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Last Updated: Nov 6th, 2008 - 14:59:08 |
Playing the dark and seedy Larimer Lounge on the eve of Halloween, San Francisco garage rockers Leopold and His Fiction were scary good. Even scarier was the smallish crowd that came out to see what might be the brainchild of Detroit's best new songwriter since a guy named Jack White.
"(Jack White and I) are both from Detroit and I think it's evident that we grew up on the same kind of music, growing up about a mile from each other," said Daniel James, originator (the Leopold, if you will) of Leopold and His Fiction. "We're kind of from the same upbringing."
And at one point Leo consisted, much like the White Stripes, of just a simple drum and guitar combo. But after the departure of drummer Ben Cook, James added bassist Micayla Grace and drummer/keyboardist Jon Sortland. Armed with a kit on his right and a vintage Farfisa organ on his left, Sortland maintains driving percussions while, at the same time, adding haunting organ chords to Leo's musical sentiments. Meanwhile, Grace's deep, brooding bass lines help solidify James' screeching lyricism and manic, gospel- and blues-inspired ax rants.
"The right musicians have fallen into place and now I feel like our future's going to be great," James said. "In the last six months our band has accomplished more than I've seen some bands do in five or 10 years."
Predictable in the best kind of way, Leo and His Fiction lull the listener with heavy, soulful standards before interrupting their mulish melodies with gritty guitar rock that kicks and screams its way to the forefront, creating classic rock with a contemporary feel.
"We definitely have a vintage rock sound," James said. "And with the instruments we're using – analog and vintage – it comes out sounding that way."
Check out a review of Leopold and His Fiction's debut album Ain't No Surprise in next week's Audiofiles.
Lynx
Turning the hippie scene on its ear, Rocky Mountain native Lynx is one cool cat. On tour with String Cheese spinoffs EOTO, Zilla and Michael Kang, Lynx opened (along with Zilla's Jamie Janover) Nov. 1 at the Ogden in front of a crowded house, displaying remarkable talent in every aspect of dance and house music, from unique acoustic styling to hip-hop know-how. And the girl's beatboxing tears the roof off the old, dusty, jam-band image.
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