Living Room Performance: Fort Frances "How to Turn Back Again"

Fort Frances - "How to Turn Back Again"

Abandoned Grain Silo

Chicago's South Side

2013



Chicago based Fort Frances plays a sun kissed country-folk that swims in a cocktail of breathtaking vocals and warm autumn instrumentation. Well known for their 2011 debut album The Atlas, Fort Frances have been awarded some wonderful opportunists over the last 2 years. Their latest release is last month's Harbour EP which is filled with more their signature musical perfection. Enjoy this unique performance recorded as part of Robert Stockwell's SiLo SiLO web series, that catches bands in the acoustically rich confines of an abandoned grain silo on Chicago's South-side.

Strumophile: ODD Guitars

Based out of Auckland, New Zealand, Odd Guitars is the brainchild of Olaf Diegel, a long-standing Design Engineer with a passion for 3D printing and other state of the art manufacturing technologies.
His line of highly personalize and customizable guitars uses the 3D printing technology of Selective Laser Sintering (SLS). SLS is a process that can be used to create highly detailed 3D objects by layering nylon powder that is fused to create the desired shape. Due to it;s creation as a single piece, these guitars have extremely intricate details incorporated into them without the hassle of assembly. Featuring an inner wooden core that links the neck to the bridge. With the choice of Maple and Mahogany  and several hardware options that allows the musician the ability to customize the tone and sustain to suit their desired sound.
With a price tag ranging between $3000 to $4000 (US) these guitars are certainly at the higher end and most likely out of the price range of your typical musician. But their mix of unique art and comparable sound makes this modern masterpieces the dream of any guitar lover.       

Olaf Diegel was kind enough to take the time and talk to BLS about his amazing guitars.

BLS: So why did you choose guitars to use the Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) technology?

OD: I suppose it came about through my life-long interest in music, and the interest I have developed in additive manufacturing over the past 15 years. I was looking for a fun project, just to see if laser sintering had evolved to the level where it could make a real product that needed to withstand quite a bit of force, form the string tension, and would probably lead a relatively rough life on the road. It just seemed a natural link to use a guitar to test the technology, and that worked so well that it spun out into a little side-business.

BLS: Odd Guitars are known for their customization of both design and hardware. Do you personally, have a favorite configuration?

OD: My personal favorite configuration is a pair of TV Jones Classic pickups, probably because of my liking for rockabilly music, and the slightly more aggressive sound they give. For the neck, I have always liked the feel of maple and, because I find you get the best sustain by keeping the neck wood and the body wood the same, I like a maple inner core to the guitar to join the bridge to the neck. There is such a huge range of excellent hardware out there that it’s hard to have a favorite, but I do like the consistent quality I get form Schaller bridges and tuners.
But, for a customer guitar, it’s pretty much whatever they want, as guitars are so individual. And that’s one of the advantages of 3D printing the bodies in that any changes we need to make are done in the digital world, so cost nothing extra,

BLS: What are some of the benefits form a manufacturers and player standpoint both aesthetically and functionally of the guitars built by the SLS process?

OD: The first, and probably biggest, advantage is definitely aesthetic. The more complex a shape, the more 3D printing loves it. Typically, if I was going to make a conventional looking guitar, then there are more cost-effective ways of making them than through 3D printing.
Another big advantage is the ease with which each instrument can be completely customized to the musician. Form the aesthetics, with their name printed into the back of the guitar, or extra scallops for comfort to being able to easily shift the centre of gravity of the guitar to give it the balance they like. So if they like a neck-heavy guitar like an SG, we can shift more weight to the front to give them that weight distribution.



BLS: With the unique design of your instruments how do they hold up to the abuses of playing and the typical physical stresses face by most guitars?

OD: The bodies are made out of nylon, which is about as tough a plastic as you can get. If the body was made out of solid nylon, it would be virtually unbreakable. Of course, in my designs, I include a lot if incredibly fine features and details in the guitar that would be somewhat more fragile but, as I make sure they are always well inside the guitar they are pretty well protected. I have travelled around the world several times with the guitars, just throwing them in a hard-case into the airplane hold and have not had a problem yet.

BLS: You launched Odd Guitar in 2011, what has been some of the highlights your company has experienced since it’s formation?

