmusic - Art Brut - Art Brut Vs Satan.
Despite production from Black Francis of Pixies, 'Vs Satan' treads a very familiar path of
fanboy allusions, Peter Pan complexes and inept seduction techniques told in Argos's
trademark thoughtful, witty monotone.
inthenews.co.uk - Art Brut: Art Brut vs. Satan.
Familiar targets are in the crosshairs; supermarket musos, insincere
megastars, dilettante rock-bands and, of course, former lovers. The headline
here is the production role for Frank Black, but even this has had a negligible
impact on the group's sparse, frenetic sound....
....."I put this album on expecting not to like it, but with Pixies frontman Frank Black taking role as the producer,
combined with Eddie Argos' witty lyrics about unashamedly reading comics and stalking girls, it becomes an
undeniable guilty pleasure." - Emma Garland, the405.com....
....Here Eddie Argos is mining the same veins of humour as the last two albums with noticeably diminishing
returns. There are still the paint by numbers discussions of former girlfriends and evenings out (Alcoholic
Unanimous, What a Rush), but they have lost their original dazzling impact; Art Brut need to evolve of this will be
their final effort; if even hired guns Graham Coxon and Frank Black can't spice things up a little there seems to
be little chance of a late career renaissance here.
BUZZGRINDER >> Grand Duchy - Petits Fours.
Spinner.com - Frank Black Makes It a Family Affair With Grand Duchy.
This Is Just A Modern Rock Blog - Grand Duchy - Petit Fours.
Eat Sleep Drink Music - Grand Duchy: Petit Fours. |
Edited by - Carl on 04/17/2009 14:42:36 |
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fbc
-= Modulator =-
United Kingdom
4903 Posts |
Posted - 04/15/2009 : 08:18:06
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quote:
Synchronicity and liminal space
Last fall, I had a chance meeting that led rather unexpectedly to one of the more exciting, and most public, projects I’ve ever been part of. On April 14th, the band Grand Duchy is releasing their debut album Petite Fours in the US, the cover of which I was the photographer for. Normally, this would be less exciting, though certainly exciting enough, but in this case, the band has a pedigree that is international. Frank Black, aka Black Francis of the Pixies, is the name most people recognize if they don’t know the name Grand Duchy, which is the collaboration of him and his wife, Violet Clark. The opportunity to photograph them presented itself in a conversation in a grocery store.
I now face another opportunity that presented itself by chance. I had been nominated to vie for the Santa Fe Prize, an annual competition from the Santa Fe Center for Photography. While I was not chosen, the nomination included an invitation to Review Santa Fe, the portfolio review event that takes place every year. What make this odd is that I have no recollection of entering, nor do I recognize the name of the person who nominated me (the founder of Blurb.com, a photobook publisher.) And yet, the synchronicity presents itself, of things that seem to just happen to us but, traced back, can be attributed to some action we took.
What I find most interesting is how these sychronatic (?) moments propel us into the liminal space. I can almost feel myself entering that state of change as this happens, as the agreement is reached to photograph an international music legend, as the email arrives informing me of my nomination. Everything after that moment is changed - whether or not I win the award is inconsequential, whether or not one album cover leads to another is superfluous. After it presents itself, but before it happens, I sit vibrating in this state of anticipated change, not yet changed from the experience, but no longer the person I was.
Jonathan B. Smith
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 04/19/2009 : 06:03:30
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chicagotribune.com.
Art Brut, "Art Brut vs. Satan" (Downtown) **½
After two excellent albums in which Eddie Argos' sing-speak self-mockery put a self-aware
spin on garage-rock (as exemplified by the immortal debut single, "Formed a Band"), the
British quintet flattens out on "Art Brut vs. Satan." The production, by the Pixies' Black
Francis, amplifies the band's knockabout pub-rock, awarding special prominence to
Frederica Feedback's bass. Argos remains one of a kind, an anti-star with a knack for
turning everyday disappointments and embarrassments into anthems laced with laugh-out-
loud humor. But only a handful of songs about music fandom ("Demons Out," "Slap Dash
for No Cash," "The Replacements," "Twist and Shout") match the level of his best work:
wickedly funny, celebratory, poignant. Otherwise, he never rises above the mundane
subject matter in "The Passenger" (public transportation rules!), "DC Comics and
Chocolate Milkshake" (he likes them even though he's 28!) and "Summer Job" (they stink!).
It's the first Art Brut album in which the filler crowds the should-be hits.
Times Online - Art Brut: Art Brut vs Satan.
Part of the so-called “art-wave” movement, along with Bloc Party
and Franz Ferdinand, Art Brut have somehow made it to their third
album, this time — to no obvious benefit — with Frank Black at
the controls. |
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Ziggy
* Dog in the Sand *
United Kingdom
2463 Posts |
Posted - 04/19/2009 : 06:13:34
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| Bit harsh... |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
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matto
= Cult of Ray =
USA
954 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 06:06:16
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http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12902-art-brut-vs-satan/
Art Brut Vs Satan - 7.7
Spoiler alert: Art Brut lose. Of course they do. Tramps like former Art Brut tourmates Hold Steady were born to run around wearing baseball jerseys in front of Counting Crows fans (and good for them!). Art Brut were born to lose: How could they ever improve on the clumsy meta-punk rush of their first single, "Formed a Band"? They arrived almost fully formed. They never got to play "Top of the Pops". When they miraculously came up with another 11 songs just about as good-- or, in the case of "Emily Kane", arguably better-- on their brilliant 2005 debut album, Bang Bang Rock & Roll, it only added sting to their inevitable defeat. They were even losers at being losers. I loved them for it.
That's partly why it's so strange now to read reviews that lump Art Brut in with more commercially successful South London bands such as Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand. At live shows, lead not-quite-singer Eddie Argos used to change "I can't stand the sound of the Velvet Underground" to "I can't stand the sound of Gang of Four," and I always assumed his targets were obvious (hint: neither the Velvet Underground nor Gang of Four). Full of fist-pumping but self-mocking bar-punk about obsessive fandom and romantic awkwardness, Bang Bang Rock & Roll was the closest our decade has come to The Modern Lovers. Art Brut's true peers are lyrical music geeks like John Darnielle, Jeffrey Lewis, Jens Lekman, Los Campesinos!, the Tough Alliance, and, most recently, Nodzzz. It's not irony; it's self-aware sincerity.
Good news for people who love losers: Art Brut's third album is on what Kanye might call "some Benjamin Buttons shit." Gone is the slight maturation of their good-- but, sadly, not great-- sophomore album, 2007's It's a Bit Complicated, which tried to win by the attractive-people rules of polished production; the songs were still warm, witty, and alive, but they just didn't have the original's "I've seen her naked-- TWICE!" brashness. Recorded on the fly with fellow Jonathan Richman acolyte Frank Black, Art Brut vs. Satan is a scrappy, romantic, and painfully hilarious return to loserdom. Coldplay will always be more popular. So what? I hate those guys!
Art Brut probably do, too. If they can't topple vague, pasty, barely breathing background rock from the charts, at least they can sing gloriously doomed songs about it. "Cool your warm jets, Brian Eno," Argos jibes on "Slap Dash for No Cash", teasing shiny U2 clones the way he previously skewered vapid post-punk revivalists. Argos champions instead the records where you can hear not only the crack of the singer's voice, or the squeak of the guitarist's fingers, but also (as on a Gorky's Zygotic Mynci B-side, apparently) their parents complaining about the volume-- not because those records are more artistically valid, or more authentic or whatever, but for a more important reason: "Those are the records I like."
