Research Guides
Michael LaMaita
Honors 394B
8 June 2012
Musical Youth
In Lake City, Dominic Tallariti sifts through his dusty collection of old 45s, looking for a record that will provide him a musical spark. In a fraternity live-out near the University of Washington, Ryan Hyde is writing lyrics and playing guitar in his room, having just finished conducting the Meadowdale ensemble – his current job as a college Senior. Down the way, Anthony Ghazel hammers out a steady beat on his drums at El Corazon, backing up his band To Paint the Sky. Seattle – and Puget Sound music in general – has blossomed from its old roots of bawdy halls and George Frye’s first Seattle brass band (Armbruster, “Before Seattle Rocked”).. Following is a discussion of the local artists interviewed and the archival problems of recording future contributions from them.
Beatsmith: Grimeshine
Grimeshine, also known as Dominic Tallariti is a 21 year old West Seattle Native who has been making beats for about six years. I met him through my friend Bennett Kielbon, as the two were friends at West Seattle High School. Interestingly, I had kiteboarded with Dom’s roommate Matthew (who also went to high school with Bennett and Dom) in my hometown of Hood River, Oregon. Dom, as he likes to be called, started his pursuit of music as somewhat of a joke, when he played drums for a comic band with a couple buddies in high school called Beholders of AIDS. Soon after, he started making beats and broadened his musical talent into guitar and bass. His humorous pastime soon became passion, and now he finds himself recording samples from old 45s and guitar and bass riffs of his own creation into his music production center, known as a MPC. A laid-back, self-taught beatsmith, Dom records and produces his beats in his basement. His producing area emulates a northwest style, consisting of a futon and a bench made from old snowboards. Beaten skateboards hang on the wall, in front of which is his desk, which has an iMac computer, speakers, his portable turntable, and two MPC’s. In the video, the first MPC shown he knows by heart, as is demonstrated by the lack of a faceplate (which has the button labels on it). He broke a button from using it too much, and fixed it by breaking off the faceplate. Since, Dom has upgraded to a Maschine MPC, helping him streamline and expand his work. To the right of his desk are some old guitar stands where a Fender Stratocaster and an old bass reside, with a couple Congo drums on the floor. Then there is Dom’s collection of 45s. In the video there are about eight various sized crates, all nearly full, which is only a quarter of his collection. The 45s are Dom’s “most important part” to producing, and he likes “to keep his fingers dusty” by digging through the crates. In addition, Dom can take his portable turntable down to the record store to listen to tracks, which he usually does before he buys if he’s looking for more inspiration.
This concept of digging brings up some interesting archival concepts. In the KEXP Hip-Hop documentary, Seattle producer Jake One talks about digging, and how he uses it to bring back old sounds but with a fresh new twists. “It’s kinda like going out and looking for records or things that are just forgotten” (“Hip-Hop: The New Seattle Sound”). Dom shares this view, and as Jake One says that hip-hop is the one genre made up of every other genre, and Dom says he gets inspiration from every style of music. This raises various questions, which are easy and hard to answer.
In his mixtape Yoga Pants & Doja Plants, Dom didn’t use a computer at all to edit, cut, or mix and master his beats. He recorded samples directly from the crates next to him on his turntable into his old MPC, and added drum loops, guitar and bass from there. I asked him about why he preferred this style at the time, and he replied that it felt natural, so why not go with it. “I’m a beatsmith, not an engineer” (Tallariti Interview) Dom says he gets influences from every genre, and that the process to sampling isn’t linear or formulaic. He gets an idea from a record that he might be sampling, or a catchy beat he can’t get out of his head, and once the spark starts, the fire soon follows. Dom says that as the sound for a song progresses, elements that started it may be gone or changed dramatically. He’s had a song start with one sample, and then end up with another that just fit the flow.
The music Dom is donating to the archive is also available for free on his website, which means archiving it digitally won’t be a problem until the programs that play MP3’s becomes nonexistent, which I doubt won’t be a problem currently. The restrictions Dom wished to impart was that if anyone wants to use the beats (such as to rap over) to contact him.
