Category: Musical

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Sessions At Studio B With Minor Stars


Wow. It’s mind-boggling to contemplate that it’s been nearly two years since I first launched into these tunes with Eric and Matt. The practices at Matt’s house. The first show at The Pinhook in Durham. The CD Release Show at the Local 506, when the Snow-pocalypse damn near shut down the whole town. The bleary-eyed hours and days and weeks Eric and I spent creating the website. The mini-tour to DC and NYC. Sleeping on Kooki Kooks’s kitchen floor. My last show at The Cave in March. My next last show at DiveBar in Raleigh. And now my last last show at Studio B. What a privilege it’s been to play with Eric and Matt. A real honor. That’s all I can think, all I can say, all I can write for the time being. That’s it. It’s been an honor, gentlemen…

[From Music.MyNC.Com]:

It’s certainly difficult to pinpoint exactly who Minor Stars is trying to be. But in all reality, it’s simple to see the band exceeds in being itself.

Looking at frontman Eric Wallen, one wouldn’t think there is a Duke University graduate school alum hidden beneath that mane of metal hair. In fact, Eric looks as if he was plucked straight out of the school of Zeppelin.

“I had a previous life path of being an electrical engineer,” Wallen explained.

“When it came time to graduate, all of my friends were applying to grad school because nobody really wanted to get a job. So I got into Duke on a full ride — couldn’t really say no — I came down here and pretty much knew immediately it wasn’t what I wanted to do.”

After graduating with a masters in electrical engineering, Eric turned down a cushy job to pursue a career in music. This led to a period of writing folk songs on his acoustic guitar and performing them on Franklin Street.

But hearing a single note from Minor Stars‘ debut full-length, Death of the Sun in the Silver Sea, anyone can recognize that the music Eric plays with drummer Matt McCallus and bassist Bob Dearborn is anything but folk. Rather, what he describes as psychedelic rock is an amalgamation of ’70s-era metal, early ’90s indie rock and post-hardcore.

“I used to be a metal kid — I know it’s hard to tell now,” Wallen joked. “Actually when I was a metal kid, I didn’t look like one at all.”

Wallen added, “From there … I listened to a lot more stuff from the ’60s and ’70s and then a ton of indie rock. It kind of evolved into that vein, then into this psychedelic rock, and kind of full circle, bringing back some of the old metal riffs.”

Standing behind a sea of pedals, Wallen achieves a level fuzz rarely heard from truly indie bands. The band is certainly heavy, but Minor Stars can’t be considered hardcore. And though at times soaring with three-part harmonies, Minor Stars can’t be considered indie pop.

Perhaps indie hardcore? No … just Minor Stars.

Setlist
Death of the Sun
Numbers Don’t Lie
Mirror
All Your Stars Out
Daydream
Silver Lining

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Broken shoulder blues

I went out to have a beer with Eric on Friday night and we spent some time reminiscing about our years together in My Dear Ella and Minor Stars. I was jogging home the two blocks from the Orange County Social Club to my apartment when an amazing, unprecedented event happened—my feet slid out from under me on the wet cement and I crashed down like a ton of bricks onto the sidewalk. I ended up with a separated shoulder, which was not the way I had planned to start my holiday weekend. I spent Saturday on the couch with my ice-pack and laptop, and the only productive thing I accomplished was to copy some DVD footage of the 2004 Bright Orange Tailspin CD release show at the Local 506 in Chapel Hill. I was struck by how much younger I looked only six years ago, and also by what a jackass I made of myself when the camera captured me in all my intoxicated glory.

These are the things that swirled through my head yesterday as I played around in the studio (I was pleasantly surprised I could play the instruments with only minor discomfort). I’ve also been thinking a lot about creativity, and how much I enjoy exploring a particular moment in time through music or writing. And my shoulder hurts like bloody hell, and it’s impossible to sleep for more than an hour at a time. Here’s what I recorded last night before fading out:

<a href="http://isaacdust.bandcamp.com/track/broken-shoulder-blues">Broken shoulder blues by Isaac Dust</a>

I was only 34 years old
when I thought I played my final show
But who was I to think I’d know when it was all over
I went away for 4 long years
and thought I conquered all my fears
But man you saw me shed those tears when it was all over
I got back up and hit the scene
to find out what it really means
The sleep ain’t always worth the dream when it’s all over
So many times the same old thing
I think I’m out but then I’m in
I thought I’d lost but I just might win

We watched it go under the bridge
There ain’t no sense denying it
And who’ll be left to give a shit when it’s all over
and said and done but I was never one to jump right in
but I might not see your face again
We can say goodbye or just say when

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Who knows…

“Just when I think I’m out, they keep pulling me back in.”

