Austin Sound

To say that Charles Potts Magic Windmill Band are “quirky” would be an understatement. Song titles like “I Live In My Car” and “Issued By The State” (in reference to an ID) are a hint that “serious” might not be a word this band takes to heart (of course our interview with the band last week is another big hint). Comedy is a tough concept to incorporate into art; as most amateur stand-up comics know, when the jokes don’t come across as intended the results can be, well, “no laughing matter.” But when a band is able to marry ultra-mundane concepts like ID’s, engine trouble, and cancer with humorous wit and Silver Jews-style poignancy, the results can be at once humorous, thought provoking, and above all, an enjoyable listen. The Golden Calf, of course, is the latter.

This month, the Charles Potts Magic Windmill band released their sophomore LP, The Golden Calves. Like most of their work, The Golden Calves carries a biting wit that balances the narratives between irony and sincerity, emphasized by the group’s impressively tight, dead-pan harmonies. With the now-sextet adding drums and more power to their live sound, the Windmill Band expertly pushes boundaries of both genre and taste with their famously self-described “New York City style experimental country.” We spoke with Windmill Band founders Dirk Michener and Travis Catsull for an expectedly tongue-in-cheek explanation of their sound, the band’s origins, the organization of Business Deal Records, and the wonders of sleeping in ditches and cars.

In the wake of the beautiful first official release Lightness Red Hunter and company settled in at the Mohawk for an intimate Peter and the Wolf show. Only a few songs from the new album made it onto the setlist, and even those seemed characteristically off-the-cuff. But along with openers The Interest Kills and the Charles Potts Magic Windmill Band, the evening proved to be an interesting and rewarding mixture of sounds.

Named after northwest poet Charles Potts, the Magic Windmill Band trades in what they describe as “New York City Experimental Country.” It’s about as accurate as anything else to describe their sound - we threw the anti-folk, freak-folk question at them below to no avail – but you shouldn’t think that the CPMWB are any way pretentious art-folkers. Primarily formed around Travis Catsull and Cavedweller’s Dirk Michener, the group builds off the vocal harmonies of Catsull and Reed Posey to twist clever and often hilarious narratives about everything from “Airwolf” to the corrupting influence of their own music. And how can you not love a band that lists Roger Miller and Syd Barrett alongside each other?
The Charles Potts Magic Windmill Band plays this Monday with Pink Nasty and Jana Hunter at the Mohawk.

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This was our first opportunity to review a show at the Mohawk, and we should note first off what a fantastic venue it is, especially for shooting pictures! And the show wasn’t too shabby either. The Black Angels were exceptional with all their flashback-inducing, psychedelic drones, but the opening acts – Charles Potts Magic Windmill Band and the Strange Boys – were surprising highlights of the night.

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