Girl On Top: Rhythm Method

After some home-network retooling necessitated a longer-than-expected hiatus, FFB is back; and I can finally tell you about a band I've been dying to plug here.

Boston-based Girl On Top is an Indie-Rock band fronted by the prodigiously talented Karen DeBiasse (more about her in a moment). Their latest CD, Cherry Blossoms/Sakura is out now, and FEMALE FRONT is also playing two tracks from a yet-to-be-released album.

One of the more notable aspects of the music of Girl On Top is how eclectic it is. When I first popped-in the new CD, I figured I was in for a solid, Alternative Rock-style album, since that was the sound of the first couple of tracks. But then the next track was more like a late 70's rocker, and the next one was a Pop-Punk quickie, and so on. G.O.T. influences seem to range from classic artists like Joan Jett, Heart and Pat Benatar, to contemporaries like Auf der Maur -- but any such references are subtle, and the music never lets itself get pinned-down to any one type of sound.

Indeed, the songwriting is probably the most impressive part of Girl On Top. This is thanks largely to the imagination and intellect of Karen DeBiasse, a woman who has more musical education than probably the entire roster of Sony BMG Records. Of course, formal musical training is never a guarantee of quality music, but it may provide a clue as to how Ms DeBiasse can make it look so easy. So many of the songs in the Girl On Top catalog just work, while never losing their indie-cred. In fact (here comes my obligatory one criticism), the Indie sound can sometimes be a hindrance; I would love to see what Girl On Top could do with a big recording budget and unlimited studio time. I am convinced that they would not let it go to their heads.

Still, songwriting always trumps production. Some of the songs that are worthy of individual praise here include: "Army Nation", one of the boldest, most searing political protest songs I've heard in a very long time, set to a steady, almost incongruous Reggae-like groove. Thematically, it's reminiscent of Kate Bush's "Army Dreamers", but whereas that song was a twisted little lullaby, this one gets right in your face with its anti-war, anti-political message. It goes far beyond the typical war-is-bad platitudes that most artists feel comfortable delivering, and climbs way out on an ideological limb. And I so admire Karen DeBiasse for doing it. The song appears on the unreleased album, so hopefully that will be available for sale soon.

G.O.T. also gets political with two other songs on that album: "Always", which has catchy, radio-ready harmonies, and "Livin' a Lie", which is in rotation now on FEMALE FRONT.

I also dig "Atomic World", a six-and-a-half minute psychedelic masterpiece on the Cherry Blossoms/Sakura album. I almost never put songs that long on the playlist, but I had no choice with this one. I'd also like to recognize the excellent work of Jack Rootoo, the lead guitarist on the Cherry Blossoms sessions, and David Simmons, lead guitarist on the new material including "Livin' a Lie".

Also added to the playlist was the co-title track, "Sakura" -- a Japanese-language version of the song "Cherry Blossoms" on the same album. Karen DeBiasse does not speak Japanese, so she had a student translate the lyrics, and then memorized them for recording. I don't speak Japanese either, but I do occasionally play Japanese artists on the station, and this song reminds me of one of those cute J-Pop ditties. Besides, anyone who does that much work for one song deserves to be played.

Karen DeBiasse is someone who has worked so hard at her craft for so long, that it bugs me to see that Girl On Top is known mostly as a local act. This is an artist and a group that deserve more attention, and from forces more powerful than this little radio station and blog. Check out the song samples from Girl On Top, and purchase the CD's if you like what you hear!

Betsy Spivak: Warped Vinyl

Cyberspace -- The final frontier. These are the voyages of Blogger.com. It's perennial mission: To explore strange new glitches. To seek out new downtime, and new ways of pissing me the hell off. To boldy prevent FEMALE FRONT from providing much-needed exposure to very deserving artists!

Yes, as you may have noticed from the absence of my sanity, I've been dealing with more Blogger bugs. Since it defies logic that a platform which is part of Google -- the largest bleeding-edge technology company in the world -- should have such abominable service, I've developed a theory: Maybe it IS a conspiracy. Maybe Blogger is really a front for Clear Channel, and every time they see me promote an independent artist, they pull the plug.

Well, if anyone pulls the plug while I'm telling the People about
Betsy Spivak, then there'll be hell to pay, Mister!

