Don't miss this group at the Fuzzy Cactus, https://fuzzycactusrva.com/, this Saturday, 3/7!
I’ve read JK Rowling’s novel, The Casual Vacancy, so that’s probably where my self-consciousness came from when I was falling for Don Fredrick. Rowling's character is having more of a mid-life crisis and the band she loves is more comparable to the Jonas brothers, but here I am, a busy mom taking time when everything is all about my son, to follow a developing rock band. At times, I’ve felt kind of incompatible with the whole scene - wanting to make friends but being self-conscious of boundaries. In my dream world, I was getting some major self-inflicted Avril Lavigne Sk8r Boi kickback. In my real world, I've often felt like I'm living in several separate real-worlds. Thinking of bringing some unity into my life, I tried and sometimes failed to get old and new friends to go out to these shows with me to catch up and enjoy the music. When I failed, I assumed my friends, like me, are busy and have their own commitments. In busy college-times, I was usually arriving alone at the Friday-night coffee shop shows anyway, but as much as I'd like them to be, Don Fredrick's venues don't feel like my neighborhood. But to heck with it. Still listening at home, blogging has been a great outlet for me to share my passions. (Dancing is good too.) This is my fifth or sixth all-the-way-through listen to Don Fredrick’s DIY release, Lombo, which came out in Richmond on March 31, 2018. This time, I’m in the McDonalds parking lot with my 5-year-old son while we eat lunch the day before Leap Day, 2020. Since the band was discovered to me, I’ve been sharing these tunes with family and friends and think the album is a standout as piece of work in its class, an amazing accomplishment, and a beautiful statement about a person’s relationship with art and the world around them. Call me most annoying fan, wannabe band mom, wannabe/reluctant groupie. I have no idea what to do with my life, and whatever that goes for, like all my good friends in the world, this album has been an inspiration, and I urge you to give it a listen. The reviews from my suburb around the city of Richmond (the city is where all this rockin’ is going down) are thus: My mom listened to all of cover-art track/single “Hot Soup.” She’s offset by anything coming from me in the form of negativity but warmed to the first bold verse that’s brimming with creative imagery. “There’s a bull runnin’ through my yard / Past the tulips, past the ferns. / Knocked the wheelbarrow off its side / Ten pictures like that / Somewhere in my mind.” The lyrics are poetic. I’m getting an allusion to William Carlos Williams, and recall his technique of bringing a single object into focus for consideration and investing special significance in it with simple style. We could say ten things about his short poem about a wheelbarrow, or not. (A teacher of mine suggested that, viewed from the right angle, the wheelbarrow would look like a cross if it were a silhouette.) In our world of Instagram, a photo, said to be worth a thousand words, substitutes many of our daily conversations. At play in Lombo are the tangible - photos residing in a drawer in nostalgic love song “Rug,” and more elusive imagery, like the bull running, of significance in the speaker’s own mind. This provocative image makes me suggest that the group is reflecting on their chosen name. Something refreshing, unique and creative is often-times just what I need to pull me out of a rut, and a great album has the cool power of taking you to that place again and again. As it becomes more and more familiar, it continues to offer new ideas for wonderment or puzzling. Another neighbor and guitarist tuning in called the album pleasant, which we can all use a little more of these days, probably. Through my connection with the band, I’ve become familiar with a scene of on-the-make musicians. Don Fredrick, DIY, creative, classifies themselves in a unique sub-genre: hammock rock. They collaborate with a kindred group, now called Crystal Flowers, support the sounds of femme-rocker sounding She, rock out to Deau Eyes and Spooky Cool, open for the more seasoned Southern rock groups, Giles McConkey, Lord Nelson, or for another busy group in the city, Plastic Nancy. They are enthusiastic about the new album from bluegrass/folk artists, Muther Goose. Pleasant indeed. Following them around to the bar/venues of Richmond has been a pleasure. They are usually on a bill with at least two other performing groups. I’ve featured them on my blog several times, and sometimes feature an individual’s performance. Their first self-titled release was catchy and laid back, and on Lombo they are delving into an edgier, darker genre, investigating themes of self-consciousness and paranoia and driven-ness on tracks like Stay Back and Zoom. On the dark side of love and service in Chester. They are tuning in to bands that excite, like The War on Drugs, whose howling organ reminds me of Pigpen and Janis drinking bourbon over the hill out on the edge of the Haight-Ashbury scene, and a guitar lead, wavering, a lonely soundwave in cold space, or stars, arranging themselves in a lens that explodes silently backwards like an eyeball on a collapsing atom, like bacteria, life blooming busily in a petri dish. But Don Fredrick. You’ve got strengths coming from all sides. My favorite Instagram post ever was of keyboardist Sammy Snider spacing out in the direction of the surface of the pool table. Standing in front of a giant abstract painting in the band’s front room, wearing a black beanie and an oversized yellow-ochre scarf, he totally brought out the subtlest background brushstrokes of the painting. The guys share a large row house and built a studio in the basement and they state: “Sammy has been frozen in this position planning our set since last week. Please come to our show – we miss being able to go into this room!” I love that the band loves someone maybe a