PUREHONEY 33

A Chat with Kevin Barnes

Credit Nina Barnes

Kevin Barnes has taken his ever-evolving project Of Montreal through just about every musical dynamic he’s fancied since its inception in 1996, citing his latest inspiration as the late 60s and early 70s for his most recent album Lousy With Sylvianbriar.

Of Montreal’s transformation over the years, starting with a lo-fi indie-pop sound, which bled into their later electro-dance anthems leading up to Kevin Barnes, Of Montreal their psychedelic folk rock movement with this latest album, all seem to have been a very natural and honest exploration of Kevin’s constant forward motion, chasing the next source of inspiration.

PH: Is this tour focused mostly on the new album or will you unearth some of the past as well?

KB: “Oh yeah we’ll do a lot of old stuff. It’s a healthy amount of the new songs, but what I feel is so special about Of Montreal is the dynamic of all the different genres that we toy with, and by having that dynamic there’s moments of quiet, intimate, more confessional songs, and moments of dance party anthems and everything in between. That’s what makes it fun for me is being able to explore all these different styles of the songwriting and all the different identities that exist within the band.”

PH: Do you have something visually/musically that you hope to accomplish on this tour?

KB: “What we want to do is create an atmosphere that feels special and unpredictable and we basically just try to transform the environment so you don’t feel like you’re just in some rock show…Hopefully it feels like a holiday of some kind.”

The reach of Kevin’s creative mind extends beyond his musical arrangements. He composes the sound, writes the lyrics, and creates a physical and visual atmosphere that transmits his vision directly into every sensory receptor available. Genre exploration and evolution aside, the level of production and realized representations have been consistent over the years. Of Montreal’s movement into the folk rock realm of Kevin’s latest muse enabled a few recent line up changes...

PH: What prompted the lineup change and how did you choose new members?

KB: “Basically I had been working with the same group of people in the live band for a really long time, and… things started going kind of stale. I felt like we weren’t really growing. We had a system worked out that worked and everyone knew their role, and it’s just sometimes like anything else in life, you just reach this point in your relationships where you just want a change and you want to see what other possibilities are out there.”

“I wanted a group of musicians that would help me realize that vision and wanted it to be a natural thing for them, not ask people to play something they weren’t comfortable playing. I picked people who play in that style already and they can just do it – and it’s just a very organic change. I picked these people specifically for that purpose of playing on the album, and then the album sounded so good and the experience felt so good that I started realizing that I needed to bring these people on tour.”

PH: How did the new lineup affect the way this last album was written? Was this a solo effort like you have done in the past or more of a group effort?

KB: “We made the album together and the dynamics between these musicians felt special and interesting so I wanted to pursue it further. It’s definitely more collaborative for sure. I wrote the song structures, you know the chord progressions and the lyrics and melody lines and things like that, but as far as orchestration they wrote a lot of their own parts and we came up with a lot of things together so it’s really the most collaborative album that I’ve had since, well, a really long time…like seven records or something.”

In the background of the recent noise around the new lineup and album, and the theatrics the band is creating on stage this year, Of Montreal is soon to see the release of a documentary. It’s a telling of Kevin’s story by Jason Miller, titled The Past Is A Grotesque Animal.

PH: Any involvement or creative input with the documentary?

KB: “It was mostly his [Jason Miller’s] project but I did have some input.

There were a lot of things I had to veto. You know like, “No… Please…

God no… don’t” [laughs]. There were a lot of things like that, but I think in general I wanted to give him some room to be creative. I had to accept the fact that there would be some ugliness and some awkwardness.”

“I think I come across as being kind of a dickhead in the movie, but I don’t know how other people approach it. It sort of focuses on the one side of telling of the story, and in a way it’s kind of just funny to me that I come across as a dickhead. It doesn’t really bother me that much, it probably should bother me, but I just don’t really care. And it’s funny the name of the documentary “The Past Is A Grotesque Animal” That’s just kind of basically the theme, just running away from the past and not wanting to be categorized or placed in any sort of context so trying to escape that, and so that’s basically where my head is at anyways.”

