KC2K11: The 20 Best KC Area Albums of 2011

Great year. 136 albums reviewed, more listened to, some just flat out skipped for sympathy. Some skipped for over-productiveness (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE). But I have to say that this project was and is a fantastic outlet for me, and has led me to a  greater appreciation of what this area produces.

So without worrying about feelings or agendas, here are my 20 favorite albums from the area I heard in 2011. (NOTE: I've tried to label the ones with 2010 that were released in 2010. If you're picky, just feel bad for all of the December albums I miss.)

20. HARSH REALITY: MMXI

The straight-fowardness of this hardcore album is endearing to every punk-sensibility I have. Nothing fancy, nothing overly technical. As I mentioned in my original review, an album of anger called '2011' that sounds like a late-90s hardcore album would be ironic, if the things to be angry about had changed in over 10 years. Alas, they haven't. In many ways, one of the most relevant albums of 2011.

19. THE GRISLY HAND: Safe House (2010)


This overly-folksy outfit has more in common with Fourth of July than, say, Union Station. Something intrinsically local about them is great. Fourth of July had one line that stuck with me when I was living in Illinois (where I'm from): "I hear in Texas it gets hot as shit / and I know Kansas 'cuz I burned in it." The Grisly Hand's song "Paris of the Plains" may as well have had the very line. From operating fair rides in Sedalia to dealing with shitty public transportation to trying to find a job. I'm absolutely in love with this album.

18. R. ANDREW LEE: Ann Southam, Soundings for a New Piano


There was a student as Indiana Statue University who received a grant to go to their School of Music. It was a fatty grant, too. And the dude wrote a song called "Pi" where he played a single note repeatedly:

Three times.
One time.
Four times
... and so on to the 100th or so place of Pi. Legend has it (as related to me by a student of the program) that audience members at his grant-mandated recital, which included donors and college sponsors, began leaving.  I tell you all of this so that you understand that there's a difference between shitty modern/contemporary music and good. This is good. If you really need an explanation, read the liner notes.

17. FURNITURE: The Decision


I contacted the band and had to ask if they were playing through VOX amps, because that's the only way you can get the kind of tone they put out on this album. They confirmed my suspicions. If you want fun pop, great recordings, and highly consumable music, I recommend Furniture. Listen, pop's not a dirty word, so I hope they're comfortable in their own skin.

16. CLAY HUGHES: The Whether Machine


This album is the perfect form of its genre, and a premonition you should all heed. Have you heard the new Yelawolf album? The music critic I trust the most loves it. The AV Club didn't. But AV Club pointed out something I agreed with: Yelawolf tried to record an Uncle Kracker song. The thing is, Uncle Kracker has an idea of what HE THINKS some kind of folks/blues/rap hybrid should sound like. Yelawolf tried to copy what someone else thought that ideal should be. Clay Hughes fucking aced it. I called it the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy of his genre, and I stand by this. Its highs and lows happen within the confines of what a sound should be, and goes to town on it. Does it suffer from it? Sure, but like the Kanye album referenced, it triumphs in the end and exists as an ideal for a sonic idea others who have tried have failed at.

15. ELSA RAE:  Plays Tiny Instruments


Hands down the greatest voice in the entire list. I harp on this a bit much. Nonetheless, her album has what should be a death sentence (ukulele, guys) and is carried by her voice. She makes a kazoo not as ridiculous as it sounds. I'd love to hear all of these songs reimagined for a Beach House set up with some synth and drums. Even without that dream, this album is a great set of songs I'd listen to over and over again.

14. RUTHLESS ANTARCTIC EMPIRE: You Know Better


Three sparse tracks that evoke a Saves the Day teenage prison (without the horrid mutilation of exes!) They're deceptive tracks that feel larger than they really are. Part of this depends on you filling in the sonic blank spots with what you've already learned from Bright Eyes, Death Cab for Cutie, the Decemberists, and similar. I can handle a codependency on pop-knowledge, and in many ways the awareness is commendable.  These aren't backhanded compliments, and the desolate, lonely images you find familiar aren't any less powerful in these three tracks.

13. ROOFTOP VIGILANTES: Real Pony Glue

Letting go feels good. There's a moroseness to drinking binges that are singularly indulgent, and an empathy towards those that lack a selfish destructiveness; those that have an awareness that this world's a shitty place and you're just gonna party until it's over. Bands like Titus Andronicus might list out everything wrong in one's life, but there's an amount of responsibility taken. Also, listing what's wrong doesn't necessarily imply a cry for sympathy. That's kinda what this does. Maybe Deer Tick was a better comparison? Regardless, it's fun. Maybe overthinking this one was a mistake. It's just fuckin good.

