Catalina caper

Here's another piece on a band that broke up not too long after I wrote about them. Poor, poor Salena Catalina. They were quite talented, actually.

So who will be the next victim of my curse? I'd put my money on Barry Glenn Davis. His label seems to have folded, and the contact info for both him and his Denis Learyesque-looking manager has yielded nothing. Is he still in the game? Haven't a clue.

RECORD REVIEW: SALENA CATALINA

By David O'Connell

(published October 23, 2003 in The York Dispatch)

How do I describe a relatively unknown band to thee? Let me count the ways. One trick is to reduce the band's identity to the end result of a pseudo-algebraic equation. If you like bands A and B, the reasoning goes, then you will just absolutely love this brand new band C that I am going to tell you all about, for they sound exactly like bands A and B put together. Of course, this method is only truly effective if the bands being referenced enjoy a large measure of popularity and/or infamy. So if Salena Catalina, a relatively unknown Pittsburgh-based quartet led by York Suburban graduate Lexi Rebert, combines the drugged-out experimentation of mid-60s Beatles with the new age stylings of Mr. John Tesh, then you, the music writer, have it made. As an added bonus, it affords you the opportunity to include a John Tesh 'large forehead' joke somewhere in your review, and those are always fun to do.

However, if Salena Catalina instead combines the sassy vocal stylings of Save Ferris with the wiry-sounding jazz-rock interplay of Soul Coughing, a comparison that is closer to reality, then you have raised more questions than you have answered. Questions such as: Just who is Soul Coughing, anyway? (Answer: A New York City band who released three records in the '90s, broke through at alternative radio in 1998 with the top 10 hit "Circles," and split up soon after.) Or: Yeah, I know who Soul Coughing is! They did that "Runaway Train" song, right? (Answer: No. You are thinking of Soul Asylum.) And: Hey, wasn't Save Ferris the slogan used in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off? (Answer: Yes. But a ska band adopted it as their moniker, and scored an alternative radio hit six years ago with a cover of Dexy’s Midnight Runners' "Come On Eileen.") To go such a route will likely distract your readership into fondly reminiscing about the 1986 hit movie that catapulted Matthew Broderick to stardom, and not giving a second thought to two cult bands they probably have never heard of anyway.

If the writer is of the deferential sort, he can always let the band and their associates pin the label on themselves. Salena Catalina bassist and primary songwriter Pete Bush attempted such a feat when a writer from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette asked him to describe the band’s music. "It’s the hardest question in the world for us to answer, because we have jazzy elements that I guess give it a slight jazz sound." he said. "But there’s kind of a pop catch to it there somewhere, and those old sex-jazz song cover versions we started out with is the sex thing in the whole jazz-sex-pop or however we’ve been describing ourselves."

I couldn't have said it more tentatively myself. In an early band bio, publicist Sean Enright dispensed with the kind-of's and the I guess's and offered up this description: "More than a band, they are a vibrant musical lapdance." A colorful way of putting it, and there certainly is a 'come-hither' element to Lexi’s vocals, but only a morbid stripper would inject words like "schizophrenic," "forensics," and "poisoned tree" into her sex talk. Also, I think Lexi might be a little too brainy and wordy to fit the aural sex kitten role that Sean has created for her. (Perhaps it gets harder to completely shut one's brain off when you are the daughter of a lawyer---in this case, York County District Attorney H. Stanley Rebert.)

More than that, Sean does Salena Catalina a mild disservice by placing the sexual overtones ahead of the music, which cannot be described adequately using the above models. For instance, take the song "Silky Smooth," which appears on their debut CD, Feel Like A Good Girl. It begins with a little in-joke: a short snippet of the band performing an old jazz number called "She Ain’t Much Of A Wrestler, But You Ought To See Her Box," a nod to their risque novelty jazz days. Eleven seconds in, the swinging stops, Bush’s fuzz-bass kicks in, and chaos ensues, with keyboardist Jen Catalina launching into a series of air raid siren keyboard parts as Lexi coolly strolls in and deftly drops a series of rat-a-tat lines that make her sound like a film-noir actress drunk on free association. One verse finds her in the 1940s, walking through the streets of an unnamed city, and consorting with politicians, while the futuristic second verse sends Lexi on a rocket trip to one of Saturn’s moons, then over to the Sun, and finally back to Earth, re-entering the atmosphere somewhere over South America. After a few slow/fast dynamic shifts, the song winds to a close with an extended electric piano solo reminiscent of the one that capped off Faith No More’s 1990 hit "Epic." It’s an incredibly dizzying, tremendously exciting song, and the musicianship on display clearly trumps whatever prurient interest one might be able to find in it.

So based on this one track, I could say that Salena Catalina equals Faith No More plus Ben Folds Five, but that sort of shorthand would be misleading, since they don’t sound like either group on any other song. It really doesn't even work for the song itself, as parts of it sound like neither of the two groups, and the Ben Folds reference pertains to the way a specific instrument is played, not to the overall sound or the band's compositional style. The jazz/sex/pop description really falls short when it comes to a song like "Fly Away Bird," which is neither sexy (a male band member handles the vocal duties in a decidedly non-lusty manner), nor explicitly jazzy. A detailed track-by-track description of the music and lyrics might suffice, although it would be easier for one to listen to the CD, and experience their uniqueness without labels getting too much in the way.

