Arbouretum is the band, Kale is the album. It’s a split album done with Pontiak and featuring some John Cale covers, as well as new material.
Aural States sat down to chat with Arbouretum frontman Dave Heumann about a month ago at the Cylburn Arboretum, of all places. The wind rustling through the trees can be heard in the background on my hand-held recorder.

Also, be sure the check out Arbouretum and Pontiak at the Talking Head on September 5th.

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Thursday night, the first night of Whartscape, had that still new and fresh feeling…virginal maybe? Open seats were hard to find in theater 1 of the Charles. Wharstscape posters adorned the wall with phrases like “Worm Paste,” and “Owl Dad.” As with much of Wham City, I have no clue what either poster means, and it’s implied that I’m not supposed to know.
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So there is this little thing called Artscape coming up. Apparently it runs Friday to Sunday. I guess they are trying to compete with Whartscape?

Kidding aside, Baltimore is busting at the seems with live music this weekend. Also running, and partially funded by Artscape, is High Zero’s Exotic-Hypnotic Festival of experimental improvisational music. It takes place at the University of Baltimore’s Student Center Performing Arts Theater, 21 W. Mount Royal Ave., 5th floor.

I will not sleep for the next four days.

Here is a quick rundown of non-Whartscape events the Aural States reader my find interesting:

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1. Describe your feelings on Wham City and what it means to you?

When I first was making a decision about whether or not to take job
offers in Toronto and Baltimore I told my grad students in a class at
the Art Institute about the tossup and one of my super energetic and
hilarious students from Baltimore started ranting about Wham City and
how righteous the scene here was and telling me that I should skip
Toronto. I took her advice and haven’t regretted it. (Sorry Toronto!)

The show we are playing takes place on my birthday so it mostly means
Happy Birthday! Aside from that, it’s the fest that we missed last
year because we were moving and now we get to play in the sweet spot
with some of my favorite people from this city. Being on a bill with
Leprechaun Catering and Nautical Almanac is intimidating.

More than I can say in a questionnaire.

4. Come up with a snappy tagline/mantra/motto for one or more of the following: Baltimore, Wham City and Whartscape.

You’re never going to top “The City That Reads” for Baltimore.

I would wear a snake costume because Baltimore has been a
skin-shedding place for me.

I have tried to apply the lede to nut graf format I learned during my brief print journalism career to Aural States posts. My former editor rode me for excessive “throat clearing.” I never got over that habit, and I’ll now take the chance to indulge.

I had gotten very little sleep the night prior to this show, and had been working outside in the hot sun all day. I came to the Metro Gallery badly sunburned and dehydrated. All I really wanted to do was zone out on the couches in the back. I seriously contemplated skipping out on the night, and going to sleep early.

Physically I was present for the opening acts, but not really mentally with it enough to make definitive critical judgments. Read the rest…

All photos: the esteemed Josh Sisk

“FUCK YEA!”–both the name of the tour, and my general impression of the night.

Though The Death Set were the only band actually hailing from Baltimore, I felt the rest of the groups (excluding one) were honorary Baltimoreans for the night. Monotonix have played here often, and recently. They share the intensity, and the weirdo aesthetic of our town. Kim Schifino, of Matt and Kim, said the city was beginning to feel like home.

“Honestly, for a second, I thought we were in Brooklyn. You just keep seeing people at every show. It’s like ‘Oh, yea, it’s that person,’” Kim said (Aural States then explained the Smalltimore effect to her). Read the rest…

If you haven’t heard of Caverns (not likely if you read Aural States often), or Cal Robbins, then you must at least be familiar with J Robbins, former bassist for Government Issue, and producer and engineer for bands like Dismemberment Plan, Clutch, Against Me!, etc.

Unfortunately, what should have been the highlight of both his, and wife Janet Morgan’s life, has turned to tragedy. Their son Callum was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA-Type 1), an incurable nerve disorder that kills, often before the patient has reached his second birthday.

No parent wants to go through this, but this is what J. and Janet must face. As expected the health care costs are ridiculous, and there is no company heath plan for being a musician.

Members of the music community have come together for benefit compilations, and live show, most notably a Dismemberment Plan reunion.

This Friday (6/13) Caverns, along with headliners The Bakerton Group (featuring members of Clutch), The Deleted Scenes, and Hammer No More The Fingers will perform a benefit concert at DC’s Black Cat.

More information on Cal and donations can be found at his blog, For Callum. If you can’t make it, then buy a ticket anyway. As Kevin from Caverns–and by extension J, Janet, and Cal– said, whatever support you can provide “We’d appreciate the shit out of it.”

No ticket giveaway for this one folks. This show is about a little more than rocking-the-fuck-out, though Caverns still do that amazingly well.

Baltimore is no stranger to electronic dance music. We’ve got bmore club, Starscape, Cex, Dan Deacon, etc. So what makes the launch of More or Less–a new Baltimore techno label, and outgrowth of the bmore-electro message forum–so special? Because the founding members “are proud to
bring Baltimore back to the grown folks table of electronic music.”

I couldn’t have put it better myself.

The bmore-electro forum is an invaluable resource for the Baltimore area EDM fan. Compared to DC’s Buzz Life forum, bmore-electro exudes decent taste in EDM, mainly Detroit techno and acid house. And to paraphrase what was said about The Clash, techno and house are the only EDM genres that matter. Read the rest…

All photos: Josh Sisk

Dan Deacon is a showman.  If you have ever seen him live, you know he fucking kills it.  But what I find remarkable about him, and unique to just a very few other individuals, is his ability to completely control the crowd.  Performing on the floor amongst a rowdy crowd draws the apt comparison to a lion tamer with his head down the big cat’s throat-what a show, but he’s really putting it all out there, and it could all go wrong quickly.

In both cases, absolute confidence is needed.

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DC’s Caverns will play at the Ottobar this Thursday, the 29th, along with Lush Farm, Driving in Silence, and Person Parcel.

I’m not that familiar with the other bands playing, but from what I know my gut reaction is to bemoan the fact that shows aren’t prorated just for the bands you want to see. However, no amount of arguing with the doorman “I’m just here for one set” has ever yielded me the results I wanted.

But trust me this dramatic instrumental metal trio is worth price of admission. Man, they even have a tech on stage delivering a killer light show. Kevin goes apeshit on the guitar, a man wailing with daemonic fury. When Kevin throttles back, Pat fills in on the keyboard with melancholic arpeggios, and classical flourishes. And Caverns is fucking LOUD.

Seriously don’t let the fact that a Gary B side project is also on the bill scare you away. Well, actually…