As far as pure classic pop albums go, last year’s Phonographic Memory from the Alice Rose is as good as anything Austin has to offer. Behind the upbeat harmonies and high-pitching, bittersweet vocals of JoDee Purkeypile bubbles a Beatles lilt and traces of Big Star, impressive arrangements couched in accessible and catchy tunes. But the songs open up in more directions than simple pop, the keys balancing moments of bigger guitars and constant contortions that keep the music from settling. Although the group has been together for six years (and the members much longer than that), Phonographic Memory is their first offering and they are already preparing their follow-up. You can catch them this Saturday at Emo’s Lounge opening for Tammany Hall Machine, Red Monroe, and Future Clouds and Radar.
Profile : The Alice Rose
Year Formed:
2001
Members/Instruments played:
JoDee Purkeypile (Vocals and Guitar), Sean Crooks (Bass and Vocals), Chris Sensat (Drums and Percussion), Brendan Rogers (Keyboards and Vocals), and Colin Slagle (Lead Guitar)
Former Bands/Side Projects:
PigGie Hat (1997-2000), which was a band I had with Sean, Chris, and our chum Paul Murray. We put out one record, which we recorded at Congress House, where we seven years later made Phonographic Memory, with Mark Hallman, and an EP before we took a year off and I began to write different material. Then we formed The Alice Rose. Planet Rye Co (2001-present) is a psychdelic-art-experimental project we’ve been involved with on the side since the earliest days of the band. Rye Co has around 17 albums recorded for Emerald Wood Records, and we all write and contribute songs to that, which has always kept the Alice Rose thing fresh.
Albums:
Phonographic Memory (2006, Emerald Wood Records) is our first album. We’re working on releasing a single by this Fall, so we’re looking for a label. We’re well set to record another full length. We’ve just been trying to find some decent management or an adoring record label. You know where to find us, Mr. Big.
Influences:
Strange music, strange women, evening, sex, Autumn, etc.
Strangest comment or comparison ever made about your music:
Whatever people think of us is up to them. We’ve been called powerpop, which I always think sounds dumb. I think of a gymnasium or an arena when I hear that. Big power chords and shit like that. We get a lot of comparisons to the years 1978 and 1982. It all sucks, and it is all strange to me.
Favorite local bands:
We’ve got lots of enemies, I’ll tell you that. No matter how mean and tough and cruel they all are, we still love those Jungle Rockers. Those young men sure do drink a lot of alcohol, though. Other fab gear picks of 2007? A Crack in the Wall, The Come Latelys, The Doom Creatures, Mike Johns, and the late great Red Williams. What a sad story, but who can say what the future holds?
Favorite local venue:
Oh, I guess it would have to be Gino’s. I mean, they just can’t be beat for grim lighting. We also dig Emo’s, Mohawk, and Ruta Maya. Lately I’ve been skulking around the woods, looking a friend and some fire.
Upcoming shows scheduled:
We’ll be at Emo’s Lounge August 4th. We’re also taking part in the 1967 Hoot to be held at Ruta Maya August 25, and we’ll be performing an undisclosed ‘67 track August 21 live on KLBJ’s Local Licks, so everyone tune in to that.
Shows over the next month that you’re excited to see:
A Crack in the Wall will be at Carousel Lounge August 8. It could be their final appearance ever, so I am taping their live album. I’m calling it PLASTERED.
Some of your favorite albums from the past year:
I haven’t listened to much. I sure haven’t. Jack is quite the dull boy, these days.
Ideal band (past or present) to open for on a national tour:
I wish we could have had Harry Partch on the bill. Maybe him or The Shaggs. We might have settled for the 13 Floor Elevators, maybe. Just so I could have seen them, right in their prime, about Spring 1967, or even right after Easter Everywhere came out in late ‘67.
Austin Sound question:
What’s your favorite Phonographic Memory?
I fell on my head when I was a kid. I was crawling on all fours, howling at the moon, and screaming bloody murder. I also remember hearing “I Call Your Name” by the Beatles when I was 4 or 5. I remember blowing up my dad’s speakers when I was a kid. I remember being on acid at a Robert Plant and Jimmy Page concert in 1994 and seeing all this rotten neon green meat hanging from the ceiling of Frank Erwin. Sean was there, too, I found out later, and he remembers nothing up there. Rotting-pumping-weird-seaweed-messed-up-
meat-junk, waaaaay high up there.
Song Introduction:
“Wisteria” I wrote in the Fall of 2005. I had it my mind this image of a field somewhere in West Texas, and it was like the ultimate field; this strange, pastoral, gothic Americana autumn night with a full moon. I don’t know where I went after that. Things got weird. I definitely remember writing it. I still have the working tape of it and it sounds like Simon and Garfunkel. There’s a Native American element in there. There’s a Lovecraft vibe, too.
Sound Off:
I’ve always felt like we were meant to exist in the 1960’s, and that we were all killed back then and are reincarnated now, doomed in this abomination of a time we’re living in. It’s often weird to think about how long Sean, Chris, and I have been together; 11 years ! That’s a fucking long time. I mean, we’ve never been part of the trend, or just some silly indie rock thing, or whatever; we’ve had to get where we’re at by ourselves, and I think we’re due some sort of divine thing for that alone. I have no clue where our music is headed. Lately, it’s been heading towards a darker way, but methinks it’s since the fall is coming. I don’t know what real power and influence music has over anybody these days. It used to mean a lot. That said, I’m often wondering whether or not Louisiana people have eyelids that close vertically, like a Fishuman. Gills? I don’t know. I was just thinking about it. Brendan and his fiance have this really nice house in Hyde Park. It’s not haunted, but there’s still time to render that. I think I’ll go read and then maybe play some piano. It’s raining outside. Thank you, Austin Sound, and goodbye to you as well, John/Jane Reader. I hope this has made your life worth living.
Mp3s from Phonographic Memory:
Wisteria
Stop
Websites:
www.thealicerose.com
Myspace
