Timmy Sunshine, Kristi Nelson, Adam Campbell, Jarrod Fenner, Zach Van Houten and Evan Kuykendall make up Timmy Sunshine and the Conductors Photo by Haylee Nighbert

I met up with The Conductors at 20th Century Bowl on State St. around lunchtime on a Friday, warning them ahead of time how horrible of a bowler I am. Amid beer, food, and some intense bowling moves, we talked about the band’s perspective on music and their navigation through Bellingham’s flourishing folk music scene.

Timmy Sunshine started writing songs for The Conductors project last year, before the concept of Timmy Sunshine and The Conductors came to fruition. Drummer Jarrod Fenner collaborated with him on some songs and the idea was simply brought up as, “let’s start a band.”

They posted on Craigslist the need for other members, and that’s how Kristi Nelson became involved as co-vocalist and keyboard player. “A lot of my friends moved away,” explained Kristi, “I was trying to find an excuse to get out of the house.”

Evan Kuykendall and Timmy bumped into each other one night on a friend’s porch, and a jam session ensued that ended up pinning Evan as The Conductors’ violin player. In the words of Evan, he “randomly converged with The Conductors.”

Zack VanHouten came on board after seeing Timmy at a show with Zack’s former blues band. Timmy started playing some of his songs after the set and Zack was fascinated by his songwriting. Adam Campbell joined up with his banjo, and by that point they all converged into what is now known as The Conductors.

As far as a definition, indie/folk rock is within close approximation to the band’s sound, along with pop-rock and European folk influences. When asked to list some of the bands that inspire them, The Avett Brothers, Mumford and Sons, The Shins, Bon Iver, and The Rolling Stones were called out as artists they looked up to.

The Conductors wouldn’t define themselves too narrowly, and their first album Lost at Sea is a journey through some of folk’s best elements melded together. The songwriting has a simple, carefree sweetness that carries through with their bluegrass and country twang, and their songs feature an interesting swirl of genres. There’s a surf rock guitar riff in “Magic Tree;” the song’s title track, “Lost at Sea,” has an Irish love song quality, and “Satellites” has such a catchy, poppy chorus that it makes it impossible to listen to only once. Lyrically, the songs go from a place of love and ecstasy to dark and brooding. As a whole, the album shows off the band’s natural handle on folk and a true appreciation of the genre.

Having recently enjoyed their time on mini-tours across Washington, The Conductors are excited about this month’s upcoming shows at Seattle venues like The Comet and Chop Suey. “For me personally, I want to play my songs for people,” said Timmy, to which Kristi jokingly added, “I just basically want to get chicks.”

Even though they joke around about it, there’s a sincerity in their voice when they each talk about their love for playing music and working with each other. The group explained they are happy to perform for people and “it makes people super happy and that makes me happy,” Evan said. Kristi added, simply, “I really just want to play music, I don’t think there’s anything better.”

Finding an audience in Bellingham isn’t all that difficult for The Conductors. With folk-rock bursting in popularity as of late, they are coasting comfortably with audiences that can’t get enough of some banjo-laden crooning. When the band performed as Imaad Wasif’s opener last month at the Wild Buffalo, people were singing along to the lyrics even though they are a relatively new band. What draws people to The Conductors is a refreshing outlook on bluegrass grunge that is a relatively new and popular concept in Bellingham. And they have fun doing it.

Chris Willis and Julian Friedman are the duo behind My Dad Bruce. Courtesy photo

Before branching off and forming a two-man rap group, Chris Willis and Julian Friedman dabbled in projects with hip hop groups Rec Room, The Educataz, and Somebody Cares. Now they’re starting to perform around town under the title My Dad Bruce, a name that derives from Chris’ last name. Get it? The band is a welcomed concept to a somewhat hip hop deprived city like Bellingham and plan on spreading their high energy, big sound, and smooth rhymes.

Due to the large amount of members in Somebody Cares (members including Mike Harris of Idiot Pilot and Adam Luft of Rise ‘n Shine) they decided to disband and work on their own projects. When the group broke up, MDB was already in effect. Chris and Julian, along with “secret” members Adam and Mike, were ready to form their own band and “have a cool, innovated view of hip hop.” The goal is to keep things interesting and keep it moving. Explained Julian, “we don’t want the same stuff regurgitated.” Julian has been one of the acts performing at the B-Boy Championships at Wild Buffalo that have been happening recently and won one of the rap battles. He explained that he tries to stay active in the local music scene and MDB plans on playing more local shows this month.

