Rest In Beat

issue #40: rest in beat

Welcome back to another edition of The Beat, your go-to guide to art, culture, and DIY in Boston. The beginning of a new semester marks a new season, and all across the city, leaves are falling, winds are chilling, and boots are being laced. This month, our theme is “Rest In Beat,” in celebration of death, rebirth, and all things ghoulish. We’ve got a spooky Sidney Gish interview, a calendar of scary-good gigs, and lots of Halloween inspiration. Thanks for picking up a copy, we’ll see ya on the other side. ~

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the beat

heads will roll - yeah yeah yeahs go - grimes (ft. blood diamonds) make a wish - the garden vacant lot - the growlers normal person - arcade fire rat house - shannon and the clams little dark age - mgmt trick or treat dancefloor - cherry glazerr they are night zombies!! they are neighbors!! they have come back from the dead!! ahhhh! sufjan stevens tokyo witch - beach house

<3 julia bertelli

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SUNDAY

MONDAY 16

14 OCTOBER 15 * = 21+

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tigers jaw @ the sinclair 7pm

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courtney barnett @ house of blues 7pm

wavves/beach fossils @ paradise 7pm

look vibrant / looks like mountains @ dorchester art project 8pm

gus dapperton @ disposable america halloween the sinclair 7pm spook-tacular! @ o’brien’s 8pm

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ron gallo @ brighton music hall 7pm

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WEDNESDAY

TUESDAY

i’m glad it’s you / shiver. / val verde @ o’brien’s 8pm

national saxophone day

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L L W

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THURSDAY 18

tigers jaw @ the sinclair 7pm (2 nights)

FRIDAY 19

prom do-over @ once somerville 8pm

SATURDAY 20

mitski @ house of blues 7pm (sold out)

big thief @ paradise 7pm

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porches / girlpool @ somerville theatre 8pm

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pile / spirit of the

tune-yards / u.s. girls @ paradise 8pm

deep cuts deli halloween benefit @ o’brien’s 8pm (the way ways/glass house/settler/prior panic) *

beehive @ sinclair 7pm

1 NOVEMBER

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IAN SWEET/young jesus / sean henry @ great scott 6pm puppy problems/crooked spine/tuxis giant/moonish brute @ trixie’s 8pm

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national clean our your refrigerator day

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toro y moi / dizzy fae @ royale 6:30pm

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yellow days / MorMor @ the sinclair 7pm

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slothrust @ the sinclair 8pm broncho @ great scott 8:30pm

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<3 alyssa kelliher, audrey sutter, charlotte beatty, & maggie leone

Sagittarius: After a long summer of retrogrades, you are finally falling back into step. Late October, Mars enters your sign filling you with energy and ambition. You are Amy Winehouse’s 2006 classic Back to Black.

You’re blunt, assertive, and sultry this month.

Capricorn: You are powerful, focused, and witty Capricorn, but you would rather work yourself to death than go out and relax with your friends. Chill out this month, you deserve it. You might feel like your intuition and observational powers are heightened this month. Don’t overthink, relax. Turn on Marvin Gaye’s 1971 classic, What’s Goin’ On.

Libra: Your usual social butterfly self will be at it’s best this month as the sun circles back around to your sign. You’re charming, lively, and better yet, it’s your birthday.

Have your cake and eat it too. Listen to Selena’s 1994 hit, Amor Prohibido.

Scorpio: Embrace Freddie Mercury’s wildness this month and let his spirit drive your success.

Stay positive this month and jam to Queen’s self-titled album from 1973. Keep this Freddie quote in mind as you mark your mark: “I won’t be a rockstar. I will be a legend.”

Aquarius: You are the late, great David Bowie’s Blackstar. You’ve always been a bit of a black sheep yourself. Your mortality will become very clear to you this month, so tread carefully. Think of how you’d want people to remember you and change your morals accordingly.

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Leo The dust is settling, Leo. Take control of how you spend time in your own head. Let Mac Miller’s latest album, Swimming, remind you to remember “Self Care” as you explore all that this month has to offer. Keep your head high, groove to “Ladders,” and let yourself glow.

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Aries: You’re no stranger to controversy, Aries. You’re blunt, hold nothing back, and approach life with unbridled charisma and confidence. This will be a socially fulfilling month for you, as many planets approach your seventh house. The only way to listen to Aretha Franklin is to listen to Aretha Franklin live, so this October you are 1971’s Live at the Fillmore West.

Taurus: Love is on your mind this October, Taurus. Don’t have anyone to do a corny couples costume with you, don’t rush it.