12. 18 CARAT AFFAIR: N. Cruise Blvd.


Denys Parker is one of the most innovative and creative musicians in the Kansas City area. This smaller set of tracks is a good entry point for people to either get into his music projects, or even to get into thinking of music as art, or to get into the 80s, or to get into music criticism. If you follow the Twitter feed, you probably suspect there'll be more 18 Carat Affair. You're a smart person.

11. CHOCOLATE VELVET: Aries


Mr. William Chaffin has put out about thirty billion songs between all of his music projects. Black Bullet Promise, Chocolate Velvet, and Vitae & the Pale Horse are just three of them, and they've all got high and low points. But I really had to just stop reviewing his albums because, even though I listened to all of them, that's a lot of coverage for one dude. So then, he goes and releases his best album at the end of the year after I've already made this decision. Chocolate Velvet is his project that's just a little bit funkier, a bit more polished. And the tracks may be more independent of each other than, say, V&tPH, the album's are more beginning-to-end solid. Aries was a nice surprise at the end of the year. Even though I could build an album or two out of Vitae tracks I like better than this one, Aries is my favorite Chaffin release.

10. LES IZMORE: The Granny Smith Theorem


D/Will is the best producer in Kansas City, Les Izmore is a fantastic rapper, and this Halloween present to Kansas City proved to be one of the most solid albums to hit all year. With the aggressive cadence of what I imagine a sober ODB would sound like, and probably 3 times as talented, Les Izmore drops rhymes that might appear lackadaisical, but always conclude to demonstrate that he has 100% control of the songs at all time.

And can I say, holy shit those horns on "The Line?" D/Will's magic.

9. THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB: Skinny Jeans for Fat People


Dutch Newman and Johnny Quest combined to make one of the most fun hip hop albums of the year. Listen to "Hold it Down" and I dare you to not get hyped. Seriously, every track on this is awesome. It's got guest spots from Approach, Stik Figa, Str8jakkett, and other local personalities that you should all know by name. There may not be anything overly complicated about this album, and it may not warrant a thirty page dissertation like every track 18 Carat Affair's ever released, but you're probably never gonna throw down in the pit to a 18 Carat Affair song.

"Errbody here gettin' white boy wasted."



8. THE ACBS: Stona Rosa


A lot of things done right on this album, not the least of which is their use of chorus on the vocals (or doubling or whatevs you want to call it). Honestly, they're like a Phoenix on the Prairie (which is kind of like Paris of the Plains?) The strengths in production are worth noting, but the song writing and instrumentation is what makes the songs themselves great. The artwork and production complete the album package, but it's gloss on well-written pop music.


7. D/WILL: Beat Emporium: Cartoon


Before JDilla died (actually, on his death bed), he put out Donuts. It was like a marathon of what he could do, a last minute appeal to the world to say "I mattered." And he did. He always will. He's one of maybe two people I who could wear a Detroit Tigers hat and not fill me with rage.
Luckily (as far as I know!) D/Will is not suffering a degenerative blood disease, and he has plenty of time to build up his already bulky resume. All of his collaborations and production credits are one thing, but Cartoon is his JDilla moment. The accomplishment of this release should put him in that level.
And in addition to the idea of throwing down beats as a figurative gauntlet to all challengers, the focus on the cartoon theme and samples is something that hip hop should've been doing for years by now. It's one solid album on its own from which dozens more could be extrapolated from (just like Dilla).


6. MEATSHANK: Scavengers (2010)


The speed-metal of the mid-1980s gets less attention than the hair metal, and I don't know if I could make a band-to-band comparison to tell you if that's good or bad. I'm glad bands like Meatshank paid attention. A modern sound with 80s awareness, possibly the best metal album of the year from Kansas City, Scavengers is well-executed and assembled. Every metal cliche you could harp on is done too well to complain. I've listened to a lot of bad metal this year, so I hope more local musicians take notice to this.

