Casper rock
Sometimes when people leave Toronto, good things happen. And that seems to be the case with Allyson Baker, a talented young musician who moved out to San Francisco 11 years ago. Baker was back in town with her new project, Dirty Ghosts, on Saturday, hot on the heels of the band's new and entirely cool album Metal Moon. The Dirty Ghosts sound is a bit of a mash-up that plays on Baker's strengths as a Joan Jett-in-waiting howler on vocals with a bit of L7, some punk and some '80s synth thrown in. We spoke on the phone with with Baker, and here are a few of the highlights.
What is Dirty Ghosts?
Dirty Ghosts started as a studio project I suppose after, for me, a long run of playing in live bands and feeling like I wanted to not do that anymore and just make a record. That was basically how it started. A couple of years ago, I got the bug to create a live band again, and it evolved into what it is now. But the album’s basically a collection of music made over four or five years that I did at home.
Tell me about that album — how much of it is a solo project, and how much a band project?
Basically, it has taken on a couple of different lives. The way it started, myself and Carson [Binks], an old friend from Toronto, moved out together with [the band] Parchman Farm. That ended, and he and I started playing Dirty Ghosts together. It was definitely like a musical partnership. It felt like I knew what I wanted to do, direction-wise, and where I wanted to take it. Carson left and I continued to play by myself. Then, I put a live band together, which is now a different thing. It’s definitely not your typical band scenario at all.
Your husband Aesop Rock is a big part of this whole thing. Tell me about the value of his contributions.
Ex-husband.
Ouch. Don't hang up!
[Laughs] That still comes up. But, I guess we have been separated for about eight months or so. It's cool. He was part of making the record together, it was something I was working on. When we first started putting Dirty Ghosts together, jamming with a drummer, it didn't work out. My ex was like, “Well, why don't I just make the drums?” So we were writing over drum loops. He would create beats for us, that was his role, and then when finishing up some of songs, we'd sit down and add bits and pieces and flesh it out a little bit.
It is a very raw sounding album, very much driven by those beats as opposed to guitar. Why go that route?
All the bands I've played in, pretty much from starting music, including the two main bands that put out records in the last 10 years — Teen Crud Combo and Parchman Farm — were very guitar-heavy bands. I think, with Dirty Ghosts, I was just really trying to do something different. A lot of the album was inspired by rap music and how that is made and just watching him [Aesop Rock] produce music. I was very intrigued by that. And it is fun to try something totally different.
It has almost a bit of a retro feel, maybe a nod to synth bands and punk bands from way back.
Absolutely, all that kind of stuff. You could almost think of it as a peek into a music lover's record collection, a bit of everything. It was more like, “Let's try this and that,” not make it a certain way. So, maybe I always wanted to write a song like The Police, or whatever. With this band, I felt like I could do whatever I wanted, and I'm going to. Stylistically, whatever I was feeling that day is what I went with.
Why did you decide to leave Toronto?
Well, I grew up in Toronto. I guess when I hit 21, I felt like I wanted to do and see other things. I felt like I had hit my limit with Toronto, got as far as I could in the city. A tour with Teen Crud Combo wasn't on the cards, and I'm not sure everyone was in the same headspace in terms of where people wanted the band to go.
And what are the plans for Dirty Ghosts after this album?
I'd love to do things with this band I never got to do with other bands, experience-wise. And I'd love to make records that people like, and be able to play shows and have people come out and see and enjoy — do all the things the bands I admire and are important to me did. Musically, I would love to make a mark, that's the goal for me.
Owen Pallett does the weird collaboration thing… again
Is Owen Pallett Canada's version of Jack White? Maybe. The acclaimed violinist and songwriter likes to get his collab on: he has teamed up with folks such as R.E.M. and is well-known for his work with Arcade Fire. Sure, we get it. But Linkin Park? Well, why not? After all, Jack White coaxed some incredible stuff out of Loretta Lynn and is working with the Insane Clown Posse. Still, we'll reserve judgement until we hear the final product, which will appear on the California thrasher's forthcoming album in June.
Check out Pallett's incredible performance from Guelph's Hillside Festival in 2009:
Lights, Action, Hidden Cameras
If you're like us, you've probably been wondering what the hell happened to the The Hidden Cameras. They released Origin: Orphan in 2009, made a bit of noise, and then it was off to Europe, where they've been for a last couple of years. Two years later, and out of the blue, they’ve now announced a series of East Coast dates — a place they haven't played in five years. According to the band's publicity peeps, there are more dates to be added and you can expect a local show or two over the next couple months. In addition, we've found out that band grand poobah Joel Gibb has been hard at work on a new album while living in Berlin. So, big things on the horizon for a great local band.
The Sadies and the soul singer
Talented Toronto band The Sadies are teaming up with Andre Williams (who happened to write the first single for a fella named Stevie Wonder, among many other things) on a new album, Night and Day, set for release on May 15. The Sadies, a band known and loved across the country, are Dallas Good, Travis Good, Mike Belitsky and Sean Dean. Joining the boys on this new record is one foul-mouthed troubadour and a killer crew of musicians including Matt Verta-Ray of Heavy Trash and Jon Spencer, among others. If the first single is any indication, you can expect some tough, no-nonsense, whiskey-soaked rock ’n’ roll. The album dates back to sessions at the Key Club Studio outside of Detroit, Michigan that began back in 2008. Check out the first single, “One Eyed Jack.”
