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¡VIVA LA MÚSICA! YOUTH BANDS ARE BRINGING THE ROCK TO FIESTA
WHITE FENCE FOR THE RECENTLY FOUND INNOCENT For the Recently Found Innocent is Tim Presley’s fifth studio album as White Fence, as well as his second collaborative effort with fellow psych-pop auteur Ty Segall. But, and perhaps most importantly, it’s Presley’s first foray outside his bedroom-recording setup. Exchanging his home studio for Segall’s garage, and his four-track for Segall’s eight, the album feels downright expansive by comparison. White Fence is a project that has always worn its inspirations on
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COURTESY
ROCK OUT: Santa Barbara’s Bad Jack is one of many area bands playing El Mercado del Norte as part of this week’s Fiesta festivities.
GINA PERRY
S
omewhere in between the rodeos, parades, and cascarones, Santa Barbara’s youngsters decided they wanted in on the Old Spanish Days action. And who can blame them? With all that citywide revelry going on, what teen wouldn’t want to dive in? Back in the ’70s, that youthful pièce de résistance took the form of street dances — essentially large groups of kids who would gather on Stearns Wharf, plug their instruments in, and play to their peers. In the ’80s, former El Presidente Roger Perry recalled, these parties moved to West Carrillo Street, just outside the Greyhound bus station. “They’d close that whole block off from State Street to Chapala,” he said. “It was kind of the magnet for 14- to 18-year-olds.” As all good, loud, youthful party stories go, the authorities eventually came in and shut the music down — though, Perry points out, not because of any legal issues. “It was just a man-power thing. There weren’t enough people to police it.” Lucky for us, though, Perry’s not a man to easily forget, so when he joined the Fiesta board back in 1991, he came in with goals in mind. “I wanted to change the face of MacKenzie Park,” he said,“and I deliberately wanted to revisit the street dances because it was such a meaningful element of Fiesta when I was growing up here. It was part of what I talked about when I was presidente, but it was also one of the key elements of the festival for me as a 16- and 17-year-old.” And for the past three years, Perry has done just that. In step with his year-round championing for young area music acts (e.g., his Santa Barbara Youth Battle of the Bands and summertime Skater’s Park Music Series), Perry began to build up MacKenzie’s
L I F E Nate Birkey
STEP BY STEP
Mercado del Norte as not only a locals’ spot but also as a great place to catch tunes. This year, he’s programming four days’ worth of music there and 60 sets of music by kids coming from as far south as San Diego and as far north as San Luis Obispo. On Wednesday night, nine S.B. bands man the stage for Locals’ Night. Come Thursday, Santa Barbara Sings offers up an all-female singer/songwriters revue atop the Main Stage. And on Friday and Saturday, Perry is playing host to a wealth of young talents from up and down the coast, including -ers Stolen Thunder, False Puppet, Bad Jack, and 2014 S.B. Youth Battle of the Band winners Galvanized Souls. In other words, if you’re looking for somewhere to rock out, Perry’s got ya covered. its sleeve, and here they’re paid solid homage. “Sandra (When the Earth Dies)” calls to mind the eerily druggy folk of Syd Barrett, while the wobbly sway of “Hard Water” seems to take its cues from The Byrds. But Presley’s shtick has never been strict imitation. Instead, his music reads like a jangly sort of cocktail — a potent, heady concoction whose ingredients taste like everything and nothing all at once. There’s a woozy, almost underwater quality to songs like “Actor” and “Fear,” but elsewhere tracks burst to life, a nod to White Fence’s famously explosive live shows (“Arrow Man,” “The Light”). Lyrically speaking, Innocent could easily be Presley’s strongest to date. Dark themes run deep, unifying his surrealist yarns about
“Santa Barbara really is doing a fabulous job of fostering and helping young, budding musicians,” he says.“Through our festivals, we’re giving these kids the opportunity to play to a meaningful audience on a professionally set stage, and they’re not paying to do any of it.” I’ll raise a “viva!” to that.
For the full rundown of bands taking the stage at Mercado del Norte, as well as all of the 2014 Old Spanish Days locations, visit oldspanishdays-fiesta.org. —Aly Comingore
jealousy, gluttony, greed, and anxiety just enough to keep the whole thing flowing. And flow it does. In the span of its 40 minutes, Innocent ambles along with intention; nary a track feels like filler. Turns out White Fence can rip outside of the bedroom, too. — AC
Jazzz trumpeter tru rump mpet mp eter et er Nate Nat atee Birkey Birkey Birk key returns ret etur urns ns to to the the this thiis th is week week in honor of his latest recorded offering. Birkey honorofhislatestrecordedoffering BirkeyfirstcalledSanta first called Santa Barbara his home when he began his undergraduate studies at UCSB in 1988. After graduation, though, he made the move to New York City to further his musical pursuits and opportunities. Birkey’s new album, titled Just A Closer Walk, features a tasty fusion of gospel tunes and jazz. At first listen, one may mistake the collection for a standard jazz album. But rather, Birkey takes traditional gospel songs and jazzes them up, priming them for intricate instrumental improvisation. When asked about what song stands out most to him among the lot, Birkey states that is difficult to choose because most of the repertoire has deep personal meaning. It turns out Birkey grew up in a religious family singing hymns at his church, and he chose the favorite hymns of various family members as a dedication to them and to thank them for their support of his musical pursuits. The connection between spirituality and music has remained a constant throughout his life, he explains. Although Birkey says there’s no specific message in mind with the album, he does concede that there’s a definite spiritual vibe to the music. “Music is very spiritual for me. Music is a universal thing that touches souls,” he says. Jazz often offers a unique creative expression of a player’s character, a sound that gives us a sense of who they are as a person. Listening to Just A Closer Walk illustrates both Birkey’s musical maturity and his deeply engrained artistic sensibilities. The St. Michael & All Angels Church in Isla Vista was the venue of choice when it came time to record the album. Birkey says that he was aiming for a more organic sound, which he attained by placing a single microphone in the middle of the room to capture the “holistic quality” of the band. The use of a single microphone does not allow for overdubs, so what was captured was spontaneous and improvisational, showcasing each musician’s abilities. These abilities will be showcased throughout this weekend, too, as Birkey plays the Beer Garden at De la Guerra Plaza on Thursday, July 31, with Spencer the Gardner. He and Spencer also team up at the Fiesta Main Stage in De la Guerra Plaza on Saturday, August 2, at 9 p.m. For show info and more about the album, visit natebirkey.com. —Mitch Grimes
NATE BIRKEY
GETS BACK TO
HIS ROOTS
M O R E A R T S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T > > > July 31, 2014
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