Page 26 - the NOISE March 2013

Updates From Eliphante
As of Febru-
ary 2013, Eli-
phante, Ltd., is
1/2 way through its lease-to-own term, with 18-months left for raising the remainder of the $47,000 + 8,000 for overhead to finalize the purchase of the property. Reaching this goal relies on you, Eliphante’s local and regional supporters and members, to assure the op- portunity to share with all members who wish to be inspired by such a unique environment.
As you may know, today’s building codes don’t have much room for structures like those at Eliphante. And, try as we may, na- ture is an enduring force of decay. We have a responsibility to make the most of this opportunity and come together to preserve and restore this wondrous, otherworldly place of hand-built whimsy. Let’s do this!
This is an opportune time for Eliphante to grow with greater support within the community. As additional funds means additional acres for Eliphante, a goal of $150,000 would strongly kick-start Eliph- ante’s preservation and restoration with an expansion of at least seven additional acres, most for necessary parking, creek crossing improvements and riparian pres- ervation, along with other sanitary facilities needed in becoming publicly accessible.
Milestones & Accomplishments A look back at Eliphante in 2012
This year brought us a wonder of open doors and continuing efforts of preservation while continuing toward saving Eliphante for present and future generations to enjoy!
1) It’s official! Eliphante has become a legal residence, after successfully applying for Res- idential Occupation Zoning Clearance Permits in late 2011, by Yavapai County!
2) Back in August of 2011, 30 acres of ad- jacent land was prepared for planting, a new well pump was put in at the Eliphante well head, and shared water usage with the neigh- boring vineyard began.
3) Soon the vineyard was ready to plant vines, and the crew, including Eliphante care- takers Tracy & Ryan, in under four days, went sweeping across the hillside, a swarm of near- ly 30 people, planting more varieties than they could pronounce.
4) Eliphante now has Museum-quality in- surance to help the organization meet the needs of going public when the county grants special-use permits for Eliphante to be adver- tising tours and offering various workshops, artist retreats, guest stays & more at Eliphante.
5) Expanded membership plans are in the works through a cooperative platform for ar- tisan resource exchange! Business partner- ships, supporters and donors are key for di- versity in the membership.
6) A great success fundraising with a mail- based raffle for an original Michael Kahn fine art piece and community-donated art raffle raised nearly $4000!! Extra thanks to those who donated items raffled!
7) There’s new look for Eliphante, a new logo! We are also looking for artists to cre- atively embellish our logo!
8) Best of all, we made it to 2013!
It is my hope the regional community of the Verde Valley and its surrounding communities in Northern Arizona show their appreciation and support for Eliphante’s artistic unique- ness, recognizing the potential for economic andtourismgrowthtothearea. I’mhonored to act as director for Eliphante in 2013, and look forward to growing with you all right along side of Eliphante! Here’s to an abundant 2013!
— Ryan Matson, Occupant of Office of Director eliphante.org
Our Quest for Community Radio: Party at 7000 Feet
by John Abrahamsen
Back in January, we at Radio Free Flagstaff were all fired up to do an FM frequency search for our community- access radio station when we discov- ered that there were 13 pending FM translator applications in the Flagstaff area, and that the fate of those appli- cations may change what’s available on our local dial. So we decided to push back our frequency search to coincide with our next big fundraiser, which is coming up Friday, March 15 at The Green Room.
As you read this, government em- ployees at the Federal Communica- tions Commission are in the process of weeding out multiple translator applications from the same groups across the nation. Back on February
15, they did a mass purge of some 3000 old apps from their national database, but thousands more are still pending. We’ll keep checking the FCC website for the status of local applications, but until we know for sure what frequencies are available in Flagstaff, we’ll focus our energies on partying.
Our next fundraiser will promote Sounds From 7000 Feet Volume 3, the latest Flagstaff Music Festival CD, on March 15 at the Green Room, 15 N. Agassiz in downtown Flagstaff. Our sterling line-up includes Isrobel, Diamond Down String Band and Bon Fiction starting at 9PM, and partiers will also be able to snag free copies of the wildly entertaining Vol- ume 3 disc, featuring 16 great origi- nal tracks from local musicians you know and love.
Ever the optimists, we’re also mak- ing March 15 the target date for our frequency search—by then, we’re hoping the old FCC applications will be sorted out, and we’ll know the lay of the land.
