Castle (The Band)

Jesse Golding's photo of Castle, The Band

This is going to get complicated. You’ll have to pay attention. Try to keep up.

            There is an indy rock/art rock/folk rock scene spread out between Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Brooklyn. Look at a map. The geographical center is Providence, Rhode Island. No surprise. Not coincidently, last year at Bonnaroo and SXSW they had workshops on how to talk with a Rhode Island accent. You can trace all of this straight back to 1974 when David Byrne was trying to learn to draw at RISD. Not to mention the Young Adults and Roomfull of Blues. Don’t get me started. It’s a complex world.

            Currently, there is the top echelon; Deer Tick, Low Anthem, Joe Fletcher. Then there is the second tier; Vudu Sister, Jonah Tolchin. And Castle (the band). They all know each other. It doesn’t seem to be a competitive thing. They seem to think the more music that gets made the better it is for everyone. What are they a bunch of commies? This is going to be mainly about Castle (the band). But wait. Hold on. First…

            There is this woman. She’s got a lot of tattoos. They keep coming. She takes beautiful photos. She is destined to be to this music scene what Astrid Kirchherr was to the Beatles, what Milton H. Greene was to Marilyn Monroe, what Robert Mapplethorpe was to Patti Smith, what Adam Ritchie was to the Velvet Underground and Pink Floyd. You want me to keep going? ‘Cause I can keep going. Anyway, this woman with the tattoos, she shot Castle (the band) in concert. While you’re reading what I got to say about Castle (the band) you should be looking at those photographs. Just look! Don’t ask questions.

            http://jessegolding.wix.com/lonesailboat#!untitled/zoom/cff9/image11yr

            I’m getting to Castle (the band). Are you looking at the photo? But wait. First…

            There is this bar in Newport called Billy Goodes. It is an anomaly for bars in Newport, because there has never been a designer or a decorator anywhere near it. There are no ferns. None. Look it up on Yelp, where it is spelled “Goods”. Idiots! Here are the categories that Yelp uses to describe restaurants and what they say about “Goods”. In parentheses I have put what it should actually say: Attire: Casual (put your damn shirt on and pull up you pants because I don’t want to look at your boxers), Outdoor seating: no (Sure, jerk, sit on the curb after you throw up in the gutter), Alcohol: Full Bar (If by full you mean Bud and ‘Ganstte.), Good For: Dinner (LMAO), Good For Kids: no (At last some honesty. If only the Catholic Church had been so straightforward)… but, I digress. The whole point of bringing up Billy Goodes is that it is the perfect place to see Castle (the band) perform. 

           

            O.K. so you’re looking at Jesse Golding’s photos of Castle (the band) and you are picturing them playing at a certain Newport dive. Now, crack open a Bud or a ‘Gansette and put on their album. Crank it up. Now you’re having the Castle (the band) experience… uh, not really. You’re having the Castle (the band) album experience. As good as the album is, and it is damn good, it registers at about 60% on the energy meter as compared to a live Castle (the band) show. I should mention that the energy level at the live shows is probably illegal. Spontaneous combustion is always a distinct possibility. So, get the album, listen to it, love it, but don’t think for a minute that it means you can sit home. You still have to drag your self down to Billy Goode’s, drink cheap beer all night long, and hear a live show.

            But that isn’t going to happen tonight, so back to the album.

            Are you looking at the photo? Are you looking at Bessie Bessin? She is so beautiful. Right? And how about that voice? It is ethereal, meaning “extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world” according to the first definition that popped up on Google. However, she sounds less angelic than playful. Her phrasing goes for a friendly, slightly ironic, rollicking take on the lyrics. At one point, she sings, “I’m floating away.” And you picture her floating above the squalor and spilt beer at Billy Goodes born upwards by a voice that can break your heart and make you smile with delight in the span of a single phrase. I didn’t mention yet that she plays accordion! Quick, name three other chick singers who play accordion. Can’t do it can you. (Julie The Bruce, Wendy McNeill, and Niki Berger. All on You Tube.)

            Bessie Bessin is such a charming, engaging presence, that the boys in Castle (the band) have to work hard to keep things in balance. They do it. Castle (the band) is not Bessie and the Boys, but I predict you’ll spend 40% of your listening time focused on her and 60% of your contemplating time remembering her. Bessie, solo project? Come on girl! Throw the dogs a bone.

            The male line up of Castle (The Band) consists of Noah Bickford on guitar, Craig Cameron on bass, Mike Cellemme on guitar, and David Passafiome, Jr. on drums and guitar. They al pitch in on the vocals, too.