little like me, who gets so into something that they kinda space out, frozen, totally hung-up on it and a little bit obsessed, and weirdly staring? Maybe we all get that way sometimes. Sounds like they were all hunkered down in preparations for their performance that week. They seem like a dedicated group, and Snider and the other band members hang together, and play great collaborative music. They apparently have the patience for bringing forth even Sammy’s vision. Another anecdote: Pat Bowdring, it’s like he’s a drum track – that’s what everyone says. I feel like I’m always hanging around in line for something with him. Whether it’s in a dim bathroom hallway, talking up first concerts (and I, secretly speculating about what was probably a pretty darn good black eye last week,) oh yep, it’s always the bathroom. The other time it was watching him scam off all the girlfriends. Somehow, he smiled his way up several spots in the long line and ended up with someone’s green apple Dum Dum to boot! We were miffed when the door closed behind him and we realized what had happened, but then again, his act was on next. I think, as a fan, I indulge myself to believe that all the boys are a little cheeky, or, as my dad would say, they’re a-holes. Oh, and inventive, which is good, right guys? But when I finally read the lyrics for the favorite party song from another great DIY album I love, Twin Fantasy by Car Seat Headrest, I realized that the song literally talks about “getting horny.” I could never understand the words whenever we were listening live, but I think that when you put it all out on the line, people can feel it, and they respond. It’s an important ingredient in the recipe. And here we have it: Lombo. Hot Soup. Excellent DIY garage rock happening right now in Richmond, Virginia. Each time I’ve encountered the group, something new about them stands out. Dancing, participating, tuning in, and breaking out of my own groove for a little while. I love what I hear and think you will too.
It’s a well-rounded, beautiful album that makes a positive statement about love, loss, and living life in a rock band. Compelling lyrics (Nearly got myself killed...) keep me guessing, and good humor carries this album to the very top of my playlist.
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It's the power of an invitation. The idling anticipation for a big storm that turned South suddenly like I decided to take it up and go out, hoping to maybe face a rain-splattered windshield on the way home. Hoping to need that sweater I packed, to shoot the moon, to find it's Fall and I'm not just overdressing anymore.
It's knowing the feeling of going to a show -- knowing it's always worthwhile, just for the music, even when I'm alone. I'm getting a feel and taste for the bar/venue with a small cover charge. No less professional are the tiny college venues and house shows I've grown to love, but with a better staging. You're still having a beer and mixing with the opening act while the headliners get going, and you're not going to lose your friends, or get a talking-to if you break a glass. (Actually, you'll just hover vaguely near the scene, guiltily stuck, watching an exasperated bartender like he's your mom, it's your kitchen and it's your friends making too much of a mess.) But whatever. I've had an intro to this scale of venue in my post-college 20's, and it fits me. No, I don't have that funny, Pavlovian welling anticipation to the same degree brought by the beautiful staging and excitement of the National. Nevertheless, this new-old feeling keeps me coming back, and I can count on a good show from Don Fredrick. They're a big group -- three guitars, keys and a kit, bass and a lead singer, so I'd actually love to see them do a house show. And their one-hour set last night flowed through about three genres, fit deftly into the timeslot, and set the stage for Sugar Candy Mountain. Their opening sequence was heavy rock. Opener, "I'll Buy the Tickets, You Get the Drinks," or however that one goes, is a present-tense storytelling number that offers fragmented information in a spoken voice. Engrossing suspense develops along the lines of edgy, grinding guitars, on an eventual, decisive rhythm with heavy downbeats. The narration builds on itself by brief additions to the beginning of the original phrase, and repetition. Slow realization of the basic facts of a situation are delivered with tacit bravado. The song builds to a simple acknowledgement of an interaction. Lyrics don't cut deep or resolve themselves, but lose themselves in heavy reverb and percussion. From one who needs music in their daily lives, this is a satisfying and enjoyable number that made for a great opener. Time to laugh at ourselves, and rock! then they ask, at their full volume, "Are you ready for me?" Then, Don Fredrick turned on a dime and played funk. To me, they are bright, talented, and entertain with ease. Funk transitioned to my favorite tune, "Country Breakfast Shorty," with a pick-up in tempo and smooth delivery. They have this song nailed down! It's a unique number, with a smiliar spoken delivery, Western tones, and the rapid rhythm of a techno trance. The song takes you on a frontier journey. The speaker wakes up somewhere on the fringe, where a knowing woman is ready with a loaded meal. And yet, while the needling melody keeps going, the speaker's thoughts linger somewhere in a state of recollection. To me, it's like waking up with a hangover, and not feeling prepared for the day as it unfolds. The full belly balances everything out, and the speaker carries it with the assurance he has taken from a stranger. The band's new album is heavier than their first recordings, and features some jazz saxophone. Keeping a lookout for their fun shows! Photo: on the left, Sammy Snider of Don Fredrick catches some rays from the analog projector light show by @razzinaro, and center, Landon Avila plays rhythm electric 12/12 Poor Boys, Lombardy Ave.
