{"id":36388,"date":"2017-08-29T16:57:19","date_gmt":"2017-08-29T20:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=36388"},"modified":"2017-08-29T16:57:23","modified_gmt":"2017-08-29T20:57:23","slug":"on-stage-spotlight-allie-x-new-name-new-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=36388","title":{"rendered":"On Stage (Spotlight): Allie X, new name, new music"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Staff Writer, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Allie X<\/p><\/div>\n

Since the release of her new album \u201cCollxtion II,\u201d publications and album reviewers have been referring to Allie X as a new pop act.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s hardly the case.<\/p>\n

Allie X, who will headline a show on August 29 at The Foundry at Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal Street, Philadelphia, 215-309-0150, www.thefillmorephilly.com<\/a>), has been making and releasing records for quite some time.<\/p>\n

Using her given name, Allie X started releasing albums in her hometown of Toronto, Ontario back in 2006.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a whole different time,\u201d said Allie X, during a phone interview last week from a tour stop in Portland, Oregon. \u201cI don\u2019t go back to any of that music now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allie X is now touring in support of \u201cCollxtion II.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through expressive lyricism and innovative visuals, the project explores themes of identity, fragility, and imperfection, with a minimal dark pop sound and a DIY edge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI made \u2018Collxtion II\u2019 over the course of two years,\u201d said Allie X. \u201cI used a lot of different studios.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a long period of time and a long process\u2014taking older ideas, deconstructing them and then building up from scratch. I wrote a lot for the album. And, I write for others as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allie X\u2019s debut album \u201cCollxtion I,\u201d which was released in 2015, is a supercharged pop record that explored the world of X.<\/p>\n

X is the universe Allie has created for her fans, and even more so for herself. It is a place that provides a sanctuary for those unresolved fragments of self — those parts of you that still don\u2019t feel whole or fulfilled. X is the place where one can go when they need reassurance that everything doesn\u2019t need to be certain and defined at once.<\/p>\n

\u201c’Collxtion II,\u201d which is the second full-length from Allie X, asks the question — Is it O.K for things to just not make sense sometimes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t really have an answer because there are infinite answers,\u201d said Allie X.<\/p>\n

It may sound ambiguous \u2013 but it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

According to Allie X, \u201cI\u2019ve always had to find hidden roads to be understood. When I was a kid, I was always hiding my teeth, my body, my personality to fit in. I became very good at it. I would dress myself in a way that hid imperfect shapes and stay quiet so that my weird sense of humor didn\u2019t throw off my friends\u2019 boyfriends.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I ever had working in my favor was my music. It helped me navigate my way through life. I got to become a person of myself, and that made me feel stronger.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis album is an exploration of who I have become. Each song on this album can be thought of as a piece of me. Some are memories, some are dreams, some are my interpretation of reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

X is therefore a reclamation of Allie\u2019s true self. It fills in the empty spaces with possibility. For Allie, exploring that sense of uncertainty is merely the theoretical aspect of the story of X.<\/p>\n

\u201cX has many meanings throughout history, science and literature,\u201d said Allie X. \u201cI love the anonymity X represents. I can be who I want to be. And, I like the chaos it represents.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allie X grew up in Toronto and first established her music career there. Then, she moved to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I moved to L.A., it was amazing at first,\u201d said Allie X. \u201cIt was just what I needed. It was dreamlike and surreal. A year in, I started to get more jaded about living and working in Hollywood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like leaving it and coming back to it. I like to go home to Canada. I love Toronto. But, for me, I never really found my place there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Returning to her native Canada, Allie realized the songs she\u2019d been working on for \u201cCollxtion II\u201d needed to be stripped down again and re-built to give her a new sonic identity. Being back in Toronto gave her clarity.<\/p>\n

Video link for Allie X \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/9A6_a-Suv9c<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at The Foundry will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Scott H. Biram<\/p><\/div>\n

Kung Fu Necktie (1248 North Front Street, Philadelphia, 215-291-4919, kungfunecktie.com<\/a>) will host two interesting indie acts over the next two nights \u2013 Scott H. Biram on August 29 and David Nance on August 30.<\/p>\n

Accordimng to Biram\u2019s press release, \u201cRock and Roll ain\u2019t pretty and neither is Scott H. Biram. The self-proclaimed \u201cDirty Old One-Man Band\u201d successfully, and sometimes violently, lashes together blues, hillbilly and country precariously to raucous punk and godless metal.\u201d<\/p>\n