Black gets the Art Brut spirit down on record better than anyone has before, with the blazing pop-metal vainglory of Weezer, the scruffy cheekiness of early Rough Trade bands, and lots of enthusiastic backing vocals. Fun for them, fun for us. "Demons Out!" shifts the Smiths' "Panic!" from hanging DJs to denying record buyers suffrage, but don't mistake it for a Death Cab for Cutie-like manifesto against U.S. Auto-Tune pop; more accurately, it's an ideal rebuke against the endless Travis Kooks Kaiser Chiefs Razorlight blandness of UK "science museum" rock. So too "The Replacements", which melds the Mats' "Alex Chilton" and the Brut's "My Little Brother" into a clamorous endorsement of used CDs and deluxe reissues. Extending the prior album's trend toward sacrilegious song titles, "Twist and Shout" may not have you accidentally repeating its off-key la-la-las in public, like the song's narrator, but you'll probably know exactly how he feels. Not that Satan gives a damn about songs that communicate aspects of everyday life with clarity and human charm.
Art Brut remain ever the underdog when they're singing about arrested development and girls, too. "DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshake" is a cereal-eaters' song as universal as Jerry Seinfeld, with a nicely echoing bridge, while perfectly sloppy public-transportation anthem "The Passenger" rewrites Iggy Pop from the perspective of a guy who can't drive. "Summer Job", with its Vampire Weekend-whooping intro vocal, is the album's only concession to conventional melody, and its summertime-blues-curing slackerdom could hardly be more enjoyably juvenile. Like a bizarro "Rusted Guns of Milan", "What a Rush" fumbles for morning-after Beatles vs. Stones meaning-- and socks. Add to vocab: "Sober...ish?". Slowing down but not going ballad, "Am I Normal?" is a preview of the kind of shy neurotic who might go on to write "Emily Kane".
Art Brut Vs. Satan begins and ends with a hungover Argos trying to remember what he did the night before. Frantically buzzing opener "Alcoholics Unanimous" finds Argos sending apologetic mass texts; he's been concerned about what he's been up to, and with good reason. On epic finale "Mysterious Bruises", which I didn't even notice was seven minutes until I looked it up later, Argos proclaims: "I fought the floor and the floor won." Satan always wins. The beautiful people and their sycophants will always outnumber lovable losers. But this is a record I like.
— Marc Hogan, April 21, 2009
sminki pinki |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 04/23/2009 : 11:48:58
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From Rolling Stone:
Pixies’ Frank Black Readies Tour
With New Band Grand Duchy
4/23/09, 2:36 pm EST
Photo: Teodoro/WireImage
In 1987, Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV
released his first record with the Pixies (fans
know him best as Black Francis in that band).
Over the next two decades he would reemerge
as a solo artist (Frank Black) and with a band
(the Catholics), cut a few records in Nashville,
and even step behind the boards as a producer
for Art Brut on Art Brut vs. Satan, which came
out earlier this week. Now he’s ready to reveal
another new project: Grand Duchy, a sonic family
affair featuring his wife, keyboardist and bassist
Violet Clark.
“I am a duke,” Thompson goofed by phone with
his spouse from their home in Portland. “I wear a
Marlon Brando mumu wrapped around my body.”
Clark provided backing vocals and bass on the
Frank Black releases Bluefinger and Svn Fngrs,
but Grand Duchy is a more collaborative family
affair. After floating the single “Fort Wayne”
online, the duo released the Lovesick EP and full-
length Petit Fours across the pond in February
and in America this April. It was a painful
creation.
“I gave birth to two kids between the ‘Fort
Wayne’ single to the American release of Petit
Fours,” Clark explained. “The album was a natural
extension of our life. The downside was that our
life kept getting in the way.” What they ended
up with is described by Clark as “experimental
pop,” a rocktronic mixture of stomps and synths.
From the raunchy “Come On Over to My House”
to the ethereal “Seeing Stars,” Petit Fours
turned out to be a horny good time.
“One of the hallmarks of our relationship is sexual
tension,” Clark confessed. “We’re still boyfriend
and girlfriend.” Grand Duchy go on tour in May,
right before Charles jets to the Isle of Wight to
join the Pixies in June. But according to the duo,
a wish-list double-bill isn’t in the cards.
“I don’t think it is the realm of possibility,”
Thompson said. “Kim Deal invited us to play the
All Tomorrow’s Parties set that the Breeders are
curating, but we can’t do it for logistical
reasons,” Clark added. “There’s certainly no ill
will; it’s only support. But a double-bill would be
emotionally confusing.”
That’s probably good news for cash-strapped
Pixies fans interested in purchasing the
forthcoming Minotaur box set, whose details are
still a mystery to the band’s leader. “I don’t know
much about that,” Thompson admitted, “except
that it seems very big and very expensive. But
we’re working our own box set for the Der Golem
soundtrack. It will also be nice, but much less
expensive.”
Scott Thill |
Edited by - Carl on 04/23/2009 11:51:24 |
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Ziggy
* Dog in the Sand *
United Kingdom
2463 Posts |
Posted - 04/24/2009 : 01:02:15
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| Nice little interview there. |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 04/25/2009 : 11:41:40
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Times Online - Pop stars who are masters of re-invention.
Artists have a confused attitude to change as well. Sometimes,
they don’t know when they’ve done it; other times, they think
they’ve done it when they haven’t. I once interviewed Frank Black
shortly after he’d sung a guest vocal on a solo album by the
Violent Femmes singer Gordon Gano (and before the Pixies
reunion). Gano had asked Black to sing the way he used to, and
Black hadn’t understood what he meant. Gano had to point out
that Black’s singing on his recent solo albums was entirely
different to his blood-curdling yelping and screaming with the
Pixies — a fact Black simply hadn’t noticed. |
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fbc
-= Modulator =-
United Kingdom
4903 Posts |
Posted - 04/25/2009 : 11:54:33
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| I wonder what the Gordon Gano song is |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 04/25/2009 : 21:57:37
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Hiya Soren! The song is Run off Gano's 2002 album Hitting The Ground.
Gano is another fckn sellout! ;) |
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fbc
-= Modulator =-
United Kingdom
4903 Posts |
Posted - 04/26/2009 : 05:26:34
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| =) never heard of it! |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 04/26/2009 : 14:17:20
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I remember stuff being posted about it before. Hmmm....maybe have and MP3 of it, must check!
The Rumpus.net - SWINGING MODERN SOUNDS: The Interactive Playlist.
