In early 2007, my stepfather Peter and I were sitting next to his wood stove drinking coffee and talking about music. I mentioned that I was thinking about starting a vinyl collection. I had flirted with records back in the late ‘90s after receiving a cheap Sony turntable as a present. But I had donated it and my fledgling collection to a friend before a cross-country move.

As we talked, I told him that there had been a lot of press about LPs lately, signs that lots of folks were buying records, and labels and bands were pressing vinyl and pairing it with mp3 downloads. Obviously amused that another old thing had become new again, he told me there were at least a few boxes of records out in one of his barns. Curious, I suggested we check them out.

His memory served us both: We found four heavy, sealed cardboard boxes and hauled them back into the house, one by one. As the old dry tape gave way and I opened each box, that distinct dusty smell of moldy record sleeves wafted out.

I saw both early promise and amusing red flags: I recognized the sleeve for Talking Heads’ Fear of Music not from my recent music memory, but from our living room when I was a kid. Likewise with Madonna, Rod Stewart, and The Pointer Sisters. But then I saw a Brian Eno record. Discreet Music. I wasn’t expecting that. And an ancient Muddy Waters LP. Then there was a huge stash of classical, which, I’ll admit, meant nearly nothing to me. Names went on and on: Pharoah Sanders, Eric Satie, Bob Marley, and, of course, the Beatles.

I asked if I could borrow the boxes, and he agreed on the spot. After all, the reminded me, they had lived in various barns for at least 20 years.

Later that day I realized that, from classical through to folk and blues, then ‘60s rock ‘n’ roll, ‘70s experimental music and reggae, then the cocaine-gloss of all the ‘80s pop, this was Peter’s musical history in several chapters. In fact, it occurred to me that one could tell the story of Baby Boomers largely through their record collections.

I’ve now decided to pull one record at a time from the stacks. It may be random; it may be something I’ve been listening to for a while. I’ll listen to it, write about my impressions, and then do a little research to find out what the album’s story is. And occasionally, I’ll check in with Peter and find out, for example, why the hell he bought Tubular Bells or The Selecter’s Celebrate the Bullet.

I’m calling this series After the Gold Rush because that’s what I consider this stash of plastic: a lucky strike of memories, music, and a classic format that was abandoned long before its time. It has its ups and downs, sure, but there’s gold in them there boxes—and I’m determined to find it.

Matt Bushlow is a freelance writer living in Burlington, Vt.

So this is what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna give em to you. Two tickets to see Of Montreal at Higherground on July 31st, to one lucky person, cause we love our fans and we know our fans love Of Montreal. We’ll be choosing the winner at random from our Facebook Fans, so if you’re a fan, thank you – all you need to do is comment on our facebook wall that you want the tickets to be eligible! – if you’re not a facebook fan you might want to be!

The Winner will be decided early next week!

Hi, my name is Amanda. You might remember me if you stopped by the Pop any time between May 2004 and October 2004. Or if you were at the OP anytime after 10pm between May ’04 and October ’04. Or if you picked up Pretty and Nice’s first record. That’s me, the one awkwardly running though the ocean. I put in about five years in the record store circuit before moving to Burlington, so it seemed like kind of a no-brainer when I was hired. Pure Pop was without a doubt, the best, and not just because I’m guest-blogging (Ed note: We also paid her handsomely for this article). I left town with a heavy heart, leaving behind a ton of friends, the Pop, the Penny Cluse, City Market, Eye Spys, that thrift store in the basement of that church… In Burlington, I learned how to juggle, how to drink, how to ride my bike drunk, some key phrases in Serbo-Croation, and that there were more jam bands than I ever thought possible… One of my favorite memories from my short time at the Pop was when this guy, probably a UVM student, came by and said, I’m looking for this cd… it’s kind of a weird name… I gave him a, “How the hell would I know?” look, then said, “Devendra Banhart?” And he was like “YEAH!” It was awesome.