Of Montreal makes their way to Grand Central in Miami with Brazilian psychedelic pop quartet The Boogarins on May 7, 8pm. Tickets are available on www.ticketfly.com ~Danielle Romanowski

Morrissey Perhaps the biggest surprise about Morrissey’s acclaimed, score-settling, news-making Autobiography is how unstoppably funny the book is.

Maybe it shouldn’t have been so surprising; self-deprecating wit and offbeat humor have pervaded his lyrics since the earliest Smiths recordings. But for a man whose cultivated image is a totem to miserablism—to hyperbolic proclamations of endless despair—his flair for comedy is frequently arresting, almost making you wonder if Morrissey his abject melancholy is an act.

The Decemberists’ Colin Meloy, who covered six of Moz’s tunes for an EP, captured this dichotomy best when he told a reporter, “you could either bask in that glow of fatalistic narcissism, or you could think it was funny. I always thought that was an interesting dynamic in his songwriting.”

There’s no better way to experience this dynamic than Morrissey’s live shows, with their mix of self-conscious theatricality and genuine emotional immersion into songs new, old and very old. This recollection from the Smiths years, in Autobiography, still holds true of his public performances: “I consigned all of my best efforts to conviction, and all of my being went into each song. This can be embarrassing for onlookers—an embarrassment that makes us turn away when someone bears their soul in public.” Yet it’s tempered, these days, by maturity and humor. He’s not the shy, awkward beanpole of yesteryear but a calculated, expert frontman who knows exactly the point at which to remove one of his many shirts to elicit exactly what he wants from his teeming followers. As his hordes of fans climb over one another to touch a fraction of his outstretched, demigod hand during “There is a Light That Never Goes Out,” Morrissey permits himself a laugh or two, even while welcoming death via double-decker bus.

Lately, South Florida audiences have felt justifiably gypped from this heavenly merger of depression and frivolity that is a Morrissey concert: Both of his most recent scheduled dates in our region, from 2007 and 2009, were canceled due to illness, so we can be forgiven if we take his latest announced appearance, at 8pm on May 31 at the Arsht Center, with a few grains of salt. Barring an unforeseen cancelation, expect Moz to play a few tunes from his forthcoming summer release World Peace is None of Your Business, along with a generous helping of classics from his Smiths and solo careers. Tickets are going fast; Kristeen Young will open the show. arshtcenter.org. ~ John Thomason

Froth

Froth The revitalization of vintage-informed psychedelia in America has spawned forth some of the most exciting artists in recent memory. The umbrella of psych, which covers a menagerie of experimental and unique sub-genre and sub-sect, has developed major scenes in Austin, Brooklyn, Atlanta, and particularly Los Angeles, where Froth hails from.

Froth is currently riding the waves of reverb to a place in the hearts of psych fans everywhere, and will be making penultimate psych pilgrimage to perform at Austin Psych Fest in May. Having recently scored a runway show for Saint Laurent, Froth has also found itself in the precarious position of exposure to the high fashion community on an international level in what has to be the most unexpected plot twist ever for a band that started as a joke at a BBQ. The band will be bringing it’s spaced-out ‘60s sounds to South Florida for the first time on May 8 at Respectable’s Street in West Palm, and we spoke with the band’s bassist and South Florida expatriate, Jeremy Katz, about all things Froth in anticipation of the show.

PH: So, you’re originally from Miami? When was that?

JK: I’m actually from Wellington, Florida. Yeah, I lived there until I was 10 and then I moved to Massachusetts and when I was 21 I moved back and lived in Fort Lauderdale and Miami for a couple of years. I moved back to Fort Lauderdale in 2008 and then I moved to LA in 2010. It’s funny because another one of my friend’s bands out here is from Wellington also and I never knew them until now!

They’re called Strangers Family Band and they’re this crazy psychedelic band from Wellington, but they’re really rad, too! They’ve been out here even longer than me, and I never knew ‘em, but I just met them a couple of years ago and it’s kind of weird because I’ve never met anyone else from Wellington.

PH: Lake Worth and Palm Beach has an interesting scene that seems to develop some bands that occasionally pop off and go national.