My Dad Bruce really pins it down for fans of good hip hop in Bellingham. It can be a bit challenging to find a genuinely refreshing and inventive rap group in this town, and their EP (produced by Devon Kane) is well-produced and thoughtful.

Creativity and and inventive nature make for a great rap artist and Chris and Julian have a handle on their own identity as musicians. They like good, thought-provoking prose and it shines through in this project. “I have a very deep love for hip hop, but a strong resentment toward the things within it,” admitted Chris.

Chris likes to regard it as “rhythmic poetry” and “being true to hip hop, not focused on the negative elements.”

You can tell by listening that their inspirations like to go back and forth, from R&B to jazz to soul. Their choruses often have a deep beat and soulful singing and even brinks on electronica in their beats. Also, much like Nujabes and Common, they mix in jazz music samples into their songs and playfully incorporate elements from various genres and backgrounds. The best part of their music is the true, unadulterated rhymes and honest interpretation of Hip Hop. They have a gritty hip hop sound that, as Julian says, “bring us to life in crazy ways,” but are able to keep it fun and full of life.

“When it comes down to art and being at a level of artistry where you can express yourself, that’s hip hop,” said Julian of MDB’s genre. Added Chris, “modern identity to hip hop is about breaking rules. The objective and preference is not to prove anything but create the life that we want artistically. We define ourselves and see what happens.”

Under the Radar - August 2010: ELLENOPRAH

A quick look at a local band moving on up…

Who: Anjali Kuslar (bass, vocals), Cory Budden (bass, vocals, xylephone), with special appearances by Jenn Hartman (drums)

What: Metalcore, obviously. We are ELLENOPRAH. We sound like a combination of Hatebreed and Bikini Kill.

When:  First show was at Ladyfest 2010 and recently opened up for Bastards of Young and at the Cabin Tavern.

Where: Vom Com and bedrooms.

Why: We hate every single instrument except bass.

The Cairo Gang. Courtesy photo

Louisville, Kentucky born singer songwriter Will Oldham is an innovator. Mixing his own brand of folk Americana with do-it-yourself punk rock attitude, Oldham has been putting out records for nearly two decades. Known more commonly by his stage name, Bonnie Prince Billy, Oldham produces often simple and always haunting songs for the masses.

Performing since 1993 under the various incarnations of the pseudonym Palace (including Palace Music, Palace Brothers, and Palace Songs), Oldham took the name Bonnie Prince Billy in 1998 and has released records as such ever since. While on tour to promote his newest release, The Wonder Show of the World with his current band, the Cairo Gang, Oldham was kind enough to answer some questions about the history of Bonnie Prince Billy from Dublin, Ireland.

When did you first begin playing music and where did that inspiration to do so come from?

I lived with friends, with family. Essentially, karmic rent was demanded in the form of work, and work in the form of music. “Do something with yourself!” And it was asked from people I respected and feared and idolized.

Where did the moniker Bonnie Prince Billy come from?

From the proverbial thin fucking air! Now Bonny lives alongside and we paddleboat through life and song, taking turns riding shotgun.

List some major influences on the band (musically, artistically, personally) and how was your sound developed?

Every single record and every single tour is a major development musically and personally. That’s a lot of development… from my point of view. I wouldn’t call it progress. But things change.

How is this incarnation of Bonnie Prince Billy and the Cairo Gang different from previous tours as Bonnie Prince Billy and the Picket Line? Do you plan to continue recording with the Cairo Gang?

Each sprouted from its own set of circumstances. The work with the Picket Line came from a desire to relate to large, live community. With Mr. Cairo, the desire was to explore a small, compositional communication. I write to you from a machine upstairs in Dublin. We just performed, and I have here a pint of stout dismantling the daunting sandcastle built by our time with the audience tonight. There are surely songs yet to be made and definitely times yet to be unraveled.

How is the Wonder Show of the World, the new record from Bonnie Prince Billy and the Cairo Gang, different from Funtown Comedown, your last release featuring the Picket Line, and other previous releases?

My goodness! Take a listen. Overall there is an intricacy to this WONDER SHOW that I could not confidently say existed in other records, especially compositionally.

Are you continuing to pursue acting as well as music?

As acting pursues, I yield, like a prostitute who cannot help but lay loins ajar! It is an occupation for which a need was ingrained.

What are the band’s plans for the rest of 2010 and into the New Year?

My, such thoughtful questions! We should sit over a calendar and a tab of acid and discuss.

If Bonnie Prince Billy were a cereal, what kind of cereal would he be and why?

FREAKIES, because they existed only in some peoples memories, and yet they did exist.