Since then, I’ve been living in Portland, Maine, which isn’t too far from where I grew up. Other than the quickly diminishing pool of normal, single guys to go out with, I love living here. You should visit! Up until this fall, I was working for a national non-profit, 9-5, as an administrative assistant. We had casual Fridays and dental insurance. It was weird, like I was an adult, or something. But I’m back in school full time, and working at a coffeeshop. Typical, right? Musically, I’m guessing I’m probably listening to most of the same things you guys are listening to. This public radio show, Sound Opinions, the world’s only rock and roll talk show, has sort of filled the gap where my old job as a record store clerk used to be. Emphasis on sort of. So when I was trying to come up with my list, I was thinking, “What could I make my list about and not look like a total d-bag??” The last album I bought was, ah, oh right, this band Lightning Dust, and I think before that was the Dirty Dancing Soundtrack (Patrick Swayze, RIP!)

So, we have this free, monthly alternative paper here called the Bollard. There is nothing comparable in Burlington that I know of, mostly because Seven Days is great and there is no need for an alternative, alternative paper. The Bollard recently made a list of the top ten local cds of the decade. It was pretty pretentious, but it got me thinking about our local scene here, and I thought maybe, I’d share my thoughts. Most of these people are my friends, frenemies, local bartenders, baristas, etc, and this is not by any means a complete list.

Top ten bands out of Portland, ME, According to Amanda Pleau

1. Cult Maze (see also: Metal Feathers, Brenda)

Cult Maze, although now defunct, except for an annual Homecoming Dance reunion, were really amazing, and I’m sad to say that no one will quite live up. I know they played in Burlington a couple of times, (with my bffs Pretty and Nice,) so you might have even had the chance to see them. Former members have gone on to play in Metal Feathers and Brenda, but neither are nearly as good as the original lineup. Isn’t that always the way?

2. Lady Lamb the Beekeeper

I recently described Aly Spaltro, the 4’10″ 19 year old who goes by the moniker Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, as this teeny tiny white girl who sounds like a 50 year old black woman. Not entirely sure if that’s completely accurate, but she writes some amazing songs. The kinds of songs you can only write when you’re 19, because you’re still full of hope and love. You can download her album on iTunes, and if you decide to check her out on MySpace, I recommend a track called Walrus.

3. Ocean

(I actually don’t listen to Doom Metal, but I hear they’re pretty amazing, as far as that sort of thing goes?)

4. Spencer Albee and the School Spirit Mafia or, Spencer Albee and the Polyphonic Mafia,

This most recent Spencer Albee incarnation has like, thirteen members, all really talented, mostly involved in other music projects. They’re really fun to see live, and Spencer, former member of the Rustic Overtones, one of Portland’s all time favorite local bands, is like the godfather of the scene.

5. Phantom Buffalo

MOJO magazine voted Shishimumu (their first album, still under the name the Ponys) the 42nd best album of 2005. I think they have a real chance to make it out of this town, and seeing them is always a pleasure. This Halloween they did a bunch of Devo covers at the party I was at. I’d recommend checking out “Be the Boss,” if you have a second.

6. Honey Clouds Confession:

this is my best friend’s band. They are the band that Paper Castles played with when they came through town, and if you don’t totally hate the singer’s voice, you might really like them.

7. Dead End Armory Further confession:

I can’t stand the singer of this band, but t hat doesn’t change the fact that he writes really good songs. The whole tortured-artist thing really works for this guy. They’re on hiatus at the moment, and part of me wishes he’d just go back to wherever the hell he came from.

8. Sontiago Sontiago

won the Portland Phoenix’s best hip hop artist for like five years in a row, until on she pulled her name out of the running. I think I was officially won over at her cd release, she brought Aly from Lady Lamb and Dilly Dilly (another Portland person) on stage and did a cover of Say My Name. It was SICK!

httpv://www.youtube.com/v/SiW1WLcMVgA&hl

9. Samuel James

Self-taught blues guitarist. Enough said. Worked at the video rental store for years, and all of a sudden, he’s like, touring now. Always an entertaining, fulfilling performance from Sam James.

10. Pete Kilpatrick

I only feel compelled to put this guy on the list because he’s actually touring, and because people in Burlington might actually know who he is. You know, the UVM people who are fans of Guster, Barenaked Ladies and Dave Mathews Band… that sort of sh- I mean stuff.

