Some people just have more time in their day. Take Starflyer 59, for instance. These guys are always working; they don’t simply finish one record and start working on the next, they fill the space between them with EPs and side projects. The newest “piece of the SF 59 puzzle,” as bassist Jeff Cloud refers to it, is Can’t Stop Eating, a five-song EP. The record, says Cloud, “captures a certain time in the band’s history. It shows that we are a tank, we just keep going. We don't give up.”
They don’t give up, indeed. Cloud’s other band, Pony Express, is working on a new album for release on his own record label, Velvet Blue Music. The company is also in the process of releasing a new VBM sampler and 7-inches by Richard Swift, plus a split-side with Rocky Votolato/Suffering & The Hideous Thieves.
And while Can‘t Stop Eating was released, SF 59 frontman Jason Martin put out an album with another side project, Bon Voyage. The band features Julie Martin – Jason’s wife – singing songs strikingly similar, although spicier, to those on Starflyer’s EP. The record, The Right Amount, has been received to modest attention and positive reviews. Martin describes the band best: “We don't want to sound like Alanis or any of those angry girls. Julie and I wanted to make catchy pop songs about love and friendship. We wanted to make music that was refreshing and lighter than Starflyer 59, and that's what I think we accomplished.” Cloud says that Bon Voyage doesn’t interfere with SF 59, because Martin is such a prolific songwriter.
Now Starflyer 59 is working on songs for their new album, which will be recorded by Aaron Sprinkle, of Poor Old Lu fame. The band is still discussing possible directions they might travel, but one thing is settled: they will have a new drummer in Frank Lenz, who plays on VBM’s new Richard Swift 7-inch. Just like Martin and Cloud, who started playing together in high school, Frank Lenz is “a long time friend,” Cloud says. The new album is scheduled for recording in January, and the band plans to play select dates in the Midwest the following month.
Why do Starflyer 59 work so hard? Cloud reflects on his influences and what it means for his output: “Think of how many bands only make it to their second record? I'll feel accomplished when our tenth record is done. I remember when I got into the Smiths. I was so excited to see how many different recordings were available from them. I hope our band will be like that to someone.”
-Adam Robinson
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In regards to the new Bon Voyage record, I personally enjoy the return to a slightly more ragged, electrically soulful sound on some songs. I realize that Bon Voyage is a different endeavor than Starflyer 59, with different goals (requiring a different handling of songs), but essentially the music still has the hazy imprint of Jason's songwriting all over it.
Of all of Staflyer 59' releases, I have found some of the older, "louder" albums to have more cathartic value, while the more recent offerings have been more contemplative and mellowed in tone. That being said, I must say I prefer the older material personally. It's not a matter of differential songwriting, just -as Ronnie Martin said in a recent HM article- "progression without change". It's only natural that once someone writes tonally similar songs for an extended period, that a stylistic change becomes inevitable.
I know, too many words. But, in short, anything Jason Martin, or any artist for that matter, puts out deserves to be judged not only against their previous body of work, but as its own individual identity. And Bon Voyage's latest outing is successful at acheiving that Right Amount.
~Art For All ~ B
Posted by:
Bernie Smith on March 2, 2003 01:32 AM
In regards to the new Bon Voyage record, I personally enjoy the return to a slightly more ragged, electrically soulful sound on some songs. I realize that Bon Voyage is a different endeavor than Starflyer 59, with different goals (requiring a different handling of songs), but essentially the music still has the hazy imprint of Jason's songwriting all over it.
Of all of Staflyer 59' releases, I have found some of the older, "louder" albums to have more cathartic value, while the more recent offerings have been more contemplative and mellowed in tone. That being said, I must say I prefer the older material personally. It's not a matter of differential songwriting, just -as Ronnie Martin said in a recent HM article- "progression without change". It's only natural that once someone writes tonally similar songs for an extended period, that a stylistic change becomes inevitable.
I know, too many words. But, in short, anything Jason Martin, or any artist for that matter, puts out deserves to be judged not only against their previous body of work, but as its own individual identity. And Bon Voyage's latest outing is successful at acheiving that Right Amount.
~Art For All ~ B
Posted by:
Bernie Smith on March 2, 2003 01:32 AM