Is there anything you want me know/note about yourself or the band?

I don’t know you enough to say. God bless, anyway.

Throughout the night he switched back and forth between playing the two different styles depending on how he would like the song to sound. He started playing delta style with the song “Runnin’ from My Baby’s Gun Whilst Watching Butterflies from My Front Porch.” It has a strong, hard sound as he’d quickly move and slide his hands while stomping his foot. After playing a couple of delta style songs, Samuel would then switch guitars and play piedmont style blues such as “Baby Doll” to create a sweeter sound.

Because of the way Samuel played guitar meant that between every song he would have to tune his guitar, using his trusty iphone tuning app. This allowed him to joke around, and tell stories about his previous tours, adventures, girlfriends and the meanings behind his songs. It also allowed him time to explain what he was doing, why he had to tune in between every song and what the difference between delta and piedmont style blues were. Delta blues usually is played using a metal guitar and slide to create a hard, passionate and fiery sound, while piedmont style is played by finger picking on an acoustic guitar to create ragtime based more emotional rhythms. Piedmont also seems harder since the player has to alternate playing regular guitar strings with bass strings all whilst singing. Samuel explaining everything he was doing and why, was great for a blues newcomer to not only understand more about the music, but also learn to appreciate it more.

While talking Samuel is the calmest guy. He is very laid back when joking and telling stories, but when he breaks into a song he explodes with such a loud, raspy voice and so much energy for each pick, slide, strum and foot stomp that it seems impossible for one man to accomplish.

After Samuel was all said and done, he had played for over two hours. In addition he had played over 20 songs consisting of original and covers of Son House, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Blind Boy Fuller, Townes Van Zant, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Booker White. I can’t wait for him to make another visit to the Acoustic Tavern and hopefully Rosa will make an appearance to do a little dancing for us.

There is a new movement in music where bands are simply plugging their instruments in and playing. This type of music has no effects, isn’t perfect and is raw. Whether meant or not, the sound is reminiscent of ‘fifties rock. As easy as it seems, it is generally hard to accomplish a polished and quality sound.

Strapped with flowers to their microphones, the three man band Sorry for Your Luck started off the evening. Their six song set jumped off with the fun, upbeat song “Tea Steam,” and then was followed by “Star Trek.” At first, it sounded like the band was mainly led by the piano, which would play a fun little melody and then the guitar and drums would come in and play something to match the melody. However, by the last song, it seemed as if all three members of Sorry for Your Luck were playing their own melodies and nothing blended together to create a cohesive or great sound.

The second band of the evening was Palmz. Led by the cute Lexie Corfiatis on guitar the band started their set with the song “Nothing in the Universe is Lost.” While listening to their simple guitar and hard hitting drums I was immediately reverted back to the 1950’s, especially when they played what Lexie called their 1950’s dance number “Big Overload.” Although the vocals were hard to hear, Palmz seemed to have no problem accomplishing a polished and quality sound through their charming six song set.

Having two bands play this no effects, raw style of music, nothing prepared me for what I was about to hear from the third band Slumpter. Now, Slumpter is usually a one man band by Jason. He started off the seven song set with a simple country song using an electric guitar and being sung by him. As the song ends, Jason claims “now comes the crazy music.” Jason comes off stage and six other members, Zach Zinn on electric guitar and pedals, Chris McGuire on another electric guitar, Chris Gusta on bass, Carl Punch on drums, Seth Hover on the oscillator and Ryan Wapnowski on saxophone, all come on stage. They all start playing what just seemed to be noise, and two minutes into the noise, I wondered if it would go anywhere or build into anything, but it didn’t, it was just created.

What the band was creating was based on a beat that Jason had made that he programmed to play off of a computer. The band would hear the beat, then improvise what they would play. Having only practiced twice before, each member had to listen to what everyone was playing and feed off of that to keep the song moving. Through the noise, it was interesting to hear what and how each member decided to play their instrument.

It was such a lucky experience to see six random guys on stage, not knowing what they will be playing, but knowing their craft, and being able to cohesively come together and play some incredible music.

Rhombus, a five piece hardcore rock band, had plenty of energy to spare. Their punk image was nicely complemented by an eco friendly lifestyle. For this show all of their equipment was hauled to the venue via a crew of bicyclers. There were at least 30 bikes on the sidewalk. They even played a song about the anger and anguish of getting your bike stolen, properly named “Bike Thief.” The heart of Rhombus seemed to lie in the midst of a cat and mouse game played between the rhythm section and Kat, the lead singer. Tyson’s power drumming and Meg’s solid bass riffs seemed almost to provoke Kat’s great intensity.