Drummer Anthony Ghazel from To Paint the Sky
Anthony Ghazel, a recent graduate of UW and friend of mine, is currently the drummer for local rock outfit To Paint the Sky. When I met up with him we discussed his drumming background, the rock scene in Seattle, and the dynamics of his band. At 21 years old, Ghazel has been playing drums for about 8 years. An Orcas Island transplant, Ghazel has played in the Seattle area for only a year as the drummer for To Paint the Sky (TPTS). Energetic, assertive and pragmatic, Ghazel’s musical talent with the drumsticks are impressive as a self-taught musician. Anthony is a gear-freak, and is sponsored by Seven Drumworks and TRX cymbals. Currently, Ghazel’s setup includes two toms, a kick drum, snare drum, a china cymbal, two crash cymbals and a pair of high-hats. He is extremely picky about how his drums are set up, for example he stated that he has to have everything symmetrical, cymbals flat, and everything clean looking, especially on stage. His influences lead more towards the hard rock and metal genre, and include “bands with great drummers” such as August Burns Red, Devil Wears Prada, Let Live, Taking Back Sunday and The Used. I asked him about his motive for playing drums, and his answer is that it’s “literally a necessity,” and the thought of not playing drums is not something he can comprehend (Ghazel Interview). When he went abroad in Australia for five months, he was getting withdrawals from not being able to play. He came back and four days later tried out for TPTS, and got the position. Ghazel’s infectious positivity is emulated in his drumming style, and he states that being able to play on stage with people who have a shared vision is “the most fun thing ever.”
To Paint the Sky has been in the local scene since 2009, and consists of four members including Ghazel as drummer. Allana Smith provides haunting and edgy vocals; Jami Wheelock plays guitar and screams, while Ryan Cariker plays bass and provides backup vocals. Anthony described their genre as rock and roll with post-hardcore tendencies, although they’re not the type of band that “sits around all day playing breakdowns” (Ghazel Interview). The passionate lyrics sung by Smith and hard-driving guitar and drums that sound like canons give the band a harder sound than bands that might sound similar, such as Paramore and Flyleaf. The interview with Ghazel about TPTS mainly focused on the dynamics of the band and aspects of the local rock scene.
When TPTS gets together to write, they keep quite a few ground rules in mind. The whole process is very collaborative, and clear, open communication is a key to productive writing sessions. Writing very rarely happens individually (Ghazel Interview). Ghazel stressed that their ability to draw inspiration from their own personal and diverse musical influences helps each song contain interesting and varied elements. The band’s overall influences, some stated by Ghazel, others from their Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/topaintthesky/info), are Avenged Sevenfold, Alesana, Escape the Fate, The Used, AFI, Aiden, Motionless in White, and Asking Alexandria. Most of these bands fall into the hard rock/metal/post-hardcore category.
To Paint the Sky has played at El Corazon, Studio Seven, Showbox at the Market and the Vera Project, and Ghazel emphatically stated that El Corazon is his favorite venue. TPTS has had the most success with 14-18 year old youths as fans, with about 60% female and 40% male. Ghazel didn’t go into too much detail with why this is, although I feel that the music, while angst-ridden with a female singer, appeals to hormone-filled teens. Local bands that they have shared the stage with include keeping Secrets, Into the Flood (formerly known as Vices), and Numbers, a “tech-metal band that plays in crazy time signatures. Ghazel states that there are five to eight unsigned bands in Seattle that rock, (some mentioned previously), and that the community around them is extremely supportive. Ghazel said a unique thing about the general rock scene here is that people in death metal bands are supportive of the pop-punk guys and the post-hardcore/punk guys support them all, which generally isn’t much of the case in other cities. TPTS is friends with and supports all bands in the scene, and those bands return the favor. Ryan Moore, author of “Sells Like Teen Spirit” stated in the chapter Young, Gifted, and Slack that the Seattle scene had always boasted a sense of unity between punk rockers and metal-heads, which is rarely the case in other cities. “Whereas in larger cities there had been intense and frequently violent rivalries between punk and heavy metal subcultures, in Seattle there was more overlap, perhaps because their numbers were too small to maintain this sort of social boundary” (Moore, 121) That ideal is still present today, although there is a downside.
Ghazel’s least favorite thing about the scene is that “kids aren’t coming out to shows as much as they once did….I don’t know what it is... there once was a time when the music scene in Seattle was vibrant and kids loved supporting local bands…because that’s what kids did on weekends, they went to shows, they didn’t go out and party. Things are changing a little bit, and we’ll see how it adapts and works out” (Ghazel Interview). Ghazel touched on the fact that kids can watch shows online, as well as download, and since people haven’t been going to shows as much (although the opportunity to download and disseminate music is easier through technology) the local scene has been somewhat lacking in fan support. This was also a common theme with Ryan Hyde.