5. 18 CARAT AFFAIR: Televised Tragedies


As I mentioned earlier, I could write 30 pages on each track Denys Parker has released. This most recent release is another darker turn in what I read as a collective work. Much like Samuel Beckett's vagabonds and rakes, I cannot examine one work of Parker's without considering its place in a canon, and its reliance on 80s nostalgia encompasses the lighter Miami Vice coke binge with the serious hangover. You can remember the fashion as something goofy, or you can take it seriously and appreciate whatever it may have meant. You can have the patriotic victory of the Star Wars NASA campaign, but you have to know who Christa McAuliffe is. The point is, there's no winking or mockery here: it's the collage of what made the 80s: not made it bad or good, but acknowledges it existed as whole, and helps us understand it a little bit better.

4. ABSCESS: The Black Diamond


This is, beginning to end, an album that sounds like it's by robots, for robots. The rawest sounding drums that are actually part of the industrial riffs, the patterns that form from them are infectious. From the opening track "mazz murder" which sounds like a chainsaw and a tornado siren, all the way to some fucked up Katy Perry remix, it's as if Skynet was prepping a mixtape for the apocalypse. But sometimes the fuzz is less NIN and more QotSA ("ankle grinder"'s a good example of that), and that doesn't break up any cohesiveness. When I heard it I was convinced it'd be the best album of the year. Clearly that changed, but it's not because this became worn out.

3. REACH: The Pen Pusha Mixtape


The tracklist scared me: 18 songs on a hip hop album often implies bloat, and in addition there are remixes. I'm leery of that on a singular release. But what made this album were how good those remixes were, and how well it was arranged. Kansas City is full of great hip-hop tracks, but an album assembled beginning to end this well is rare anywhere. The cameos are understated and the choice of collaborators suits Reach's style. If you don't think that's important, please see half of Nicki Minaj's guest spots. Where it isn't mixed as well as other albums released this year, the songs hold together on their own strengths. I enjoyed this album a lot, and it hasn't left rotation.

2. 18 CARAT AFFAIR:  Life of Vice


One of my nerdy artist friends only ever cared what I thought about his art, and never told me what it was supposed to be. That was overly frustrating to me, but as long as I got something out of it, he was happy. I swear this is related.
On the scale of light to dark, Life of Vice feels like a turn towards something more serious in Parker's work. It's my favorite thus far for where it sits in the narrative I've created (or, if I am a profit, observed; I won't dare give myself that credit). I won't go on any longer, except to say that I hope Denys is happy i've got something out of 18 Carat Affair, and I hope that others do to. This stuff deserves a lot of play.

1. D/WILL & STIK FIGA: #HappyHour


In a time where hip hop is pulling backwards, you frequently end up with two different results: The Lex Luger retreads of Three 6 Mafia or the instrumental heavy sampling that Hi-Tek perfected in the late 90s. D/Will and Stik Figa might fall closer to the latter while being influenced by the former, but as both independently pointed out to me, there's a bit of Gangstarr in there, too. But as I've harped on too much by now, D/Will is the greatest producer in the area, and what I haven't had a chance to say is that Stik is the best emcee. #HappyHour, a quick preamble to the also very excellent Crown & Coke, has not left rotation in my house since its release. It's everything a great rap album should be: fun, smart, well produced, thoughtfully polished, and cleverly accented. Ladies and gents, your KC album of the year.

An Interview: Stik Figa and D/Will

#HappyHour is (so far) the best album from KC this year, and for me, the 6th for all releases this year. Stik Figa and D/Will released it as a warm up for the also excellent Crown and Coke. They've both got other projects (D/Will's Beat Emporium albums are textbooks for aspiring producers), and they're also both beyond cool for agreeing to an email interview.


Who from KC are you listening to right now?

D/Will: While working on projects, I tend to not listen to music from the same genre. I try and clear my palate [to] give the listener all me! But I did get a chance to check out Greg Enemy's new jawn and I like Gee Watts so if he drop something I'll peep it.

Stik Figa: From Kansas City I'm listening to Ron Ron, Rondoe, Greg Enemy, Cowboy Indian Bear, Grisly Hand, and Maal A Goomba.

What national/non-KC acts are you listening to?

Stik Figa: Probably way too much Danny Brown and Kendrick Lamar; I really enjoy both those releases. Also the Kanye and Jay album Watch the Throne has been gettin' a lot of burn. I initially hated it though.

D/Will: A lot of the artist I'm currently working with: Fresh Daily, One be lo, Dominique Larue, Addlib and a few others. Really dig that Evidence Cats & Dogs... Outside of that I listen to a lot of old soul and
blues. Johnny Taylor, Tyrone Davis, Bobby Bland and even Dan Auerbach's 2005 release
Keep It Hid.