Bonus find: Grand Duchy
This is a unrestrained shout-out for a record
that was until recently only released in the
EU (I think that situation has now been
remedied by Cooking Vinyl records). It’s the
newest project from Black Francis (of the
Pixies)–here collaborating with his wife
Violet Clark. It’s the most interesting side
project Francis has ever done (I have always found Frank Black solo work a little
challenging for some reason–as if he wants to resist what makes him great in the first
place). These are pop songs–with a lot of Pixies resonances. But there’s something else
going on here too, and
it’s not only Violet Clark’s voice, which has a sultry sixties girl group quality. The
chemistry between the singers is palpable, e.g., and you start to realize, upon considering
this chemistry, that what made the Black Francis/Kim Deal partnership great was not the
friction, it was more that Black Francis’s intensity just sounds really great counterposed
with a woman’s voice. At one point Kim and Francis must have had really good chemistry
too. Meanwhile, a lot of this record borrows from eighties Britpop. There’s a Cure/New
Order/Jesus and Mary Chain quality to the way the keyboards work, and to the way the
melodies are constructed. But the whole thing is also really ragged, as if a lot of it were
made at home, or by the two of them without much interference from producers or other
musicians. There’s a lot of drum machine on it, in fact, which is the sine qua non of
cheapness these days. And yet the offhandedness is charming and Francis sounds fully
engaged, exalting in working with someone he really cares about, and the songwriting is
great, and both singers are allusive and complex (it’s not a Black Francis album, that is,
on which his wife merely appears), and the hooks really grow on you. I count myself as a
passionate Pixies fan somewhat disappointed by how that band has been treated by
history (and I think the band is its own worst enemy and this is part of the problem), but
this album kind of makes the old magic apparent all over again.
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pixie punk
> Teenager of the Year <
2923 Posts |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 05/01/2009 : 11:56:26
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The Fire Note: Grand Duchy: Petits Fours.
musicradar.com - Interview: Art Brut Vs Frank Black.
mndaily.com - Art Brut shouts at the Devil.
“Art Brut vs. Satan“ is exactly what one would expect
from an Art Brut album. The guitar licks remain
sultry; the lyrics are clever, frank and, at times,
borderline inane; and frontman Eddie Argos still
can’t sing worth a damn (or at least is still choosing
not to). It’s the same thing for a third time — the notable exception being the help of
producer Frank Black of Pixies fame — but the members of Art Brut don’t care, and neither
do the fans of their characteristic sound. They’ll continue making powerful, honest songs and
they’ll continue to be loved for it.
The Cornell Daily Sun - Test Spin: Art Brut.
Eddie, it’s time to rest up because this album is going to be very
well liked. Art Brut’s usual catchy hooks, shouting lead and
background vocals and clever lyrics all make their mark on this
album, and they are better aligned than ever before. One might
attribute it to the fact that Black Francis (a.k.a. Frank Black of
The Pixies) produced the album, but it’s undeniable that Argos’
lyricism is so well developed that the words often outshine the
music.
Weekly Volcano.
Power of two — and then some
Former Pixie Frank Black fits
family into music
by Matt Driscoll
Apr 30, 2009
There was definitely a time when I would
have hated myself for such a thing.
Frank Black and his wife, Violet Clark, were
on the phone. Or Black Francis. Or Charles
Thompson. Or whatever the fuck you want
to call the iconic Pixie who’s easily one of
the most influential musicians of his
generation.
That’s right. Frank Black of THE PIXIES,
was on the phone with little ol’ me, lined up
to talk about he and his wife’s relatively
new project, Grand Duchy.
Although, for this project it seems he goes
by Thompson. But that’s not really
important. Trust me.
Having just released a debut full-length,
Petits Fours, Clark and Thompson,
together Grand Duchy, will be (believe it or
not) making a stop at Jazzbones in Tacoma
on Saturday. The duo will be in town as part
of a warm-up tour for bigger things this
summer.
So, what did I end up asking about? What
was our main topic of discussion? Where
did I feel like we were most having a real
conversation and least like we were
engaged in some sort of symbiotic and
forced music business interaction?
When we talked about kids. With the
intermittent screaming of an infant howling
in the background, through the magic of
Skype, and brought to me live from a room at the Comfort Inn and Suites in Salem, Ore., Grand Duchy
and I talked about rock and roll child rearing. We chewed the fat on the challenges of having five
children under the age of 12, three of the youngest actually on the road, and trying to mesh that
constantly feeding, changing, running late lifestyle with the act of putting out records and touring the
country.
“It’s comfortable for us to have them here with us,” says Clark, having soothed whatever need it was
that just a moment ago had incited such whaling baby screams. “I don’t know how much the kids get
out of it.”
“We don’t know yet,” she replies when asked how it’s all going to work, with the first of 13 dates
looming and summer festivals already on the docket after that. “We’ve got a really cool rock and roll
nanny. We’re just in the process of figuring things out.”
“We’re really into our kids,” adds Thompson. “It’s a process. To go to the park takes an hour and a
half, so you can imagine (what touring is like).”
Luckily, the conversation did delve into territory not soiled with mashed banana and baby shit.
Most importantly, of course, we talked about what exactly Grand Duchy is all about. It’s obviously not
just another Black Francis side project (not that I mind those, necessarily), and it’s obviously more
than an excuse for a cheesy married couple to make a cheesy record. Clark and Thompson are
anything but cheesy, and Petits Fours is a legit amalgamation of Clark’s ’80s synth bent and
Thompson’s, well, Frank Black Bent — making for an experience the likes of which Pixie fans have
probably never dreamed. In a good way. Again, trust me. Clark’s voice, at times, is so reminiscent of
Kim Deal — yet, as a whole, Petits Fours really couldn’t be further from the Pixies mold.
“It was a gradual, organic evolution,” says Clark of Grand Duchy’s conception. “(In the beginning) we
didn’t even know we were making a record.”
Off Petits Fours, which was officially released in the United States April 14, “Fort Wayne” was the very
first song Thompson and Clark recorded together on equal footing — not knowing it at the time, but
as Grand Duchy. According to both of them, it soon became apparent that this would be more than
just a one-song recording session.
“We did the song ‘Fort Wayne.’ We deemed it to be kind of special,” says Thompson. “We didn’t think
we were going to have magic every time, but we did the first time.”
That magic, and Petits Fours as an entity, has been almost entirely well received, aside perhaps from
a few Pixies diehards upset with the electro-pop slickness of it all. As you might expect, the reaction
wasn’t of much concern to Thompson or Clark. After all, they probably had diapers to change. And
there are plenty of things to worry about for Grand Duchy other than the objections of a small, teeny
tiny minority of Pixies freaks.
Specifically, as it pertains to Saturday night in Tacoma, there’s the task of congealing as a band.
Petits Fours is almost entirely Clark and Thompson, but during the mini warm-up tour — and, it’s
assumed, all touring to follow — Grand Duchy will officially become a four-person act when on stage.
“I have to learn how to be less of a frontman,” says Thompson. “It’s a little bit of a load off. Usually, I
feel like the guy pulling a train with his teeth. It’s a lot different (as part of Grand Duchy). I don’t have to
project so much, emote so much.”
“We’re trying not to think about it too much,” says Clark, a baby once again crying in the background.
“The less we analyze and the less we think about it the better.”
[Jazzbones, Saturday, May 2, 9 p.m., $15, 2803 Sixth Ave, Tacoma, 253.396.9169]
Photo: MySpace
GRAND DUCHY: Violet Clark and Frank Black are making
‘80s inspired waves, and changing diapers on the road.
The Olympian.
A kingdom of two, including one Pixie royal
ERNEST A. JASMIN; The News Tribune | • Published April 30, 2009
Black Francis (the stage name for Charles Thompson, aka Frank Black) brought yowling angst and fiery guitar squall to
the Pixies. His wife, Violet Clark, loves the sort of breezy, synth-pop that the Pixies provided an antidote for in the late
’80s.
Together they are Grand Duchy, a duo that will showcase the
eclectic and infectious sounds of debut album “Petits Four” on
Saturday night at Jazzbones in Tacoma.
Recently I called the couple at home in Eugene, Ore., for
insight into one of the best pop albums of 2009.
