Downtown Tucsonan - May 2008 - (Page 14)

Downtown by Jamie Manser ‘S all good for Michael P! ? unkadelic? Rocker? Honky-tonker F Live esiding within the six-foot, three-inch frame of Michael P nordberg is a funkalicious soul. the long tall daddy’s big ole musical heart also beats in the rhythm of rock ‘n’ roll, R&B, country blues, and honky-tonk. Michael P delivers all those styles with aplomb on his sophomore effort, Hungry like a Hound Dog, set to drop with a cd release party at the Hut on Friday, May 16. the 10-track disk has a real smooth flow to it, with the first three tunes appealing to y’all funkateers. opening is the tasty, hip-gyrating “Pink Bicycle” - a chucky wah-wah song that saunters along with soulful vocals by four ladies and Michael’s spoken directions guiding the grooves. Following is the edgy hot-funk of “a Little Bit;” then it’s “do Your thing” with an undeniable P Funk and Isaac Hayes feel. “what’cha Gonna do” is a rockin’ blues soul-inspired arousing romp with rad organ playing by Mr. P and fantastic horn punctuations by dante Rosano (trumpet) and Marco Rosano (tenor, baritone, and bass sax). “Gotta Gotta” is a classic guitar rock song that reflects Mr. P’s straight-forward life philosophy; he has to rock and roll. that’s what he does for his living - Mr. P gigs with numerous and diverse local bands. a down-to-earth multi-instrumentalist who is adept on drums, bass and guitar is a hot commodity in this town. the next four tracks are variations on country, all good and catchy and danceable. Last but not least is “Get awn down,” a tapestry of notes and voices and long jams. It feels good. the album as a whole has an earthy, visceral vibe that can be partially attributed to Mr. P’s 12-year tenue as the bassist for the sam taylor Band. “sam influenced my songwriting. (It was) huge, those years with sam. so much of my stuff is just robbing sam - all my guitar stuff is rooted in sam’s guitar,” Mr. P explained. It’s important to know that sam taylor is a historic fig- R ure in american music with legions of awards and songs stemming from a career that began in the 1950s. Interestingly, Mr. taylor moved to tucson from california in the 1980s at the urging of KXcI dJ Kidd squidd. (see www.emol.org/music/tina/samtaylor2.html.) Mr. P’s musical career began with learning drums as a high school freshman in 1983. this in turn took Mr. P to the university of arizona as a percussion performance major. He picked up bass while at uofa and kept rhythm for jazz combos and big bands, but P’s heart was with rock and roll. “I was doing that (university) program for 3 years, and I started thinking – Is this what I want to do with all this classical stuff and jazz stuff? - and I like jazz and I like classical, but it wasn’t what Michael P wanted to do.” as the Law of attraction can do, the sam taylor Band needed a bassist; Michael P auditioned and landed the gig. that was in 1990. “I joined that group, I quit college, and it was like - Yeah, that’s what I want to do – I want to play with Sam!” Michael P’s musical immersion with the legendary sam taylor saw him making his bread as a musician, playing in tucson five to seven nights a week and touring america and Europe in the nineties. the band relocated to nYc in the late nineties to take on that music scene. nordberg lived in various boroughs for a decade, before returning to the old Pueblo in 2006 - bringing with him his first solo album. the self-titled self-release was recorded in new York with nordberg’s buddy darren Musatto, the first musician nordberg started writing songs with when they were teenagers. “If I would not have hung out with him…” nordberg said, trailing off. It’s interesting to think about life paths, how time unfolds from those meetings and what happens subsequently. what happens on May 16 will be Mr. P playing all night with a line-up of various musicians, including his standard band with nick augustine, caroline Isaacs and Laura Kepner-adney, along with damon Barnaby from the wyatts playing guitar. Joining the stage will be Musatto and bassist dan Green, nordberg’s previous band mates from the Feral Hounds, flying in from nYc. CD Release party at The Hut, 305 N.4th Ave., 623-3200, May 16. www.Myspace.com/MikePNordberg, www.TheHutTucson.com. A Rude Serving of Country & Rock ‘n’ Roll by Brian Park aking music that is both raw and pristine could be a worthy challenge to some, but amy Rude does so with nonchalant ease. she toes disparate musical lines with nary an issue. “I like songs that are simple, sounds that are clean, but also to be sloppy and real, not too polished,” she said. “I’m a big fan of country music and a big fan of really good song craft.” Her ability to construct songs encompassing these conflicting elements is evident on her new album, Heartbeast. For Rude, who plays the electric guitar, the recording process this time around was unlike her last two outings in the studio, which were quick endeavors. “what’s primarily different is, it’s got more production involved,” Rude said. “It’s sort of sonic; it’s got a soft wash to it.” the local singer-songwriter recorded the album over the span of a few months. all the highlights of a superior country-rock record are illuminated: calm and ferocious guitar work, robust vocals bathing in echoes, and taut percussion, courtesy of Jason Mer- M culief, a seattle-based drummer who came out to tucson for the sessions. the title track is a railing force of a number, while “Live wire” incorporates more of a country-standard feel, beginning with the haunting lyric, “there are dead birds all over me.” Rude, a downtown city High school humanities teacher by day is self-releasing the album. the May 23 show at Plush is the cd release party and her last live performance in tucson for awhile, as she hops over the atlantic ocean for a six-week trek through France, Italy, austria and Germany, beginning in June. “I haven’t been over there in 10 years,” she said. “I used to do a lot of traveling. I wanted a chance to let loose, leave and do something scary and fun for awhile.” Golden Boots and Band of Annuals open on Friday, May 23 at Plush, 340 E. 6th St., $5, 792-1298. Hear Rude’s tunes at www.MySpace.com/ AmyRude. 14 downtown tucsonan.may.08 http://www.emol.org/music/tina/samtaylor2.html http://www.Myspace.com/MikePNordberg http://www.TheHutTucson.com http://www.TheHutTucson.com http://www.MySpace.com/AmyRude http://www.MySpace.com/AmyRude

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Downtown Tucsonan - May 2008 Contents From the Editor Downtown Lowdown Vital Signs Downtown Live Arts Galleries Performances Vital Signs Continued Events Film Museums Billboard Classifieds

Downtown Tucsonan - May 2008

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