Why is Kansas City a hip-hop town?

Stik Figa: I dunno if KC is a hip-hop town, I know there is a lot of great music coming out of this area.

D/Will: I think the deep jazz and blues roots have a lot to do with why kc is a hip hop town.

What aspect of Kansas City shapes your music the most?


Stik Figa: KC has shaped my creativity by giving me an outlet to share it with interested people. As a Topeka artist, it gives me a lot of support for something I didn't think anyone would care about. I really appreciate that.

D/Will: I tell my homies in Cali all the time that the weather here shapes my sound! One day it's cold and
gloomy and the next day it's 70 and gorgeous. I get inspired by the little things.

Have both/either of you been around KCMO long enough to see Johnson County grow? I'm curious if you've noticed how people relocating from areas like Illinois or Texas has impacted local music.

Stik Figa: I haven't been able to see how JoCo has made an impact any more or less then any other area. There's talented folks on both sides of the state line.

D/Will: I live in North Kansas City and although I respect Johnson County, I'm not around it enough to be able to recognize the difference. Although, we rocked at JCCC a few years back [October 9, 2008 with Deep Thinkers] and the crowd was all love!

I'm embarrassed to recognize the "I wanna get chocolate wasted!" sample in "Black Jack". (That said I love it.) When the beats and lyrics come together, how much time is spent afterwards adding subtle things like that? 

D/Will:  I feel like that's my job as a producer! I want to impact the mood of the listener and I always bounce off lyrics. Stik will say things in the rhyme that triggers images and feelings -- I take that image
and translate it to sound.


Stik Figa: We make all kinds of things happen after the fact. Mostly it's us building on the skeleton off the song, and wanting to make them more fun. I will say, "Ya know, what would be funny if...." or D comes up with fresh additions like live guitar or bass. 

D/Will: The process is simple: I send Stik very basic beat snipps, probably between 10-20. He picks what he feeling and begins to write. We meet at the studio and record over the basic skeleton of the beat. I take the session home and complete the production and mix in my home studio. Sometimes the beat needs a lot of work, sometimes I don't change anything, sometimes I change the entire beat!

Stik Figa: It's a very organic thing with us. Just a couple of friends havin' fun making a record.

KCMJ: Since the recording process is fun, does that normally lead to songs being better the faster they get done, or does it being fun make being meticulous about tracks easier?

Stik Figa: Well [the process is] fun simply cause we're creating freely, adding and subtracting, tweaking as we go along. D is more detail oriented than I am, which is absolutely necessary since he is also part of the mixing process. And me, I just try to add my personality to the songs, and make the listening experience more personal.

D/will, I think Beat Emporium: Cartoon is really picking up on something I can't believe hasn't been more prevalent (sampling 90s cartoons). I think it sounds great on its own, but is the purpose of releasing them so others will use them/rap on top of them?

D/Will: The Beat Emporium was the biggest blessing ever!!! I've gained a great new audience from it; I didnt make that record for emcees at all. I made it for the people that enjoy my production style, cats like you that understand hip hop and the sampling process.

KCMJ: I think you really set a bar with them. Will Cartoon Beats sneak into any of your other music projects?

D/Will: Thanks my man! I had a lot of fun making that record. I'm not sure if cats are gonna rap on'em or not but if they do it's cool. But if your familiar with my work you can notice some of those Beat Emporium joints from previous projects. Example. "HeartBrake" was on Hello and Goodbye. Cartoon Beat Emporium 2: March 2012.

Stik Figa, could you talk about how the title of the song "Mike Vick" is connected to the lyrics, excluding the more obvious intro and outro to the song?

Stik Figa: Yea Mike Vick was one of those things, man. I felt that he was someone who was made to be the medias whipping boy for a while, and it wasn't entirely fair. So, I was just kinda of relating to that on a day-to-day level. When people don't necessarily have all the facts and details about a person, they're quick to make judgments. I am really glad to see him make a comeback!



The #HappyHour mixtape is constantly in rotation at my house. It reminds me of Black Star and other late-90s DJ HiTek projects. Are you guys fans? What other groups/DJs from that time period have been influences on you guys?

D/Will: Maaaan! People are always tellin us that they love Happy Hour!! We made that album in about 2hrs!! He came out to my spot, I bought some Crown and Coke, and we got faded and made it, hahaha. It was a lot of fun! Im a Black Star fan but more of a Premo [DJ Premier] and Guru type guy. From the very start Stik and I modeled our style after Gang Starr and kinda kid about being the KC version. Dirty, minimal, but decent mix quality. Most of all we just wanted to create our sound, and I think we did that.