What was the catalyst for starting a group?
Violet: He’s been recording me for some time now on various Black Francis projects. I’m either playing bass or singing
or something. It’s very pleasant and very fun.
We know each other so well. We’re always together anyway, and when we’re not, it’s kind of a noted absence. So this
allows us to be creative together and spend time together. And it’s a totally different thing than the raising of the kids and
the more mundane aspects of being husband and wife.
Were there times during the recording when you drove each other crazy?
In unison: Oh yeah, sure.
Violet: That’s unavoidable. I think that we’re realizing now that it wasn’t so much a product of either of us being difficult
or annoying so much as just the pressure of trying to work out some new thing and work out our sound.
Francis: All the while having five hours and the clock is ticking.
Violet: So-and-so has to be picked up.
Francis: Trying to finish a bass track while three kids are totally losing it and screaming and getting ready to tear the
studio apart.
That’s gotta be challenging.
Francis: Yeah, and we’ve learned to not try to bring the kids to the studio so much.
What’s the significance of the name?
Violet: It’s a conceptual thing, as though we are founding our own little micro-state, our own little Luxembourgish realm
where we’re the duke and the duchess. And whoever is into what we are doing can be a citizen. (Laughs)
A Luxembourgish project, huh.
Violet: I only mean that in the sense that it can be a very small little world that we are founding and inhabiting.
Francis: I think Violet has always wanted to be about something else besides just making pop records. … We’re trying
to create an art book with other people participating. We’re trying to learn how to use digital editing software so we can
make films. We’re trying to paint. We’re trying to think about well, could we design our own perfume?
I don’t want to give you the wrong impression that we just want to sell a bunch of crap. We want to be creative and we
don’t only want to come up with songs that have verses and choruses. Whatever we do remains to be seen.
And in what ways do you inspire each other?
Violet: I’ve been with people who were not interested if I made a little record. They didn’t care; they didn’t want to hear it.
That’s kind of exhausting (or) a little bit sad. And I feel like my inner child is very strong, and Charles’ inner child is very
active, as well.
So we get together and we’re not trying to repress that magical, creative thing in each other. We’re validating it, so we
end up having a lot of fun and we end up feeling really free to do whatever strikes our fancy without feeling like we’re
going to be chastised.
I’ve had “Lovesick” stuck in my head since I got the album. What was the catalyst for that song?
Violet: I guess it’s about times that we’ve had to be apart and that kind of sense of being in the lurch, and the frustration
and what do you do about it?
There seems like there’s kind of a seize-the-day sentiment in there, too, with that line “listen to the devil on your
shoulder.”
Violet: Absolutely. When you first start dating a rock star it’s a very surreal experience. …
And there are people who are trying to give you all kinds of advice (saying) don’t get your hopes up or something. Just
play it safe. And I’m not a play-it-safe kind of person. I liked him and he liked me, and we just both kind of went for it.
But there was a lot of time in the beginning when we were apart for many, many, many weeks at a time, and so had to
just figure it out. And some of it was kind of sexy and romantic, and some of it was just grueling and like torture.
(Laughs)
Do you have other stuff you’re working on?
Violet: There’s some new material that potentially will be being played over in England on an NME (magazine) session.
Where can fans find that?
Violet: We don’t know yet. (Laughs)
Francis: People just say, “Do you have some new material for this thing?” And we’re like, “Oh, OK, here ya go.” And
sometimes it materializes and other times (it doesn’t.) Nobody’s told me about the NME thing yet.
Assuming they show up, what are the song titles?
Violet: There’s a song called “I Can’t Understand You When You Cry.” And another song called “See Through” and
“Need Your Love.” Some version of those three songs will be on our next record, for sure.
Ernest A. Jasmin: 253-274-7389
ernest.jasmin@thenewstribune.com
blogs.thenewstribune.com/rockcity
What: Grand Duchy in concert
When: 9 p.m. Saturday
Where: Jazzbones, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma
Tickets: $15
Information: 253-396-9169 or www.jazzbones.com
Tacoma Rock City - Grand Duchy's Frank Black and Violet Clark on their new "micro state".
Slowdive Music: Catching up with Empire of the Sun and Grand Duchy.
A couple more Art Brut more articles that mention FB:
www.justpressplay.net/music-reviews/38-reviews/5226-art-brut-vs-satan.html" target="_blank">JustPressPlay - Art Brut vs. Satan.
www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/music-gigs/INTERVIEW-Art-Brut.5225904.jp" target="_blank">Yorkshire Evening Post - INTERVIEW: Art Brut.
Time Out New York - Art Brut vs. Satan. |
Edited by - Carl on 05/06/2009 08:18:40 |
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fumanbru
* Dog in the Sand *
Canada
1462 Posts |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
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pixie punk
> Teenager of the Year <
2923 Posts |
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pixie punk
> Teenager of the Year <
2923 Posts |
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pixie punk
> Teenager of the Year <
2923 Posts |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2009 : 07:21:58
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CHARTattack - Grand Duchy — Petits Fours.
Orange County Music.
BLACK FRANCIS AND WIFE VIOLET CLARKE RESIST
THE CUTESY WITH GRAND DUCHY
BY DOUG WALLEN
Published on May 06, 2009 at 10:34am
Annabelle Phillips
Black Francis leans on wife Violet Clark
Domestic Partnership
Black Francis and wife Violet Clark resist the cutesy with their
Grand Duchy project
The hotly anticipated Pixies box set,
Minotaur, doesn’t mean Black Francis is
resting on his laurels. Far from it. He
recently produced Art Brut’s third album
and has just unveiled Grand Duchy, a
collaboration with his wife, Violet Clark.
Grand Duchy’s punchy, nine-song
debut, Petits Fours, came out on
Cooking Vinyl last month, casting Black
Francis’ blurting guitar and cutting growl
in a totally different light. While there’s a
definite Pixies vibe to the coed vocals and dominant bass lines, some
tunes recall Blondie and the Cars, and the band recently covered “A
Strange Day” for a tribute to the Cure.
Thank Clark for that; a fan of glossy ’80s pop, she brings zippy synths and
an appealing coyness to the equation, making for some thrilling tension
between retro and modern, not to mention adorable and angry.
“We’re aware of some kind of tension, which is probably a good thing,”
says Francis (“Frank Black” in his solo career) by phone. “But we’re not
seeking it out. We just do our thing. It’s very difficult to define exactly what
happens when you’re writing songs or making records. There’s a lot
of unspoken things that go on.”
Clark adds, “We do have different sensibilities. If you look at my iPod and
his, there’s not a lot of overlap. I think that contributed to whatever
schizophrenic quality the record has, which, to me, is a cool aspect. For
somebody else, it might be confusing or perplexing, but we’re really
relishing [it]. Whatever [we’re] bringing to the table, it forces it in a new
direction.”
Chiming in together as readily on record as they do on the phone, Francis
and Clark—who live with their five children in Portland—gel incredibly well
on Petits Fours, whether on the Dandy Warhols-recalling single
“Lovesick,” the adrift duet “Seeing Stars,” or the plinking, slow-burn closer
“Volcano!” Longtime fans may be surprised to hear Francis’ acidic sneer
lathered in ’80s-style echo on “Black Suit,” or take on an almost-twee lilt
on “Fort Wayne,” but that’s the whole point of collaboration. Grand
Duchy’s bittersweet sound is equally split between the spouses.
