---
JAYPLAY
March 29, 2001
entertainment news
For comments, contact Erinn R. Barcomb at 864-4810 or jayplay@kansan.com
www.kansan.com/arts
A soundtrack of Lawrence
The Soundtrack for Moments offers a look at Lawrence's distinct musical landscape
More information
Tracks from the CD include songs by:
**songs by:**
■ Danny Pound
■ Mates of State
■ Arthur Dodge and the Horsefee with Laurel Walsh
■ Panel Donor
■ The Ugly Boyfriend
■ Everest
■ Redbones
■ Shawnee
■ Tijuana Crime Scene
■ Chebball
■ The Appleseed Cast
■ T.K. Weff
■ Terivakis
By Richard Gintowt
jayplay writer
The Soundtrack for Moments CD release party will continue tonight at The Bottle-neck, 737 New Hampshire St., with performances by Panel Donor, Danny Pound, the Ugly Boyfriend and Shawnee
www.kansan.com.
Rookie rockers The Apple-seed Cast appear on The Soundtrack for Moments, a compilation of Lawrence music. Last night's record release party at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., featured Danny Pound, Shawnee and Panel Donor.
Photo by Jamie Roper/KANSAN
Listen to excerpts from the CD at www.brownco.com
Nick Gordon, co-founder and president of The Artist's Workshop, sits in the office where he produced a CD compilation of local bands. Its release would make a sampling of the diverse music, which was so much a part of the city's night scene, available to the Lawrence public. Photo by Eric M. Hedingan/KANSAN
Check out the Braintree Foundation and We Sell Soul Records at www.artworkshop.com
lawrence has changed in the eight years since Nick Gordon arrived in Kansas.
No longer do Paw and Stick sell out the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St., on a Monday night. No longer do music writers and local music 'zines gush about Lawrence being the next bearer of the flannel torch.
Instead, hundreds of teenagers flock to Kansas City to watch local heroes The Get Up Kids open for Weezer, and if the Bottleneck is sold out, it's likely the Anniversary is playing there. Meanwhile, local hip-hop shows consistently attract diverse legions of curious college students.
The music scene in Lawrence through the years has been consistently inconsistent.
With the release of The Soundtrack for Moments, Gordon, who masterminded the album's release, takes a snapshot of current Lawrence rock music. Gathering up veterans Arthur Dodge and Danny Pound and throwing them together with local rookie The Appleseed Cast and others, Moments captures a picture of an ever-shifting local music scene.
The release party for Moments began at the Bottleneck last night, and continues tonight with bands Panel Donor, Danny Pound, the Ugly Boyfriend and Shawnee.
From the whiskey-bottle folk of Dodge to the scathing instrumental noisescapes of Everest, this compilation shuns the notion of genre-specific compiling in favor of an eclectic mix of artists who accentuate the diversity and breadth of local talent.
"The scene is just incredible here," Gordon said. "It's much different than in big cities. In Lawrence, musicians drink together in the bars and play in each other's bands. People don't move here to become big rock stars, so musicians and songwriters are usually honest and friendly."
"There was a period of time where local shows couldn't attract more than 150 people, but lately a lot more people have been coming out to local shows," he said. "All that, combined with the support of KJHK and local venues like the Bottleneck, makes the Lawrence music scene very special."
Yet, as veteran rocker and ex-Vitreous Humor guitarist/vocalist Pound, who contributed the lead-off song for *Moments*, can attest, "scene" can be a tricky word.
"I wouldn't exactly call it a scene," Pound said. "The last time I remember a scene was in 1991-92, but maybe I'm just out of the loop. I'm a firm believer in individuals doing their own thing and feeding off of each other for inspiration. Lawrence is a great place to play music, thanks to the wealth of musicians and curious college students, but it's hard to identify a scene."
We Sell Soul Records focuses on regional groove and hip-hop sounds, while The Braintree Foundation, which picked Moments for its first release, focuses on more rock-oriented sounds. Inspired by record labels with a distinct sound such as Kill Rocks Stars and Dischord, Gordon has his own ideas of what comprises a scene.
Gordon, who grew up amidst a vibrant rock scene in Minneapolis, is the co-founder and president of Artist Workshop, a distribution company that helps get regional and national music in stores, as well as two record labels.
Gordon said the music scene is composed of three lifelines.
"Firstly, the people behind the scenes who book the shows, run the clubs, open studios, produce, put out, and promote the records," he said. "Secondly, the bands. Thirdly, and most importantly, the people who listen to the music. Without an audience,
everything else is meaningless."
"The nice thing about Lawrence is that it's small enough that the hip-hop kids and the rock kids can mix," he said.
Gordon said the key to being part of a scene is contributing to it, and there are many ways to do that.
Gordon added that many smaller scenes can prospers within the larger context of the Lawrence scene.
"The music on Moments is representative of one of those smaller scenes. I couldn't give a name to the type of music we selected, but it definitely has a distinct sound," he said.
Being connected to the scene is the keystone of Gordon's efforts. He pounded the drums for the now defunct Chebellal and for The Ugly Boyfriend on Moments.
"Playing music is the foundation for me being in this industry," Gordon said. "It helps me relate to the musicians that I'm working with."
he also tries to maintain connections with people producing music. He recently returned from a week in Austin, Texas, networking at the South By Southwest Music and Media Conference. He compares the independent record industry to the Wild West, where under-funded companies run by non-traditional businessmen try to survive in an industry where there are no rules.
"We're just the masses of small, little people trying to put out good art," Gordon said. "For some people, it's a really frustrating industry. It can be an unethical business and it's very scrappy."
But personally, he copied on:
"For me, every day I do this is a joy," Gordon said.
"The process of putting out music is just magical. I'm completely addicted to it."
But personally, he enjoys the work.
The release party is a proud occasion for Gordon
"The nice thing about Lawrence is that it's small enough that the hip hop kids and the rock kids can mix."
Nick Gordon
co-founder and president of The Artist's Workshop
and band-mate Travis Millard, who also designed the CD cover — both are moving to New York within the next couple weeks.
"I feel really good about what I've accomplished here in Lawrence," Gordon said. "It will always be an emotional home base for me."
He will carry his two record labels with him to the Big Apple, but he remains committed to promoting talent in Lawrence, as evidenced by We Sell Soul's commitment to local hip-hop artist Approach. Milliard plans to promote his artwork, which has already appeared in national publications such as Spin Magazine. Artist Workshop will stay in Lawrence.
Gordon and Millard's pilgrimage to New York only reinforces the transient nature of the Lawrence music scene. Many other artists have used Lawrence as a springboard to bigger careers. Arthur Dodge recently settled down in Nashville. Mates of State have been building a strong fan base by touring along the west coast, while The Get Up Kids, Coalesce, and Proudentall have toured nationally.
"Sometimes scenes like these spark and flutter and disappear before they've been recognized," Gordon said. "The Soundtrack for Moments is a picture of a very lively and special scene that's happening right now."
-Edited by Megan Phelps
JAYPLAY inside
horoscopes ...2B
Music ...2, 3B
Fine Arts ...3B
Movies . . . . . .5B
Crossword . . . . .6B
Classifieds . . . .7B
On the road again
A 500-mile summer bike trek will benefit AIDS care and prevention programs.
See page 3B
Sense-filled art
Lawrence graduate student
Traci Tullius wants students to stop and listen to her art.
See page 3B
Someone Like You
The movie's title doesn't
reflect its true comedy.
See page 5B
---