Stik Figa: I am definitely a fan of duos like Gang Starr, Black Star, Kweli and Hi-Tek...

KCMJ: I didn't know about Gang Starr until I saw them open for Rage Against the Machine in 1999. Do you think they ever got their full due?

D/Will: I think they did, but in their own way. Ask anybody that loves hip hop to name a group and they will prolly say Preem and Guru. 

Stik Figa: But me and D/Will are both fans of Three 6 Mafia. Always been into their approach to production and making songs that make ya wanna fight somebody.

D/Will: I'm a huge Three 6 fan!! I've got the full discography including solo albums. Three 6 Mafia & Lords of the Underground inspired me to want to make beats. As a kid, I would memorize the beat and sequencing of songs rather than the lyrics. I took pride in being able to hear the little things going on in the back of the track.


KCMJ: Three 6 turned 20 years old as a group this year. I think Waka Flocka Flame/Lex Luger pull from older Three 6 a lot, especially in production. Do you think rap's pulling a "Remember the 90s?" like alternative/indie music is?


Stik Figa: Yea rap is being more self referential then its been in a while. You have guys like Spaceghostpurrp who sounds a lot like Three 6 back in the Prophet Posse days, or a NY artist like ASAP Rocky who seems to get infulence from Houston underground and Bone Thugs. So as long as acknowledgement of the past is around, I see it as a good thing for the music.

Thanks again to both D/Will and Stik Figa for their time. Make sure you visit their bandcamp pages and buy what you dig.

KC Reviews, Collected

Don't want to dig through my Twitter feed? No problem, bro.

Here's a spreadsheet I'll keep updating, in order of highest ranked to lowest.

An Interview: Denys Parker, aka 18 Carat Affair

18 Carat Affair is one of the most unique projects in the Kansas City music scene. The work of  Denys Parker, the 18K albums don't sound like a soundtrack from the 80s as much as they sound like a soundtrack to the 80s. Denys was nice enough to talk music with me.

Who from KC are you listening to right now?

CVLTS and Umberto down in Lawrence. The Jorge Arana Trio have some amazing music, it reminds me of "Bitches Brew". New music pops up here and there, I'm not out much to keep tabs.

What national/non-KC acts are you listening to?

Recently I've been infatuated with Topographic Maps. His music is a difficult shape and unique. James Ferraro's Night Dolls With Hairspray, Ford & Lopatin's Channel Pressure, Com Truise's Galactic Melt (amazing tones). Other than that I keep my ears in the past. Salsoul disco, TRAX house music, 80's Boogie/Funk/Soul.. That's where I grab most my influence.

Why is Kansas City a hip-hop town?

I don't know. (laughter) Tech Nine's empire.

What aspect of Kansas City shapes your music the most?


I went to school at UMKC. Studied jazz composition / engineering in a studio. Other than that, not much.

The Life of Vice is fantastic. Your music as a whole reminds me of staying up too late in the 80s. How big is nostalgia for you with this, and what else keeps this project going for you?

I like jingles, muzak and other forms of subconscious sound. 80s television and music culture had more catch and variety. I approach recording through improvisation. I'll have a cassette filled with jingles and overdub my machines and synthesizers, which ends in a nostalgic collage of sound.

The track "Leisure Principle" manipulates (or duplicates) the sounds/samples of "Passion," but the results are quite menacing. Is there a narrative from 60/40 through Life of Vice, and how do you think 18 Carat Affair is evolving as a whole?

That track was a 16 second section of a longer recording. The similarity comes from the chord structure, but the two songs are different. An 18K album comes from selecting songs from an array of 45min cassette recordings. Most the songs have a unique similarity but are approached and processed differently. There's a guiding direction, but no narration. Vocal takes consist of improvised singing over the texture. The listener gets to hear instant creativity instead of planned and marketed sounds.

You call this an art/music project on your bandcamp page. Are their artistic mediums you work in?

The premise of that statement relates to the music. I create music as a painter paints. Music and it's possibilities are endless.

Have you/have you considered playing live with 18 Carat Affair? Would it translate easier into
live creations instead of playing album tracks?

I recently bought some new gear to help me play live. The way I've recorded makes it tricky to play live. I would like to incorporate the "on-spot" ideal with shows.

Are there any other projects you're considering?

