Humming House at The Funky Biscuit

Humming House cures disease. At least temporarily. Maybe. I don't know.  All I know is yesterday I was sick all day, and actually almost cancelled going to see the show at The Funky Biscuit in Boca, what with a sick kid and Carlos being sick, too. So, yeah, lots of sick. None the less, we decided to go and while I was there, I felt totally fine. It lasted enough to get me home and now here I am, after a sleepless night, in need of that sweet harmonious medicine.

We got there earlier than expected and found our seats, directly in front of the stage, while the band was doing their soundcheck. The place is pretty small and once they started playing, there were maybe 30-40 people in there, tops. And it was exactly what the doctor ordered. They mentioned how they hadn't slept and were probably not going to be sleeping for some time, either, but their attitudes were exactly what I remembered from last year, when I saw them open for St. Paul and The Broken Bones in Orlando. The major difference this time was obviously the intimacy of this venue, which felt like we were all sitting in someone's living room and our friends, Humming House, just happened to stop by. It was a more subdued experience than the raucous party vibe last year, which made one thing stand out to me more than ever: their harmonies, in all combinations, are impeccable.

Among songs that have become old favorites for me, like "This Hell Where We Belong," "Fly On" and "Run With Me" there were several new songs, which they mentioned didn't even have titles yet. The new material seemed to lean more on soul and R&B than their older material, and it works really well. They already were covering several classic soul numbers from The Jackson Five to Whitney Houston and Justin Timberlake last year, so it's not a stretch. One thing about this band is you can't really pigeonhole them. Are they folk? Country? Bluegrass? Celtic? Sure. And then some. They've added some electric instruments to their repertoire and did a half acoustic, half electric cover of Cake's "The Distance" that was unexpected and tons of fun to see everyone scramble to switch instruments halfway through while Leslie Rodriguez sang an acapella bit.

Another addition this time was a full drum set, which Bobby Chase jumped on, and keyboards which Bobby and Josh Wolak both played at a couple of points. Ben Jones picked up an electric bass a few times and Justin Wade Tam went electric several times as well. It wasn't Dylan at Newport revolutionary, but it was still refreshing to see them add layers without losing anything in the process. What holds them together in my mind, aside from the obvious talent, is their sense of fun and how well rooted they are in the traditions they play with.

After the show, we hung around and talked to Justin for a bit. I mentioned I had written about them before and had reviewed their latest album, Revelries. He told us a little bit about the vinyl mastering process, because I think he recognized we were music geeks (good call). We also talked briefly to each member of the band as we had them sign the album for us. All of them are as down to earth as their stage presence suggests. I've said it before and I'll say it again, see this band live whenever you get the chance.

24 Hr Records: Behind the Scenes in a Little Room

Remember when you were in school and had to crunch out a project last minute? The stress and the pressure would build up and paralyze you as the days and weeks would tick by while you "thought about it" and before you knew it, it was due and you had to rush and do something. The thing is, in many cases, for some of us, those procrastinated papers would end up being some of our best work because the time constraint at the end made it so you had two options: you either mastered the art of bullshit, which is a valuable skill, no matter what anyone says, or, in an even better scenario, you eliminated the bullshit altogether and cut to the heart of whatever the topic was. Either way, the sense of accomplishing something in a relatively short period of time usually came through in the work. And that sense of accomplishment, of putting something together from start to finish in a compressed amount of time, although minus the pressure, comes through in Made in Network's web series, 24 HR Records.

Photo by Andrew White.

The premise is simple, they take 3 musicians that have never met before,  lock them in a studio for 24 hours and film them as they write and record 3 songs. The result is a boiled down look at the creative process and the universality of the language of music. In the latest episode, Tripple, they gathered Justin Tam (Humming House), Brooke Waggoner (solo and member of Jack White's band) and Juan Solorzano (Night Beds and many more). On one level, these are musicians that are working in similar enough styles so it's not completely shocking to have them work together. And the video does make it seem like it was easy enough for them to merge their styles. But once you hear the songs, it does highlight how collaborators, no matter how close in style, can influence each other and create things completely different than they would have alone or with a different set of partners. No matter how much in agreement a group of artists might be, what they create together will be different from what they would have done alone.