I’m trying to recall how many “last shows” I’ve played now. I’m pretty sure tomorrow will be my fourth. I remember like it was last month (it was actually two months ago) when I played my last last show. It was a Friday night at The Cave in Chapel Hill. We opened for Transportation (one of my all-time favorite local bands), who I’m sure were in fine form that night. Well, actually I’m not 100% sure, because I didn’t stick around for their set. Aside from being worn out from a draining work week, I was just not up for all the boozy-breath-stankin’ questions about why I was leaving the band. So I hitched a ride home, stuck my bass in the closet, and figured I might never again see the inside of a dive bar. Two months later, I’m getting ready to play another show, at a place actually called DIVEbar.

My wife has a job interview today. If they offer her the job, two months from now we’ll be moving to a town in Oregon 2842 miles away. If not, depending on other job offers, we might instead be heading to Pennsylvania, or Ohio, or West Virginia, or Tennessee, or Mexico. Of course, no job offers means we stay put for a while longer. Anything could happen. Who knows.

Come to think of it, the first rock concert I ever saw was on HBO in 1982. It was The Who’s “Farewell Tour,” and it was my introduction to rock and roll. To this day I still rock Who covers on the acoustic on a regular basis. Seven years after The Who’s last hurrah in ’82, I found myself at Giants Stadium in New Jersey cheering for my favorite rock band of all time — you guessed it, The Who. Funny how stuff like that happens. Anybody see the halftime show for this year’s Super Bowl? 28 freakin’ years after the old, washed-up geezers sang their supposed swan song, not only are they still alive (Okay, so only two of them are still alive) but they’re still performing as The Who. WTF?

So, after my last show tomorrow, I won’t be putting the bass in the closet. Minor Stars will be recorded and interviewed by a local TV station in early June. Technically that’s not a show, so I don’t think it will qualify as “Last Show #5.” But it might be the last time I play with Eric and Matt. It might be the last hurrah, the final farewell. Who knows…

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Sunday Dustbin: Trouble weighs a ton (Dan Auerbach)

Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys is one of my favorite musicians at the moment. His gritty voice and killer blues guitar just ooze soul, and his recordings have a raw, spontaneous vibe that is all too rare in today’s rock music. Today I was tooling around in my studio trying to remember how to get a decent live sound for acoustic demos, and I ran through “Trouble weighs a ton” — the opening track off Auerbach’s solo album, Keep It Hid — as my sound-check tune. I clicked open iMovie for shits and giggles, and here’s the clip:

Trouble weighs a ton(mp3)

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Minor Stars Vault

ericstudio.jpgFor years I’ve been encouraging Eric Wallen (the heart and soul of Minor Stars and My Dear Ella) to let the world have a listen to his impressive collection of song idea tapes and demo recordings. We’ve been talking about creating an online “vault” of demos and bonus material for so many years that Jack White had time to telepathically steal our ideas and launch his own version.

Well, the time has come and the Minor Stars Vault has been unlocked and launched into cyberspace at long last. Here’s Eric’s announcement and the first two offerings:

The Vault will put on full display the underbelly of Minor Stars and its members. Demos, riffs and jamz from practice, live videos, old abandoned songs, rough mixes of the latest song we’re working on…the stuff that might not otherwise see the light of day but that is often the most interesting and exciting. Anything goes.

Our goal is to add a new Vault post every week. In addition to offering up cool content, the Vault is meant to keep us focused and dedicated to writing and recording music regularly, and to loosen up the stranglehold that I’ve (Eric) always had on material I haven’t considered to be in its “final” form. I’m dropping all that. It’s never gonna be in its final form, or it already is and I don’t know it yet. But it really doesn’t matter, and now it’ll be in the Vault for all to hear.

<a href="http://minorstarsvault.bandcamp.com/track/holy-fake">Holy Fake by Minor Stars: Vault</a>

<a href="http://minorstarsvault.bandcamp.com/track/intro-music">Intro Music by Minor Stars: Vault</a>

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No regrets

There’s a girl who lived on my block
She wore pigtails and bright purple socks
She could sing before she could talk
She had wings but she’d rather walk

A ghost of a prayer still floats in the air
Keeping me longing from the depths of my despair
I don’t expect a kiss or that you’ll stay the night
or that you wave your hands and make everything alright
I just want you to know when you’re going out that door
I don’t regret a thing

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Jeff Mangum – Oh Sister

The reality of the internet still amazes me every day. I was too tired to get out of bed and go to the Dynamite Brothers/Transportation show last night (Sorry dudes, I’m sure it was awesome), but still I get treated to Neutral Milk Hotel songs I’ve never heard before. Awesome.

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Minor Stars launches new website!

ms8b.jpg

The new Minor Stars website— Minorstars.com— is officially up and running, featuring the opening track (The Death of the Sun) off our soon-to-be-released album, The Death of the Sun in the Silver Sea. Listen, download, and share to your heart’s delight.

We’ll be featuring a new song on the site each Monday in November. Explore the site, keep in touch with us on MySpace, Twitter, ReverbNation, and YouTube, and we’ll see you at The Reservoir on December 4th for our next show.

<a href="http://minorstars.bandcamp.com/track/the-death-of-the-sun">The Death of the Sun by Minor Stars</a>