It goes on to say, \u201cBiram ain\u2019t no candy-ass singer\/songwriter either, sweetly strumming songs about girls with big eyes and dusty highways.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis singing, yodeling, growling, leering and brash preachin\u2019 and hollerin\u2019 is accompanied by sloppy riffs and licks from his ’59 Gibson guitar and pounding backbeat brought forth by his amplified left foot.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe remainder of this one-man band consists of an unwieldy combination of beat-up amplifiers and old microphones strung together by a tangled mess of guitar cables.\u201d
\nPrior to becoming a one-man band, he was a member of a punk band (The Thangs) and two bluegrass bands (Scott Biram & the Salt Peter Boys and Bluegrass Drive-By).<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in the country along the San Marcos River in Texas,\u201d said Biram, during a phone interview this week from a tour stop in Rochester, New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did listen to classic rock. But, I was also tuned in to Leadbelly, Lightnin\u2019 Hopkins and Doc Watson. My dad played sax and a couple of my uncles played guitar. In our house, there were always instruments around. I sang to myself a lot \u2013 which I still do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI screwed around with guitar since I was six. I didn\u2019t get serious until I was 13 or 14 and I\u2019m 43 now. I took music theory in high school \u2013 but it wasn\u2019t practical then. Over the years, I\u2019ve found it more useful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biram\u2019s debut album was \u201cThis Is Kingsbury?\u201d in 2000 and, 14 years later, he released his eighth album \u201cNothin\u2019 But Bad Blood\u201d on Bloodshot Records. This year, he released his ninth album \u201cThe Bad Testament\u201d \u2013 also on Bloodshot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got burned out on guitar for a while,\u201d said Biram. \u201cLast winter, I took six months off for the first time in 20 years. Then, I fell in love with guitar again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI travel with five guitars. I play mostly vintage guitars and they\u2019re all tuned differently. One of my favorites is my 1959 Gibson hollow body.\u201d<\/p>\n

After years of playing in bands, Biram opted to go solo.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had been doing more singer\/songwriter acoustic thing on the back burner since 1996,\u201d said Biram. \u201cWhen my band Bluegrass Drive-By broke up, I made a couple solo records and started touring. I was playing weird venues \u2013 like coffee houses. I wanted rock venues. So, I started stomping my foot on my mic stand and that evolved into a foot stomp thing that goes into a sub-woofer. When I got signed to bloodshot, I realized a lot more money could be made by doing originals. So, I turned it into a job and it\u2019s the best job I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biram has the grit and talent to make it as a one-man band \u2013 and more resilience than most of the artists out on the road today.<\/p>\n

On May 11, 2003, one month after being hit head-on by an 18-wheeler at 75 MPH, Biram took the stage at The Continental Club in Austin, Texas in a wheel chair with an I.V. still dangling from his arm. With two broken legs, a broken foot, a broken arm and one foot less of his lower intestine, Biram unleashed his trademark musical wrath.<\/p>\n

One of Biram\u2019s most telling quotes is \u2013 \u201cI\u2019m a hard act to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for Scott H. Biram \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/8iN3pai9zYM<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show, which has Gallows Bound as the opening act, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

David Nance<\/p><\/div>\n

On August 30, David Nance will return to Kung Fu Necktie to treat area fans to another round of songs from his new album \u201cNegative Boogie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nance played the venue in Philly\u2019s Northern Liberties neighborhood on July 27, 2017. The live recording from the show is available on his bandcamp page.<\/p>\n

Nance, Omaha veteran of warble and hiss, released \u201cNegative Boogie\u201d earlier this year \u2013 an album billed as \u201chis new concoction of chug, throb and greasy swagger.\u201d<\/p>\n

When recording \u201cNegative Boogie,\u201d Nance traded in his beaten-up Tascam 488 (portable studio) for the bulletproof glass walls of A.R.C. Studios in Omaha.<\/p>\n

\u201cI recorded \u2018Negative Boogie\u2019 back in December,\u201d said Nance, during a phone interview this week from a stop in Maryland. \u201cThe record label threw some money my way and I said \u2013 O.K., I\u2019ll go into the studio instead of using my eight-track home recorder.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first day of tracking, I did 15 songs live in the studio. Mostly all of it was done on first take or first run-through. If a part wasn\u2019t quite right, that was O.K. We wanted to keep it sloppy \u2013 keep it real.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vocals, drums, bass and most of the vocals were done live. We had to make sure we didn\u2019t clean it up too much. That was always our biggest worry.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone in the band is from Omaha so we decided to use A.R.C. Studios. It had a lot of gear we were able to use \u2013 a lot of toys. We got to use their mellotron and the steel drums they had there.\u201d<\/p>\n

There wasn\u2019t a lot of preparation or long writing sessions heading into the recording process.<\/p>\n

True to habit, Nance built on scraps and scrapes as his starting point.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were just songs from previous album sessions that hadn\u2019t been used along with songs that had been written since the last album,\u201d said Nance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was trying to write songs but I didn\u2019t want to make songs that are identical. But, the structure is the same \u2013 just playing sloppily and leaving it up to chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn this tour, we\u2019re out with Simon Joyner. I go on first with my trio. Then, the three of us are onstage with Simon as his backing band.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for David Nance \u2013https:\/\/youtu.be\/tjeS_d4QuNU<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show, which also features Jason Spacin\u2019 and Simon Joyner, will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Staff Writer, The Times Since the release of her new album \u201cCollxtion II,\u201d publications and album reviewers have been referring to Allie X as a new pop act. That\u2019s hardly the case. Allie X, who will headline a show on August 29 at The Foundry at Fillmore Philadelphia (1100 Canal Street, Philadelphia, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8457],"tags":[10319,10320,7426,10321],"class_list":["post-36388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-allie-x","tag-david-nance","tag-featured","tag-scott-h-biram"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36388"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36389,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36388\/revisions\/36389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}