Black Book and Daniel Neale

My first post for the new blog/journal/adventure magazine brings us to a hard tried and true staple of the 757 underground music scene, Norfolk Taphouse. My buddy Mike Anaya's new band Black Book was playing, and up to this point I had neglected to catch them live. Mike was one of my cohorts in the relatively short-lived project Lord Bowler, and sang on the title track of The warehouse Brian EP. Listening in advance to Black Book's Songs on bandcamp, I noticed striking similarities in his wailing, discordant vocal style as well as his guitar playing. My curiosity about their live performance was peaked. 

Opening for Black Book and providing sound was the Norfolk busker Daniel Neale.  I knew I was in for a treat before he even graced the stage due to a continuously running gerbil-in-a-wheel toy he had set up in front if his getup. With an old school suitcase for a kick drum, a platform of noisemakers on the floor for a snare, an accordion, a sampler of some sort, a synth pad requiring approximately one finger, a tambourine, and probably a few other toys I didn't even notice, Daniel rocked and sang all on his own and created a sound more textured than many three and four piece bands could dream of.  Several audience members compared his vocal style to Justin Timberlake, but I thought his voice contained natural folky tendencies. Mixed with electronic overtones and droning accordion it was a unique mesh.  And the songs were well thought out and catchy too. Daniel told me this was only his third time performing plugged into a PA system, and typically he brings a single speaker to busk on the street.  My guess is that he makes a killing in the busking-friendly city of Norfolk.  I'd drop a buck or two into his cup for sure!

Black Book quickly took the stage after Daniel's set, and the room suddenly got extremely loud.  Anaya's guitar sound was mostly what I expected since I had worked and jammed with him plenty of times before.  Layers of buzz and distortion, discordant solos, a powerhouse of sound with each power chord he banged out.  His wailing vocals stayed low in the mix at his request.  Earlier in the evening Mike told me that this band was not vocal-centric and his one qualm with their recording was that the vocals were too up front and that they should be considered like another textured instrument in the song, but not the center of attention.  While Anaya mostly swayed, sang, and played with his eyes closed, much of the energy on stage came from Matt Hobson on bass.  Complete with rock n roll "what are you looking at?" faces, punk rock attitude, twirls, extra low bass strap, and quick walking riffs on the bass, Hobson laid down the solid thumping foundation and visual excitement for Black Book.  Last but certainly not least, Adam Parcel kept it real behind the drums with the skill and mastery needed to hold this whole crazy ruckus together.  I had also worked with Adam when he drummed with Popular Vultures (a demo which I believe was never mixed was tracked in my home studio).  Although he was steady and solid in the Vultures, he has vastly improved since then and his fills and hooks have gotten much trickier.  Most of Black Book's songs were short, probably well under 3 minutes.  It was a treat to hear a cover of "Freak Scene" by Dinosaur Jr., probably one of the bands I could safely compare them with (along with Pavement, Sebadoh, and Sonic Youth "Goo" era).


Unfortunately I was not able to stick around for the final act, Feral Conservatives, but I hope to catch the duo soon around the scene.  All in all it was an exciting night of music and well worth my $5.

Check out the music!
Black Book: https://www.facebook.com/blackbook757
Daniel Neale: https://www.facebook.com/danneales
Feral Conservatives: https://www.facebook.com/FeralConservatives

Nice to meet you: Masi of Reckoner, Matt of Black Books (although I believe we met before), and Sarah, friend of the Black Book crew.