East Tennessee Dirt: What's happening in the local music scene
By Steve Wildsmithof The Daily Times Staff
Originally published: August 15. 2008 3:01AM
Last modified: August 14. 2008 4:47PM
Local music review: "Eskimo Hair," by Todd Steed and the Suns of Phere
I call it the Tom Hanks phenomenon -- the realization that an artist you had pegged as one thing is not only capable of so much more, he often excels at whatever he tries his hand.
It's a purely speculative theory, based on the fact that for years, the actor Tom Hanks was known mostly for goofball comedy -- "Bosom Buddies," "Turner and Hooch," "Bachelor Party," "Splash" ... you get the idea. Starting with "Big" and continuing with such films as "Forrest Gump," "Philadelphia," "Saving Private Ryan" and his films of later years, however, you suddenly saw a guy who's seems able to take on any role and make it his own.
Such is the case with Todd Steed, who's about the closest equivalent to Tom Hanks the local music scene has to offer. The guy who, for years, made a name for himself playing indie rock wrapped around quirky, offbeat lyrics in such bands as Smokin' Dave and the Premo Dopes and Apelife, is still more than capable of rattling off a few witty verses, sometimes made up on the spot in the middle of a show. But starting with his last album, "Heartbreak and Duct Tape" and the tender song "Beware of Boxes," he displayed a mastery of the more serious side of songwriting as well.
"Eskimo Hair," the most recent release by Steed and his band, the Suns of Phere, take that a step further. Sure, there's plenty of Steed's brand of offbeat humor -- the intro, intermission and outro spoken-word pieces by his bandmates, behind which Steed players some killer mood guitar, is one example. And the songs themselves contain enough imagery and analogy to bring a smile to the faces of those who love a well-crafted song.
What lifts "Eskimo Hair" to the level of stellar, however, are the little things -- like fireflies snatched out of the thick air of summer twilight, the pictures he paints are illuminating snapshots of times and places and memories that are personal enough to be intimate but general enough for us all to identify.
"Preservation Roof" is a song Steed wrote shortly after Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans, sung from the perspective of a Big Easy resident riding out the storm's aftermath from the roof of Preservation Hall. He paints a vivid picture of a "Lord of the Flies" landscape where the residents listen and watch and die while politicians slap themselves on the back and do nothing. "5 O'Clock" dates back to his days with the Opposable Thumbs and is a paean to Miller Time; "The French Girl and a Redneck" is the story of a French relief volunteer in post-Katrina New Orleans who's hit upon by a Tennessee boy in the Crescent City to drink; "Stuck in Asia" has that sublime balance of melancholy and wistfulness and optimism that calls to mind "New Slang," the song by The Shins that made the "Garden State" soundtrack so good.
The centerpiece of the album, however, is "Highway 78," a tender, funny, poignant song that captures the dream of a young boy to go to Disney World, only to be taken on a backroads adventure that winds up at his grandmother's house in rural Georgia -- where "she hugged me so hard, I never cared about Mickey Mouse again," he tells us.
It's an album that finds the Suns of Phere at the top of their game -- tighter than ever, drawing from a variety of genres and piecing "Eskimo Hair" together like an intricate puzzle of layers and tones and warm moods. And with Steed's songwriting at its heart, it's one of the best albums to be released locally -- or nationally, for that matter -- this year.
Discover the Bijou
Got plans next Friday night (Aug. 22)? If not, head down to The Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay St. in downtown Knoxville, where for only $5, you can check out the acoustics, the ambience and the atmosphere of seeing live music performed in one of East Tennessee's most distinguished theater houses. On the bill -- Llama Train, The Dirty Guv'nahs, Brendon James Wright and the Wrongs and the Boozehound Gandy Dance Hobo Cabaret.
It's part of the University of Tennessee's "Discover Downtown" event and "Welcome Week 2008," designed to open the eyes of new UT students to the cultural wonders that await them beyond campus, and the good part is that it's only $5 to get in the door that night. The show starts at 8 p.m., so check it out.
Tenderhooks plan October release
We got an e-mail recently from Jake Winstrom, one of the geniuses in that indie-rock four-piece the Tenderhooks, who wanted to give us a heads-up on an Aug. 29 show the band is playing at The Pilot Light, 106 E. Jackson Ave. in Knoxville's Old City. (The Tim Lee 3 is also on that bill.)
The Tenderhooks are currently traveling back and forth to New York, where they're working on a new album, the follow-up to "Vidalia," released last year on local label Rock Snob. According to Winstrom, "We're polishing off the artwork and final details ... so expect it in your mailbox circa October."
If the band's performances and acclaim around the area (they're alums of the Maryville College "Blister in the Sun" festival for the past two years) are any indication, the to-be-named follow-up is gonna raise the already-up-there bar for the area's other musicians. Check them out online at www.myspace.com/tenderhooks, where several new songs are now up.
Happy birthday, Mr. Randall Brown!
Our rock journalist compatriot, one Mr. Randall Brown of that Knoxville daily newspaper that shall remain unnamed, is celebrating his 40th birthday this week (it was on Thursday, as a matter of fact). The local scene veteran and bandleader of the rock outfit Quartjar (who did a solo show sponsored by The Daily Times at the end of June in downtown Maryville, as part of the Last Friday Art Walk) has put together a party for Saturday night at World Grotto, 16 Market Square in downtown Knoxville.
The doors open at 9 p.m., and Quartjar will share the stage with local rocker Kevin Abernathy.
Brown writes, "My actual birthday is on Thursday, Aug. 14, so for Saturday the 16th we will also accept celebratory exclamations for our friends Anne Moffett and Steve Wildsmith, singer Madonna, actress Angela Bassett, rapper Killah Priest and J.T. Taylor of Kool the Gang, amonther others. We will also observe the 22nd anniversary of the passing of Elvis Presley; the 52nd anniversary of the passing of Bela Lugosi; and the 11th anniversary of the passing of Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, among others."
Admission to the show is $5.
Attention, local bands and musicians! We want YOUR information. Send it to us via e-mail to: steve.wildsmith@thedailytimes.com, or call us at 981-1144.