JK: Yeah, that’s cool! I never knew anyone in bands when I lived there. The only band I knew even from around there that was kind of cool to me was Jacuzzi Boys.

PH: What motivated the move to Los Angeles?

JK: I was actually working in TV and stuff -- I went to the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale for film -- I started working on TV shows and I just kind of got in my car and moved out here because I was freelance working. I kinda wanted to get out of there, to tell you the truth.

PH: The LA psych scene has picked up in recent years. What’s it like for a band that’s coming up and receiving accolades?

JK: Yeah, totally! It’s really cool, man! Where we live is called Echo Park, and it’s kind of the neighborhood a lot of bands live in. Yeah, it’s funny, three or four years ago, the scene was really psychedelic, there were all these really cool psych bands like the Entrance Band and all of these other crazy psych bands that were really rad. But in the past two years, this label, Lolipop Records, opened here and they kind of transformed the whole scene. There’s a lot more garage rock happening than psych.

PH: The genres are certainly kissing cousins. You’re booked to play Austin Psych Fest. They’ve always had a lot of garage to go with the psych...

JK: There’s still a lot of really good psych stuff, but because of Burger Records and Lolipop Records and the whole garage rock movement, it’s turned more garage rock, and there’s still a lot of really good punk bands playing too. It’s all relative.

Garage and psych do go well together. There are so many good bands, there’s always a show to go to and bands to play with, it’s really rad.

PH: Is it a cohesive, communal vibe?

JK: Oh totally, everyone’s friends, man. The street we live on, there’s five bands that live next to each other. Everyone’s friends, it’s really cool. Good community. I think we owe that to Lolipop. They kind of brought everyone together, you know?

PH: So tell me about scoring a major French fashion house’s show.

JK: Yeah, that was pretty amazing! Hedi Slimane (photographer and fashion designer) kind of just found us. We played this show called Beach Goth, which is a party that the Growlers put on every year, and he happened to be there taking pictures. The thing is, Hedi loves Burger Records, saw us play, liked one of our songs and that was it!

PH: What else has been on the highlight reel since gaining more hype?

JK: We’ve been lucky enough to play Burgerama and Beach Goth and stuff, but I think playing Austin Psych Fest this year is definitely the coolest thing that’s happened to us. ~ David Von Bader Read Part 2 of David Von Bader’s Interview with Froth at www.purehoneymagazine.com

Tuesday, April 29 Mogwai, Majeure @ Grand Central

‘Go Green or Go Home’ Recycled Art @ Howley’s Jason Green @ Terra Fermata

Wednesday, April 30 SunFest: Vegabonds, Dick Dale, Kid Rock, Surfer Blood, Cake @ Dntn WPB Ruling Mercury @ Dada Floor Album Release @ Churchill’s Pub Josh Horton @ Terra Fermata Avenged Sevenfold, Hellyeah @ Hard Rock Live

Thursday, May 1 Idiot Boys @ 4028 ne 6th ave. Oakland Park

SunFest: Speaking Volumes, Aer, The Edge Effect, Sky Blu, Sublime with Rome, Robin Thicke @ Dntn WPB ¡MAYDAY! @ Blackbird Ordinary Army Gideon @ Dada Funky Nuggets @ Propaganda Band of Lovers @ Funky Buddha Stir Krazy @ Terra Fermata

Friday, May 2 The Dewars, Symbols, Smith Sundy, Wolfcat @ Propaganda Quintessential Quintet Art Opening @ Bear & Bird Gallery

SunFest: Shout London, Young the Giant, Goo Goo Dolls, Daniel Heitz Band, Bobby Lee Rodgers, Doobie Brothers, Stevie Bee, B. Smyth, J. Cole @ Dntn WPB Agarrate Catalina @ Grand Central M. Ward @ Culture Room Pretty Girls @ Dada Robby Hunter Band @ Vagabond 33 Years @ Funky Buddha Lilli Lavon @ Terra Fermata Fusik @ Blackbird Ordinary 7Below (Phish Tribute) @ Funky Biscuit

