By Chloe Davis, SFR Intern

With drippy old-school punk sounds, Low On High brings a breath of fresh air to punk rock fans in Santa Fe. While the band’s sound doesn’t fall far from the tree of the prettier of Velvet Underground’s songs, one could say that Low On High is more active and energetic; it induces wild dancing and head bobbing, rather than shoe-gazing.

With LOH, Santa Fe filmmaker Jon Moritsugu and his wife Amy Davis have formed a band that tests its audience but is simultaneously totally listenable. Now this mixture of old-school and nu-wave plays at Corazón on Sunday along with Venus Bogardus, Rainbow Arabia and Broken Water as part of Corazón’s SXSF Transit Music Fest (Rainbow Arabia and Broken Water are on their way to Austin for SXSW).

Learn more about LOH and get the details on the performance below the jump.

Continue reading »

The end of this month marks South by Southwest, the legendary music festival in Austin that brings musicians traipsing from far and wide to play with thousands of other folk-rock-indie-alternative-generally cool artists. Santa Fe, depending on where you’re coming from, is on the way or very close to being on the way to Austin, so each year we get to rope in tons of talent that may not otherwise swing by our neck of the woods.

There are tons of chances to catch SXSW artists in Santa Fe this week; Corazón, for one, is holding the first (annual?) SXSF Transit Music Festival from March 11-15, bringing in tons of stellar acts on their way to Texas. Cowgirl has a bunch of shows this week as well, some of which we were able to feature in this week’s paper, but one of which slipped through the cracks (it got confirmed past our press deadlines): Anamieke Quinn will play the Girl this Friday, March 12, along with ABQ rockers Ants Have Voices.

Quinn is pretty much totally badass. She’s presently based in Phoenix, so she’s really coming out of her way to play for us, and we here at SFR are quite chuffed that she’s making the trip. While she’s played in bands since college and may perhaps be best known as the yodeling cowgirl that played with Phish for the band’s Vegas ‘96 show, Quinn is now a decidedly solo act. Lady-led bands are all well and good, but there are few things hotter than a girl onstage with an acoustic guitar (this, coming from a nothing-but-straight female), and that’s precisely what Quinn is.

Go below the jump for more about Quinn, plus a rundown of a slew of acts that are on their way to the Motherland. Continue reading »

After talking to several local musicians about how they write love songs, I started to think about how I write them. I realized that writing a love song is one of the trickiest things to do. Conveying the deepest of emotions in an articulate and intelligent manner is hard enough without having to worry about accompanying music and fitting the words into a time signature. Take a deep breath and focus on the lyrics first. After all, you want to be able to say exactly what you want, and you can worry about making them fit with your music later. Besides, what are song lyrics if not poetry? As long as you take the following steps to heart, you’ll have no problem wowing that special someone.

1. Find a man/woman and become obsessed…and I mean Boxing Helena obsessed. You need to find out where they work and where they’ll be. Using Facebook is a great way to find e-mail addresses and phone numbers, as well as look at photos of that beach trip they took and the kind of swimwear they purchase. Reading their horoscope every day is a good place to start as well. You can approach them with an opener like, “I understand that today you’re having a two star day. Is there anything I can do to bring that up to three or even four stars?” If they look at you with deep concern in their eyes, it’s only because they’re moved by your interest.
2. Taking cues from the world of cinema never backfires. Grand romantic gestures may sound creepy when you first think about it, but surely he/she can be won over in two seconds by climbing the tree outside their house and serenading them with any of a number of 80s hits. Standing in the rain and staring at their window is a good plan as well. I mean, if there is anything we’ve learned from films, people love unhealthy, dangerous maniacs who are willing to cross personal boundaries, break laws and  just about do anything to show they’re not unhealthy, dangerous maniacs.
3. Learn his/her routine. Does he/she grocery shop at a certain time each week? Do they go to a specific laundromat? If you’re to write a song about this person, you’ll need to observe them in their natural habitat. Or, you can go further. Where do they work? Fabricating a bogus story about needing whatever services their employer might offer is the perfect setup for getting to know someone. If they tell you that you can’t afford said services because you look like you haven’t showered in a week and there’s a crazy look in your eye, don’t be deterred…suits are readily available at any number of Thrift Stores, and you can use the grease your hair produces naturally to fashion a kicky new style.
4. Now that you’ve put together all the info you need, it’s time to get writing. Make sure to compare his/her eyes to natural wonders like the ocean. Telling someone their eyes are beautiful is in no way overdone, and it disarms those who hear it by showing them you’re sensitive. Whatever you do, don’t go into detail about how you want to fuck them and how you would fuck them. You need to make this person believe that you want to spend a Notebook-esque fairy tale life with them. The last thing you need to do is let them know that once they are yours you’ll try less, your hygiene will pretty much go out the window and you’ll grow to resent them for always trying to talk to you when you just want a fucking minute to have a thought to yourself.
5. Now it’s time to show the object of your desires the song you’ve written. Choose a place as public as humanly possible to prove to them you don’t care who knows you love them. If you’re in school, the cafeteria is a great place. If you’re not in school, go to his/her work. The innocent bystanders will all melt at your inability to recognize what is appropriate, and he/she will see the amount of effort you’ve put into this song means that you’re a caring and wonderful human. Don’t be nervous if he/she is left with his/her mouth agape and a look of terror across his/her face. He/she is just blown away by your musical genius and your lyrical prowess.

You may think you know the hardest-working man in showbiz, but you ain’t seen nothing til you’ve checked out the Russell Sharf and Jazz Explosion. Comprised of Milton Villarubia on drums, Case Tanner (also of the Bus Tapes) on electric bass and Scharf on trumpet, the trio rocks Osaka this weekend with—yes—a jazz explosion. The first Saturday of every month at Osaka will feature the group playing everything from original songs, fun covers and jazz standards to Michael Jackson.

So, all in all, there are three things that you need to have a sweet evening in Santa Fe: sushi (get over that fish-in-the-desert fear), high-quality tunes and three cool guys to deliver said tunes. Done and done.

Russell Scharf and Jazz Explosion

7 pm
Saturday, Feb. 6

Osaka
3501 Zafarano Drive
471-6698

Perhaps you saw the ad for CB McCarty of the Steve Miller Band and his new band Magdelayna’s Dream in the paper. This ad said the band would be playing on Saturday, when in reality, this totally worth-your-time show is on Friday, Jan. 29!  You may recall that not only has McCarty put together that awesome Heart of Santa Fe benefit compilation album, but he put together that excellent Have a Heart For Haiti benefit show at the Cowgirl the other night.

Look, this guy has given so much of himself to the community, that the time is ripe to repay the favor. Grab anyone you can and head up Canyon Road to check it out. Do it. Seriously. Do it. Now. Plan on it. Make it happen. Do what I say. Besides, McCarty is a great musician, and it would be sweet to see what he’s cooked up.