OD: Though I started the Odd Guitar project in around October 2011, my first big highlight was the first sales in July 2012. It took me over 8 months to get the designs right and I have nice little cemetery of early prototypes at home. But then sales took off and I was selling around 2 guitars a month, which was about as much as I could handle by myself,
So the next big breakthrough came when I partnered with 3D Systems, the world’s leading manufacturer of 3D printers, in around November of 2012 for them to take over the manufacture and sales of the guitars through their Cubify network (www.cubify.com ). This will free me up to concentrate on the design of new models and some innovative new features. At this stage, I am still doing assembly of the guitars, but 3D Systems are training up to take over that side of things, which will give me more time to do the fun stuff.
Another highlight would have been winning a Best in Show award at the NAMM show in Anaheim in February 2013. This was a great recognition of the amazing stuff that 3D printing can achieve.

BLS: Where do you see Odd Guitars in the next 5 years?

OD: I’ll probably keep bringing out around 2 new designs a year. This year we’ve already had the Americana and, in a few weeks, I should have the first prototype of my new Steampunk guitar, a Telecaster inspired guitar full of moving gears and pistons.
But the big thing will be trying to develop Odd Guitars into a recognized brand for high-quality custom instruments


 BLS: Are there any artists currently playing Odd Guitars?

OD: The guitars have been played by a few well-known artists including several who used them in live shows at NAMM. These included the guys from great White, and the guys from Boston. They have also been played by Steve Stevens, the guitarist for Billy Idol, and I recently did a 5 string bass for Kenny Lee Lewis form the Steve Miller Band.

BLS: You also create bass guitars, are there additional design elements you have to take in account when dealing with the bass tones?

OD: The biggest challenge with a bass is the added tension of the bass strings and keeping everything rigid enough to not affect the basses sustain. But a nice maple or mahogany inner core takes care of that nicely.















BLS: Currently, the price tag of for one of your instruments runs around $3,000. This puts it out of the price range of the average player. As technology becomes more affordable do you foresee making a more economical model?

OD: It’s a bit of a catch 22… The price is largely driven by the high quality components that make it up. Typically, just a good quality neck and good hardware/pickups/etc. can cost anywhere between $1000 to $1500. Add to that the cost of the body, paint, assembly, etc. and it can add up to an instrument that is expensive to make. So, if we want the instruments to remain ‘high-quality’ then they are unlikely to ever be cheap. When thinking of fully custom instruments, tailor made to the musicians exact specifications, it’s actually not an unreasonable price.
But, technically, as prices of 3D printing technologies come down, there is no reason why we couldn’t make much more economical instruments by using lower cost hardware. But that will be a decision we need to make in terms of whether we are better of remaining a high-quality boutique brand, or a more mass-market brand (or both).

BLS: As a design engineer and professor of mechatronics, you are privy to innovative technologies like SLS. What developing technologies do you feel will be the next to directly affect the musical world?

OD: I think the metal 3D printing technologies have got the potential to make some incredible metal hardware for musical instruments. I also think some of the work going on with 3D printed electronics will also have some interesting musical applications.
But, to me, it’s less about the technologies than about new applications for the technologies. One idea I want to play with this year is for some innovative wind instruments. Because, with 3D printing, you can make shapes that wouldn’t have previously been possible, I want to try making a wind instrument in which I send the air over cavities of different shapes to create unique sounds, and even chords. My first iteration will probably be a flute that can play chords at the same time as the melody.

Letter From the Editor

Kate Nash - Photo By Mark Lawrence IV

Dear Faithful follower and one time visitors,

Photo By Mark Lawrence IV

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your support of By the Light of the Stereo. I might have the passion but if no ones reading the site, then it would be pointless. I want to thanks those who have provided posts for the site including my daughter, and long time friend Bob Bemrose. Even the occasional post that I don't have to worry about makes the difference in having the energy to keep this thing going. Finally,  I want to thank all the bands, artists and industry people that have been kind enough to respond to my inquires, provided me with review materials, put me on the list for their shows and have taken their precious time to answered my interview questions. I acknowledge the sacrifices and work that it can entail and I want you to know that I appreciate it.

Photo By Mark Lawrence IV

2013 has gotten off to an awesome start with an overall increase of both posted articles and traffic to the site. We have already surpassed the total number of post for 2011 and have Except for a few hicups we have been able to consistently bring you weekly installments of our Cure for the Mondays and the Tuesday Double Features. We have also had the opportunity to cover some great shows through our About Last Night feature. As the year continues I'm excited about the chances to build  on the great work we have already started.      
In addition to the features we are already running I'm proud to present the first installment of BLS's Strumophile column, a new feature that will profile some unique tools of the musical world. Starting with the amazing guitars created by Odd Guitars the winner of one of this years NAMM Best In Show Awards. Enjoy and I hope that it gets you excited for future installments of Sturmophile.
Thanks again and please continue to visit us at BLS and see all the great things ahead for us.

