On the Town - Baltimore

 

Making A Scene

Baltimore's independent musicians have found a welcoming creative community within its borders. Now they're taking it outside.

BY TONY WARE

Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak
DAN STACK

Interstate 95 passes through more states - 15 - than any other interstate. It extends from Miami to Maine, cutting across the most densely populated corridor in the US, which includes Baltimore. In October 2008, several dozen Baltimore bands took this road to embark on a new kind of tour - one fueled by the communal vibe and do-it-yourself spirit of the city's artistic underground.

Piling in buses converted to run on discarded restaurant vegetable oil, independently minded acts like Dan Deacon, Beach House, Lexie Mountain Boys, Videohippos, Double Dagger, Creepers and Nautical Almanac went on a multicity "Round Robin" tour. Setting up in a circle around their audiences, these and many other performers - only a smattering of the scene's talent pool - played one song apiece in succession for several rotations. The styles ranged from ecstatic to hushed, from obtuse electronics to 5-part vocal harmonies.

The online community fawned, but this was the kind of collaborative spirit best experienced live. It was this eradication of traditional musical hierarchies that inspired Rolling Stone to declare Baltimore the "Best Scene" in 2008's "Best of Rock" issue. It was interactive and unorthodox, yet rather typical of this artistic city sitting at the heart of the interstate system.

"There's always been good music here - it just hasn't always gotten too far outside the city limits," says Dave Heumann, singer/songwriter of electrified folk quartet Arbouretum. "The first Baltimore music I remember getting nationally recognized was ['90s scene fixture] Lungfish, and [new millennium pranksters] Oxes. Then came the Wham City crew, and bands like Celebration and Beach House. I think what helped a lot was that these bands had been touring constantly."

Like many bands in the city, Arbouretum is signed to an out-of-state label (in this case Chicago's Thrill Jockey). But Heumann and company never fail to work with locals whenever possible, such as on a 2008 split LP/tour with Pontiak. Though Baltimore may be lacking in a typical music industry infrastructure, it makes up for it in community spirit. Its reputation as a low-cost, highly convenient (as well as creatively accepting) territory has helped the city see a healthy influx of oddballs over the past decade, who have taken old warehouses and turned them into homes and concert halls.

The combination of open road and open space helped draw a group of artists, collectively known as Wham City, from Purchase College in New York to Baltimore in 2004. A great deal of credit for the city's thriving scene goes to Wham City, especially to the man seen nationally as its figurehead, electro-acoustic impresario Dan Deacon (the organizer of the "Round Robin" tour).

Wham City followed the trend of turning loft spaces into living galleries, and quickly struck up a kinship with various Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) students. They curated mixed-media performances, which have blossomed from illegal gatherings to legitimate events. The bill might vary from overdriven, skewed melodies to sounds that could be machines speaking in tongues, but everyone shares a sense of camaraderie.

"It's impossible to be in the art scene in Baltimore and not be friends with everyone, because they are all so involved," says Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak, the confessional, quiet-loud-quiet acoustic-electric duo she fronts with Andy Stack who have recently released their sophomore full-length The Knot. They grew up in Baltimore County, moved away to college, but returned to the city's Hampden neighborhood (home to record shops, cafés and several other musician-approved and staffed businesses). Wye Oak isn't directly associated with Wham City, but operates in the same circle.

"People are always hosting dinners, having lecture series, sharing information, helping people get to know each other," Wasner says. "We'll perform a more subdued acoustic guitar set right next to someone who invented his own unpredictable instruments. In Baltimore, there's little concern over whether matches make sense. There's just an overall attitude of being genuinely interested in creating. People dabble across genres with no pressure to sell themselves."

Indeed, in recent years Baltimore has seen its musicians enter into and become influenced by its more obscure nooks and crannies. Members of bands such as Beach House, a duo playing hushed and haunted lo-fi pop, have scored intimate, limited-run musical theater collaborations, while Arbouretum has drawn inspiration from the city's neglected 1870s architecture. Shows take place in temporary venues in dilapidated Westside real estate, but also within the more formal confines of the renowned Walters Art Museum.

"I think Baltimore is unique because, for the most part, it's not traditionally a destination," says Ken Seeno of Ponytail, a giddy, psychedelic pop quartet formed at MICA. "Some bands that got along decided to tour together, more followed, and that brought attention to the city. But really, it's just a bubble where people indulge originality. You can go to a picnic at an abandoned power plant in the afternoon, announce a last-minute show there and a ton of people will show up."

For more and more musicians, Baltimore's creative energy is just beginning to pick up speed.

SHOWS AND TELL

While many of the best shows take place in unlicensed venues that spread their location and lineups primarily by word-of-mouth, here are some best bets for tracking down a solid bill:

THE OTTOBAR 2549 N Howard St
www.theottobar.com
Part mod concert hall, part biker bar, this bi-level Charles Village venue attracts national and local acts.

THE TALKING HEAD CLUB
407 E Saratoga St
www.talkingheadclub.com
This space is dedicated to the DIY mentality, attracting a lot of indie bands and leftfield innovators that cram it full of grit and grooves.

THE METRO GALLERY
1700 N Charles St
www.themetrogallery.net
This Station North Arts & Entertainment District gallery has an unobtrusive bar and books local indie bands and DJs to perform alongside contemporary art exhibitions.

NORMAL'S BOOKS & RECORDS
425 E 31st St
www.normals.com
Open for nearly two decades, this vinyl emporium and used bookstore presents performances within the adjacent Red Room.

THE TRUE VINE RECORD SHOP
3544 Hickory Ave
www.thetruevinerecordshop.com
This Hampden shop is an intimate environment for picking up limited local releases and perusing show posters.

(If you really want to see a show in an unlicensed venue, visit www.citypaper.com; www.auralstates.com; www.beatbots.com; or www.baltimore-taper.blogspot.com for updated listings.)