I am most familiar with Justin Tam's work, so it's the easiest comparison for me to make, and this feels very different from Humming House. For starters, the three songs they came up with are mostly quiet and sleepy, as opposed to Humming House's generally ecstatic joy and higher energy, though this does come through in the last song "Hope in My Head," a short, simple and jumping little number that features some nice interplay between Tam and Wagonner's vocals. Meanwhile, "Over Again" has a nice sleepy bass groove that Wagonner's voice perfectly balances, as it carries you into a dream like state of relaxation. These songs may not be big, and they may be put together quickly, but they are not poorly crafted by any means.

Photo by Andrew White.

But for me, the stand out track for several reasons, is actually the first they composed, "Never Began." It's the one that seems to feature the most complete representation of the exercise in its most human form. They begin jamming on a piece a piece Solorzano brought, as Waggoner adds in the basic piano melody and gets Tam thinking about his wife. It winds up becoming this very personal piece about how Tam has to leave his wife to go on the road, which in turn becomes a more universal song about being apart from loved ones. The great thing about this is that it just happens. It's not this great, pretentious affair where the artists attempt to make it universal, but rather its just three human beings communicating through music and reaching something that anyone can relate to on some level. The piano melody and the back and forth between Tam and Wagonner really give you the sense of a hazy distance between loved ones. And while there is a general melancholy feel to it, it's anchored by sweetness overall, so it's not a dark sadness. Wagonner's lines particularly slightly switch the mood up, making this track a nice impressionist slice of complex emotion, where you're reminded how it's ultimately nice to miss and be missed sometimes, knowing soon "forever will end, like it never began." It's really a beautiful little piece that I'm not sure I would have expected to come out of something like this.

As someone who under different circumstances might have learned and developed some kind of musical ability, I am always fascinated by the process. Watching these short videos that explore exactly how that happens, is much like the ubiquitous behind the scenes featureless that we get for movies. Only here, it's more focused on the whole and doesn't come off as some overblown exercise in promotion or something that might reveal too much. Last year, I wound up loving the Foo Fighters' HBO series Sonic Highways for many of the same reasons I find 24 Hr Records fascinating. Only on 24 HR Records, the end result isn't set ahead of time. There's no clear goal as to what the songs need to be about. It ends up being more organic and more in tune with Jack White's "Little Room" philosophy of getting back to basics, which is something I always respond to.

I hope this series gets more attention and we get to see some bigger and less likely faces show up. I want to see how big names with big egos might handle this. With most, if not all, of the participants so far being mainly indie artists, they tend to be much more open to experimentation and collaboration, I think.  The possibilities for this are pretty endless, but I guess it's a matter of availability as well. Either way, I plan to keep an eye on them.  

Some of My Favorite TV Theme Songs

They can hum outside the house as well.

This week I posted my first advance album review over at FDRMX for Humming House's upcoming album. Exciting stuff for me and I did feel a little pressure when writing it. It helps that I genuinely like the band and the album is great. I wouldn't fake a review, so I'm not sure I would do it if after getting asked by the publicist, it turned out I didn't like it. How do you put out a negative review at that point unless the material is downright offensive?  Anyway, go read that review and go check out some Humming House, especially if they are playing near you.

This was the alter I grew up in front of.

Anyway, TV themes, because fuck segues. I don't know what I would say makes a good or bad one. I guess it somehow has to reflect what the show is, but that may not be all that necessary. I think at the end of the day, it reflects the show if you are into the show. If not, it's just a song and there may not be any association in your mind. But these are some of my favorites.