11. Feel It Robot

(are actually based out of Bangor, Maine… which might be the like the White River Junction of Maine?) They sing songs about dancing, riding bikes, robots and awesomeness. If there was a band comprised of things I daydream about, Feel It Robot would be it. I think the singer is a used car salesperson, and I have the biggest lady-crush on her. Seriously, she’s really hot. Something looks a little weird on their MySpace page, but MySpace is weird, so take their advice, and shut up and dance.

And just to put things into perspective, here’s a link to a blog all about how much the music scene in Portland sucks. Peapod Recordings is a local record label that a bunch of really great local musicians are on, including South China, Brown Bird, Huak. The Enchantments are another of my favorites, but they’ve been broken up for a long time now, and talking about them would make me feel sad. Marie Stella probably would have made the list, if I would’ve been able to get off my couch and actually make it to one of their shows one of these days. There’s a lot I didn’t cover here, but if you have any questions, or want to talk more about it, send me an email at amandajennifer@gmail.com

(The Interview)

Filmed in HD by NOTSOX, WARMTONES presents their debut video edition, featuring Burlington’s own MAUI. The duo is composed of Nick Campolo of Crinkles and Brian “Grass Mansion” Raymond. The guys sit down with host Ginevra Shay in their practice space at SEABA in the south end for a chat and then get down with a performance. In an exerpt from the interview Brian talks about the process of making music,”It’s all just free-form. We start off with some sounds and then just build from there, and if we like something we’ll visit it again.” Nick continues, “We often will sculpt it to become something similar every show. The flow of the set will be similar most times, but thats mostly just because of the sounds that we’re using. A lot of the times, it will be completely different.” See and hear for yourself, right at the comfort of your warm glowing computer monitor. But please, use headphones.

Here is the musical portion of the interview with Burlington’s own, Maui. Filmed in their practice space at SEABA in the south end.

Thanks for watching. See you next week for the latest edition of WARMTONES.

You + me = something

I worked for Pure Pop after many years of distracting its employees from doing that very thing…so it’s only fair.

Pure Pop was one of the last of my iconic Burlington jobs…and although I was fairly certain I was unqualified for all those previous positions, I was least qualified of all for Pure Pop. I mean, sure…I was cynical, sarcastic, and opinionated and with a soupcon (Ed. – You mean soup can, right?) of misanthropy…but what Vermonter isn’t? Of all those employable assets, last on the list was musical knowledge. I couldn’t tell my Pete Zorn from John Cage (Ed – Never even heard of John Zorn…) …I just liked drawing pick cards, eating chips and salsa and putting on my fair share of Zeppelin and Jethro Tull. After work I would join those fabulous co-workers at Metronome or Higher Ground to just shut the fuck up and listen…and that was rapture.

My whole lifetime in Burlington feels like one gigantic rock show…my memories from the years 2000-2006 smell like cigarettes and beer…but they have a great soundtrack. I wasn’t a fan of music before I moved out east, but a few accidental friendships turned into a backstage pass to the thrill of a live show.

I miss those shows. Now that I’m back here in Cincinnati (Doing great! Working here! Doing this!)

I wish I’d taken better notes and taken more pictures…So my list for this article are some of the top shows I saw in those days and with those people.

Beginning with Casey nearly dragging me to the Frank Black in-store at Pure Pop – I had no idea who Frank Black OR the Pixies were…and most of what I remember from that show was that I was standing in the midst of about 40 people that were all just staring at Black Francis…I felt the appreciation in the tiny cavern of Pure Pop…and seeing those people who were becoming my friends openly thankful of the opportunity to be in such a tiny audience lit the flame of being a fan in me.

When I was unemployed, I traded a bootleg copy of Photoshop for a space on the list of The Beta Band show at the Winooski Higher Ground. For that show, I went by myself, ran into a crush who was making out with another girl…and then the band came on the night exploded. I had seen them before in Olympic Park, but being in a club on a freezing February night felt so much more intimate…

The Coral – first in Montreal and second in Boston – Although I would never be so presumptuous to say that I discovered The Coral, I felt like I got in on the ground floor with these guys. The first time, Mia and I drove to Montreal with only the Skeleton Key EP to listen to. The Coral was the opening act that night…and we knew all the words even then…six months later, Mia and I drove to Boston to see them headline, with Jet as the opener. I skipped Jet (unfortunately) but was back in time to make my way to the front and watch this 6 piece band from Liverpool command the room.