“It’s all decided in the moment,” explains Francis. “Sometimes, she’ll start
a song; sometimes, I’ll start a song. Sometimes, I’ll write all the music;
sometimes, she’ll write all the music. Sometimes, I’ll write eight bars and
say, ‘Okay, honey, I’ll take over the kids now,’ and she writes the next eight
bars. There’s not any one set way we do it.”
Befitting a project that’s named for Francis’ obsession with microstates
and self-ruled principalities, Grand Duchy features Clark and Francis
playing and singing everything. That was half the charm of this outing for
them. “Yeah,” agrees Clark, “we didn’t have to bounce anything off five
other people. We could just answer to ourselves.”
With that said, they’ve recruited the album’s co-producer, Jason Carter, to
play drums on their upcoming tour dates. “He’s trying not to step all over
the naivete of the drums on the record,” Clark says. “He’s sensitive to that
vibe that ended up emanating from the drums because neither of us are
drummers. We came up with something kind of rustic.”
The decision to collaborate in the first place was simple. “I knew Violet
could sing,” says Francis, “so I started asking her to sing on this or that.
Finally, we said, ‘Let’s just go do a session as a new project.’”
As for the writing process, the duo had no expectations about how quickly
or slowly songs would come together. “The actual song structures tend to
come about quickly,” says Clark, “because we don’t have any shortage of
ideas.”
Grand Duchy’s hyper-catchy Petits Fours is wiry and unpredictable
instead of lazy and lovey-dovey, as one imagines a husband-and-wife
team-up might sound. “We’re not those people,” Clark says bluntly.
“We’re into music,” says Francis. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, I had children. I’m
gonna just paint pictures of my little babies playing with their toys. That’s
so sweet.’ I may feel those things, but that doesn’t mean that’s what I want
my rock music to reflect. There’s an element of love or whatever mixed in,
but that’s not our grand statement: ‘We love each other! We want to tell
the world!’”
“We don’t need the music to be an outlet
to express that,” says Clark. “It frees us
up to express other things, like angst or
sex or whatever oddball impulses we have.”
Grand Duchy at Detroit Bar, 843 W.
19th St., Costa Mesa, (949) 642-0600;
www.detroitbar.com. Fri., 9 p.m. $15.
21+.
Radio Free Silver Lake: Show Spotlight: Afternoons, The Happy Hollows, & Warpaint @ The Troubadour.
It's kind of a big deal when local acts reach the level to play that venue -- besides the fact that so many noteworthy artists have performed there, the monitors are really great -- so we asked the band members to tell us their favorite show they've ever seen at The Troubadour.
Claire Mckeown (Clairsy)- Vocals, Clairemin
I have two. First was Frank Black. Joey Santiago was playing guitar with them,
and they played mostly Pixies songs.This isn't that big of a deal now since the
Pixies are back together. But it made my high school dreams come true. They
had just broken up when I found them.
Consequence of Sound - Album Review: Art Brut - Art Brut Vs. Satan.
FayObserver.com - Two chicks, a guy and a blog - Artist of the Week: Art Brut.
The album, which was released last month, is produced by Pixies
legend Black Francis. It has a gritty rock-and-roll sound reminiscent of
Pixies albums past. |
Edited by - Carl on 05/18/2009 14:04:46 |
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pixie punk
> Teenager of the Year <
2923 Posts |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 05/21/2009 : 11:39:12
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GuelphMercury.com.
Grand Duchy Petits Four (Cooking Vinyl)
Whether or not the Pixies ever make a new record, fans of Frank Black were wondering if he
would ever return to the wonderfully weird vibe of his early solo recordings, after over a decade
of a shift to respectable roots rock. The answer lies with his new project Grand Duchy, a duo with
Violet Clark. When asked what appealed to him about working with Clark, Black says: "She was
innocent. I hadn't felt innocent in years. She digs the '80s. I had spent the latter part of the '80s
doing my part to destroy the '80s."
And so here, Black can be heard over drum machines and synths, adding his proto-grunge guitar
and acoustic textures, as well as unleashing his long-lost screaming technique as a
counterbalance to Clark's soft and subtle vocals. Break the Angels has a bass line with a striking
resemblance to the Pixies' Debaser, and much of the material here sounds as gleefully
unconventional as Black's earliest work -- not that fans should be looking for a Pixies substitute,
because they won't find it. But anyone who was getting bored with Black would be advised to
visit Grand Duchy.
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Edited by - Carl on 05/21/2009 11:41:12 |
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pixie punk
> Teenager of the Year <
2923 Posts |
Posted - 05/22/2009 : 02:27:46
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quote:
Originally posted by Carl
GuelphMercury.com.
[font=Verdana]Grand Duchy Petits Four (Cooking Vinyl)
"as well as unleashing his long-lost screaming technique" font=Verdana]
This reviewer must have been hiding under a rock to make such a false claim.There's been plenty of screaming in some of the albums specially after Charles reverted his stage name to Black Francis(the magnificent screaming delivery in "You Can't Break A Heart And Have It" being a prime example.
PUERTO RICO PIXIE |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 05/28/2009 : 08:59:29
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CHUD.com.
Better than a new Pixies album...
By Shawn C. Baker Published Today
I know a lot of folks were psyched when
Charles Thompson, better known as
Frank Black, aka Black Francis reunited
with Kim Deal, Joey Santiago and David
Lovering for a bunch of new Pixies shows
a couple years ago. I had a couple
chances to see them but passed every
chance up. Why?
You can't go home again.
Now, by the time I got into them Pixies
they were no longer a musical unit. I
think it was about the time Mr. Black
released Cult of Ray, so... 1996 I believe.
So I never had a chance to see the band
in their heyday. I don't blame anyone for
being psyched for the reunion - frankly I
was kind of annoyed with myself for not
wanting to go.
I love the Pixies.
But something about it just freaked me
out and I let the opportunity pass me by.
I've been in love with Mr. Black's solo
stuff since a good friend drilled the first
couple albums into me during a wonderful
summer of BBQ's and house parties and
now, well, to see rock's (arguably) most prolific front man divert his energies back into
something that, well, that was wonderful but definitely a product of time and place... I don't
know, I just couldn't do it.*
Then there was the talk about a new Pixies album... which thankfully (although I was
intrigued beyond belief) didn't happen. And you know why I was interested but consider it
good that it didn't happen? Because if you picked up Mr. Black's BLUEFINGER album in '07 you
heard how at least half of its songs sound as though they were probably the tunes he was
writing for the unrealized Pixies album, complete with his new wife Violet Clark singing the
female back-up parts that one can only expect Ms. Deal would have otherwise sung. This
album alone is worth not getting that Pixies album, because it feels like Black back on that
Pixies-songwriting wavelength but without being weighed down by a reunion scenario (those
oh so rarely go well, eh?). Shit, Threshold Apprehension was my favorite Black song in years
and a total throwback to that insane, neurotic Black that we got to know so well on tracks
like Rock Music (Bossanova) or Bone Machine (Surfer Rosa - 'you buy me a soda and try to
molest me in the parking lot?').
Then what does Mr. Prolific do? Well hell, hardly six months later (you'd think us Black fans
would be used to new records just popping out of the ether unexpectedly) SVN FNGRS
comes out and we get a strange amalgam of Pixies-esque (and beyond) weirdness on some
tracks and Devil's Workshop-era songwriting swagger on others.