Saturday, May 3

SunFest: Luxury of Company, Spred The Dub, Dirty Heads, Rebelution, Five Knives, Supervision, Pretty Lights, Oddessey, Ancient Sun, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Jesse Young, Jilette Johnson, Daughtry, Afrobeta, The Bangles, Brooke Eden, Josh Thompson, David Nail, Justin Moore @ Dntn WPB Roc the Mic @ Propaganda Riot Act @ Dada Holstered @ KYI Killbillies @ Terra Fermata Public Sounds @ Funky Buddha Free Comic Book Day @ TATE’S, Lauderhill

Sunday, May 4

SunFest: Victims of Circumstance, Streetlight Manifesto, Dropkick Murphys, Conway, Ellie Goulding, SOSOS, Rusted Root, Blues Traveler, Alice In Chains, Inner Circle, Wailers, Macy Kate, Before You Exit, Austin Mahone @ Dntn WPB Royale Majestique @ Saltwater Brewery Incited, Vice, Bishop, Nebraska Bricks, Rites, No Peace @ Propaganda Jupiter Trailer Trash @ Terra Fermata May the Fourth Star Wars Event @ TATE’S, Lauderhill Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin’s Experience @ Hard Rock Live

Monday, May 5

Cinco de Mayo @ Propaganda

Lyrical Ramblings Open Mic Night @ Terra Fermata

Tuesday, May 6 The Faint, Reptar @ Culture Room

I, The Breather, Affiance, Gift Giver, Come The Dawn, Every Passing Dream, Landmarks, Business As Usual @ Propaganda Turkuaz @ Funky Biscuit

Wednesday, May 7 Of Montreal, Boogarins @ Grand Central Ghost, King Dude @ Revolution Live Deal James @ Terra Fermata Tell Tale Arts @ Propaganda

Thursday, May 8 Froth, Dead Poets @ Respectable Street

The Movement, Spred The Dub, Lake Worth Long Shots, Seagrape Souljahs @ Propaganda Katchafire, Maoli @ Culture Room Nag Champayons @ Blackbird Ordinary The Nth Power @ Funky Biscuit SunSquabi @ Funky Buddha Craft Bazaar @ Dada Thundergrass @ Terra Fermata Kim Lenz & the Jaguars, Skinny Jimmy & the Stingrays @ Monterey Club

Friday, May 9 Combichrist, William Control, New Years Day @ Respectable Street

The Main Squeeze @ Funky Biscuit The Howling Winds, Routine Scheme, The Shakers, 84 Sheepdog @ Propaganda Grass Monkey @ Funky Buddha Holidazed @ Dada Addictive Guilt @ Vagabond Robby Hunter @ Blackbird Ordinary Passafire, Cerveza @ Terra Fermata

Saturday, May 10 Art Rock: a cash and carry art show + indie marketplace @ Armory Art Center

The Motet w/ Lather Up! @ Funky Biscuit The Seduction of Shakespeare: A Burlesque Revue of Comedy & Tragedy & Operative Me @ Propaganda Int’l Language @ Funky Buddha Flashback Party @ KYI Hard Richards @ Dada Dub City Derby Girls: Roller Derby Bout @ Skate Zone Aces High Art Show & Jupiter Grand Opening Party @ Aces High Jupiter Professor Pennygood & the Mighty Flea Circus @ Terra Fermata

Sunday, May 11

Mojo Blue @ Terra Fermata

Tuesday, May 13

Adventures of Billy & Patrick @ Propaganda

Wednesday, May 14

Hi Fi Gimini, Bree @ Propaganda

Thursday, May 15 Eagle Chief @ Blackbird Ordinary Blueprint @ Propaganda Zion’s Door @ Dada Laney Jones @ Terra Fermata

Friday, May 16

Danka @ Propaganda

S S T S M S J

S

T P H R J C M

S

1 A

T

K T H

T

J R F D

F S

C T S K E G

S

R

C

T K A J B F

S

T

H @

B M M a T N R H

T ‘ @

N J

W

D

Stratolites @ Dada Shanghai Meow @ Vagabond Toadies, Supersuckers, Battleme @ Culture Room Spam Allstars @ Blackbird Ordinary Mike Quick Quartet @ Terra Fermata Squeedlepuss, Sawgrass Express @ Funky Buddha Jangle Leg, Grave Sights @ Swampgrass Willies