Focus on yourself and let whatever comes, come. You are strong-willed, stubborn, and powerful. Let Big Brother Holding Company’s 1968 classic Cheap Thrills and Janis Joplin’s energy and emotion get you through October.

Pisces: People often mistake your softness for weakness. This month you’ll have to focus up and start making moves towards your future. You have the wit, adaptability, and depth to get there. You are Biggie’s 1997 album, Life After Death. “Never get high on your own supply,” Pisces.

Gemini: Be free, you crazy Gemini!

October is your month. Embrace your malleability and your passion, but be sure not to retreat into yourself.

Listen to Prince’s 1999 and dance with strangers. Go out and party like it’s 1999.

Cancer Your creativity runs deep, Cancer.

You’ll be taking on new projects this month, so don’t shy away from embracing deep focus. Maintain your chill with Elliott Smith’s Either/Or as you dive into your imagination and enjoy the arrival of autumn. You shine when you are content and expressing!

Virgo: Your attention to detail will be advantageous as Halloween draws nearer and you need to craft your costume. Use Chester Bennington from Linkin Park as your inspiration — listen to Hybrid Theory to see how your month will turn out “In the End.”

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Here at The Beat, there are a few topics we just can’t get enough of: sick gigs, DIY, and Sidney Gish. From being one of our first “Locals to Look For” to getting her own Pitchfork review (7.7 rating, baby !!) and touring with Mitski, Sidney Gish is slaying the scene and no one can stop her. Our Beat queen Danya Trommer chatted with Sidney about the evolution of her songwriting process, what it’s like to truly be doing-it-yourself, and more!

Interview edited for length and clarity. Full interview on wtburadio.org <3

Danya Trommer: You’ve come a really long way from where you’ve first started out. From your oldest song, “It’s Snowy In Here” to everything on No Dogs Allowed. What do you think is the biggest creative difference in your process between when you were creating those songs versus everything on No Dogs Allowed?

Sidney Gish: When I was creating songs really early, like when I was in high school, I didn’t really want to work hard on them because they would turn out less than perfect and they sounded embarrassing in the end. All the takes I was pissed at myself. Like “Oh my god, I’m so bad at this!” was in the back of my head every single time as I was doing every track, which made every recording I did sound dorky, but in a bad way. That’s a bad way to phrase it, but there’s a very extreme self awareness. I was also so focused on making sure it sounded perfect in the end and matched what was in my head when I didn’t know how to mix music yet. I just knew what I wanted it to sound like, and whenever it came out not like that I got so mad at myself.

But once I put out an album of what I had finished, I realized some of my friends even liked it even though I didn’t think it was perfect, so then I was like “Now I just have to make an album that’s better than this one,” so I did that five times. Now all I have to do is make an album better than No Dogs Allowed.

DT: So you do everything on your own, right?

SG: Yup. Working that way is the way that I enjoy releasing albums, at least for now while I’m still learning how to do all this: how to mix, how to write songs, how to even play guitar properly. A lot of it I feel like I’m faking: faking being a guitar player, faking being an engineer, faking mastering my own music. I’m still learning about the details about how all of it works. I really like to be the only one responsible so I can try out whatever I want. I honestly just don’t want to be hurting anyone. I still want to do it myself while I’m figuring out what I even want to do.

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DT: Now, as a student in Boston, your song “Sophisticated Space” really spoke to me – I don’t know if that’s what it’s about. What was your thought process was with making that song?

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SG: I was walking through the Museum of Fine Arts, and I was like, [hums riff]. So I made a voice memo of only that part. Then when I put it into Logic, I started doing other stuff around it. The lyrics don’t have a centralized theme; it’s mainly just me being sad and stomping around. The grooviest sad is what I was going for.

DT: I really like that song, but my favorite on the album was “New Year’s Eve.” That song makes me really anxious, not the actual sound of it, but talking about the eleventh hour and stuff like that.

SG: Yeah, the clock ticking down forever and ever. That was my thought process behind “New Year’s Eve.” I’m getting older, the year’s getting older, it’s the eleventh hour, the clock is ticking down, time happens, what the fuck. I really liked that riff, and I had recorded it with an entire arrangement last September and it sounded so bad because I was, again, freaking out like, “This sucks.” The vocal takes came out like I hated myself.

I sounded so sad on them, so I was like, “This recording is bad and also I don’t like the way I wrote this now,” so I forgot about it for a while. Then I was like, “Oh, I need one more song on No Dogs Allowed. Should I bring that recording back?” But then I thought that, no, it literally sucks, so I’m just going to do a voice memo instead–also because I wanted to have a voice memo on there to make the other songs look better in comparison. I was freaking out about which one my production was worst on, so I decided to put a voice memo in there like, “This one has the worst production. Now you can put your album out, because you know which one is the worst one.”

