I Like This Song - Siberian Traps' "Lemon Balm"

I Like This Song celebrates songs by local bands sans clichéd music journo over-analysis.

The furthest we take the dissection of songs featured here is, well, you guessed it: "I Like This Song." 

---

A film by Peter Marsh, shot in Fort Worth, Texas. "Lemon Balm" is from the upcoming Siberian Traps album Indicator, to be released on Dreamy Life Records on June 9, 2017. "Lemon Balm" words and music by Seth Reeves, Chiefchickencharlie Publishing. Performed by Siberian Traps.

Today's featured song is the lead single from Siberian Traps' forthcoming LP Indicator, a Dreamy Life Records jam sandwich 'bout to hit your ear mouths on June 9th.

The 'Traps are set - c'mon, I know you liked that pun - to celebrate the album's release this Friday night at Shipping & Receiving with Son of Stan + Programme + Super Secret Records' New Berlin.

Party starts at 8pm, full event details posted here.

Siberian Traps - Photo greatness by Walt Burns

Before we move forward, y'all should know there's a killer write-up on Indicator posted over at Aesthetic Magazine; highly recommend you give it a read. The article provides some wonderful insights into the music video's production process as well.

And now I'm gonna talk about actual irl Lemon Balm for a few 'graphs because that's how we do here at FWN.

Lemon Balm: The flower that holds the power

Lemon Balm or 'Sweet Melissa' as it is commonly known, has several medicinal properties, making it one of the most beloved plants in the history of humankind (at least for the past 2,000 years anyway).

More so than anything else, Lemon Balm serves as a mild sedative that helps curb stress and anxiety. HELLO! I'm so familiar with stress and anxiety my old law firm was called Scott-Jackson, Stress, & Anxiety LLP.

I've grown Lemon Balm for the past 15 years, I mean, golly, it's practically another family member with its social status resting somewhere between our dog and our goldfish. So one can imagine my delight when the 'Traps dropped this single and music vid.

When I watched the video I perceived a visual representation of Lemon Balm taking hold, the embodiment of its medicinal properties slowly starting to activate.

The video begins with Cameron Smith (War Party) walking alone, robotically striding forward passing by other folks seemingly stuck in the same manic cycle of day-to-day stress.

However, as the video progresses, you can clearly witness the exact moment the 'Balm hits with Smith breaking free of that mechanical pattern via some wicked carefree dance moves (check the 2:55 mark of the video).

The rest of the video's cast subsequently break away as well, taking in a friendly tennis match en route to fully escaping the 'day-to-day' anxiety of the human hamster wheel. Truly fascinating imagery created by the video's director, Peter Marsh (also War Party).      

Big final s/o and congrats to Siberian Traps on the new album and music video, can't wait to get our hands on the record this Friday.

Lookie y'all, this was a lost cause from the start, they had me at Lemon Balm ... I like this song.

Radness gig poster for the album release show - Poster Design by Tony Ferraro 

---

about the word writer person:

Prewitt Scott-Jackson writes Dad poetry & short fiction when he's not hyping and typing for Fort Worth Noise. His writing can be found in Ghost City Press (New York), Five 2 One Magazine (Los Angeles), and Sick Lit Magazine (Texas), among others. He prefers short walks on the beach because – and I quote – “It’s really hard to walk on sand.”

Gentle Reminder Letter: Record Store Day In The Fort

Image via RecordStoreDay.com's Press Release

Dearest Fort Worthians,

We are writing you today as to remind all thee great citizens of our mighty metropolis(?) that there will be much party to be had this Saturday, April 22nd.

Mucho mucho party.  

Ya see, this Saturday is Record Store Day. According to the official Record Store Day website, 2017 marks the 10yr anniversary of Record Store Day.

In fact, RSD has grown so much since its inception, there are now stores from every continent participating (except Antarctica, 'cause penguins).

Enough with the history lesson, let's move on to the party(ies).

All of Saturday's events are free to attend and all feature insanely stacked lineups. 

Besides that, all these events take place during the day which means they provide one and all with a legitimate excuse to day drink!

Last but not least, it is imperative we citizens support our local record stores. They are the lifeblood of our scene. If anything, this Saturday represents a great opportunity to celebrate our record stores and their contribution to our community.

Now that we've performed our civic duty, time to let these parties speak for themselves. For more details, click the images below to link up with each event's Facebook page.

Regretfully yours, 

XoXo,

FWN

Doc's Records feat. Movie The Band, Steve Gnash, High Art, Heater, Beach Priest, Starbass 

Image via Doc's Records Facebook Page

Dreamy Life Records feat. Acid Carousel, Sealion, Son of Stan, Sub Sahara, War Party, Teenage Sexx, Loafers

Image via Dreamy Life Records Facebook Page

Chief Records feat. Audry Oliver, Jason Eady, Tommy Hooker, Joe Savage, Holland K. Smith, Jackie Darlene, Michael Lee

Image via Chief Records Facebook Page

---

about the word writer person:

Prewitt Scott-Jackson writes Dad poetry & short fiction when he's not hyping and typing for Fort Worth Noise. His writing can be found in Ghost City Press (New York), Five 2 One Magazine (Los Angeles), Prairie Schooner (University of Nebraska Press) and Sick Lit Magazine (Texas), among others. He prefers short walks on the beach because – and I quote – “It’s really hard to walk on sand.”