Saturday, May 17

The Aquabats, Koo Koo Kangaroo @ Culture Room Pepe Aguilar @Hard Rock Live Hot Whiskey @ KYI Rich Coccaro @ Dada Jangle Leg, Grave Sights @ Churchills Pub Comedy Show @ Funky Buddha Moska Project @ Terra Fermata

Sunday, May 18

10,000 Hours @ Terra Fermata Aesthetic Perfection @ Vagabond

Tuesday, May 20

Kid Ink, King Los, Bizzy Crook @ Grand Central The 1975, Sir Sly, Bad Suns @ Culture Room Hairpeace @ Terra Fermata

Thursday, May 22

Jangle Leg, Grave Sights @ Funky Buddha Reggae Party @ Propaganda Future Prezidents @ Dada Deal James @ Terra Fermata

Friday, May 23 Sunghosts & Astronaut @ Vagabond

Closer to the Ocean @ Dada Tattoomania Day 1 @ Propaganda Spam Allstars @ Blackbird Ordinary Kill The Zo: Matt Zo & Kill The Noise @ Grand Central Ellameno Beat @ Terra Fermata Gerry Williams Band @ Funky Buddha

Thursday, May 29

Cheesy McNasty @ Terra Fermata Shark Anthony @ Funky Buddha

Friday, May 30

Rocket 88, Koffin Varnish, Stop The Presses @ Monterey Club Spam Allstars @ Blackbird Ordinary Jangle Leg @ Dada My Deer May @ Vagabond Joel DaSilva & The Midnight Howls @ Funky Buddha Uproot Hootenanny @ Terra Fermata

Saturday, May 31

Shaun Peace Band @ KYI Behind the Houses @ Dada Birthday Candles, New Guy, Routine Scheme, Southern Misconduct @ Propaganda Sea and Space @ Funky Buddha Cerveza @ Terra Fermata

Tuesday, June 3

Peter Murphy @ Grand Central

Wednesday, June 4

Drive-By Truckers @ Culture Room

Saturday, June 7

Jangle Leg @ Kill Your Idol

Sunday, June 8 Weezer @ Hard Rock Live Wednesday, June 11

The Naked And Famous, White Sea @ Grand Central

Thursday, June 12

Counting Crows, Toad the Wet Sprocket @ Hard Rock Live Little Dragon @ Grand Central

Sunday, July 13

Saturday, May 24

Dana Carvey, Dennis Miller @ Hard Rock Live Jangle Leg, Riot Act @ Poorhouse

Cheap Miami Presents @ KYI

Saturday, June 14

Raggy Monster @ Dada

Tattoomania Day 2 @ Propaganda Ketchy Shuby, Fusik w/ DJs Jajohero, Felix Fusik, AckDaddy @ Funky Buddha Jangle Leg, Koffin Varnish @ Acrhies Betty Fox @ Terra Fermata Fusik, Ketchy Shuby @ Funky Buddha

Sunday, May 25

Tattoomania Day 3 @ Propaganda

Hope From Harrison Benefit ft The Heavy Pets @ The Backyard

Best of the Best Hosted by Lance-O of Kulcha Shok Muzik, Jabba, Jamusa, DJ Roy, Hollywood Butta, Mikey Mike, 800 Bunjie, Empress Yvette, Ragashanti, Nikki Z and Ricky Platinum @ Bayfront Park The Resolvers @ JB’s Nouveaux Honkies @ Terra Fermata R&R Railroad, Skyjuice, The Sawgrass Kin, The Mobile Homies @ Johnny Q’s

Tuesday, May 27 ‘Total Eclipse of the Art: Art for Space Nerds’ @ Howley’s Naughty Prefessor, Lather Up! @ Funky Biscuit Jason Green @ Terra Fermata