DT: So what is your training with music? How far back have you been playing guitar for?

SG: I’ve been playing chords on guitar since middle school. I only started to really get into learning scales maybe a year or two ago. I really tried to get going on playing guitar, because my main thing was I really loved writing songs and I really liked learning about music theory. I would read about chord progressions on Wikipedia and try to harmonize them. I would play around with harmonizing in GarageBand a lot, but I couldn’t really play guitar that well. I really just liked to play ukulele. I played the chords on the ukulele and came up with progressions, but it’s still on the ukulele. I started playing guitar more when I got to college because I thought it was super interesting. I was like, “Electric guitar looks fucking cool!

That looks more fun than the ukulele.” I started playing live with electric guitar and then as I started playing more shows, I realized I was not playing guitar properly. I started trying to practice more mindfully and doing scales, and I’m still trying to do that. I’m still trying to focus on different areas to improve on. I used to be focused on improving songwriting structure as much as possible, now [that] I’ve practiced that a lot I’d like to focus on mixing and guitar playing.

DT: Does No Dogs Allowed have a central theme?

SG: The central theme is probably me rushing to finish it. I had parts of it written that I really wanted to have in there, like some certain riffs. A few of the songs, I just needed more songs so I made them right away, like “Not But For You, Bunny.” Some I put in so they could have worse production than the others, like “New Year’s Eve.” Some I put in since they sounded really groovy – then I was freaking out about what vocal effect to use – like “Sophisticated Space.” It’s just a series of decisions that all kind of piled on top of each other.

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spooky twitter name generator birth month january - undead february - phantom march - grave april - haunted may - skeletal june - witch july - funky august - caged september - shriek october - spooky november - slime december - tricky

first letter of last name a - goblin n b - teeth o c - beetle p d - heads q e - exoplasm f - cauldron r g - weasel s h - swamp t i - slug u j - ghost v k - orange w l - troll x m - banshee y z

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pumpkin worm witch screech

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skeleton ghoul frog zombie creature rat spirit shadow shack

<3 emma simonoff 10

the beat

Haunted Places to Visit in Boston In a city as old as Boston, there’s bound to be some ghosts roaming the streets. Here are some local haunts where you might be able to see one of these wicked specters yourself.

OMNI PARKER HOUSE - downtown When a hotel is the basis for a Stephen King novel, you can assume it’s pretty haunted.

The Omni Parker House was built in 1855, and the 3rd floor has been home to some ghostly antics over the years. Visitors have reported light orbs, spooky shadows, bathwater turning on by itself, and even Charles Dickens’ ghost.

COPP’S HILL GRAVEYARD - north end It seems like you can’t walk a block in Boston without running into a graveyard somewhere along the way. Copp’s Hill has specifically has been a target of many a grave robbing, perhaps explaining why visitors have seen orbs, ghostly little girls, and other apparitions.

THE LIBERTY - beacon hill The Liberty, now a hotel, was formerly the Charles Street Jail. The jail famously housed Malcolm X, German World War II POWs, suffragettes, and more.

The hotel has maintained much of the jail’s original structure-- and its spookiness.

BOSTON COMMON - downtown While it might seem like a friendly, grassy park, the Common has a pretty creepy history-namely, being used as a public execution site for over 175 years. There don’t seem to be too many reports of hauntings nowadays, but you can try your luck if you’re brave enough.

<3 sophie sachar rest in beat

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<3 ruby schwat

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Every issue, the staff at The Beat take a trip to local thrift stores, consignment stores, and the like to find you — the reader — the most cost-effective ways to look great. This issue, we’re talking Halloween. Everybody knows that you need a costume if you wanna be the king or queen of Halloween, and yet not everybody knows just how expensive the dang things can be! Don’t get too spooked though, because The Beat is here to get you looking frightening without breaking the bank!

Item 1: Yellow and Pink Floral Button Down - $4.99 This ghostly look starts with a good button down. Complete with some giant roses and some other, more vague plant imagery, this silk (?) shirt screams nightclub death.

Perfect for those who like the concept of luxury but prefer to stay away from real luxury (which is like a meta-statement on the whole yacht rock revival I guess).

Item 2: Black Jeans - $4.75 I shouldn’t really have to explain this one. Black jeans go with everything, and with a top this busy and bright and covered in colors, some highly simple pants are refreshing. If they’re a bit long then cuff them, if they’re a bit short then just say they’re cropped. You really can’t go wrong.