Where The West (Categorically) Begins: The Steve Gnash Experience

Fort Worth’s Steve Gnash and Dreamy Life Records release Gnash's eponymous debut record Friday Dec. 2nd at The Boiled Owl Tavern w/ Son of Stan and Same Brain. Gearing up for the big event I look back at my first Steve Gnash experience hoping to offer a glimpse of what to expect on Friday.

---

It’s November and I’m tired. Really really tired and … ABSOLUTELY ENTHRALLED because Steve Gnash, per our Twitter interaction Nov. 7th, has agreed to give me unfettered access to his Nov. 9th show at The Live Oak in Fort Worth.

Twitter Screenshot courtesy of Prewitt Scott-Jackson

Flash forward two days, my Uber drops me off at The Live Oak. Not just any Uber, but like, honestly, the most cerebral Cinderella carriage-like Uber ride of the century. An omen of the night to come?

I’m early. Not just tonight, but always. Sipping cheap beer to numb my anxiousness, kill my nerves. Any second now and Steve Gnash was gonna walk through that door.

Then he did.

A light surrounds him. No, a halo. A halo of sunflower sunrays that scream “MAGIC!!” This guy is a certified Pop god.

An entourage follows: Two photographers, his manager, his driver, his personal nutrionist, an intimidating security guard, a sex bonfire of a backing band and an apple cart worth of adoring fans.  

My pen starts shaking in my hand. My blank notebook stares at me with grave doubt. Gnash immediately recognizes me as part of the press and precedes to one-hand-catch my dazed expression taking it back to the end zone for ‘6’ [sits down next to me in my mafia-inspired booth inside the Live Oak bar].

His entourage follows suit, filling up the entirety of the booth before I can blink. I’m enveloped by this sense I’ve been absorbed into his orbit. A star and his planets.

Initially, nothing is said to me. Logistics discussed amongst the group such as “How many plates of free nachos are we entitled to?” and “I can confirm I have the Nag Champa and the champagne Mr. Gnash,” etc.

I interject with my first, and as it would turn out, my only question of the evening, “So, Gnash, what were you doing prior to arriving tonight? I guess what I mean to say is … What does Steve Gnash do when nobody is looking?”

“There’s always someone looking at Gnash,” his manager Hollywood Jones quips.

Steve Gnash and Manager Hollywood Jones – Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

After a chasmic pause Gnash finally speaks, modestly answering “Reading someone’s cards.”

“Like Tarot cards?”

“Yes.”

“Whose cards would that be?”  

“The psychic at the gas station off 1900 block on Hemphill St.”

A halo of sunflower sunrays I tell ya, a halo of sunflower sunrays!

The entourage shifts towards the green room located backstage at ‘The Oak.’ I try to nudge my way in but Hollywood Jones puts a kibosh on that. Despite Jones restricting my green room access, Gnash offers me a pity pull from his champagne bottle. Would you pass on a pull of the philosopher’s stone? I think not.

Green Room Access Denied – Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

Being turned away, I head outside. A healthy portion of the backing band congregates on the loading dock, this includes lead bass guitarist (Tha) Mista Deezy. Mista Deezy specializes in having fun and serves as the most talented musician of the backing band. Besides providing lead bass, Tha Deezy doubles as lead backup vocalist.

Deezy refused my interview, but not in an “I’m the best musician here” kind of way, ‘twas more of an “I can’t disrupt my pre-game mojo but I hope you understand” kind of way.

Tha Mista Deezy (pictured right ) Pre-Gaming Prior to The Show – Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

Back in the main auditorium the audience sits inauspiciously waiting for something their minds are incapable of conceiving. I scan their brain pans with my deft telepathic skills to hear a collective “Just another wispy Fort Worth singer-songwriter.”

The band’s sheer show of force strikes down this ridiculous notion with a masterful opening performance of the hit single “Sprung;” a track that has since been world premiered by 96.7 FM on the Local Ticket Show w/ Mark.  

The Steve Gnash Experience in Full Swing – Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

From there, the band dives into “Coughdrops,” a track I have heard before thanks to my advanced copy of the record. “Coughdrops” incites the audience to MOVE. And MOVE they did!

Mista Deezy Feelin’ the “Coughdrops” – Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

The remainder of the set sways seamlessly from song to song with nary an interruption aside from a moment of exuberant prayer in dedication to Pop goddess Britney Spears.

Gnash Praying at The Alter of Britney – Photo Credit: Prewitt Scott-Jackson

The besiegement of sexy sound lingered, fluttering about the Live Oak’s microsphere for minutes upon the set’s conclusion. Nobody speaks. The audience, they sit in silent stupefaction as time ticks by until finally an uproarious applause ignites nearly burning down the red velvet stage curtains that have since been shuttered.

As I left the venue, the same dazed expression as before falls upon my face only this time the daze consists of wonderment and achievement not that of nerves and anxiety.

For once in my life, the planet of Me has a star. Whether I’ll ultimately catalogue as an insignificant dwarf ice planet or a gas giant such as Jupiter, being tethered to Steve Gnash’s sun gives me a boundless sense of purpose because either way I am now embedded in his orbit.

Well, until my Uber ride back home arrives anyway.

---

about the word writer person:

Prewitt Scott-Jackson writes Dad poetry & short fiction when he's not hyping and typing for Fort Worth Noise. His writing can be found in Ghost City Press (New York), Five 2 One Magazine (Los Angeles), Prairie Schooner (University of Nebraska Press) and Sick Lit Magazine (Texas), among others. He prefers short walks on the beach because – and I quote – “It’s really hard to walk on sand.”