I'm working on a new album, a VHS only release, and some compositions for film. Live shows will be played soon.

Thanks again to Denys. Check 18 Carat Affair out, I'd be interested to hear what others think of it.

An Interview: Clay Hughes

album art by Scribe

Clay Hughes recently released JKR70 Presents Clay Hughes: The Whether Machine. The album combines folky blues with hip-hop, and the project is one of the most consistent local albums beginning to end. Mr. Hughes was nice enough to discuss it with me for this interview project.

Who from KC are you listening to right now?

I've got a lot of local favorites...but, right now?! I'd say "Top 5 Most Listened To Lately" are thePhantom*, Deuce Fontane/Soul Servers, Ha Ha Tonka, Mac Lethal, and Elsa Rae.

Elsa Rae! Doesn't she have the greatest voice?

She is incredible. I ran across a post she made in the KC Songwriter's Forum and checked out her bandcamp page. Next thing I know, I had listened through the entire album. Her voice is incredible. Oh...and she'll be opening for us on Oct 28th @ Czar in KC, MO!!!

What national/non-KC acts are you listening to? 

Oh man, this hits a large range, too. Again, "Top 5" right now are George Watsky, MF Doom, Ray Lamontagne, Kid Cudi, and Langhorne Slim.


Why is Kansas City a hip-hop town?

I think it's the support everyone in the hip-hop scene has for one another. Too many bands/musicians/artists here seem too competitive to me. I think the hip-hop community works together a lot. Maybe it's because collaborating happens more in hip hop music; I don't know for sure. But, believe it or not, the "ego's" in Kansas City don't belong to the hip-hop scene.


What aspect of Kansas City shapes your music the most?


It's small and laid back compared to most cities. I don't know if that shapes my music or just happens to fit my persona well.

I think a lot of (genre) + hip-hop attempts end in pretty sterile pop-music-with-heavy-beats, but The Whether Machine avoids this. Was there a lot of crafting to avoid making a mess, or did the album happen pretty naturally?

I'd love to say it happened 100% naturally. But, there is always a song or 2 that you play back over & over and are eventually like, "Wow, this is watered down junk!" Luckily, JKR70 is a mad genius and 90% of our project together was pretty natural. We didn't approach writing or recording in any certain way. We just let it happen as we went until we were satisfied with what we had created.

Whatstheruckus.com posted a video of you playing "Love I Gave Ya" acoustic. Is this how most of your live shows go? Have you been able to play The Whether Machine live as it appears on the lp? 

No, most of the live shows are performed as "Clay Hughes & The What?" This features Zach Haddock on bass and Tony Beats on turntables & MPC. We [played] the album release with a larger band that included Josh Gleave on bass, Hermon Mehari on trumpet, Madison DeCamp on violin, Tony Beats on turntables, Lance Pollard on drums, and Matt Long on electric guitar. But, that was a special occasion. Most of those folks play in other bands and projects. This was the only time we played The Whether Machine in it's entirety. We definitely mix some of the tracks into our regular set, however.

I'm learning what a big deal Mac Lethal is in KC. Had you worked with him prior to The Whether Machine?

We did a few live shows with him prior to the collab, but "Bitter Pills" is the only track we've recorded together. We've talked about future projects, shows, videos, etc. But nothing has developed yet. I think he's a big deal in KC because he works so damn hard outside of KC. His approach to marketing himself is outstanding and I'm doing everything I can to take notes on that. I suggest everyone else do the same.

You've mentioned gigs with both Elsa Rae and Mac Lethal. Does Clay Hughes and the What? primarily book with local rock, indie, or hip-hop groups, and do clubs who book local music seem to cater to a particular scene or another?

I book a lot of our own support any time the venue will allow myself to do so. We like to mix it up. We don't consider ourselves any particular genre and love that we can work well with either a line up of emcees or indie bands.

What's next for you and/or other projects you're involved with? Do you think you'll make another album in the same hybrid vein as The Whether Machine?

I'm constantly writing and recording new music. I've got several new demo's/EP's in the works and most of them I'd consider to be in the same area as The Whether Machine. I've got a lot of touring for the rest of 2011 and early in 2012. I'll also have some new music videos finishing up soon. Also, JKR70 has an AMAZING project coming out soon on Sharp County Records and once he's got a little more free time, you can bet I'll be banging on his door for beats! Fortunately, we're neighbors so I don't have more than 20 feet to go to bother him.

Thanks to Clay Hughes for agreeing to do an interview! 