Item 3: Casio CTK 350 Keyboard - $9.99 A really essential find, this keyboard is an accessory that will have everybody at the function wondering if you died in the 90s and haunt the apartment.

For those who enjoy playing music but are embarrassed when their music sounds too well produced or contemporary. Perfect for Halloween.

By now, you should be looking incredibly spooky, so hit the streets and collect some treats! Flex responsibly! <3 paul stokes

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ENEMIES of ENEMIES // Orson & the Rosebuds This month’s release from Boston locals Orson & the Rosebuds is a live one, containing reimagined, revamped versions of the group’s old songs from their first album, Friends of Friends. That being said, it is full of different — and sometimes conflicting — musical directions. This isn’t a deal breaker, though. The sweeping guitar riffs and Tessa Berliner’s clear, calm vocals on “Spectronoma” provide a stark contrast from the rest of the album, a conglomerate of infectious indie summer bops this generation deserves. “Up to Speed” and “Grow Up” are the album’s fist-pumping singalongs. “Hits” even pulls in some seventh chords for the jazz listener. Though the album is a bit disjointed, it is still unapologetically raw. The Rosebuds are certainly on their way to finding their sound and their place in Boston’s local indie scene.

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<3 audrey sutter the beat

Fire is Motion // Audiotree Live Session For a more non traditional approach to Bandcamp reviews, I’ve decided to review the New Jersey rock outfit Fire is Motion’s Audiotree Live session. The session was released Sept 20 through Audiotree’s Bandcamp page.

An Audiotree session is often a stepping stone in musicians’ careers. The Chicago-based record label produces weekly live sessions from artists of all walks of life, from smaller CHI town natives to more seasoned vets.

Fire is Motion is a indie folk collective that has recently broken free of the confines of the New Jersey DIY scene. The band blends a charming mix of Midwest emo, rock, and folk across the six songs on the EP. The set list is comprised of songs from Fire is Motion’s two EPs Still, I Try and Days 1-7.

Each of the songs flow nicely into each other, as the band kicks off the set with the minimal-sounding “Yesterday’s Coffee.” The rest of the setlist crescendos into the anthemic, dynamic “How Long to Get Home.”

The session’s production is clean while managing to not sound overproduced, a common theme across Audiotree sessions.

Overall, Fire is Motion performs to its strengths on its Audiotree session and shows signs of progress from being a heavy-weight in the New Jersey DIY scene to becoming a nationally recognized group.

<3 zach mccollum

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<3 ruby schwat

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R.I.P

R E .

P .

R.I

. ER

You can tell it has really happened, because when you say, “Oh yeah, I saw them at the ER” The inevitable response goes a little like, “Oh man, I miss that place.”

And when you walk by the unassuming house, you can’t hear muffled bass lines anymore.

Saying goodbye to the ER turned a page that no one was ready to flip.

And now we’re Lost.

Gone are the nights When you make the short trek from the Harvard Ave T stop (Or Uber last minute, because you don’t want to miss the first band.)

Your hand won’t be stamped, There won’t be a smiley face drawn in sky blue Sharpie.

You’ll no longer hear “Don’t stand in the driveway,” or the sweet, sweet songs of your favorite local (or touring !!) artists and your friends.

(I mean you can, but it just won’t be the same, will it?)

And maybe you’ll see that person you met outside between sets another time, Smoking, smiling, sharing stories as if you’d known each other since middle school.

Or maybe not.

Goodbye to the grimy bathroom (you were never comparatively that bad), the Wall of Shame, the red squiggles, the collaged stairway.

Already the denim-clad kids wander aimlessly, whispering, “Remember when…,” As they look for fresh basements to haunt With a 40 and cheap wine in hand.

The Womb gave birth to the ER And now through some sick, twisted circle of life: dead.

<3 olivia gehrke

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The rumors whispered by ghouls and gals around Allston are saying that r.i.p. girls are the hottest new undead band around. A little bit funky and a little bit sad, the band (partially composed of former Beat stars !!) gets you in mood to dance, as tears gently roll down your cheeks. They took a break from grooving to answer five deadly q’s as we roll into the spookiest season of them all.

Describe your music in one phrase.

Kailen Santos: Spacegaze disco sludge.

Julia LiPuma: We r a mix of sad binch and love urself dance around the kitchen in my underwear!!!!

Elise Roche: Groovy reverb with silly song titles.

Julia Barbier: Depressed! at the disco.

Luke Osenberg: Spunky.

What’s the spookiest encounter you’ve ever had?

KS: Stopping in the woods on a road trip and hearing a chupacabra.

JL: One time a raccoon hissed at me in broad daylight.

ER: Every time I have seen a centipede.

