SOUNDTRACK: GIVERS-Tiny Desk Concert #144 (June 22, 2011).
Givers play a light on poppy tropical kind of music. Their music feels summery and light. Between the sorta reggae guitar and the tons of percussion, the songs are fun and danceable.
As “Meantime” opened the show, I was really struck by the bass. The bass plays a lot of high notes and some seamless riffs. It’s really the lead instrument. And there’s also percussion all over the place. The sound the great is really full for so few instruments. Of course, it really comes as no surprise to hear there’s a flute solo, even though it wasn’t apparent that anyone had a flute–it’s as if a wandering flute minstrel happened by just at the right time.
The band has two singers, Taylor Guarisco and Tiffany Lamson. On “Up Up Up” the two duet in the beginning and then switch off vocal lines. Taylor’s voice is higher, while Tiffany’s is deeper, raspy and interesting (although I’m not quite sure it works with their sweet music, or perhaps she’s just not loud enough). There’s more fun bass lines in this song (I’m intrigued that he switches from a pick to pickless playing). This song features some xylophone which also sounds perfect with their music. Perhaps it’s the way he sings the “up up up” part but it definitely gives the song a reggae feel (especially with that afropop bass). I really like this song, especially the surprise ending of one, two, three, four-xylophone slide-five.
For the final song, “Atlantic” there’s much switching around. Tyler and the bassist switch instruments and Tiffany picks up a large ukulele. She sings lead and you can really hear her raspy voice (again, not loud enough). This song is mellow and as such the bass isn’t quite as fun (although Tyler does have a similar bass sensibility). I’m curious to hear what they sound like when they are not unplugged.
Although frankly, I can do without Tyler’s crazy faces.
[READ: March 27, 2016] Dragons Beware
After the successes of Claudette in Giants Beware, everyone is back (with a new problem created by Claudette) in Dragons Beware.
As the book opens, Claudette is telling the story of a great sword made by the great blacksmith Augustine (her father). The sword was called Breaker and no magic could defeat it. One day Augustine went to fight the fearsome dragon Azra the Atrocious. Sadly for him, the dragon is the one who did the damage that we saw in the first book (missing an arm and a leg..and the dragon swallowed the sword too).
When she finishes the story, she says that she can go fight Azra herself, with her own little wooden sword.
In the next scene we see that the evil Grombach is amassing an army–he has been magically converting ravens into giant walking gargoyles. So although Claudette has invented a problem to solve, the village has a real problem coming their way. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 