Wednesday, May 28

Digitour, O2L @ Revolution Live

Cash Cash @ Grand Central

Sunday, June 15

Family Outing on Father’s Day @ TATE’S, Lauderhill

Monday, June 16

The Steve Seagal Band @ Hard Rock Live

Wednesday, June 18

Cut Copy, Classixx @ Grand Central

Saturday, July 26

Not at Comic-Con @ TATE’S, Lauderhill Cultura Profetica @ Culture Room

Sunday, July 27 Further Adventures of the Thought Coalition Art Opening @ Bear & Bird Gallery Jangle Leg @ Monterey Club

Saturday, June 28

Phantogram, Bad Things @ Grand Central

Wednesday, July 30

Gavin DeGraw/Matthew Nathanson and Andrew McMahon @ Hard Rock Live

Friday, August 1 PureHoney Magazine 3 Year Anniversary Issue Release @ TheHoneyComb

Bill Maher Thanks to the timeless trove of miscellany known as YouTube, everything that has ever been recorded is now a permanent fixture in everybody’s computing device. Video clips once thought lost have been resurrected, no matter how embarrassing to the humans populating them. Case in point: a YouTube search for “Bill Maher early stand-up” yields a performance from The Merv Griffin Show in 1984, where a 28-year-old, only fractionally cynical Maher appears, with a full shock of brown hair, a nervous mien, and a repository of political jokes that lack the sophistication of even his most tossed-off one-liners today.

Of Geraldine Ferraro, the first female vice presidential candidate in American history, he says, “I’ve been a feminist for many years, and I think it’s about time we had a chick on the ticket.”

You can knock it, until you realize that when Bill Maher Lenny Bruce started on the circuit, he struggled through his brief sets by imitating animals. By his first HBO stand-up special in 1989—also viewable in full on YouTube—Maher was starting to develop a singular edge, with sweeping if appropriate pronouncements (“We’ve done nothing but pick schmucks and losers [for president] for 200 years”) and jokes about Reagan that could just easily apply later to the George W. Bush regime (“he made dumbness a virtue”).

By the mid-‘90s, in his Politically Incorrect heyday, Maher had fully merged his two personalities—the observant nightclub comic and the left-wing political firebrand—into a marketable persona that has remained consistent through the 21st century. These days, his stand-up act, for which he still tirelessly tours while hosting the best political show on TV with HBO’s Real Time, has developed into a deftly memorized, 90-plus-minute cauldron of insightful observations, scabrous commentary and conceptual detours inevitably skewering religion, politics, the news media and pop culture.

If Maher can forgive a theistic analogy, he mostly preaches to his own choir at these shows, though if you’re anywhere near the front row, you’ll probably see a grumpy person sitting stone-faced the entire show, his arms folded across his chest. He’s been there at every South Florida Maher gig I’ve attended, and Maher once told me similar attendees appear at his shows everywhere, and always in the front row. I guess even at his own performances, he can’t fully avoid the haters, but he’ll gladly take their money.

Maher plays at 8pm, May 18 at Fillmore, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach.

Tickets 305-673-7300 or www.fillmoremb.com. ~ John Thomason

Total Eclipse of the Art

MarcPaperScissor Art for Space Nerds: A nerd walks into a dark bar and orders a Synthehol. He’s wearing a shirt that says Star Trek: The Next Generation. The bartender dressed in Spock gear, pointy ears and all, winks back. The Spock fan boy whips up the fictitious drink, and the geeky patron tosses it back, ever so swiftly. Let’s call him Spencer. So Spencer fueled up on goodness raises his glass and makes a toast.

“To the Ferengi!” he says and pays up his tab. Only a true space nerd would even understand.

He heads around the corner to Howley’s Restaurant. It’s Tuesday evening on May 27, and the man is looking for inspiration. Luckily, what waits for him at the hip late-night diner is his biggest wet dream to come, Total Eclipse of the Art: Art for Space Nerds, an art showcase dedicated to all things otherwordly. He enters the restaurant and spots the lovely DJ AGENT ROSE spinning vinyl. A cutie nearby sways to the beat and smiles at him. She’s wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with space cats.