JB: Spooky things tend to leave me alone, but my tarot cards can be pretty spooky sometimes.

LO: When you’ve got that vacuum effect going on in ur apartment and those doors start closing themselves eek.

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What Halloween costume do you wish would die out and never be worn again?

KS: Rick Sanchez—it’s been done!!!

JL: Everyone needs to stop being the scream. U r not scary u r just basic!!!!

ER: Pocahontas.

JB: Where’s Waldo. I don’t care where he is.

LO: I wish every cat costume could be a Mr. Potato Head.

Who or what were you in a past life?

KS: Alex Trebek’s father.

JL: I was Medusa in a past life.

ER: A black cat.

JB: My psychic told me that I was a mean macho man who wasn’t nice to women :/ LO: A finch bc perching > standing My DIY tombstone would say “Remembered for…”

KS: Not wanting a tombstone.

JL: My stupid jokes that are not funny unless repeated over and over until the mix of unfunniness and being annoying becomes a big ole ball of laughter <3 ER: Short person, loud voice, many keyboards.

JB: Being most frequently seen at ritual arts.

LO: Wearing his meals on his shirt :((

<3 olivia gehrke

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spooky recipe trick

or

treat rice crispy treat

ingredients rice krispies (or lucky charms) marshmallows butter optional: frosting, sprinkles put marshmallows and butter in a bowl and microwave until melted. stir in cereal. put mixture on a clean workspace and flatten. cut into fun, spooky shapes like a ghost or a bat. optional: frost shapes and decorate with sprinkles! <3 emma simonoff

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Beats & Eats

Local restaurants recommended by local musicians reviewed by local punx Restaurant: Sabor do Brasil Recommended by: Elise Roche of r.i.p. girls

Olivia: Even though Sabor do Brasil sits just a block from La Mama’s (the scariest of Beats and Eats recs), it proved to be far from a tragic experience. A lil buffet of sides–which included fresh pico, some classic rice and beans, and assorted salads–greeted us inside the front of the nondescript dive.

And once we plated some hefty scoops, we got to choose from a heavenly assortment of slow-roasted meats. (I opted for the succulent, seasoned chicken!) I appreciate when the basics are done well, and in that regard, Sabor do Brasil nailed it (and at a v fair price, too !!)

Kristen: If you’re looking for an inexpensive meal without sacrificing quality, be sure to hit up Sabor do Brasil. I kept it simple (as always) with white rice and slow-roasted steak and boy was that some good steak. It was juicy, it was salty, it was savory, and at just under $5 for all this and a can of coke, I’ll be coming back here for sure.

Plus, if you’re looking for a pre-gig dinner it’s right down the block from Brighton Music Hall and a short walk from the Great Scott.

<3 olivia gehrke + kristen lay

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MAD LIBS! Legend has it that in ___________ a student [year]

mysteriously went missing in __________. It all [BU residence]

began when this student was returning from __________ [place]

well past midnight on Friday the _______, the [date of month]

__________ day of the year. He had a(n) ____________ [superlative]

[adjective]

sensation that someone might be following him, and even briefly saw the shadow of a ________, but he just [noun]

hurried on home. Finally home, he went to unlock his door but his __________ was/were ___________ so badly [body part]

[verb ending in -ing]

he dropped his ___________. But when he went to pick [plural noun]

them up they weren’t there. Suddenly someone covered his ________________ with a _______________ so no one [different body part]

[noun]

could hear him ____________. [verb]

No one is sure what happened next but some say they’ve seen the student’s ___________________ [same plural noun]

in

various spots throughout _________________________. [same BU residence]

<3 kristen lay

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HAUNTED HAIKUS so many costume ideas, so little time. guess i’ll be steve jobs <3 ss

my niche costume just ends up looking like a failed children’s art project :( <3 og

empty toys r us old abandoned sears buildings corporate halloween Witches and ghouls lurk, <3 audrey sutter Deadlines are approaching quick, Who to fear, but work? <3 aa + pj Each year gets harder What should I be this time, I guess a moth works. <3 ruby s Halloweekend, shit!

Allston streets filled with drunk cats.

Let me get through please. <3 ruby s

THE BEAT IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY WTBU get @ us on social media!

EDITOR-IN-C: sophie sachar

FACEBOOK: facebook.com/ thebeatboston

CONTENT ANGEL: paul stokes

ISSU: issu.com/thebeatofboston

GRAPHIX GURU: ruby schwat

TWITTER/INSTA: LAYOUT LUVER: audrey sutter @wtbu

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QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? CONCERNS? LONELY? WE ARE TOO! EMAIL: wtbu.thebeat@ gmail.com 23