Tag: Hamburg

Construction Time Again — Crossword Smiles Build a New Album, “Consequences & Detours,” Out of Grief and Goodbyes

Tom Curless and Chip Saam of Crossword Smiles. Photo by Madeline Curless.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.

Tom Curless and Chip Saam anticipate life’s twists and turns and adjust their plans and perspectives accordingly on Consequences & Detours, the new album by their band, Crossword Smiles.

“At this point in our lives, we start to have a different perspective on life,” said Curless, who lives south of Flint in the town of Grand Blanc.

“You start to see things a little higher at a 30,000-foot view. I’ve lost people, I’ve lost my parents, and all of a sudden, you say, ‘Wow, life seems a little bit different now.’”

That wise perspective permeates Crossword Smiles’ songwriting on its sophomore release, which features 11 tracks about anticipation, disappointment, and discovery.

“I don’t think you can get away from it,” said Saam, who previously lived in Dexter and now resides in the West Michigan town of Dimondale. “If you’re making music and writing songs, some of your life is going to seep into it. There are some specific references to things like in ‘Typical Waving Goodbye.’ I lost a buddy … and I didn’t know when I was saying goodbye to him that I was saying goodbye for good.”

Those relatable experiences on Consequences & Detours quickly connect with listeners, thanks to the duo’s memorable lyrics, infectious harmonies, vivid electric guitars, and melodic instrumentation.

“We really both contributed a lot of things to each song,” said Saam, also a University of Michigan alumnus and host of the internet show Indie Pop Takeout. “It was very fulfilling for me as a musician.”

The musicianship extends to the arrangements, too, which feature violin, mandolin, trumpet, and accordion to augment the core of guitar, bass, and drums.

“We purposely went after different sonic touches on every song if we could,” Curless said.

I recently spoke with Curless and Sam about the album ahead of a May 31 show at Trinity House Theatre in Livonia.

Continue reading “Construction Time Again — Crossword Smiles Build a New Album, “Consequences & Detours,” Out of Grief and Goodbyes” →

The Other Side – Nektar Revisits Past, Present Influences on Latest Album, Performs Tuesday at The Token Lounge

Nektar’s current lineup includes Ron Howden, Derek “Mo” Moore, Ryche Chlanda, Mick Brockett, Kendall Scott and Randy Dembo. Photo by Jay Petsko

Back in 1974, Nektar left a promising sonic door open in Detroit.

The British progressive rock band shared a pulsating new track, “Devil’s Door,” during a show at The Michigan Palace.

“That’s where we wrote it. We had a couple of days in the theater. We were able to jam and play, and we did a lot of that. Then, we played it for the first time at the Palace theater,” said Derek “Mo” Moore, Nektar’s bassist, vocalist and co-founder.

Nektar only played “Devil’s Door” a few more times live that year before stashing it away. The soaring track remained hidden in the band’s vault for nearly 45 years before including it on their majestic new album, “The Other Side,” which dropped in January via Esoteric Antenna.

The eight-minute gem features the band’s late original frontman and co-founder Roye Albrighton on guitar and vocals at the track’s intro. Recorded live by then-sound engineer Vinny Schmid via a soundboard in Detroit, “Devil’s Door” beautifully blends Albrighton’s vibrant guitar and enthusiastic “yeah, yeah, yeahs” with Nektar’s stunning new version of the track. Sadly, Schmid passed away six years ago while Albrigton died in 2016.

“We were able to get the two of them on the album. It just felt right, it was so clear when we played that into the headphones, and then the band came in, and Roye stayed with us for a little while with his parts,” Moore said.

“Then, we dropped the original band and brought up the new band. It just felt great. I called Roye’s wife, and I said, ‘I know I don’t have to ask you for permission, but I’d like your blessing. Is it OK for us to use Roye?’ She was thrilled, and I sent her a copy of it right away. She was blown away.”

Metro Detroit audiences will be blown away Tuesday when Nektar reopens “Devil’s Door” live at The Token Lounge in Westland as part of a current 36-date North American tour. The long-awaited track will be featured as part of the band’s three hour-plus set amidst a stunning video and lights show by visual artist and co-founder Mick Brockett.

“We’re changing the sets every night, especially when we did four days in New York, and we did two days in Baltimore. We try to do a lot of the old classics like ‘Remember the Future,’ ‘A Tab in the Ocean,’ and ‘Recycled,’ and we do a variation of that, and then we intersperse them with the new album, ‘The Other Side,’” Moore said.

Continue reading “The Other Side – Nektar Revisits Past, Present Influences on Latest Album, Performs Tuesday at The Token Lounge” →