An Interview: William S. Chaffin of Vitae & the Pale Horse, The Black Bullet Promise, Chocolate Velvet

Vitae & the Pale Horse's 4 Track Recordings Vol. 2

William S. Chaffin is involved with (or in the majority of cases, is) many local music projects, most prominently The Black Bullet Promise, Vitae & the Pale Horse, and Chocolate Velvet. He was also nice enough to be the first interview for this component to the KCMusicJudged local music spotlight.








Who from KC are you listening to right now?

Truthfully, I don't listen to many artist from the KC area. I think The Caves "Weekend Blues" is probably the best thing I've heard from Kansas City musicians. Those guys are doing this weird Steely Dan meets Funkadelic meets Pavement thing. I think a lot of KC bands are overrated.
Most of it is watered down indie or tired old butt-rock.
 
What national/non-KC acts are you listening to?

I love Hospitality, Guards, Shakey Graves, Service:Fair, Seamonster, Party Owl, Mayon; these are mostly unknown acts. The bigger, more established acts I love are Black Keys, Spoon, Tom Waits but I listen to these acts far less than the undiscovered acts.
 
Why is Kansas City a hip-hop town?

 Is KC a hip-hop town? I see KC as more of a butt-rock town. If KC is, in fact a hip-hop town it's probably due to the success of Tech 9 and Mac Lethal. For the record, I really dig Kriz Kaliko's song "Bi-Polar." It's been out a few years but it's some of the best music I've ever heard come out of KC. Most of the rock musicians in KC could learn a thing or two from that jam, in my opinion.
 
What aspect of Kansas City shapes your music the most?

Probably the fact that so many people I've met have this longing to leave but ultimately don't. This gnawing feeling that most of us who are creative in KC were misplaced. So, we stay and make art out of this void. It always surprises when bands in KC are snotty or arrogant. Go to New York and try playing that warmed over version of heavy metal, or take a uke and try and carve out a niche for yourself in Austin. They could say the same to me, I guess.

Your different projects can bring to mind comparisons ranging from Frank Ocean to Smog to The Black Keys to Grinderman. Do you think you share some of the same influences?

Yes, I believe I share influences [with those artists]. The Black Keys were influenced by Junior Kimbrough and he is a huge influence for me. That droning, hypnotic, blues-chunk vibe is music to my ears. I'm a huge fan of 70's R&B (Isaac Hayes, Al Green, Barry White).
 
Most of my projects are my attempt at bridging the gap between early lo-fi (Guided By voices, Smog) and 70's soul. Cody Chestnut tried to do this too. Right? I think there is a place and dare I say market for Bedroom Soul Music. I've been calling it Trash Pop since 1998, though I'm sure I didn't coin the phrase. I love early soul and blues and if I'm successful at making indie music it's only because I'm a failure at making modern day soul records. Too many hipsters and not enough hip!


You mention Junior Kimbrough, whom I mostly know from the Black Keys album Chulahoma. If you were to do a tribute album like that, entirely of someone else's music, whose do you think it would be?

Black Bullet did a tribute to Dylan before our first album. It contained songs from "Blonde on Blonde" & "Blood on the Tracks" we called it Blonde on the Tracks We were very happy with it but we couldn't release it due to the fact that we lacked the funds to pay for the rights. Hopefully a record company will someday put up the money for that LP.

If I did a tribute album as Vitae I would want to re-imagine a specific album. For example a trash pop bedroom indie version of ELO's Time or Procul Harum's A Salty Dog. It would also be fun to do The Pixies because there hasn't been a worthy Pixies tribute yet. A Kansas City artists' Pixies tribute would be cool. Since it was my idea, I get first dibs on choosing a song. I pick "Hey."

How do the projects become separate entities during your creative process?


The projects become different when I consider the aesthetic of each one carefully and decide what I'm going for. "The Truth" was Brian & I's attempt at doing our version of a concept album. We worked out an entire story and then built songs around that. Vitae and CV are my attempt at 70's r&b and blues and Strange Kitten is my own interpretation of Black Sabbath. I guess I interpret these bands I love and try and take all my influences and put them in the right places. I love music. I collect it, digest it, and then I interpret it and do my idea of what all of it means to me.


The Chocolate Velvet song, "Second Word," has a lot of sounds similar to where soul music/r&b is sneaking towards (Frank Ocean, etc.) Are you interested in that genre or any modern takes or revivals of genres, and could you talk about writing of that CV ep specifically? I think it's the most diverse single offering you've made.