Now you seeing why I feel Frank (if I may call him Frank) doesn't need to rehash the good old
days?
Finally, in April of this year Black Francis decided to forgo the 'solo' life and form a new band,
complete with new wife taking up half the vocal duties, and give us GRAND DUCHY's first
album PETITS FOURS.
And hot damn is it good!
Something about Petits Fours reminds me of a next logical step from what Black was writing
on the final Pixies album Trump le Monde. Maybe it's a deepening of the alien theme or maybe
it just hits me as the more insane side of this lovely, wonderful man whose music I adore.
There is so much texture here too, with the addition of lush, 80's-ish keyboards (it's good,
trust me), Melodic and biting bass lines and the oft juxtaposition of Black screaming and Violet
singing soulfully (track 5: Black Suit is my new favorite song by this man). I really can't imagine
an alternate Universe where Black wasted any time with the Pixies, he's on the right path.
And as Deputy Hawk would say, "You're on a path, you don't need to know where it leads,
just follow"... or something like that.
Buy it and support a legend in our time.
............
* Don Juan smacks me on the shoulder and says, 'you think too much. It's just rock music, have fun!'
Rolling Stone - Pete Yorn: “Scarlett Johansson Could Be Brigitte Bardot”.
But around a week before heading to Omaha,
Yorn became restless and took a detour to
record with Pixies’ Frank Black. Yorn explains, “I
had an opportunity to go and work with Frank
Black so I just jumped on a plane on my own
dime and I went up to Salem, Oregon, and we
recorded.” The end result was 14 raw songs
captured in merely six days. This LP has no set
release date, but Yorn isn’t sitting idle now: he’s
on tour with Coldplay until June 4th and will
continue to tour solo in support of Back and
Fourth after those dates.
Chicago Sun-Times - Jim DeRogatis - Things we love: DC Comics, chocolate milkshakes, the Replacements and Art Brut.
...On "It's a Bit Complicated" (2007), Argos' cheeky narrations and the band's garage/metal backings sounded more labored
and predictable. But if it hasn't changed the formula on the new "Art Brut vs. Satan," produced by Black Francis of the
Pixies, it has returned in prime form with goofy anthems such as "DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshakes," "Slap Dash for
No Cash" and "Alcoholics Unanimous."...
...Q. What was the goal this time, Eddie?
A. Well, because the last one we kind of produced quite a lot, trying to make a good pop album, with this one, we tried to
record it straight through--everything in one or two takes. It was two weeks, with the last four days of mixing. At first I
thought we had all two weeks to record, but a lot of times, working with Black Francis, we'd do the first take and we didn't
even know he was recording it! But my favorite recordings are often the ones done with a boom box in the rehearsal space.
I think the third album was less pressure; we went a bit mad recording the second one. This is my favorite record. I know
everyone says that, but it sounds the most like us. And if the dude from the Pixies is there going, "What a good song
you've written," then you feel kind of good about it!
Was it intimidating to work with Black Francis?
A. The anticipation was kind of nerve-wracking, but when we met him, he's just such a brilliant person to be around that it
wasn't intimidating at all. You couldn't even be nervous, really; he was just such a fun guy.
Obviously, we loved his albums with the Pixies, but the way he records his Catholics album was the way we wanted to go:
They're all done pretty much in one take, so he's the expert at that. And we wanted to hang out with him as well!...
Philadelphia Inquirer - New Recordings.
Art Brut
Art Brut vs. Satan
(Downtown ***)
You have to love any band that cops influence from the Fall, and even takes its name from French
painter Jean Debuffet's outsider aesthetic. In his wonky, witty work, singer/lyricist Eddie Argos
inherits the mantle of clever punk held by Johnny Lydon, Ian Dury, and Damon Albarn, preserving
the best qualities of each.
Yet fans of Art Brut's first hit - the bluntly caustic "Formed a Band" - are in for an odd treat. With
Frank Black of the Pixies behind the board, the sound of Satan is raw and powerful, as if the mix
were pushed into the red without losing clarity.
It's a musical and lyrical thrill ride, from the punch of "What a Rush" to the poignancy of "Am I
Normal?". But don't let that touching moment fool you. Argos is a caustic everyman, a goofball
extraordinaire. "Slap Dash for No Cash" makes fun of Eno's belabored sonic endeavors, and an
equally contagious "Mysterious Bruises" winks at the Bobby Fuller Four with the lyric "I fought the
floor and the floor won." And who but Argos can sing a love song to DC Comics and chocolate
milkshakes and make it sad and sarcastic?
- A.D. Amorosi |
Edited by - Carl on 05/31/2009 06:40:43 |
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pixie punk
> Teenager of the Year <
2923 Posts |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
Posted - 06/03/2009 : 14:31:54
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Starpulse.com - The Learning Curve: Check Out Swim Party And Others This Week.
Grand Duchy
Hail from: Everywhere
Label: Cooking Vinyl
Sounds like: The Pixies, Gnarls Barkley, the Flaming Lips
You should be listening to: 'Petite Fours'
LISTEN TO THEM
I Should Care Why?: Even if you were to look past the fact that GD
consists of former Pixies from man Frank Black, now Black Francis, and his
wife, Violet Clark, you would see that this is still a special group for sure.
What I mean is, even is this band didn't have these stars in it, it would
still be good. Their debut, 'Petite Fours,' is one of the best records to be released thus far in 2009.
LA Weekly.
ART BRUT'S FORCE:
Cheeky Brits team up with Pixies legend, battle Satan and prepare for L.A.
residency to celebrate new album
BY LAURA FERREIRO
Published on June 03, 2009 at 6:12pm
“Are you ready, Art Brut? Let’s go!” shouts frontman Eddie Argos,
attacking the mic at Spaceland with his heavy southern-English drawl,
leading his band through one of their first-ever U.S. gigs, circa 2005.
The cheeky Brit pogos through the dense crowd at Spaceland, whipping
it as he belts out the lyrics to Art Brut’s best-known tune at the time,
“Moving to L.A.” “I’m gonna get myself deported . Hang around with
Axl Rose, buy myself some brand-new clothes . I’m drinking Hennessy
with Morrissey on a beach out of reach somewhere very far away,” he
chants, and the Angelenos go wild.
Flash forward four years, and Argos
has taken up part-time residence here.
Art Brut have gone from being free
agents in the States to having endured
a highly publicized signing and
subsequent split with a major label, and
it’s just released its third full-length
album, Art Brut vs. Satan, which the
group managed to convince alternative
-rock titan Black Francis (a.k.a. Frank
Black) of the Pixies to produce.
“I’ve had a lot of time lying around on
my back just thinking, ‘How weird is
this?’” Argos says over the phone from
Hamburg in the midst of the European leg of the band’s tour, musing
on how far they’ve come since that early Spaceland gig. Returning to
their humble roots, Art Brut are gearing up for a three-night residency
at the intimate Silver Lake club in June. The singer has been taking it
fairly easy lately because of a recent back injury that he suffered onstage
in Amsterdam, which gave him plenty of time to ponder such matters.
“This thing we’re doing at Spaceland — we’re doing it in New York and
Chicago too — like, five shows at the Mercury Lounge and five at
Schubas. It’s amazing people actually want to see us.”
Argos admits that when the band played those L.A. gigs half a decade
ago, they never thought they’d be back on U.S. soil, let alone practically
living and recording albums here. “We thought, ‘Oh, America. We’re
never gonna come here again.’ So we did all the fun things — stayed at
the Hyatt and hung out on the Sunset Strip, all those clichés. Now it
turns out we’re in America much more than we’re in Britain,” he laughs.