I'm writing this on the fly without any planning and this was just the first one that came to mind, but I bet it's only the first one to feature a badass bass line. A good friend once told me that the reason so many of us in our generation loved soul music was because we grew up in the 70s when all the music in the best movies and TV was basically soul and jazz. This is a prime example of that. I'm sure this has been sampled at some point, if not, I've lost a bit of respect for the RZAs of the world. And it does capture the spirit of the show somewhat. That beaten down feel but somehow finding humor in it. I was too young to watch this show but back then, nobody cared what we watched.



I used to love this show when I was 5. I have no memory of the show, at all, though. But the theme song? It plays in my head anytime I have to do something badass and dangerous like waking up Shayera in the morning or giving Zoey that last spoonful of yogurt before she starts screaming her had off for more (seriously, this kid has developed an insane appetite.) Funny how I'm staying in the 70s so far.



Who am I kidding, this is the theme that plays in my head whenever I have to get the girls to do anything. I once programmed this theme into my Commodore 128 computer. Years later, I'd rediscover this and the rest of the awesome Mission Impossible soundtrack work of Lalo Shiffrin, thanks to Portishead sampling part of it in "Sour Times."



I never actually watched this show, but come on, it had to be on the list, right? Surfs up. And I think that's it for the 70s.



The 80s' futuristic version of soul, really. That bass line is just awesome. And there's some Kraftwerk sounding stuff in there too. Honestly, there are tons of others from the 80s that are memorable, but I wouldn't say go beyond just being cheesy. I know some of you might be thinking Miami Vice, but I think this is a better theme and if you don't like it, too bad. So on from the 80s.



Chills. Still get them from this one. The drama of that opening is so perfect for the show. The way he yells that last line is so Goliath. Such an awesome theme and show.



I need to watch this show again. But more than that, it's here for a reason which will become apparent further down the list. Exotic sounds. Keep that in mind.



Fuck it, why make you wait. One leads to the other pretty well, though this is obviously much more dramatic and exotic. This has hints of being ancient and forlorn. It's just a perfect fit and not what you'd expect from a space opera.



This might be my favorite theme of all time at this point. Yeah, there are theme songs out there that tell you exactly what's going on in the lyrics, but this somehow captures every bit of intrigue, plotting, betrayal, fear, death, heartbreak and dread in this piece. I hear echoes of Xena and BSG in here, too. Anyway, one more.



This takes us right back up to the top of the list and it's really what inspired the post in the first place. Bass, bongos, horns. Jazz. Just awesome. Everything about this is perfect and it's the only anime I've ever really loved.

Obviously, there are tons of of other good themes, but look how long this post wound up being anyway, and I'm sure the one person reading won't get this far anyway. Let's just call these instrumental favorites So there you have it.

St. Paul and The Broken Bones and Humming House

Definition of Soul.

I went to see St. Paul and The Broken Bones in Orlando. Took the family up, but went to the show alone. Only my second time going to a concert alone, but it will not be the last. Look, let's not mess around, the full review will be at FDRMX, so go read that. This is more about showing than telling. This show will be in my list of maybe top 5 shows ever. It might be the best one, if I really think about it.

I was going to see southern soul from Alabama, but first we made a stop in Nashville. These guys were awesome. Had a chance to meet them later, and they were very cool.

They also covered Justin Timberlake later, but I didn't get that on video, which is disappointing because it was the best cover they did. At several points, I'm sure they were looking right at me and smiling because I was so fucking into their music, I must have stood out.

This last song they played made me think of Treme and how awesome the live music scenes in that show were. So much fun. I immediately wanted to see them again. And this was just the opener, who I'd never heard of before. By the time St. Paul and The Broken Bones came on, my phone was almost full.

I had chills the whole time they played. I don't think I've ever been more excited to see a band before. Not even The White Stripes or Black Keys. I think it's because I knew this was a smaller venue and that this was a much hungrier band than at the times I saw The Stripes or Keys. Plus the connection to classic soul artists that I was born too late to see had me ready to cry a couple of times. Just simply amazing. Quite possibly the best show I've ever seen.

I wish I could have captured some more, but like I said my phone was full and the battery was dying. It's all in my head though. And after all this was done, I joined Humming House and am now on tour with them.

My new best friends.