If you are wanting to listen to a laid-back, getting low (as in, ya know, sungken feels,) 7 piece combo, hold the sauce! And check out Don Fredrick at their upcoming show at the Broadberry, Dec. 21. I’ve enjoyed getting to know their music this year. Like the shrimp on my sandwich on Thursday 12/12 at Poor Boys on Lombardy, they were perfectly cooked, and good-spicy. In one of my favorite vocal performances, Will Cummins skreeked and shrieked along with the wavering Country Breakfast Shorty on into “a song about bugs,” and the house was certainly dancing -- on their toes. I also enjoyed some aspects of the lead guitarists' performances: they were all-electric -- Dan Flaherty sharing melodies, and Gionfriddo dropping a particularly noisy riff on an opposite beat. I don’t know whether Don Fredrick is playing to the season, with the early-setting sun and cozy appeal of indoors, but at the last two shows – Fuzzy Cactus RVA on 11/15 and last Thursday night at Poor Boys on Lombardy, the band fulfilled its role as headliner by winding the night down rather than ending on a crescendo. I don’t know about the rest of the world, but I swayed happily to the final soothing, crooning soundwaves after midnight in December, and they made me remember outside, where the cool, mild night shone quietly under a big, huge full moon. OK OK, I helped yell for one more song and then house Deejay Thomas hopped back on, and some of the band started a dance party, chanting along with the beats. ***Edit: I just listened to a The War on Drugs song on 88.5. Remembering that, according to Facebook, Don Fredrick listens to them, I began to re-hear the exploratory guitar melodies from the Poor Boys set again in my head. If the speaker from Country Breakfast Shorty ventured into a synthesizer mirage and the guitars narrated their footsteps... Right now, you are transported --walking, watching your feet, in the periphery of traffic lights and all you can hear is "Under the Pressure." Maybe its the season, and maybe its a wind-down off their current fave jams... One of my faves -- Donald Fagen!! <3 Missangelbird, Richmond, went on before Don Fredrick, and they played an upbeat, spirited set. Their recorded tracks- Ghost, Midnight Air, are like, light-hearted emo, if it’s possible? Mysterious, and beautiful, and fleeting. Mysterious because I was standing under the speaker for this show, watching the band play, and able to decipher only the quality of singer, Erica's, voice, not her lyrics. Besides "hammock rock," one of my favorite sub-genres would have to be "dream pop." I think this group has some pop! Before their performance, Crystal Flowers, a Richmond band, a large group with a clear-voiced lead singer/guitarist, presented a quirky rock set. At times, they played to the considerable strength of their saxophonist, and jazzed it up. The audience really started dancing when the band settled into their grooves, whether rock or jazz. The set ended with a little of the mellow intro of “Déjà vu Don,” final track on Don Fredrick’s latest album, Lombo, and then, a tempo cover of MGMT “Electric Feel.” Perhaps lovely vocalists wove together the four performances of the night. Theo Biddle made a stage debut to kick things off, and I don’t think he had any stage fright. I remember a couple of distant, light, love songs that rolled over hills on soft, electric arpeggios, reaching for sun like a Fleet Foxes melody. Don Fredrick’s bassist, Sebastien Ricard, and drummer, Pat Bowdring, lent their nimble talents to the first half of Theo Biddle’s set as “The Biddle Band.” Deejay Thomas also wove the evening together, hopping up between the four guest performances with ready beats, samples and synth-mixes, creating a peppy, out-there atmosphere. Many thanks to the Thursday night host called Prsmcat, and the Voodoo Room staff. We’ve been talking about getting foodie on this blog, so I’ll say: I love the bar shows. Along with a casual atmosphere, enjoy delicious food if you stay in one place long enough to order in time, and an evening of nuanced music performances. Shrimp update: Lauren, a new chef, and I ate at a cocktail bar next to the very-city, split-level kitchen, and she informed me that the small shrimp on my sandwich were new to the menu, encouraged me to try the Jambalaya next time, and also the hand-prepared collard greens, which are a labor of love. Thanks a bunch to Richmond-based hammock rock band, Don Fredrick, for the FB invite to The Sound of Music studio in Richmond neighborhood, Scott's Addition, for their live-recorded performance. The band went on second of three acts, setting the stage for headline Norfolk band, the Chicken Boys. I wasn't planning on reviewing their