The Second Word EP came out of several different sessions. The night I posted Black Bullet Promise's The Truth, My Dear, I found myself listening to over 100 songs that I had written for CV in the past two years. I just pulled songs from that pool. This is probably why you get the diversity of styles. All of those songs are love songs to my wife (drummer for Strange Kitten) except for "Dirty Fingers" which was a response song for a friend who had written a song called "Psyclone" in a band called Captain Murgatroyd.
 
All of those songs came from a pool of songs that I had written in an attempt to reinvent CV-reestablish CV...because I had been making music under that name since (gasp) 1993. Long time.


I think it's interesting that of your projects, The Truth, My Dear, sounds the most like it came from a single person. In fact, though, you have a collaborator with that project. Is it easier to work with Brian than on your own? How does the lyric writing work with the BBP? 

 Working with Brian is really great for me because we can bounce ideas off each other. Push each other to try different things. It can be frustrating because he writes slower than I do. He can take a month on one song...crafting it. I can't stand to work more than a day and then I move onto something else. I hardly ever sit down at the computer with something already written. I just start writing. Brian's process is different. He crafts a song and then records it. Working with him forces me to record with more care and planning.

We write lyrics based around a story/theme-which allows us to write independently and still have some continuity...for the record I think the lyrics to Estacado are some of the most beautiful lyrics written in music. I sent Brian the music to that song which was based off of a chord progression in carnival music...and he sent the vocal parts back and I literally wept. Hmph.


Do you play live, and how would you describe the state of live local music in Kansas City?

 I've been performing Black Bullet shows at Main Street Coffee in Independence as solo acoustic gigs. Brian lives in Portland. We are talking about doing a string of gigs after we get our second album finished which we are recording now. 

I'm in the process of getting a band together to take this Vitae project around the clubs in KC. It seems like there are about 8 main places to play in KC. I've played out before in other

bands (The Sham, The Electrophonic Foundation), and we played the clubs for years and developed a fan base but we never felt accepted in our hometown. If 200 people show up to your shows and say "wow you guys are the best band in KC," then I always wondered then why do we just have 200 fans? Why not 300? Or 1000?

While I'm on that subject why do insanely talented musicians like Amber Papini have to move away from Kansas City to find success? Hospitality is one of my favorite bands and Papini is from KC. I think this town has trouble recognizing talent and accepting things that go musically beyond the norm. There is a place for Vitae in Kansas City. 18 Carat Affair is another example-that guy is doing some trippy cassette, 80's electro-jazz elevator funk-why isn't he big in KC? Why did The Threes struggle to retain an audience? 

With Bandcamp I've got hundreds of fans from all over the world. People who actually want to hear something a little different. Something that takes chances. KC is filled with more imitators than innovators. We need to completely reestablish the pecking order here and get our town to support-really support local music. We need to make room for more bands and musicians. The same 10 bands get press. Do I think my stuff is just as good as those bands? Yes. I say that without shame. I know it is. And I don't charge anyone for it I give my stuff away for free. You know I got nearly 0 downloads from a full page write up in a local magazine. I couldn't believe it. Free music and I couldn't get my own hometown to get behind me. The Truth, My Dear should be on KC's list of the Best Of 2011. It's a strong album and it deserves that justice. Also Vitae's 4-Track recordings; they deserve the same respect....CV's The Second Word trilogy too! They all deserve a place on KC's best of list...in The Pitch, Ink...and on the blogs...right alongside those heavyweights. Yeah?   


Thanks to Mr. Chaffin for taking the time to do this. This interview originally took place over email and has been very slightly adjusted for flow, and a little edited for content. It ended up really long!. Also, it was fun.

Kansas City Music, I'm In You

This is the addendum to the Twitter feed, @KCMusicJudged. There, I rate albums/ collected singles of local music. It's a direct parallel to (more accurately, total rip-off of) @1000TimesYes, but with Kansas City music (and the immediate Metro Area) only. I apologize to Lawrence: you got included into that. It's not a bad thing!

But this won't have reviews. If I have more than 140 characters worth of stuff to say about an album from a critical point of view, it just isn't fair. I'll either gush too much or be too harsh. But if I have a chance to engage artists in a dialog regarding their music, then I think that's a different venue. Different content for different audiences, maybe? I don't know. At a minimum it's a different kind of writing and listening and sharing. And hopefully, caring.

So we'll see how bad this fails.