THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2002
MUSIC
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3
Super Mann: singer takes stage tonight
By Janette Vost
jyost@kansan.com
Jayplay writer
Aimee Mann, one of today's greatest songwriters, will take the stage tonight at Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts St.
Though the solo talents of Aimee Mann have not erupted into mainstream culture, this independent musician is leaving her mark on every facet of the underground that finds her.
Mann went from major label to independent at the same time she shifted from band member to solo artist, and she isn't looking back. In the '80s, Mann fronted the band 'Til Tuesday, which released three albums from 1985 to 1988. Since then, her music has calmed down almost as much as her hair. Mann's Cars-like vocals, guitar and bass styles were left behind for her solo projects, wherein she released her first solo album Whatever in '93.
Mann's solo style is brimming with talent. Her lyrics sing as loudly as her rich, addictive voice, and her self-penned melodies are catchy without being obnoxious. On her four solo albums she is credited with playing every instrument from drums to keys, but is best known for her
bass. Though her music evades most comparisons, her songwriting has been called Beatles-esque and her voice is reminiscent of an older, more mature Sarah McLachlan.
In 1999, Mann made the soundtrack for the movie Magnolia and she didn't just make the cut, she made the entire album. Paul Thomas Anderson, writer, director and producer of Booie Nights, Magnolia and most recently Punch-Drunk Love, gives Mann all the credit for inspiring the film Magnolia.
"Like one would adapt a book for the screen, I had the concept of adapting Aimee's songs into a screenplay," Anderson wrote in the liner notes of Magnolia: The Soundtrack.
"For instance, in my 'original' motion picture screenplay, Claudia (played by Melora Walters, with a true sense of Aimee Mann insanity) says, 'Now that I've met you, would you object to never seeing me again?' I must come clean," Anderson wrote, "I did not write that line. Aimee Mann wrote that line as the opening of her song, 'Deathly,' and I wrote backwards from that line."
Soon after the release of the Magnolia soundtrack, Mann released the album
Bachelor No. 2, her third solo record. It was the first release on Superego Records, a label she started with her husband, musician Michael Penn.
Frustrations with her old label, Geffen left her ready to be on her own.
"Mann is known for writing clever, disappointed love songs that can also be read as damnations of the music industry," wrote Jonathan Van Meter in a July 1999 New York Times Magazine profile.
"I really like the idea of being a professional musician — that I have a job that I'm good at and a good work ethic," Mann said. "I get a giant kick out of that."
Rolling Stone magazine called Bachelor No. 2 "stunning," and the album made the No. 3 spot on Entertainment Weekly's Top 10 Albums of 2000.
Lost in Space, released this year, left no break in her pattern of excellence.
"Her music keeps getting better," wrote Aidin Vaziri, an Amazon.com music reviewer.
Cate Batchelder, Highland junior, has been listening to Mann for years and expects a great show tonight. She just started listening to the new album this weekend in preparation.
Contributed art
Aimee Mann will perform tonight at Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts St.
said. "Her music is so heartfelt; it's intimate and has a way of really getting out there. It reminds me of Joni Mitchell."
Liberty Hall's doors will open tonight at 7,the velvet curtain will rise at 8 p.m.for an opening band,and Mann will play at about 9 p.m. Tim Griffith, manager of the venue said plenty of tickets were still available for $20.50 at the Liberty Hall box office and Ticketmaster outlets.
"I'm loving Lost in Space," Batchelder — Edited by Nicole Roché
'Loaded' show proves music scene still hopping
By Patrici Cady pcady@kansan.com Jayplay writer
For three days last April, the brightest in the Lawrence music scene took part in an act of self-regeneration. Eighteen bands toed the stage of The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., recording their strongest songs in an attempt to fan the flames of local creativity and to spark a new national interest in the local music scene. This event crystallized in the fourth installment of Loaded in Lawrence, an album and concept that had been dormant since the early '90s.
"During the years in the early nineties we saw a few local bands get signed by major labels," Even Emerson, producer at Pipeline Productions, said. "By resurrecting it in 2002, we hope more attention on Lawrence will draw similar interest."
Some of the bands that recorded in April have broken up in the intervening months, such as Proudentall and Ruskabank, and the release of the album itself was delayed
because of a technical translation error. Despite these setbacks, the spirit of the album that showcased nearly all aspects of Lawrence's diverse sonic landscape came through in the performances at the CD release party Friday.
The first band, Full Feature, took the stage at 9:24 p.m.to a sparse crowd. Its performance was marked by a barely contained energy.
By blending the upbeat strokes of ska and rapidfire hip-hop lyrics that came across like a high pressure fountain, it took control of the crowd. Eddie Schubert, the lead vocalist, channeled the energy of the music to his body and to his lyrics. He danced on the stage and with the mike stand like a rock frontman of old. High points of its set included a cover of Pharcyde and a wild finale that set the stage for Be/Non.
Be/Non was led by a veteran of the Lawrence and Kansas City rock scenes, Brodie Rush. He and the members of Be/Non began with a mellow Indie rock technique. The songs showcased a hybrid
of distorted slide guitar and Rush's distinctive voice. At one point a sparkling pink electric twelve string guitar joined the musical melee, and the flashy instrumentation added even more depth to the already pervasive sound. Be/Non's outfit was scaled down compared to its track on Loaded, but still played a decent show. Perhaps the band's strongest song was a cover of Electric Light Orchestra's "Mr. Kingdom."
After Be/Non completed its set, another itinerant entourage of indie rock took the stage — the Lawrence favorite, Ghosty. The band's set was marked by light melodies and Andrew Connor's rampant emoting. Ghosty's musical product was tightly knit, and the members' chops seemed strong despite a self-admitted absence from the stage. The band's strongest song of the evening, "Big Surrender," seemed reminiscent of 1950s-era love songs.
Following Ghosty, a distorted sound signaled the arrival of Truth Cell. Known for its highly technical display of harder metal,
Truth Cell drew the night's densest crowds. The people nearest to the stage seemed lost in the throat-scraping voices of Truth Cell's two lead singers, Mark Renfro and James Savage, and others danced as the songs progressed.
The most fitting moment of the night occurred when a mosh pit broke out in the middle of a track called "Kung Fu Knuckle."
This album also marked Truth Cell guitarist Shane Murray's and drummer Dave Melody's second appearance in Loaded in Lawrence disc, having played previously with the band Slackjaw.
The final band of the evening, Jumbo's Killcrane, continued with harder rock but changed it into a more melodic framework. The set was strong.
It was marked by solid musicians and songs that seemed like an extension of the band.
Brodie Rush returned to sing for Jumbo's and closed the evening with a fitting finale — a massive rendition of a track it called "Mt. Roy."