act this time, (and I still don't have express permission,) but Don Fredrick presented an entirely different dynamic from their performance last month, so I can't resist sharing my thoughts. I see this band as having many strengths, and a maturing voice. Don Fredrick, the jovial headliners who welcomed old friends to their audience at the Strange Matter last month, were more serious last night, opening for the Chicken Boys, and setting down a live recording with professionals from the Sound of Music studio. I spoke with guitarist, Dan Flaherty, after the show. He thanked me for attending, since the band's loyal fan base was split last night when another band had a conflicting performance on the other side of town. Kudos to singer, Will Cummins, for bringing the audience in closer early on for more good vibes. Cummins was not so assertive overall, and didn't occupy center stage. The Southern Rock keys and guitar, Snider/ Gionfriddo, duo that had me laughing last month was split up on opposite sides of the stage. Flaherty didn't take any vocal leads. They didn't play Moonlight!! A much more straight-faced performance, and yet, the band was still in tune with their audience, and did a good job of handling this role while under the pressure of cutting a recording. They wrapped up the show on a super high note with a polished performance of a song I didn't recognize from their Bandcamp recordings (can't name it please help!!) That last number especially sounded great in the space. In terms of comparison with last month's show, I really enjoyed their most adventurous number, a fun cover of the Talking Heads' "Take Me to the River." Last show, I'd say Don Fredrick really let loose on their original track, "Country Breakfast Shorty." What I got from both of these songs is a cool, blase, gotta-have-it kind of rock and roll. "I don't know why/ I love you like I do," but I'm gonna play an insanely awesome song about it. Whatevs. I guess they are hammock rockers after all, and whatever hammock rock is, maybe it starts with an attitude. Last night, the first verse of "Take Me to the River" really went over. They were improvising on their set list, feeling the crowd out, and drawing out the energy in the room. Kudos to Ricard for dropping that baseline, and Bowdring on the drums for picking it up, and for great playing all evening! Don Fredrick did a great cover, taking their time with the buildup of rhythm. Despite some muffle and crackle, I think they pulled off a great recording. They let loose, and I suspect that their equipment wasn't 100% wired up with the studio's, or perhaps their gusto exceeded their amperage. Kudos to Andrew Gionfriddo for taking an excellent solo after a tech derp. According to Flaherty, Don Fredrick played an entire set of Talking Heads covers last Halloween, and so my interest is of course piqued. What a great set of material for this group to take on-- the free, simultaneous, occupation of many genres, and many voices, from the funky beats, the fun synth breakdowns, and of course - great songwriting. Ah! David Byrne is so cool! Flaherty was also excited to be recording live at the Sound of Music. Hopefully, we audience members did our part to make the recording special. The band kind of huddled up for a sound check (awesome space jam) that was clashing with the house music. I guess in big venues the sound check isn't so noticeably loud. This warehouse space was well equipped with studio equipment, and professional techs, as well as a projector for the band's Youtube Solar System slideshow. Not to mention an unceremonious bar backed by a big cooler and a license taped to some random prop walls leaning against the real wall. Many tall wooden structures were stored behind and defining the stage area, and made me feel like I was getting ready to roll out the set for my high school musical production. The floor was just poured cement, so I also felt the after-hours warehouse vibe. People say Scott's Addition is an up and coming neighborhood in Richmond, and last night, I felt a scene emerging from one of its many repurposed spaces. The ceiling of this warehouse-venue was made of dark-stained, two-by-four beams that were lined up like ribs that zig-zagged in rows that merged like intertwined fingers. I'm not sure if the ceiling absorbs sound, or if it is just beautiful. I got my wish and heard lots more Don Fredrick material. Their opening tune was lyrical and melodic (maybe Chevron and Sinclair?) Folk for the modern illusive frontier? BTW Does anyone else dig the Broken Bells? Then, they got us all hyped for The Chicken Boys, who cranked up the volume, and once they settled into a rhythm, put on a great performance. (Thanks for playing "Sk8r Boi!!!") I also had fun taking myself for a walk around the studio building, where I found a midnight pot of coffee and word magnets, a friendly kitchen shared by the renters (a seer, photographer and other professionals' cards pinned to doors in the hallway,) a pile of on-the-way-out mix CD's and other CD's, a random piano, and cool posters, lovely restrooms. Then, I really enjoyed my drive out of quiet Scott's Addition and home on a breezy borderline-Spring night, thinking about my own stuff, but also wondering: 1. What is to become of the recorded material, Don Fredrick? 