He digs her and offers her a $2 PBR. They’re on special for the night. But before he makes another move, he tosses back a powerful $3 astro shot. Godspeed!

Next, he scopes out the artwork on display. There are pieces portraying inspiring nods to Star Wars, Star Trek, and 3D solar systems. He swoons. Rebecca May, extraordinaire, curated the show with works created by a string of local artists: Chuck Loose, Kyle Smile, Voss, Hannah Cullen, Adolfo Bacigalupo, Hex Martinez, Tanya Vervlied, MarcPaperScissor, Timothy Angstadt, Becky Osborne-Phillips, January Cassidy, Veronica Portilla, Becs, and Brittany Cramer.

Spencer’s head spins. There are just too many starring artists to count! His cat T-shirt wearing lady friend saunters over. They do a round of astro shots and an unspeakable, magical beam of light brings them home, together. It was their love of science fiction, not booze, that got their loins boiling that night. Spock would have been proud.

Total Eclipse of the Art opens Tuesday, May 27, 8pm-1am. DJ AGENT ROSE spins 8-11pm. Discover Howley’s at 4700 S Dixie Highway, West Palm. 561-833-5691 www.sub-culture.org/howleys. Admission is free. ~ Andrea Richard

Are You An Organ Donor? April was/is National Donate Life Month. Do you know the facts, or have you heard the myths? Let’s focus on the former.

Currently more than 120,000 people are on a transplant list; a transplant that will save lives. On average, 115 people are added to the list each day — that’s one every 13 minutes. Also, an average of 66 people received transplants every day either from a living or deceased donor. More than 2,200 children under the age of 18 are on the transplant list. One organ donor can save the lives of up to eight people and enhance the lives of many more. According to United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS): • People of all ages and medical histories should consider themselves potential donors. Your medical condition at the time of death will determine what organs and tissues can be donated.

• Organs and tissues that can be donated include the heart, kidneys, lungs, pancreas, liver, intestines, corneas, skin, tendons, bone and heart valves.

• There is no national registry of organ donors. Even if you have indicated your wishes on your driver’s license or a donor card, your family will be consulted before donation can take place, so make sure you’re on the same page.

• All major religions approve of organ and tissue donation and consider donation the greatest gift.

• An open-casket funeral is possible for organ and tissue donors.

It’s never too late to sign up. Even though this is the month to promote this life-saving campaign, organ donation is something you should talk about with your family and friends throughout the year.

There are many ways to register to become an organ donor. You can start by signing up next time you renew your driver’s license. Go to www.unos. org, www.donatelifeflorida.org or www.donatelife.net for information. Don’t let the myths deter you from signing up. Be educated and educate others.

Florida Growler Laws Are you a native born and raised beer drinking of the state of Florida? If so, our wonky and sometimes baffling alcohol laws are the norm to you. But if not, then the mere fact that you can’t use any of your industry standard beer growlers at breweries in our state is an oddity and an inconvenience.

Yes, the standard in 47 other states does not hold sway in ours.

But does it make any sense?

We have to go back a few years for a short history lesson.

For a long time, up until 2001, Floridians couldn’t purchase beer packaged in 750ml wine bottle sized containers, nor the 22 ounce ‘bomber’ bottles used by many craft breweries for small batch runs of beer.

After a bill passed in the Florida legislature, everything under 32 ounces was legal, with an inclusion of 128 ounces… but nothing in between. What’s happened since is a long-standing tug-of-war with lawmakers to ‘make like everyone else’ and allow the half gallon growlers.

So what is a growler? The federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (known shorthand as the TTB) states that “a growler is a large glass when a consumer uses the container to make a purchase and the brewer then fills the container. Consumers may furnish their own growler or may purchase it from the brewer.” They are basically reusable bottles (environmental!) that are filled at the tap, letting patrons bring draft beer home with them. It’s especially awesome for people who find local beers that aren’t canned or bottled.