Did you know that Sue Norton can defy gravity? That’s what happened during the Interpol show…again at HG in Winooski. It was during NYC that Mia and I looked over and Nortie was full on floating. If you know Sue, you know that’s a true story.

I first saw the band Tarantula at 242 (I think….this is where the better notes come in) and I can’t remember who turned me on to them, but I remember seeing them at least 2 more times in rapid succession…at Metronome and in the new Higher Ground’s second stage. I loved them from the first moment because the crowd they drew was fabulous…they pulled members of ever musical fandom…although the audiences were sort of small, it still felt like everyone was there.

I can’t leave out the local bands…but I can’t narrow down even my top ten shows…I will however say that if it wasn’t for Carrigan, The Cancer Conspiracy, Brett Hughes, Neil Cleary, Missy Bly, Charles (Dead or Alive, Swale, Led Loco, The Interior, The Magic is Gone, The Jazz Guys, Barbacoa, The Smittens and a million others, my life would have been so boring.

Muddy Waters has always been my favorite rainy day reading spot in town. The comfort it’s hobbit hole interior and yummy drinks provide sum up a lot of what I like so much about downtown Burlington. You can walk in there off the street any day and feel immediately like you belong. I had been aware of their live music experiment for some time, but never none of the acts had peaked my interest until I saw the bill for the Burlington return of the keyboard and drums duo Slingshot Dakota. I had caught them this past summer at The Monkey Bar and was blown away by their infectious positivity and songs about the importance of take care of those around you. This time, they were set to be playing with the locals Spirit Animal (members of In Memory of Pluto) and Plattsburgh’s Yo! Adrian.

As the chilly drizzle persisted outside, I settled myself into a booth with a pot of tea and my companions to kick back and enjoy the music. The Muddy’s folks had cleared out the sunken area near the window to serve as the stage. There was room to stand in front of the band in the lower level, while those in the back had the comfort of a raised level so they could still see. No only did this work out efficiently, but performing in front of a Main St. window proved to provide an unexpected extra element of entertainment.

Yo! Adrian brought the same fun as the last time they opened for Slingshot, and Spirit Animal gave us more of that Don Cabellero meets American Football that those Jandl brothers deliver so well.

As Carly, the keyboardist of Slingshot Dakota, waited for her partner on drums to set up his kit, she started playing theme songs for each group of people to pass by the window, hoping that they would stop and listen. Everyone walking down Main Street in Burlington seemed to be well amused by this game. As I remember, the most people  stopped while Carly played the windmill theme from Super Mario 64. But despite the recognizable ditties Carly warmed up with, it was Slingshot’s original songs that drew the biggest crowds to the window. They blasted through their set with such joy and energy, that they turned everyone’s rainy day frown upside down, even the fire marshall’s! Their debut album “Their Dreams are Dead But Ours is the Golden Ghost” was out last time they were in town, so there were a healthy number of sing-alongs this time around. The infamous cover of Fugazi’s “In the Waiting Room” was requested at the peak of the fervor to everyone’s delight. Throughout this spectacle, our fishbowl was tapped on, stared through blankly, waved at, and breathed upon.

It would be easy to brush Slingshot Dakota off because of the seemingly similar aesthetic of that other keys and drums pair Mates of State, but Slingshot hits a couple of my sweet spots that the Mates miss. One of these spots is musicians with a humble devotion to a message. Their songs are about sharing some serious friend love. Before playing one of their new tracks, entitled “Micheal Jordan Saved My Life,” the pair always take a moment to talk about the importance of being supportive of friends that have been subjected to sex crimes, and dedicate it to one of their pals. Plus, everything about these two is absolutely adorable and infectiously cute in a not even slightly nauseating way, and that’s rare to come by. Carly promised they’d be back in the next year, so don’t miss it.