Multi-Instrumentalist Ryan Hyde
You’ll most likely see Ryan Hyde walking down 19th with a trumpet, sax, guitar case, or all three, singing an old MX PX song. A fraternity brother of mine in Alpha Sigma Phi, Hyde is a current graduate of the music education major. Hyde has a full-time music teaching internship at Meadowdale High School, located in Lynnwood, and just this year he led the Meadowdale mixed ensemble to first place in the Mt. Hood Jazz Festival. Hyde lives music 24-7, and would not have it any other way. Following are notes of his views of music in Seattle.
Hyde’s first musical training began in sixth grade in choir class, and a year later he picked up the guitar. Now 22, Hyde has been singing for 11 years and playing guitar for 10, and incorporates both in his solo acoustic folk-punk act. With his music education major, Hyde is proficient in electric bass, piano, drums, trumpet and saxophone. This musical prowess empowers Hyde to figure out other instruments fairly easy, coupled with the education he has received at the University of Washington. His knowledge of Solfege vocal technique and traditional music theory has given his live shows more depth and resonance. Hyde stated that his voice has changed exponentially ever since he got to college and learned better vocal technique, which he now applies to punk singing. Hyde got his start in performing on stage as a guitarist for various punk and rock bands he played in growing up around eighth grade, so he’s been in the scene for about eight years. His musical influences include mainly punk and pop-punk, but range from Alkaline Trio, MX PX (out of Bremerton), No FX, Rancid, No Religion, Fat Mike, Less than Jake, The Suicide Machines and Bouncing Souls. In addition, local bands he listens too are Frank Turner, the Dreadful Children, Joyfield, the Diablo Tones and Success. All of them have greatly influenced his writing and performing style.
Hyde’s acoustic folk-punk provides for an extremely entertaining show, from various covers of his favorite bands to his own witty songs. His sound is very unique, and audience interaction is commonplace, such as when he stops his cover of Old Crow Medicine Show’s complete version of “Wagon Wheel” to proclaim “only white people clap on ‘one’ and ‘three’” and then after his quick lesson, continues with the song. When I saw Hyde at El Corazon on Saturday May 12th, 2012 I could hear the formal vocal training in his singing and guitar, with the way he modulated between pitches and chords, respectively. In the interview he acknowledges that because of this new training, he has found ways “to use a diminished 7th to modulate into the relative minor” for example, and that aside from his punk influences, classical training and all the “good music that has been taught” to him has helped him form his sound and write his lyrics (Hyde Interview). Hyde’s songs range from being “Done With it All,” a song about monotony, to a song condescending the dubstep/rave scene and drugs that accompany it. The lyrics are poignant and sharp, comical and catchy.
When asked about how hard it is to get booked to play shows, Hyde immediately goes into a description of how easy it is to get on a stage, especially at a middle or high school age. This is a part of the positives he finds in the local scene in Seattle. His first gig was at The Lab in Lake City, and he got there by filling out an Electronic Portfolio Kit (or EPK). An EPK is an online document with your music, photos, description of places performed at, which you send to various venues to get booked. Hyde describes that teen places that are free to play at all really emphasize growing the local music scene, and those venues, along with an EPK, can really get you onto the scene quickly. Moreover, once you’ve built up a solid EPK and some fans, talent buyers will seek you out for bookings. He says one of the downsides/opportunities is that you are then burdened with selling “x-amount of pre-sale tickets,” which can sometimes be difficult. However, if you sell a lot of tickets, venues will know you as someone who gets people in the door (and money in their wallets), and will keep booking you (Hyde Interview).
Like Ghazel stated earlier, one of the concerns and negatives of the scene that Hyde has observed is that people aren’t going to shows as much as they once did. He states that there is no real “rock scene” and that it is totally the bands job to get people in the door to watch the show, whereas it used to be that people wanted to go shows. Hyde yearns for more of a community of people who want to go to the show. “It’s out there, not as near anywhere prominent as it used to be.” His thought on this was that the grunge scene had gotten so big, then exploded and died, “became way to produced and fake…and lost its genuity,” leading to the scene dissolving with it. In concurrence with Ghazel, Hyde notes the double-edged sword of technology, recognizing that technology is what helped him get booked at venues, but also has the effect of letting fans download the music instead of going to the show. “Now that no one goes, no one knows” (Hyde Interview).
Archival Analysis
Archiving issues with Ryan Hyde’s music:
He mainly performs his songs live, and very rarely are they recorded. Not much is digitized except for the recording I (and possibly others) have made. Moreover, Ryan is a senior and will be moving away from the area to teach music, which will be his full-time job. So he may not be playing as much, and if he does the only people who might record it will be friends and family most likely.