The most recent legislation allowing 64-ounce growlers was filed last year, but did not pass its assigned committees in any of the state’s legislatures. It was opposed by The Florida Beer Wholesalers Association, which represents 24 distributors across the state. Their executive director, Mitch Rubin, argued the law would be at odds with the state’s current framework used to regulate craft brewers. “How do you maintain a system when everybody gets to do whatever they want?”

Rubin represents fervent supporters of a strict interpretation of the threetier system, a generally helpful anti-monopoly system of producers, wholesalers, and retailers. For small breweries, it can be a godsend to have the reach that supportive distributors have. At the other end of the spectrum, however, are distributors who want to make sure they have the full ultimate power to decide what goes where and for how much. These are the people who use the growler laws as a bargaining chip.

Funky Buddha Brewery’s head brewer Ryan Sentz sees this growler issue as more of an inconvenience to his customers than anything else. “I don’t think the 64 ounce growler law affects us as much as the consumer. We are still able to still able to sell 32oz and gallons, which people continue to do.

“Ultimately, 64 ounce growlers are the industry standard, so more people produce them and in turn bring the cost down to purchase, which would be great. Also, a lot of the carriers and bags for growlers are made for 64 ounce growlers, which would be nice to offer our customers.“ Jonathan Wakefield, whose J. Wakefield Brewery in Miami is close to completion in May, thinks that these growler size issues are causing more trouble than they may be worth.

“We’re one of the only states that doesn’t have the 64 ounce growler. At this point, the way it’s going, it seems that pushing for 64 ounces has stirred up the hornets nest. It really shouldn’t be that big of a deal to go after; it’s another form of glassware. It wouldn’t increase our market share by that much, but [the lobbyists] have pushed back and have thrown these other things on the plate to make it worse, not better.”

Those ‘other things’ are the contents of various bills in both the Florida House and Senate that would prevent breweries from selling directly to consumers without every beer going through the hands of a distributor, the arbitrary restriction on sales of collaboration beers to 30% of annual sales, and the removal of guest taps from a brewery’s tap room.

“I couldn’t care less for 64,” Wakefield laments. “If it brings all these other implications, who gives a crap? We could go without it. Sell [the customer] two 32 ounce growlers… make the best of your situation.”

As Florida’s craft beer scene continues to expand, the struggle for the 64 ounce growler will continue. Maybe one day we’ll finally figure it out.

-Doug Fairall

Modest Mouse

Modest Mouse

It’s a good thing Modest Mouse is returning to the Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Center for a headline show. South Florida has had much better luck with the Seattle-based band in charge of its shows instead of playing second fiddle at music festivals.

First, there was the 2006 Bang Music Festival where a late appearance by Gnarls Barkley pushed them too close to Duran Duran’s slot. They were cut off by the third song. In 2009, the band was supposed to play the Langerado Music Festival at its new location in Downtown Miami. But the event was cancelled due to poor ticket sales. The band then decided to offer its own makeup show at Revolution in Fort Lauderdale. The venue sold out, even though there was a 10-minute moment, early in the set, when they walked off stage that left fans bewildered. The group returned to complete the show with a five-song encore.

But their 2008 show at the Fillmore Miami Beach still stands as their best. That night, frontman Isaac Brock and the then seven-piece Mouse, including two drummers and Johnny Marr on guitar, ran through an impeccable set of hits and longtime fan-favorite songs. They also occasionally brought out a trumpet, banjo and violin, speaking to the dynamism that drives the indie rock darlings. It’s no wonder that, despite no new album and more than six years of absence from the area, the venue has sold out ahead of their return.

As of press time it remains unknown what the line-up of the band will consist of. Their dual drummer set-up has been a mainstay of Modest Mouse’s live shows and Marr left in 2009. Last year, the band debuted three new songs live, “Be Brave,” “Shit in Your Cut” and “Sugar Boats.” Those lucky enough to have nabbed tickets should expect those songs, which have not wavered from Mouse’s reliable sound. The band has also been rumored to have been long working on a follow-up album to 2007’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, so maybe some new material is in store.

Modest Mouse perform at The Fillmore Miami Beach, Wednesday, May 14. ~Hans Morgenstern, Independent Ethos