More info on Salena Catalina can be found at SalenaCatalina.com.

-Dave O'Connell

The lead and how to swing it

Six stories, six leads, one easy way to clear the decks of a bunch of stories in one sitting! All of these were published in The York Dispatch between May 2003 and June 2004. Here we go:

Recording studios: The '80s were a breeding ground for novelty songs. Rising above the techno-pop pack were such hits as "Pac-Man Fever," Buckner & Garcia’s spellbinding tale of a nation addicted to a dot-eating three-dimensional yellow sphere’s valiant struggle against a pack of unruly ghosts, and "Rock Me Amadeus," Falco's defiant taunt aimed a defenseless, long-dead Austrian composer. For better and for worse, it was an anything-goes era.

Around that same time, boxer Larry Holmes was turning around a few questions in that battered head of his. Questions like 'Can I be the World Heavyweight Champion and make a name for myself in the music industry at the same time?' and 'Should I get a record producer from York to help me establish this second career?' Holmes decided 'yes' on both counts, and hooked up with Jerry Duncan to form their own record label, Knockout Records. (1/11/04)

Tea: They take their name from their favorite beverage, "green tea," a drink of Chinese heritage. Their debut record is called Anfang, which means 'beginning' in German. Bassist Dane Jensen is credited in Anfang’s liner notes with "rhythmic chanting," while drummer Alex Smith is credited in their latest press release with playing everyone's favorite West African drum, the djembe.

So it might come as a surprise that these cultural overtones apply not to a group of worldly adults, but to four York Suburban Senior High students who go by the name of Tea. Though none of them are seniors, and guitarist Joe Giuffrida is only a sophomore, the quartet has already won two different 'Battle of the Bands' competitions, appeared live on WRVV (97.3 FM), and helped usher in the New Year as part of York’s annual First Night tradition.

And on September 5, the group will celebrate the release of their first CD with a 6:30 p.m. show at the Yorktowne Hotel in York. Proceeds from the event will benefit Olivia's House, a non-profit organization that specializes in helping children ages 5-18 deal with the loss of a parent, sibling, or close friend. Tea's first involvement with Olivia's House came this past April, when they won free studio time at York’s Bullet Records in a 'Battle of the Bands' fundraiser sponsored by the organization. (9/4/03)

Amilia K. Spicer: She’s been called a "fearless performer" by the San Antonio Express-News. Mysterious forces have compelled music writers to rhyme with one another when describing her voice, judging from previous articles that have labeled her singing as "husky" (Monterey Coast Weekly), "dusky" (Vic’s Music Corner), and yes, "musky" (Sing Out!). And if reviewer Vic Heyman is to be believed, she has the "wit of an elf," though probably not that of a Keebler Elf, because no one could be that funny.

The performer in question is Adams County native (and current Los Angeles resident) Amilia K. Spicer, who has also been referred to in the press as sounding not only "erotic," but like a "seductive lover" and a "French chanteuse." Not that she has a problem with those descriptions, mind you.

"Reviewers often mention the sexiness of my music, and if that's so, I'm pleased," she says. "To me all great music is sensual, and that can be heard in both a whisper and a wail." (8/14/03)

Book Blast: Let us ponder the fate of unwanted books. Some are donated to libraries. Others wait out the years in a musty old attic or a dark, cobweb-filled basement. A few lucky ones are put to practical use---propping up uneven table legs, for instance, or swatting down insects when a traditional flyswatter is not readily available. And sometimes, an unloved book meets its maker when the family pet chances upon it, ignores whatever literary qualities it possesses, and uses it as a chew-toy.

By contrast, the York County Heritage Trust deals with their discards in a much more capitalistic manner. Every year, they sort through piles and piles of books, filter the extraneous titles out of their library, and offer them up for sale at their annual 'Book Blast' event, lifting off from the Agricultural & Industrial Museum in York on August 8. (8/7/03)

Quarry art: Core samples. They are our friends. Every day, these cylindrical pieces of subsurface material offer us great insight into the world. We learn much about geology, and it retroactively justifies all that cash we spent on the insanely expensive drilling equipment that was purchased to remove the darn thing in the first place.

And sometimes, they are our enemies. I, for one, am reminded of my high school marching band days in the trombone section, where we'd steal the mouthpieces from each other's instruments and take "core samples" of our own by jamming them into the soft earth of the football field. Good pranks to be sure, but man were those things difficult to clean out afterwards!

To York artist Bill Thompson, core samples are raw materials for art, like everything else in nature. As he sees it, nothing is too mundane that it can't be transformed into something aesthetically pleasing. (6/1/03)

Barry Glenn Davis: On the road of life, there are passengers and there are drivers. And then there’s Barry Glenn Davis, the ticket-taker at the Exit 9 tollbooth. He nods hello, accepts your fare, and waves you through to your destination.