No flowery statements are required here. Simply put, Betsy Spivak is one of those artists who single-handedly validates the existence of FEMALE FRONT Radio...and all in the space of seven songs.

The songs in question are on Ms Spivak's new CD, The Scratch on My Vinyl Soul (to be fair, there are actually nine tracks on the CD, but two of them are reprises). And the songwriting of the songs in question is quite terrific. Ms Spivak's cheerful, indie-grrl delivery belies a wonderfully twisted sensibility, delivered in simple but nicely melodic arrangements that further serve to lure you in for the kill. The result is a Bride of Frankenstein-like amalgamation of sensibilites: 90's-style Indie Rock, 70's Carole King-style singer-songwriter Rock, and... Tom Waits.

OK, so the Tom Waits association is the most direct: The album contains a cover of Waits' song "Ol' '55". The great thing about Betsy Spivak's version is that...well, she can sing. Look, I know how awesome Tom Waits was and is, both as a songrwriter and as a dude in general. He has many, many enthusiastic fans who adore his work. But that still doesn't mean the guy can sing. And Leonard Cohen? Yeah, he can't sing either. Doesn't mean they're not otherwise talented; it just means that their songs make excellent covers for people who CAN sing.

As I've mentioned, Betsy Spivak can write, too. "The Spider" is her own cabaret-style, Tom Waits-esque number, a real mood piece. But the rest of the album is more upbeat, with clever lyrics and fun arrangements usually centered around Ms Spivak's upright piano (well, it sounds like an upright, but I'm no expert). Just buy the CD already, I don't think I'll be able to do it justice here.

With The Scratch on My Vinyl Soul, Betsy Spivak comes across as so smart, funny and talented that your mother is already wondering why you can't ever go out with a nice girl like that, anyway?! (Not that your current girl isn't nice, but you know how your mother can get.)

Here's wishing Betsy Spivak the best of success; and if the Clear Channel guys are watching...go ahead, everybody, flip 'em off!

Lucid Fly: Go for Launch

The history of how and why I started FEMALE FRONT Radio has been told so many times, it has now become the stuff of legend. Except for the "stuff of legend" part. But I will re-tell it now to provide a bit of context for the band I will mention in a moment.

One day in the late 1990's, the Modern Rock/Alternative FM station of which I was a frequent listener decided to stop playing female artists. This was a station which, up to that point, had regularly played such artists as Hole, No Doubt, Elastica, Fiona Apple and many, many others. But suddenly, the women were out and rape-rock bands like Limp Bizkit were in.

Fortunately, the Limp Bizkit era didn't last long; but when the programmers came to their senses and started adding innovative artists back into the mix, they left out one very big category: Innovative female artists (actually, female artists of any kind). That was offensive enough. But what finally drove a stake into their last surviving sliver of credibility, was when one of their DJ's said that they would be happy to play female artists -- if there were any out there worth playing.

Thus, FEMALE FRONT was born, to prove the obvious: That there are so many outstanding female artists out there, one guy could hand-pick a 24-hour-long playlist of his favorites, and barely scratch the surface. The rise of internet radio, iTunes and Myspace, and the commensurate decline of commercial radio & record companies, all serve as neat little facts that support my main point -- which is that I was right, and commercial radio programmers are ignorant dickheads.

True, the FEMALE FRONT playlist includes many genres other than Modern Rock; but to be honest, I start getting antsy when I haven't added any real rockers in a while. I like to prove the point again and again that female musicians and vocalists can rock just as hard as the dudes.

Enter Lucid Fly.

Based out of Orlando, FL, this Progressive Hard-Rock quartet -- founded by guitarist Doug Mecca and virtuosa vocalist Nikki Layne -- make an impressive debut with their self-released EP, Adapting to Gravity. The production values are strong, and the project as a whole benefits from a sense that this was an intellectual venture as much as a musical one.

Layne's vocals really soar, something that perhaps is better appreciated upon repeat listenings. Overall, the seven songs on the EP are thoughtful and well-structured, and there isn't a line of rap in any of the 27:44 running time.

Being Orlandoans (Orlandoers? Orlandites?), Lucid Fly displays the obvious influence of the Space Coast all over the place: in the album title, band name (after astronaut Shannon Lucid), songwriting and even in their unique branding, which extends from the album art to the band's website. All of this is something that the geek in me finds deeply satisfying. (OK, so it's more like I'm the geek, and the rocker in me finds the music deeply satisfying; anyway, same net result.)