Therefore archiving issues include:
Archiving Issues with Grimeshine:
Archiving Grimeshine’s music shouldn’t be a problem, because unlike Hyde, most of Dom’s music is recorded and available for download at “name your own price” on his website http://grimeshine.bandcamp.com/. The reason for this is because one of Dom’s objectives for his music is for potential rappers to download and listen to his music so they may one day contact him to purchase the beat to rap over it. Moreover, preserving Dom’s music in an organizational matter isn’t a problem because if they are downloaded from his site, the music is already organized by album, which includes the date it was released, track numbers and times, along with featured artists in the file. All it would take is for an archivist to create a Grimeshine digital folder and put his music, contact information, and maybe a brief description of who he is (such as my interview), and back up the file. The copyright concerns that Grimeshine has are that if anyone wants to use his beats to contact him personally. Justifying funding this project to administrators isn’t much of a problem because documenting his recorded music costs as much as the time the archivist has. However, when Dom does do a live show (of which I did not record any), many people are already there recording the shows, so getting in contact with the filmers and seeing if they would donate the footage is another cheap alternative to recording Dom performing a live show. I would describe and catalog the interview using the same style as Ryan Hyde’s Dublin Core Metadata initiative, which looks like this:
Archiving Issues with To Paint the Sky:
To Paint the Sky’s archiving issues are somewhat of a synthesis of the previous two because the band has music available for digital and physical purchase (not available for free) and plays shows in the Seattle area. Therefore, in order to continue to document TPTS’s music there needs to be two approaches – archiving their shows and new music releases. For live shows in the Seattle area, checking their Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/topaintthesky) will provide details on upcoming shows. Documenting live performances requires a video camera and a willing filmer, and someone else who is willing to transfer the film to the computer. Costs would include ticket purchases, transportation, and possibly a fee required by the venue (and not likely from the band). As for documenting music releases, costs include purchasing the album, or asking the band to donate future music for free to the archive (which they did in for this particular EP). Copyright concerns for live shows and digital copies include distributing the material for free, without consent of the band, but since the archive can’t do that, their concerns won’t become reality. Preservation issues were briefly mentioned above, and mainly consist of backing up files to hard drives, whether the original content came from a CD, digital download, or film. In addition, programs that are able to play the material must still be around as well, such as music and video players like iTunes.
Describing and cataloging the materials from TPTS would follow the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, and would be described as you have seen from the above examples. Just substitute in the relevant information. As for access issues, TPTS wants everyone to be able to listen to their music, and only listen. They do not care who listens to their music. Access would be provided on the listening station computers in the media center of Odegaard Undergraduate Library. In order to fund this endeavor, soliciting it to future ethnomusicologists or students who are interested in TPTS shows/music is most likely the cheapest option that provides the most fun in fieldwork setting. If that option is pursued, outreach and promotion would take place in ethnomusicology classes, with TPTS listed under a number of other local acts to be documented.
Parting Thoughts
While the music scene in Seattle has shifted due to technology, there is still is one. However, as Ghazel and Hyde expressed, kids today aren’t really going to shows as much as they used too. The reasons vary, whether it is the ability to watch live performances on YouTube or digitally download music, or interest in partying on weekends than rather going to a show. But some artists, such as Grimeshine, don’t really need to have a ton of live performances to build a strong fan base. The beatsmith style has adapted to technology and word-of-mouth, relying on digital distribution to gain a foothold in the music scene. Each musician interviewed stressed that each scene they are involved with, the people are extremely supportive and positive, which means that the music culture in Seattle will hopefully grow stronger.
Works Cited
“American Folklore Society Ethnographic Thesaurus” Openfolklore.org. American Folklore Society.
Armbruster, Kurt. “Before Seattle Rocked: A City and its Music” 2011. Seattle: University of Washington Press: pp. 3-31.
Blecha, Peter. “Barton Kearney (1931-2012): The Man Who Engineered the Northwest Sound.” 2008. HistoryLink.org. History Link.
“Dublin Core Metadata Element Set, Version 1.1: Reference Description” Dublincore.org. Dublin Core Metadata Initiative.
“Hip-Hop: The New Seattle Sound. A Ten-Part Documentary.” KEXP.org
LaMaita, Michael. “Tallariti, Dominic Interview.” 22 May 2012. Film Interview.
LaMaita, Michael. “Ghazel, Anthony Interview.” 16 May 2012. Audio Interview.
LaMaita, Michael. “Hyde, Ryan Interview.” 20 May 2012. Audio Interview
Moore, Ryan. “Sells Like Teen Spirit: Music, Youth Culture, and Social Crisis.” New York: New York University Press: pp. 114-155. 2010.