Sincerely,

Mark Lawrence IV
BLS Creator and  Editor.

About Last Night: Kate Nash @ Mississippi Studios 05/13

Photo By Mark Lawrence IV

Last night was the most fun I’ve ever had at Mississippi Studios, which is saying a lot for a Monday night show. It helped that it was sold out and the crowd was brimming with excitement at their chance to see Kate Nash, but it’s still a note worthy fact.

Opening the night was the feel good cotton candy guitar pop of Peach Kelli Pop. Their lighthearted garage romp was energetically upbeat and infectiously danceable. There was nothing weighty about this band; they were just having fun up there on stage, and all of us in the audience could tell. Like the sun baked surf rock of the sixties this optimistic set seemed to mimic the beautiful weather outside. Allie Hanlon and her band must dine on sun rays and rainbows because their playing lacked any form of pretention. I admit this music might not save the world but it sure makes you feel good while you’re in it. Peach Kelli Pop was a perfect compliment to the performance awaiting us in Kate Nash. So as an opening act, they did their job stunningly.

Photo By Mark Lawrence IV

Now to say that Kate Nash was amazing would be a horrendous understatement, because she was so mush more than that. From the moment she took the stage Nash was an unstoppable ball of energy. Bounding across the stage with all the wonderful joy of a child in a bouncy house; at times you had to wonder if she might not be affected by gravity in the same manner as the rest of us. Projecting a powerful confidence that switched between a sensual punk rock mystic and the lovingly approachable girl next door, Nash filled the night with aggressively preformed songs and laughter inspiring stage banter.

Visually the show was uniquely compelling with the incorporation of a multimedia element that made it feel like a U2 concert, but without the pomp and high ticket prices. Not to be overlooked, Nash’s band was equally energetic throwing themselves into each song with a joyful abandonment. It was clear that they were having the time of their lives and they grew more and more excitable, feeding off the energy of the audience. 

Photo By Mark Lawrence IV


At the end of it all this show was overwhelming to the senses. Visually exciting, energetically tactile, and filled with some unforgettable musical performances, this concert will certainly rank high with all those lucky enough to have caught it. Having had little previous exposure to Kate Nash before the show I can tell you that without a doubt that next time she swings through town, I will certainly be one of the many tucked into the crowd anxious to see her again.

Tuesday Double Feature: James Blake "Retrograde" & First Aid Kit "Blue"

Ripe with a melancholy mystique, this week's Tuesday Double Feature is filled with songs that swim through mournfully organic music and weep beautifully produced melodies.Think the beauty of foreign films with out all the confusing plot twists.

James Blake - "Retrograde"



James Blake croons mournfully beautiful dirges that pull at the heart strings in a way that only marrow scraping pain can do. Blake, like Calvin Harris is one of the British electronic Maestros who has emerged the last few years that melds electronica with compelling songwriter lyrics to create songs with powerful depth and artistic complexity. He recently swung through town in support of his sophomore album Overgrown, released earlier this spring. If you weren't able to catch him, here's to hoping he'll find his way back soon.   

First Aid Kit - "Blue"



The sweetly organic folk harmonies of First Aid Kit are the loving fruit of Swedish sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg. Knitted together like ivy vines upon softly curved musical trellises, the complimenting harmonies of the Söderberg sisters make for lovely tunes. Still beaming from the success of last years release of  the The Lion's Roar album, the ladies will spend their summer seeing the UK and parts of Europe.

About Last Night: Saint Warhead @ Branx 05/10

Photo By Mark Lawrence IV

Last night I experienced my first underground hip hop show and I was fairly surprised by its similarities to your typical rock show. Like most shows the bands started late, the opening acts where equally amazing or mediocre, the mood of the show could have been managed to a more consistent effect by line up choices, and like most shows in Portland, the audience was fickle. Overall though, I had a blast and discovered that for me hip hop is a bit like baseball in the sense that as a recorded media I can take it or leave it but live it’s a uniquely different and captivating beast.

