Sound of the streets

Ann Arbor's local bands create varied, eclectic music

College towns have always been breeding grounds for new and experimental music. Ann Arbor's own local music scene has a rich variety of music groups, with everything from avant-jazz to hip-hop influenced, sample-heavy pop.

Eclectic is the key word in describing Ann Arbor's local bands, as musicians experiment with different kinds of music in order to meld their influences into new forms of musical expression.

Bands like Butterfly, Transmission, Maschina, Poignant Plecostomus, Morsel and Getaway Cruiser - composed largely of students and recent graduates - have established themselves in and around Ann Arbor and have garnered a loyal fan base in the process. While Ann Arbor bands may differ in their apparent musical styles, they share a commitment to experimenting and pushing boundaries.

PAUL TALANIAN/Daily Stewart Bogie, Transmission's clarinetist, performs at a recent Blind Pig appearance.

Jayson Tolzdorf, a club agent with Prism Productions, books bands at local venues such as the Blind Pig, The Ark and the Michigan Theater. According to Tolzdorf, who definitely has his finger on the pulse of the local music scene, "bands with a 'groove-oriented' sound are doing the best for themselves and local clubs."

Tolzdorf said he likes to book bands with an "eclectic style," and cites Transmission, Getaway Cruiser, Butterfly and Morsel among his favorites. "The local music scene here in Ann Arbor has a lot of eclectic, cross-over bands who work a number of different styles into their music," said Tolzdorf.

This spirit of experimentation with unformed musical genres among local bands might explain the lack of ska or purely hip-hop groups coming from Ann Arbor. Tolzdorf cited Ypsilanti and Detroit as examples of cities where one might find more ska and straight hip-hop music.

While any college music scene is relatively transient, several Ann Arbor bands have stood the test of time. Morsel, whose sound is described by Tolzdorf as "pop-deconstructionism, rhythmically beautiful controlled-chaos," has played in Ann Arbor for several years and is still regarded as a hugely original band. Bands like Poignant Plecostomus and Transmission possess what Tolzdorf described as "an underlying hippie-vibe with a funky groove," and have, like Morsel, developed a faithful local following.

Transmission is one band that has, through tireless performing in and around Ann Arbor, rightfully earned this following. Playing an average of six times per month, Transmission is one of Ann Arbor's hardest-working bands.

Transmission's groove-oriented avant-jazz has been described as "Ornette Coleman meets Primus." Band members agree their sound is hard to describe, as they incorporate everything from funk to free jazz. Transmission is highly acclaimed among Ann Arbor jazz aficionados, and was well received at this year's Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival.

The band, with Eric Perney on bass, Stuart Bogie on clarinet, Colin Stetson on saxophone and Andrew Kitchen on drums, is involved in a number of pending projects - aside from its show every other Tuesday night at Bird of Paradise (located at 207 S. Ashley St.). A CD is planned for release in a few months, and a tour with shows in Cleveland, Pittburgh and New York City is scheduled for Oct. 23-27.

Transmission will also play in Ann Arbor's first annual "Edgefest" on Saturday, Nov. 8. "Edgefest" is an all-day event with shows at the Gypsy Cafe, Kerrytown Concert Hall and the Heidelberg, and will feature both national and local acts.

Poignant Plecostomus, another local favorite, will join Transmission in playing at "Edgefest." Poignant Plecostomus' sound is just as eclectic and difficult to pin down as Transmission's, and as guitarist Tobey Summerfield said, "You just have to hear it."

Members of Poignant Plecostomus have been playing together for nearly two years and draw on a number of different influences for their music. "We like ethnic music, we like eastern European music, and we like it when the crowd has fun so we try to keep it danceable," said Summerfield. Because of its unique instrumentation - a violin accompanies keyboard, bass, guitar and drums - and distinctive sound, Poignant Plecostomus is definitely hard to categorize.

This eclecticism may not be as accessible to student audiences as straightforward pop sounds might be. "Jazz and jazz-related music will always be the freaky little brother to pop music," said Summerfield.

While Ann Arbor musicians are experimenting with groundbreaking new forms of music, student audiences are not wholly receptive to the new sounds. "People will spend 20 bucks to see the Samples but they won't pay five bucks to see a local band," Summerfield said.

This may have more to do with lack of exposure for bands than anything else. Rodel Borja, a junior in the School of Architecture, mirrors the sentiments of many students who have just never heard of many of the bands playing in Ann Arbor.

"Sometimes I'm skeptical of going to see a local band because I'm not sure what they'll sound like," Borja said. "Even if they are publicized, which they usually aren't, they're not well-described. I would like to see more written on what the bands sound like." For students like Borja, word of mouth proves to be the most dependable way to get information on local music.

Local bands in Ann Arbor have moved away from pop-oriented alternative sounds, or what is typically thought of as "college music," and are redefining musical styles for themselves. This shift in styles may explain why bands like Maschina and Poignant Plecostomus are not household names yet among many segments of the student population.

Seth Hitsky, lead singer of Maschina, agreed that while Maschina is successful in its own right, "we would probably do a lot better if we were just a dance band." Members of Maschina are all students or recent graduates of the School of Music, and their sound is described by Hitsky as having "a lot of jazz influence with a heavy rock fetish."

Maschina's stage show is visually striking, and Hitsky, a musical theater major, said he wants to bring "a theatrical element to the show." The way the band looks on stage - Hitsky usually performs with a feather boa on hand - adds elements of humor and menace to Maschina's music.

"We also want to rethink what's going on in the space between us and the audience," said Hitsky, as Maschina moves away from rhythmically predictable songs that don't demand an audience's attention. As is fitting to Maschina's often-costumed band members, the band will play a Halloween show at the Blind Pig (at 208 S. First St.) on Friday, Oct. 31.

One band that has maintained some of its pop roots is Ann Arbor's Getaway Cruiser, currently recording its major-label debut on Sony 550 Music with a scheduled spring release. Dan Carroll, drummer for Getaway Cruiser, said the band draws heavily from pop, as well as hip-hop, blues and jazz. "Getaway Cruiser is really a meeting place of all of the band member's different influences," said Carroll, and the resulting sound is sample-heavy pop with drum loops, dance beats and hip-hop-inspired grooves.

Getaway Cruiser is one Ann Arbor band that has potential success nationwide, but members still consider Ann Arbor their home base and will play a homecoming show Nov. 21 at the Blind Pig. "The good thing about Ann Arbor right now is that a lot of people are into experimenting," said Carroll, "and people are taking their knowledge of music to create something new."

Butterfly, one local band with a very dance-oriented sound, is also trying to create something new with its "deep-dub disco," as guitarist and lead vocalist Niel Dixon Smith called it. "We do a lot of heavy stuff lyrically, but we like to put it in a context of danceable music," said Dixon Smith. Drawing from disco, dancehall reggae and house music, Butterfly's sound is distinctive and danceable.

While the sounds of these Ann Arbor bands are vastly different, Dixon Smith believes they all share a common approach to making music. "When Butterfly plays, there's a spiritual connection to it, which I think bands like Transmission, Morsel and Poignant Plecostomus have too," said Dixon Smith.

These local bands have established a very faithful fan base among those who have been exposed to their music, but many students have yet to discover all that's going on with music in Ann Arbor. "The great thing about Ann Arbor right now is that there are so many musicians who are taking their music seriously," said Hitsky.

Students and residents don't have to venture far to find a rich and diverse music scene. Maybe it is only a matter of time before wider segments of the student population catch on to the experimental and eclectic music being created by musicians right here in Ann Arbor.

10-16-97