Adapting to Gravity doesn't necessarily break new ground in Rock; but Lucid Fly are every bit as good as their multi-platinum peers, which only goes to highlight the inherent sexism of commercial radio. But by purchasing their CD, you can help ignite the solid rocket booster that Nikki Layne and Lucid Fly will ride right through the glass ceiling.

Celeste Lear: ROTATE

It's not often that my interest in music overlaps with one of my other legion of interests (I am conversant in everything, and expert in nothing). It must be equally rare for an artist to be able to cite a direct family connection to the development of technologies that literally changed the world; yet one such artist recently sent me her new CD. The woman in question is Celeste Lear, and the heritage in question comes from her grandfather, William (Bill) Lear.

A bit of background: Bill Lear is best known for developing the Lear Jet, the first purpose-built business jet in the world. Those fancy Gulfstream and Falcon bizjets, and even the ubiquitous "regional jets" favored by airlines, all owe their existence to the pioneering Lear Jet. The Lear Jet line is still produced today by Bombardier Aerospace (above: the Learjet 45XR).

That's an incredibly cool connection for an aviation geek like me, but perhaps even more intriguing are Bill Lear's contributions to the field of mass communications: More recently with the invention of the 8-track tape (my mom had one in her '75 VW Super Beetle), and most importantly with the invention of a little thing called the car radio. True story: Lear and his partner designed the thing, and then sold their patents to a company that would later call itself Motorola.

Now, if I were Celeste Lear, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from telling everyone, "Yeah, my granddad helped change mass communications, and with it, world culture." Fortunately, Celeste Lear isn't like me -- she has talent. Thus, she's not limited to riding her progenitor's coattails (impressive though they are); instead, she has chosen to express herself through music. And what's really interesting, to me at least, is the genre she has chosen: Electronica.

I've lamented before about how there do not seem to be enough woman producers/performers/DJ's in the Electronica scene (although there are plenty of fantastic female vocalists working in the genre). Therefore it was a pleasant surprise to receive Celeste Lear's album The Echo Inside from out of the wild blue. Overall, I'd categorize the album as Downtempo/Chillout. In other words, this isn't the type of Electronica to which you'd drop E and pogo on a massive dancefloor along with 1000 sweaty Europeans (although I doubt Celeste Lear would mind if you did that).

The song structure suggests that Ms Lear composes on traditional instruments and later arranges the songs for synths and sequencers. One thing I can say for sure is that she is a skilled guitarist. The opening track "The Riddle" features an unexpected, Duane Eddy-like guitar part; the first clue that Celeste Lear may not hew to all the conventions of Electronica. Later tracks like "Live Passionately" are reminiscent of Supreme Beings of Leisure, which may not be a complete coincidence, since Ms Lear has worked with SBL producer David Hauser. On the other hand, "The Highway and the Stars" is a Funk-influenced track that comes across like a trippy, spacey Luscious Jackson song.

Indeed, there is a much deeper retro influence on The Echo Inside than on many Chillout albums. But where artists like Saint Etienne and Portishead successfully incorporated retro British sounds into their songs, Celeste Lear's influences seem largely domestic. And let's face it, most of those groups used studio musicians or samples for their cool guitar licks, whereas Celeste Lear gets to write and perform all the cool guitar licks she wants.

With 15 tracks, almost all of them 4-5 minutes long, The Echo Inside is a big, deep album. If you're even a little bit into Chillout, Downtempo or similar genres, then you'll probably find much to your liking on this album. In fact, the album is quite accessible, and could easily cross-over into AAA and similar playlists.

Celeste Lear is something of a Renaissance woman: Songwriter, musician, vocalist, producer -- and sculptress of welded steel dragons (really...check out her website). And although she had a tough act to follow, it is clear to see that Celeste Lear is carrying-on her family's tradition of talent.

FFB Bounces Back from Blogger Beta Bump

Well it only took about two weeks, but the people at Blogger have found a solution to the image uploading problem that was preventing me from posting properly. Some posts require the inclusion of accompanying photos, and I refuse to compromise by posting text-only entries in those cases. Hence the longer-than-usual hiatus from yours truly.

The good news is that FFB is back, baby! Or at least until the next Blogger technical snafu...