A few months ago, the band found themselves in a part of America
they’d never dreamt they’d visit — the sleepy, misty town of Salem,
Oregon, where they recorded with Francis in his home studio for a
down-and-dirty 12 days. Here the Pixies man helped them fine-tune
their raw punk-pop sound into a powerful 11-song punch of an album
that never lulls.
“I get quite bored in the studio,” admits Argos. “I like to sing a song and
be done. And that’s how [Francis] records [with his band] the Catholics.
The first Catholics album, they did it in one take. So we were thinking, if
we’re going to record in this sort of style, who’s the expert in that?” The
band unanimously decided on Francis, with whom they’d played a
handful of gigs.
“We got in touch with him and said, ‘Could you please produce our
album because you’re really good at doing it like that and that’s how we
want to do it?’ And he was, like, ‘Yeah!’” Argos gushes. “So we just
rocked up with our equipment and played the songs.”
In addition to his quick-take approach, Francis is also known for his
unique gift for lyrical rhythm and syncopation, and juxtaposing
screeching guitars with quiet, melodic moments, which helped establish
the Pixies as one of the most influential alternative-rock forces of the
late 1980s and early 1990s (and which Nirvana famously cited as a
major influence).
When asked why he agreed to work with the young London quintet,
Francis says many things attracted him. “In terms of the vocal
presentation of Eddie Argos, it’s really special,” he says from his Oregon
home, where his three young children are climbing on his lap. “There
aren’t many people that can break down melody into something that’s
more about rhythm. I can think of two great examples: Mark E. Smith
of The Fall and Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols. People say Eddie’s just
talking his lyrics but that’s an oversimplification of what he does. If he
was just talking his words it’d be a lot more boring and it wouldn’t suck
you in in a musical way. Not too many people can get away with that.”
In addition to highlighting Argos’ unique vocal style, Francis wanted to
emphasize the “voices” of guitarists Jasper Future and Ian Catskilkin.
“If you’re gonna produce, one of your jobs is to bring out and not
disguise elements. So on occasion I did attempt to separate the
guitarists’ voices from the singer’s voice, so there are passages where we
hear less guitars and more Eddie, and there are other passages where we
let the guitars happen without any voice. Other than that, I was just
trying to be another band member by being with them in spirit and
trying to make a good record and just listening.”
Argos adds, “It was almost like he was conducting us. We’d be playing a
song and he’d be, like, ‘Oh, that bit is really good. Put it at the beginning
as well.’” Francis was also responsible for helping to create the longest
song in Art Brut’s catalog. “He wanted us to keep playing ‘Mysterious
Bruises,’” Argos says. “He said, ‘Play it longer.’ We wouldn’t have had an
eight-minute song if it hadn’t been for Black Francis. That’s kind of
cool.”
When discussing the Pixies man, Argos
can’t help gushing about how down-to-
earth he is, how easy he is to get along
with, and how it felt like “he was in the
band for a bit” when they were
recording the album. Argos also admits
to being slightly awed by the indie
legend. “At one point I was arguing
with him,” he recalls. “He said, ‘I think
you should do that.’ And I thought,
‘One second. He’s the dude from the
Pixies. He’s probably right!’ I think I
would’ve been really fanboy-ish if he
hadn’t been such a brilliant person.”
Argos pauses and sighs. “I’m telling
everybody how nice he is all the time and I’m getting a bit tired of it,” he
quips, adding, “I might start lying and saying he was horrible. ‘Oh, he’s
such an awful person. Oh, he beat us.’”
All kidding aside, Francis unobtrusively and expertly did his part,
capturing Art Brut’s no-frills, guitar-driven pop-punk stylings, and
perhaps suggesting a few brief guitar riffs that could easily be mistaken
for something off a Frank Black album. He also helped the other band
members — Future and Catskilkin, bassist Frederica Feedback and
drummer Mikey B, who write all the music — to keep things raw and
energetic, punctuating Argos’ confessional yarns with danceable,
moshable, adrenaline-filled tunes.
Meanwhile, Argos’ gift for penning hilariously biting lyrics has become
even stronger over the years, with lines such as “Cool your warm jets,
Brian Eno,” on the track “Slap Dash for No Cash,” which disses slickly
produced U2-esque bands and glorifies those that “don’t sound quite
right.” He also penned a curious ode to public transit in his newly
adopted hometown. There aren’t many people who would extol the
virtues of L.A.’s notoriously dire transportation system, but leave it to
Argos to chirp, “Some people hate the bus, not me, I can’t get enough.
Some people live in the fast lane, not me, I take the train!” Argos
explains: “I wrote that on the 704 [bus] that goes to Union Station, and
then on the line to Pasadena. It’s about that journey.”
Not to be forgotten is the amusingly confessional “DC Comics and
Chocolate Milkshakes,” on which Argos openly admits to having a
passion for both, despite being nearly 30. “DC comics and chocolate
milkshakes/Some things will always be great/even though I’m 28!” As a
result of this song, many like-minded comic book geeks have been
approaching Argos at shows and testing his mettle to see if he’s as much
of a fanboy as he professes to be. “Whenever we’re playing now, geeky
comic fans seek me out,” he says. “They’re, like, ‘Oh, you like DC
Comics. Do you really like them? When did Booster Gold beat
Superman in a fight? And I’m, like, ‘I know that, it’s Issue 12!’”
At 29, Argos seems poised to tackle the next decade armed with an even
greater arsenal of life experiences and candor. “Now that I’m nearly 30,
I’m, like, aww, fuck it,” he says. “I can admit that I still like comics. I’m
nearly 30, I may as well start being more honest. This is me, I’m not
gonna change.”
Art Brut perform at Spaceland June 16-18, and at The Echo June 19.
Drinking Hennessy with Morrissey: A Brit
band conquers L.A.
Houston - Hair Balls - Catastrophic Theatre's Head Lives Up To His Theater's Name.
....When last we talked to Jason Nodler of
Catastrophic Theatre, he was eagerly looking
forward to a trip to the Netherlands for
vacation and a chance to work on a new
musical.
The production, on which he's working with
Pixies frontman Black Francis, centers on the
life of Herman Brood, a dead rocker who's a
cult hero in Amsterdam and environs....
Time Out Chicago - On the record - Art Brut.
Eddie Argos is a music geek. Perhaps the biggest one. As the lead ranter (“singer,” he
would agree, is too generous) of pop-punks Art Brut, the sharply dressed Southern
Englander spits punch-line-filled metaspiels about loving and playing rock & roll. The
Pixies’ Black Francis produced the band’s droll, rowdy latest, Art Brut Vs. Satan, loaded
with catchy songs about catchy songs (“Twist and Shout”) and should-be-hits about shit-
that-becomes-hits (“Demons Out!”). After talking with Argos, 29, for an embarrassing
amount of time about his second love, comic books, we focused on his favorite lyrical
topic—Art Brut....
....TOC: Art Brut is the antithesis. You recorded the new album in one take, right?
Eddie Argos: There’s one or two overdubs. At the end of “Am I Normal?” I blurt, “I’ve lost the
ability to speak.” There were loads more lyrics, but I literally lost the ability to speak. Black
Francis wouldn’t let me do it over. He said, “No, man, you can’t. You can’t replicate that.”