The Keaton Collective played next. Earlier in the day they played a completely different set at Maritime Heritage Park to officially release their second album Time & Pressure. Playing two sets of different music in the same day really showed how tight and professional The Collective can be. I’ve seen these guys four times and at every show they’ve had a different ensemble. Tonight they were a six piece with three guitars, drums, bass and four very talented vocalists. They followed the basic rock format but they did it damn well; they could pull off any format that they’d dare to try. The songs they played from their previous album The Wash were good indy rock with spot on harmonies placed perfectly over a steady and powerful rhythm section. The few new songs they played were more mellow and almost a little country, but great individual instrument sounds really pushed their overall presence to the limit.

The Red Racing Stripes had the last slot of the night. After a lengthy set up a weary crowd was subject to an onslaught of late 90s butt rock. Every song in their mediocre set was in drop D. The two men on vocals were very pitchy, to say the least. Their long bouts of guitar driven instrumentation gave a much needed break to the poorly sung vocals. Uninspired lyrics and stagnant guitar riffs made it sound like a band compiled of WWF wrestlers. The only redeeming aspect of the group was the steady and flawless percussion performed by Kevin Barton. Their songs weren’t horrid but it felt like the musicians were ignoring the crowd and completely caught up in themselves. They are a new band that hasn’t yet reached their full potential and yet they still did a good job of keeping the crowd.

Rob and Zach on July 6 at Wild Buffalo. Pinback. Photo by Haylee Nighbert

Before entering the Wild Buffalo, I heard the rumor that Zach wouldn’t actually be in attendance. I thought to myself, how could the show go on? It was supposed to be the “Rob and Zach Show,” and without one member, it would cut the show in half. And when the show started, it was just Rob on stage.

Zach had to make an emergency trip to his hometown of San Diego. Reason being, Zach’s new baby was born. So Rob centered himself onstage, started playing a familiar melody, and everyone dropped into its catchiness. Even without the assisted harmonies, Rob got everyone swaying in a daze of indie-rock bliss.

Projected behind him, there was old stock footage and videos of space exploration playing. At one point, the drummer from opening band Little White Teeth, a band whose dreamy pop-rock disposition complimented the main act, came up to the microphone to contribute harmonies with Rob on a couple songs.

The great thing about the show was its simplicity and deeper understanding of how interestingly complex their sound is as a whole. This was their original intent; playing as a more intimate representation of themselves, and with half the band present it made the independent parts shine through and highlighted its dynamic atmosphere.

The word “soundscape,” to me, sounds like a New-Age CD compilation advertised on TV, but I’ve never experienced a performance that felt more atmospheric, more like a landscape or an environment. The tent was surpisingly small considering the amount of sound coming out of it, filling the space, and bouncing off the concrete walls of the Jinx basement, in a way that shifted from eerie to subterranean to dreamlike and comforting.The cave-like basement, and the tent enclosing Zach within that space created a womb away from time. There weren’t distinct songs, and it was essentially one long piece, with subtle sonic shifts that divided the piece loosely into sections. The coming and going of audience members marked the passage of time and affected my experience of the music. As the performance began, First Friday Art Walk was also happening. People casually milled around, and the performance felt more like a spectacle. It felt like much less like a novelty after several hours had passed. As I became more immersed in the experience, it stopped feeling like I was an audience member and began to feel more like I was a participant.

Besides the low lighting in Jinx, a single red lightbulb lit the floor in front of the green tent, and there was also a bright light inside the tent. The self-built tent was nostalgic in its simplicity and the scattered logs and forest debris around the tent added a campy (pun inevitable) element. It felt like Zach was very far away until his silhouette would occasionally come into sharp focus, exaggerating the shape of his body and the movement of his arms, and reminding me that there was a human physically creating the sound.

Around 1 a.m. there were about 15 people there. Some had unrolled the provided sleeping bags, and were laying quietly, listening. By 4:30 a.m., the remaining audience members fell asleep in front of Zach’s tent. He continued to play To me, the most intense or profound part of the performance happened between the hours of 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. I would wake up every hour or two, to see Zach was still playing. The music during this time was noticeably calmer and more dreamlike.

At the end of the 24 hours, Zach cut a long slit in the tent with a knife and emerged to cheers and clapping. Participating in a performance environment for this long felt like an accomplishment to me, and I can’t imagine what it was like for Zach. It’s difficult to write a review of 24 hours worth of music, but it was a performance that I will remember for the rest of my life.