Photo By Mark Lawrence IV

First to the stage was Tawk Sicc, and though he had some decent beats I wasn’t overly impressed with his performance or energy. Even though it was a short set, he only performed what seemed like a total of 3 songs, spending the rest of his time shouting out the address to his twitter feed and website. Of the few songs he performed I felt all but one lacked any substance relying instead to on self boastful songs about parties with strippers and smoking weed. I know that might be what most main market rap consists of but that’s why it’s deemed soulless and immature. Unfortunately, his final song “Fallen Princess,” was the one that revealed the most of what Tawk Sicc could be. Though yet again about stripper it had the humanistic approach that reminded me of Biz Markie classic “She’s Not Just Another Woman (Monique).” Ultimately, I would have liked to have heard more of these kind of songs, and the truth be told you can tell me your web address a hundred times over but if you don’t blow me away with your music I won’t care enough to check it out.

Photo By Mark Lawrence IV

Thankfully the hosting MC, Evert Washington’s, Ripynt must have sense the lack luster mood of the audience, because he rushed the stage and burst into his own little set. The high energy rhymes that assaulted us in the audience were like a cardiac thump direct to the center of our chests. Whimsical and yet honest the rapid fire delivery of his lines was like a pack of black cat fireworks thrown into a kennel of sleeping dogs. It rejuvenated the crowd, drawing them to the stage like moths happy for the warmth of the flames. Thank God for his quick actions. For without them I fear that we as an audience would not have been prepared for the aggressive assault that would follow in the form of Bad Habitat.

Photo By Mark Lawrence IV

Recently I’ve been following Bad Habitat but until this show I hadn’t gotten the chance to see them perform. What a shame, because this band is amazing. A true show stopper, their three-front attack is unrelenting and was the perfect continuation to the building energy of Ripynt’s impromptu set. Driving with an unequaled momentum this band controlled the stage and had the house enthralled. To the fairness of the other bands on the bill they mostly had one poet to their credit while Bad Habitat had three master word smiths at the ready. Some might call that unfair, I just call it brilliant. Add to that the surgical precision of DJ Kut Throat on the turntables and no wonder it seemed like the band had the most numerous following of the night. If you haven’t checked out this band do yourself a favor and pop over to their website or better yet catch their next show with Pharohe Monch at the Hawthorne Theater on June 10th.

Photo By Mark Lawrence IV

As the show came to its midpoint Quiz Zilla took the stage. Clearly the favorite of ladies in the crowd, Quiz Zilla had the most polished persona of the acts. With a more mainstream than underground feel he certainly played the part of what most might picture as a typical rapper. Musically he was astute, energetic and could play the audience well. I could easily see that of all the bands that preformed Quiz Zilla has the pretence and luck to break into the mainstream market.

Following Quiz Zilla was the most accomplished act of the night, IAME of Portland’s Sandpeople. Tightly polished beats and powerful lines IAME’s set had a bit more mellow tempo and unfortunately due to its place on the bill the crowd was already waning. The music was wonderfully sound and the set performed with professional excellence but the audience was growing impatient for Saint Warhead to take the stage and didn’t give the set the focus that it deserved. I certainly look forward to catching IAME another time where I might see his skill shine a little brighter.

Photo By Mark Lawrence IV

Finally, the time came for Saint Warhead to take the stage and the crowd swelled appropriately. Of all the acts to take the play, Saint Warhead was the most stylistically eclectic, strutting a punk rock aesthetic that was more than just the mohawk. Incorporating live instrumentation, sung vocals and the feats of acrobatic amazement by Soren High this performance was elementally unique and delivered with an energy that rolled over the audience pulling them into the revelry. Highlighting the new album for which we had come to celebrate, proved it was one to take home at all cost.

Overall, what little speed bumps the night had to overcome did not diminish the pure greatness of my first underground hip hop show. If this night is of any indication, Portland’s grassroots hip hop scene might be the most vibrant musical genera presently cultivating in the northwest. So get out of your comfort zone and check out a show or two. If you need some recommendations check out some of the bands I mentioned. You won’t be disappointed.

Cure for the Mondays: Vintage Trouble - "Nancy Lee"

Vintage Trouble - "Nancy Lee"

Vintage doesn't always mean old and dusty.



Like most people, my greatest source of new music is through word of mouth. So after hearing the band Vintage Trouble, I only wished someone had told me about them sooner. Based out of LA, this band is a soul-rock powerhouse that taps the depth of Otis Redding and serves it up with the raw electricity of James Brown. Having spent the better part of the last few years in constant touring, supporting the likes of Joss Stone and playing all the major late night shows the band has made themselves a name. This summer they'll be getting the amazing chance to support not only the Rollingstones but also the Who for a few select dates. If the British gods of rock'n'roll can find a place for this band on their stage, I'm sure that you can find them a place in your heart.