Until then, we’re keeping the dream alive at radiofreeflag.org.
The Shilohs; Unknown Mortal Orchestra
got an album? got a review? music@ thenoise.us
band, but they’re not afraid of a good wanky
guitar solo, and for that I salute them. And
theniceinstrumentalpassageintrack5that lemI’dliketohave.“OverandOver”startslike
dio or a Wes Anderson movie. That’s a prob-
makes me think ‘Renaissance Fair’ or, whoa, that’s vaguely prog, is a nice touch as well. By track 8, I’m wondering what this band doesn’t have that much lauded Landmine Marathon does, other than female scream- ers. The album NEVER lets up. Just when you think the creativity is petering out, Track 11 hits, which could be the best of the bunch. Fast, short and loud. Track 12 is exactly the same.
Oh, track titles — these are always a kick: “The Simplicity of Impossible,” “Derelict Ego,” “The Dogs of War,” “Water Intoxication,” “Sui-
cide Proximity,” and “The Foundation of Guilt” are my favorites.
Drop those Ds to Cs boys and proceed in epic brutal glory. F*ck yes.
The Shilohs
So Wild
Light Organ Records
jjj
First song, “This is Vancouver Music” imme- diately reminds me of Harry Nilsson- every aspect of the entire minute thirty-nine of it. If that doesn’t perk your ears up, you might as well just proceed to the next review. The following track lifts that bass riff the Blues Brothers come out and make their exit to and makes a whole nice verse/chorus/verse song out of it: “Get Ready Now” is a monster. “Sister Rose” is less instantly lovable. But then the solo hits. I mean, I kind of love it before that even happens. But what we have here is an album of solid, if not entirely original, taste- fully inspired songs that reminds me equally of George Harrison and Ray Davies. When there’s fuzz, the fuzz is absolutely delicious. When the riffs are clean, they are indeed very groovy. The left-in banter at the top of
“LA” which sounds like another lost Nilsson nugget, if Harry played guitar as good as the piano, makes it sound like the band is just pulling this gold out of their caps spontane- ously. “Little Valentine” is pure Beatles-mania. Where did we go wrong? Why isn’t all music this good? What was wrong with this for- mula the Fab Four laid down from on high? “Airliner Man” is equally Lennon/McCartney- esque. The title even sounds like a lost track from, if not the white album, Rubber Soul.
“The Place Where Nobody Knows I Go” starts those chords everybody likes, strummed
“Sleepwalking” (Modest Mouse? That can’t be right...) and is nice enough but might be the only flop on the album at this point. Though, on a bad album, it could be the highlight. The solo it ends on is magnificent anyway. “Inter- national Appeal” finally reminds me of the Byrds for the first time, who are mentioned heavily in the promo materials. Of course, it mostly lifts Chuck Berry riffs and sounds a lot like “Lazy Day.”
A funny thing though. Once the album is over, I’ve forgotten it almost as quickly as it impressed me so. And on repeated listens, the charm wears off just a little bit and I’m not quite as apt to bob around the room in aban- don. Why that happens, or what it means is simply this reviewer embracing the horrible task of summing up an album with words. I have no idea if I like this album, but I would for sure go see this band live.
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
II
Jagjaguwar
jjj
After a crappy start with “From the Sun,” which sounds like it’s coming at you from underwater, (in a bad i.e. uninteresting, way these guys really like their tremolo and de- lay pedals ;) UMO really crank out the hits, starting with the previously reviewed single,
“Swim and Sleep (Like a Shark)” and never re- ally let up. “So Good at Being in Trouble” is an outstanding song- understatedly soulful. “No Need For a Leader” is good heavy guitar riff fun. That smooth bass (or is it organ?) line in the breakdown has a timeless quality to it. At least as far as rock n roll goes. “Monki” re- minds me of Outkast’s, or make that Andre’s
“Roses” with all the “Oooh oohs.”
I get the impression these guys are equally
obsessed with Prince and Syd Barrett and I’m wondering where that combination has been in our lives. I’m also getting the impres- sion these guys are being groomed for some major success. Their first album was very highly regarded by tastemakers and ruiners of many things good, Pitchfork. Jump on now and see what happens... these guys could be ruined by cocaine, or could possibly change our lives for the better?
Personally, I’d prefer it if they strayed away from the John Carpenter/Tangerine
acoustically. I can’t tell if it belongs on hit ra-
26 • MARCH 2013 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us