2. Where did the band's name really come from? I'll share my mom's observation-- Gionfriddo sounds like Don Fredrick-o. Since I didn't snap a photo of Don Fredrick at their show, I'll include a photo of an unceremonious church:
The Church at the Desert Bar, Parker, Arizona. Will Cummins of Don Fredrick at The Strange Matter, Sebastien in the background! photo credit: Gessler Santos-Lopez Richmond-based hammock rock band "Don Fredrick" headlined a late Tuesday night show at The Strange Matter, Grace St., RVA featuring the sounds of three other Richmond based bands, The Bungees, Raintree, and Decide By Friday. The well-organized show was rewarding from start to finish, and Don Fredrick impressed the forty or so attendees around 11pm with their developed sound, and easy showmanship. Don Fredrick engaged with their audience, while maintaining deft, professional authority.
This comes as no surprise, since the band was clearly in their comfort zone. They have performed numerous shows at the small, bar-arcade venue, and this headline gig was attended by plenty of loyal fans who belted all the words to the band's bluesy, plaintive, pop-rock single "Moonlight." Some of these fans traveled from NoVa, where Don Fredrick members met in high school. The song isn't sad for any of these friends, who all, along with the frontmen, singer Will Cummins, and (especially) guitarist Daniel Flaherty, cried the lyrics with that hyperbolic pain caused by a corny (standard) premise and a refrain melody that's so good it hurts. Sure, everyone wallows in the corn-love-syrup, but the song and performance didn't want for substance. I like jam bands and Don Fredrick impressed me with the nuances of more than one talented musician who know how to play together. I caught a peek at the set-list before the show, and Don Fredrick didn't make it to their encore, perhaps due to time constraints. If that was so, I bet it was edged out by their extended jam on "Country Breakfast Shorty." This was my favorite song, taking me back to my favorite Tea Leaf Green sets during the sweet summers of my own high school days. Lead guitarist, Andrew Gionfriddo, had the licks and style to captivate the audience for much of this song, but I found that the band's overall sound was well developed for all parts. Keyboard, played by Sammy Snider, had a distinct voice; sometimes it was retro-synth, which coordinated with the 70's Southern-rock tone of Gionfriddo's solo. The result was palpable humor! These boys like to lay it on thick when it comes to the retro, and the sound. I mean, we even got 30 seconds of drums/space from drummer, Patrick Bowdring! Shining personalities made for a great audience experience. I was honored to be a part of the intimate audience of friends and bandmates. The audience made banter with increasing gusto, which was not directly acknowledged by the band in a big way, but felt so acceptable. There is a lot to admire in the sincerity of Will Cummins as he presents the band's music. He has an excellent voice, and holds his head high. Flaherty made a memorable impression. His comedic persona shone when he took the lead on vocals, singing some verses in perfect flat that lent swagger and soul to the upbeat tunes this band served up. My favorite moments were Manager/Bassist-of-the-evening Sebastien Ricard's early, well-delivered four-note solo, and then, when he took charge in gathering the band and wrapping up the final notes of the last song. Since I've seen the incredible, talented group, I'll stop "tsking" when Ricard misses our Friday night sport-ball practice, and assume he's working with these awesome dudes on some new material. I hope to hear more on this group's website: https://donfredrick.bandcamp.com/ Catch them opening for Uni and Starbenders on 2/9 at The Strange Matter, http://www.strangematterrva.com/ And enjoy a light-hearted, easy but complex sound. Keep on rockin' in the weary land, Don Fredrick, and thanks for sharing! |
AuthorWe are Kieran and Michelle, two 32-year-old William & Mary grads living in Virginia. Archives
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