            You heard it here first. Castle (the band) is going to put Rhode Island on the map. They are going to be a destination group; you’ll come to them rather than them going to you. Billy Goodes will have the same resonance as Gerde's Folk City, The Star-Club, and The Stone Pony. People on their way from Brooklyn to Boston will get off 95 and drive all the way across the state to drink a ‘Gansette where it all started. Jesse Golding’s photos will be all over Rolling Stone. She’ll date and eventually marry Colin Kaepernick. Ain’t that some wild stuff? And it’s all true.

Keith McCurdy and Vudu Sister

(This image is based on a photo by Jesse Golding. You can see the original here: http://jessegoldingphotography.daportfolio.com/)

 

 

 

            The waitress at Rhode Island Capitol Billiards Bar and Bistro in North Providence, Rhode Island is blond and pretty, but too skinny. She’s got the kind of body that makes guys my age (67) think about taking her out for a cheeseburger.  I’d like her to have a little caloric cushion to get her through the week. Guys Keith McCurdy’s age (27) probably look at her and think about getting her number, think about positions where their hipbones won’t knock. Yeah, that’s what forty years does to you. I am having beers on a Thursday afternoon with a guy who could conceivably be my grandson because I’m impressed with his music and want to write about him. He has completed the recording on a new album, his second, with his band, Vudu Sister. It is called Household Items. If all goes well it will come out on May 4^th.

            We order beers and the pretty waitress asks, “You want any food?”

            Keith replies, “I’ll take some chicken fingers.”

            “The boneless ones?” He nods. “You want ‘em mild, hot, or suicidal?”

            Keith says, “Suicidal.” It is consistent with what I know about Keith so far that he would go for the extreme. He is one of those people who seem to be playing for higher stakes than most of us. After all, one of his best songs is a balls to the wall number about suicide-as-revenge-on-a-girl-who-did-him-wrong.

 The Quiet Man

It’s a lonely place when no one is home

There’s a rickety chair and a good strong rope

She heard the clamour of the wood to the floor

He left nothing to mop; now her back’s so sore

From carrying that body to the bottom floor

No she never should have left him all alone

At least he can’t try it again

            Despite the theme of this song and several others, Keith does not seem morose or depressed. In fact, he is so energetic and full of ideas that it is hard to imagine him lying still for five minutes, let alone for eternity. His conversation and lyrics cover a lot of dark and violent territory, but he seems enlivened and passionate about his themes.

            He says, “I don’t have a very unique story. Me and my family have had a lot of struggles. I haven’t had a privileged upbringing. Sometimes when that happens, you embrace it. Death and despair are real to me. Why not write about it? I don’t relate to “jovial” music, for lack of a better word.” 

            And then there is the voice. Keith has a big voice. It is loud and clear and true. It would be pushing the point to call it soaring, but he belts out his songs in a way that rivets you to the vocals. In another reincarnation he could have sung Broadway show tunes; “…and the waving wheat can sure small sweet when the wind comes right behind the rain…,” “…Hold my hand and we're halfway there. Hold my hand and I'll take you there. Somehow, Some day, Somewhere!” etc.

            The thought occurs to me that because of my age and the antiquity of my musical references, I’m going to miss something essential about what Keith and Vudu Sister are up to. Keith mentions influences I don’t know; Donita Sparkes and Mia Zapata. I dutifully listen to them on YouTube.  I start asking young people how they would characterize his music. The phrases “acoustic grunge” and “death folk” come up. These have little specific meaning to me. Then I pose the question to a couple in their teens, “So, what is your take on Keith McCurdy’s music?”  I ask. “He’s great!” they reply. “He’s like the love child of Janice Joplin and Neil Young!” Wait a minute. If Janice Joplin had lived she’d be seventy and Neil Young is only six months younger than me. I can relate to that. Having gotten an answer I could live with, I drop my inquiry.

            Back at Rhode Island Capitol Billiards Bar and Bistro in North Providence, Rhode Island, the pretty waitress returns to our table. Keith is definitely eyeing her. I ask for an extra plate so I can sample the suicidal chicken fingers. Hell, yeah! They’re hot enough to hurt, so why do I lick my fingers as Keith watches the waitress walk away? That’s what forty years does to you.

            Keith is proud of his sophomore album. He worked hard on the recording and he has high hopes that it will move his career forward at least to the degree that it makes sense for him to keep doing what he’s doing.

            He says, “I use to think it could happen all at once. Lets be Pearl Jam! Lets be Alice in Chains! Now I’m thinking about small steps. Maybe I’ll get to play the Newport Folk Festival, release a few more albums, tour incessantly.” Keith is embedded in the Rhode Island music scene and knows and works with people who have achieved this kind of success; Low Anthem, Brown Bird, Deer Tick, Joe Fletcher. He recorded Household Items at the newly renovated and revitalized Columbus Theater and he has a release party scheduled there on May 4, 2013. Mark that date down. It is an important one.

            You can make a donation to support the release of Household Items here:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/vudu-sister-s-second-record