TBC
*Some Points In between
CD and DVD Media Collection
The Banana
Convention has expanded their vision with this enormous multimedia project. The
music is superb and the lyrical themes have a coming of age relevance that
speaks of diverse themes such as adult love relationships political awareness,
class warfare and life as a traveling musician. The band is hitting on all its
cylinders. Shar Molina is stands front and center as the focal point of the
band. She has emerged as uniquely soulful vocalist and has found her voice. She
is emboldened by her road worn maturity and through her liberation she has
gained a growing sense of identity. She is discovering who she is. Each one of
the supporting musicians is critical in the scaffolding of Shar Molina’s growing
craft. Sean Drysdale is a monster musician and is the conscious of the band.
Monte Nothelfer is the visionary, the leader. Chris Howard has become the
earthen warrior pounding out the beats as a message to his comrades – the great
communicator. The guitarist Jake Voisine
just may be the heart of the band with his fluid lines are more than just
notes. They are the color of BC’s musical landscape.
Some Points
In Between and all of the live tracks were mixed and mastered at the Reed Recording Company.
Live audio
engineers: Matt Harvey, Matt Hulcul and Monte Nothelfer. All the live tracks
were recorded at the Bay City Mason’s Lodge except:
Head:
Recorded in Austin; Entertainer: recorded in LA; Taking Back The Fun: recorded
in Denver; Fine, Dammit: recorded in Dallas: Jessica Fletcher; recorded in
Chicago
The CD review
follows…
So, strap on
your seatbelt and secure the safety bar, you are about to enter BC’s high speed chase for the holy grail through a
filmed tour of shocking unspeakable musical statements that turn you upside
down and rival the Aerosmith ride @ Disney. Let’s go…
Grand Illusion is neither soul nor rock though
there are elements of both in this energetic workout. Drysdale’s bass line is
solid and the rhythm guitar is funky while the tough drum pattern has just
enough restraint to give the song some space. This has Indie all over it and
its better than most everything you hear on Top Forty Radio. Its theme speaks
volumes to any touring musician. Welcome to life on the stage
Head gets your attention right away – it
forces you to listen to it and in the bridge you can dance your ass off. Jake
Voisine’s fluid guitar strokes drive the rhythm section to dizzying heights of
reptilian passion, rock hard and ready to go. Iggy Pop meets the Raspberries.
Everyone needs a little Head (room).
There is a
musical interlude that segues to The
Entertainer. It’s an unassuming,
funky little rocker that gallops through the song at a frantic pace. It’s about
the truth behind the lie - the dark side of being in a hardworking touring
band. This is a tribute to all the musicians and bands who work their ass off
for nickels and dimes and it’s just enough scratch to pay the bills –
sometimes. But onstage the singer sings her song and makes you smile. It’s alright…in the moment
Two Houses is built around an insistent minor
chord pattern that evokes the backdrop for this breakup song. Molina’s vocals
are mature and nuanced. She gets a lot of mileage from every syllable. She
doesn’t just spit the lyrics out she embraces them like a sensitive and giving
lover. Molina sings about loss and love from a worldly perspective. She stands
outside of the pain and is triumphant as she sings about “a sad little thing
that no one knows.”
Saddled (with no tears) is a mid-tempo rocker with a
prominent in yer face John Bonham nuclear drum lesson. Howard drives the tempo
with an ancient tribal beat that that signals an attack. Shar’s vocal presence
is incredible from straight up and in your face or coy and tart with a few
gymnastic vocal asides. The great irony of this song is that love is broken up
and battered and yet the singer’s tears are dried up. There is nothing more to
grieve. It is done.
The New Guy is Monte Nothelfer’s tour-de-force,
a tongue-in-cheek brilliant song. It has a boy likes girl – girl ain’t having
any scenario. You see… there’s a new guy in town and he’s hot - much hotter
than Monte. I’ll let Monte fill you in:
The new guy
is hotter than me – damn
He has perfect
skin and a real cool tattoo
He’s been
around, even to Madrid
Compared to
him, I’m kind of a dick
-
courtesy
of the wicked demented mind of Monte Nothelfer
LOVE IT!
Taking Back The Fun – recorded live in Colorado with
Nothelfer trading off lead vocals with Shar Molina. Is a high energy rocker
with a hard rockin’ backbeat and some sweet e-string leads by Jake Voisine.
Somehow TBC is able to end the song with an almost defiant exclamation Super
Freak
Call To Arms opens with Shar Molina doing a
cool-ass rap with a message of universal love and diversity…a call out to human
rights and involvement in the democratic process. She addresses us as Sisters
and Brothers insists that we leave negativity at the door. It’s as political as
it gets and it speaks to the entrenched class warfare in America. This needs to
be said. It must be spoken
Go Fly a Kite has a heavy backbeat up front in the
mix and pushes the band to catch up or die. Voisine is on fire doing heavy
metal Chuck Berry riffs like he’s ringing a church bell. This is one of the
best songs I’ve heard in recent years
Folded. The drummer creates an intricate jazzy percussive pattern. Molina’s voice
emerges and comes to the forefront. Howard picks up the pace and the frantic
breathless tempo rages forward at breakneck speed. Molina screams above the
wall of sound, “Subtract and Multiply. We’ve folded.” This is one of the most
pertinent political statements by any artist since CSN recorded Ohio seventeen
days after the shootings at Kent State.
Fine, Dammit! is a high energy rocker that has some
righteous Alanis Morrisette anger folded into the lyrics. “Send me a
self-addressed letter and I might write you back someday”…hmm. The bluesy
middle eight makes it all real – for a minute. But when Voisine goes ape shit
on a Townshend-esque rapid speed strumming tutorial it becomes a free for
all. Everything ends well, it’s ok. How
could it be otherwise.
Jessica Fletcher is a TBC oldie and it has practice
what you preach message that isn’t quite delivered. It is more like a modern Sermon
on the Mount that rails against deceit, cruelty and lies. But there are too
many years of false promises –t just another set of tales from the crypt. It’s
not just corruption in government and Wall Street; it’s about you and me and
the small ways we betray each other. It is signaled by the lack of everyday
courtesies - a simple hello or opening a door for someone. It’s No Country for
Old Men.
The mood
shifts and Molina begins Safe and Sound,
a soulful journey through love’s depths. She sings “I’m there for you” despite
the hidden pain, the ambivalence within all love relationships. She’s hip to
the double-edged coin of love and hate in the lovers’ bed. It is a grave
disappointment when you discover love’s perfect imperfection.
A perfect
end to a disc filled with truth and no small measure of ambivalence about love,
music and the state of the world. This is a credible leap to relevance by a maturing band.
The DVD is
an incredible document, flaws and all. The band members act as if the cameras
are running. They don’t seem to require makeup for blemishes or towels to wipe
off the sweat. They don’t pose or play rock star. They don’t do a rock star
primp and strut. It was shot by three separate cameras that give it a documentary
feel. In word and deed it is a documentary of one of Michigan’s most evolved
bands.
The DVD disc
opens with Shar Molina’s wordless double tracked vocals and a cascading
soundscape of heavenly harmonies. It evokes a sense of transcendence that is
painted in day-glow colors and reflected within a prism of other-worldly love…
If you want
to see and hear the real truth about Some Points In Between you can buy the
package for only $10 @ www.FunTBC.com website
Peace
Bo white
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