PopMatters - Grand Duchy: Petits Fours.
NME.COM - Frank Black's band Grand Duchy plot US tour.
slicing up eyeballs - Pixies’ Black Francis plots solo-acoustic shows, Grand Duchy dates this summer.
greatfallstribune.com.
Black Francis makes Grand re-entrance to music scene
BY PAT DOUGLAS • FOR THE TRIBUNE • JULY 3, 2009
You can call him Black Francis. You can call him Frank Black. Or, you can call him by his birth name,
Charles Thompson. The enigmatic musician best known for fronting the on-again-off-again indie band,
The Pixies, has changed his name more than John Cougar Mellencamp but manages to deliver the same
punch, regardless of which moniker he's going by.
These days you'll find Thompson touring the country with his wife and
bandmate, Violet Clark and their group, Grand Duchy, which just released
its debut "Petits Fours." It's that collaboration that has sparked such strong
comparisons to his early days with The Pixies, more so than he has
garnered with numerous solo releases.
While Clark can be found playing bass and providing the occasional
backup vocals for Black Francis it wasn't until they decided to work together
exclusively with Grand Duchy that the team really got to know each other
musically.
"I started to utilize her to play bass or sing background vocals and it was
working out," recalled Thompson, in a recent phone interview with the
Tribune. "I think I just surprised her and said 'We're gonna do a (recording)
session. You and me.' "
Clark's bass abilities mixed with her charismatic vocals are the reasons
she's being compared to Pixies bassist/part-time vocalist Kim Deal, also of
Breeders fame.
The two are touring this summer, some dates devoted primarily to Black
Francis gigs, others exclusively Grand Duchy shows. They're even bringing
along their three young children, making it a family affair.
"There's nothing convenient about it, but we do it because we love it," said
Thompson. "It has its challenges. My wife's pretty mommy-centric. At the
end of the day, she's a mommy and that's a priority, but she likes to be let
out of mommy prison at least once in awhile."
Thompson admits that his situation would make an entertaining reality TV
show, but it doesn't interest him.
"It occurred to us a few years ago when reality television seemed more
amusing than it does now," the singer says.
In 1988, The Pixies became a hit underground indie band with their debut record, "Surfer Rosa," more
specifically the song, "Where Is My Mind?" which people might recall was featured at the end of "Fight
Club" as the buildings all come crumbling down. The album received a critical boost when Nirvana
frontman Kurt Cobain mentioned that his hit song, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was a "Pixies ripoff," while
Smashing Pumpkins main man, Billy Corgan has acknowledged studying "Surfer Rosa" and its
technicalities as being key to his development as a musician.
In 2005, Spin Magazine ranked "Surfer Rosa" as the sixth best album
released in the last 20 years.
Back then, Thompson went by Black Francis before embarking on a solo
career as Frank Black. When the 2000s came along, he was back touring
and creating albums as Black Francis.
With all the favorable press over the years, Thompson doesn't suffer an
inflated ego. It's never been about reaching for radio hits or massive record
sales, according to the musician.
"I don't analyze things too much," he said. "I think anything I've ever done ...
in general, I've been able to not pander too much to the marketplace. Trying
to be popular, trying to make it, trying to be on the radio, trying to be famous,
it's never really been about that for me."
Thompson also is ready to embrace new music technology.
"I feel like I wanna release records only on USB because ... my GPS, my
telephone, all this stuff, what's the format that seems to be ruling my life
more than other formats? It's either USB or mini-USB ports," said
Thompson.
"I don't know exactly what devices are going to come up in the near future
but I feel the connection point from one object ... is the mini-USB or USB
connection."
While the name has changed, the one consistent in Thompson's career
has been that he hasn't concentrated on impressing anyone along the way,
something that has gotten easier in this era of music where record sales
have tanked.
"I really have no expectation of my commerce other than what I can pull in at
a solo gig," he said.
"In terms of selling records or climbing up to the next rung of success ... all
that kind of thinking has just gone down. You can get weirded out by it or
you can kind of embrace it.
"I can do whatever the hell I want. So, that's what I'm doing."
Charles Thompson, aka
Black Francis, aka Frank
Black, is touring as Black
Francis and his newest
collaboration, Grand
Duchy this summer.
(PHOTO COURTESY
MAGNUM PUBLIC
RELATIONS)
Consequence of Sound - Album Review: Grand Duchy - Petits Fours.
The Washington Post - Going Out Gurus - Nightlife Agenda.
Frank Black aka Black Francis aka Charles Thompson is a man of many
aliases and albums. The dude keeps busy. Very busy. While he'll
forever and always be known as the driving force behind alt-rock giants
the Pixies -- a fate he seems fine embracing, based on the latest
reunion tour that will hit D.C. in the fall -- his post-Pixies output has been
massive, most of it even pretty good. His latest project is Grand Duchy,
and this time he's joined by his wife, Violet Clark. It's a rare instance of
collaboration for Black, but it's hard to argue with the results. You've
never heard so much keyboard on an album that he's done, and you
might be surprised with how good it sounds. And you'll be reminded how
well his vocals work with a female foil. So yeah, you'll get your chance
for the Pixies in the fall, but that doesn't mean you should pass on
Grand Duchy at the Black Cat tonight.
Altsounds.com News - BLACK FRANCIS + VIOLET CLARK = GRAND DUCHY - TOUR STARTS TOMORROW.
Express Night Out - Arts & Events - Turn That Noise Off: Former Pixie and Wife Leave Behind Abrasive Rock.
The Village Voice - Sound of the City - Siren Festival 2009: Q&A With Grand Duchy's Violet Clark.
antiMusic - Grand Duchy Black Francis Tour.
washingtonpost.com - Post Rock - Six Questions for ... Grand Duchy.
Metro - A Grand entrance.
BostonHerald.com - Duchy blessed by Pixies dust.
The Village Voice - Sound of the City - Siren Festival 2009: Q&A With Grand Duchy's Frank Black.
Boston Music Spotlight - Pixies frontman brings new band back to Boston.
Caller-Times - This week in music - Yorn brings the rock with a Pixie as producer.
Musicradar.com - Frank Black: Don't wait for new Pixies album.
BostonHerald.com - Grand Duchy ruled by Pixies sound.
BrooklynVegan - Grand Duchy (Frank Black) @ Maxwells (setlist) & Siren (pics).
Spinner - Frank Black Says Record Labels Aren't 'Vital, Creative or Interesting'.
Flavorwire - Exclusive: How Rock Legend Frank Black Fell in Love With an MTV Girl.
geeks.co.uk - Fender Guitars – a Who’s Who of Music.
Frank Black – Pixies
Larger-than-life frontman of Californian new wave punk band the Pixies wrote his
jangly rythyms on a Telecaster, hit’s like Hey, Where is my Mind, Debaser, Wave of
Mutilation and the bands signature sound by lead man Joe Santiago were backed up
by beefy chords from a beefy dude on his Telecaster.
Houston Music - Oregon Trail.
LiveDaily Interview: Eddie Argos of Art Brut. |
Edited by - Carl on 11/01/2009 12:13:09 |
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Brank_Flack
* Dog in the Sand *
Canada
1017 Posts |
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Carl
- A 'Fifth' Catholic -
Ireland
11546 Posts |
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The return of Captain Link,,,,
"I joined the Cult of Frank/ cause I'm a real go-getter!"...long live snitz!!