It's a place where adultery is king, the Cadillac is queen, and every joker in town is doing the wrong things right. A land where cerebral wordplay is in, mindless pretentiousness is out, and entertaining yarns are spun by the minute.

And the best part? It only takes 48 minutes to soak up every hazy memory, ill-considered romance, and convoluted caper to be found within its borders.

That's the running time of Barry Glenn Davis' self-titled debut CD, released this past March on Lanark Records. A big fan of hyphenation (and of toll road-themed cover art), Davis describes himself as an "alt-countrabilly, honky-tonk songwriter," perhaps suggesting that he is not tied to any one specific genre, but to roots music in general. No matter how you label it, the 31-year-old Felton native seems preternaturally at ease in his first major project, the culmination of almost two years of work. (5/22/03)

-Dave O'Connell

Whale writer

TV's Ham Tyler from V: The Series finally gets his props in this recent story:

MOBY DICK LEFEVER, PRINCE OF WHALES

By David O’Connell

(published May 22, 2005 in the York Daily Record/Sunday News without puns in the title)

Of the many motion pictures Hollywood has bestowed upon us, none illustrates the common bond between whales and juvenile delinquents better than Free Willy. The story of Jesse, a 12-year-old vandal with a sensitive side, and Willy, the orca whale he saves from certain death, was the surprise hit of the 1993 summer moviegoing season. Its success spawned Free Willy 2 and Free Willy 3, presumably dealing with the unfreeing, refreeing, reunfreeing, and unreunfreeing of the title character, and put to rest any lofty connotations one might have associated with the term “motion picture trilogy.”

Long before that, Dick Lefever was freeing a Willy of a different sort. The stakes weren’t near as high, as the Willy he freed wasn’t being pursued by a villainous park owner played by veteran character actor Michael Ironside. And instead of feeding on squid and salmon, this Willy preferred to guzzle down gallons of gasoline.

The Willy that Lefever was freeing was, of course, a 1941 Willys Coupe. Over the years, Lefever freed it from a life of never knowing what it would be like to have a 460 with a blower and two four-barrel carburetors inside it, among other modifications. Like Jesse’s pal of the high seas, the Willys Coupe endures today, and occupies a special place in Lefever’s heart.

“I’ve worked on fourteen cars, but the Willys Coupe is my pride and joy,” said Lefever.

Dick Lefever is no ordinary car enthusiast. He is an elder statesman of Yorktowne Rod and Custom, a car club dating back to 1959. And while its 35 or so members have toiled on cars ranging from a ’30 Chevy to a ’47 DeSoto, the focus isn’t just on retooling.

“It’s very informal,” Lefever says of the club he joined back in 1961, at the age of sixteen. “There are no work details, like some other clubs. We just try to kick tires a little bit, and decide what shows we’re going to attend.”

Like, for instance, this year’s Street Rod Nationals East. The club has set up shop every year the show has been in existence, and this year will be no different.

“We’ve got fourteen or fifteen cars lined for up this year,” he says. The Class of 1941 will be well represented, with Lefever’s ‘41 Willys Coupe joining a ’41 Willys Roadster, a ’41 Dodge and a ’41 Plymouth for a grand reunion.

Another of Lefever’s cars will be making the trip, namely his ’36 Chevy Sedan. “I’ve had it for about seventeen years,” he says. “I bought it as a partially built car and finished it. It has a 350 Chevy motor, power glide transmission, Ford independent front suspension, and a Ford rear in it.”

That’s not the only sedan to which the club can lay claim. Vice-president Gary Beyer, a hot rod aficionado since 1968, owns a ’32 Pro-Streeted two-door Chevy Sedan with ’88 Mustang GT running gear underneath. “I chopped the top, filled the roof in with steel, took three inches out of the top and lowered it,” says Beyer of the extremely made-over car. Not even the windows were spared: Beyer made them three inches smaller.

“That car’s been on the road since I started,” he notes proudly. “I’ve rebuilt it three times, but it’s still on the road.”

Three times? Well then, by current president Mike Mentzer’s standards, Beyer should be a certified genius. “You can learn a lot about automobiles just by working on them,” he says. “If you don’t work on a car, you’re never going to learn anything about it.”

Mentzer has three lifetimes’ worth of knowledge as his disposal. His father was a mechanic and his grandfather worked on cars, so the early years of his life were spent poking around a place built for things nearing the end of their life: the junkyard.

“I remember Saturday mornings, we’d all go down the junkyard,” he says. “We’d look for cars, take them home, and then bring them back to life.”

And so began a lifetime of playing Dr. Frankenstein to various automobiles, many of them not street rods. It’s only appropriate, too, that his taste in cars isn’t limited to street rods, as the Yorktowne Rod & Custom is open to car-lovers of all stripes.

“We allow anything,” says Lefever. “It can be street rods, muscle cars, or antiques. Any type of car.”

That’s the key word with these guys: casual, like the easy camaraderie between a young boy and his screentested, 6,000-pound whale friend. Lefever sums it up nicely: “What makes our club different is that we’re not tied down to work. We’re a lean-back friendly club.”