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Critical Sun, Community, Traveling Circus, Bearded Lady
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"... And Furniture Girls, electro rock, quite heavy at times, who are easily one of the better bands..."... And Furniture Girls, electro rock, quite heavy at times, who are easily one of the better bands in Seattle now. I don’t care what any other press says or who gets played on KEXP or asked to play the “official” Seattle SXSW show case. FG rocks. Seattle, and thereby the country as a whole, needs to take notice. Within the Critical Sun circus, they are the big cats, the tigers and lions with singer Stacey Meyer whipping things into shape, SMACK, her head in mouth of lion, forcing tigers to jump through rings of fire. It’s quite the powerful thing as she belts, nearly screaming, over the largeness of lions and tigers playing those heavy chords, F# to C, F# to C, F# to C, “I’m coming, I’m coming, I’m coming for you baby!” It trails out and “baby” is said all by itself without losing any power, kind of like the roar of a lion. Nice. They’re recording now so hopefully the tune will be available soon."
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Furniture Girls, French Fries, I like It When You say…
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On Sunday May 22, I braved the gray skies and early spring-like temps to visit the University Distri...On Sunday May 22, I braved the gray skies and early spring-like temps to visit the University District Street Fair to catch the Furniture Girls, a band named after the Furniture Girls in the Charlton Heston film Soylent Green, a film I haven’t seen but where women concubines come as part of the furnishings for apartments. Films depicting a dystopian future always have some odd sexual element, and the band liked the oddness and humor of this one enough to take on the name. F.G. had a 1:30 start time so arriving just after noon I had time to wander about the fair.
Walking up and down The Ave, I bumped into the masses of people walking in directions they weren’t looking, the people stopping and starting, the people eating mounds and mounds of french fries, great over-sized heaps of fried potatoes in little cardboard containers. I could feel my arteries clog just by witnessing such. There were all the usual crafts and other things to eat and those busking where they could find the space. And more people and more potatoes and more bumping. There was a guy doing a solo hacky sack to a crowd of none. At the Purrfect Pals booth, I saw a woman working who I’d once asked out for dinner and drinks. She gave a very emphatic “not interested” answer back then. I didn’t ask again. And still there were more people and more potatoes. If there wasn’t a band to see, I would have gone home as I’m not one for crowds. I should have camped out in a pub until 1:30, but I just wasn’t that smart.
When it came time, I went over to the stage and found a spot about fifty yards back where I could lean on a wall and take in F.G. and write. As soon as I settled in, a guy came over with the requisite serving of fries and chose a spot a couple feet away. He looked at me, “Hey, man, you want some?” I declined and was glad to see the Furniture Girls taking the stage. The singer, stayC Meyer, had on a green dress, boots, blond hair. She looked good. The rest of the band was appropriately casual for an afternoon of playing for the french fry crowd. It’s always that way when a female fronts a band. She becomes more the focal point than a guy singer would, tends to dress up more too, sharper, to the image, for the image, dressing for the part and the performance. Nothing wrong with looking good and sounding good, and I had it on good faith from a trusted source that she could indeed sing well. On stage, there were two guitarists. That was a bonus as in their pictures and on their CDs there was only one. I figured an extra guitar would beef up the sound. Nothing wrong with that either.
“Hey, man, I can’t eat all these, you sure you don’t want any?” I declined again. He left and left his fries on the ground where’d he’d been standing.
The band’s first song was “Chitoses Golden Gate” and caught me a little off guard. The second guitar did indeed beef it up a little more than the recording from their 2010 CD How I learned to Crawl, but it was spacier than I’d imagined, a little more atmospheric. The rhythm was slow, a simple descending bass, guitars that held notes, some with delay, some just sustained. There was a break down to just vocals and drums. It was open and drawn out. People swayed as they ate their fries. I did as I took notes. Two guitars suited them very well.
Later they played a tune called “Aurora Village Daddy”, and here came the funky-electro-rock I’d been expecting. A drum beat and a couple simple bass notes and a simple vocal. “I like it when you say, let’s have tea … I like it when you say, screw our economy … I like it when you say come fuck me…” Some people in the crowd sang the fuck me line, and the guitars came in and the bass did a little slapping and popping, and I couldn’t help but be reminded rhythmically of “Ghost Song” from An American Prayer by The Doors. There was a 70'sish funk vibe, almost porn music like. And why not? It had a groove. It’s music I’d certainly like to have sex to. “I like it when say, come fuck me.” Indeed.
An old guy in a stained yellow tee shirt came over and started eating the fries the other guy had left. He finished those and then looked at me, up at the stage, at me again before walking off in search of more.
The band played on with Meyer saying, “We’re going to get a little more aggressive now.” And she was right. The two guitars were there more and more. They gave the band a kind of Faith No More flavor. They didn’t play big solos. They played chords. They played riffs under the melody rather than all over it. They played rhythm. They built up well and a little heavy in “Aurora Village Daddy”, especially in the Kingston Wall-like ending. The closer though was the best. “Candy Kids” rocked in a groove held by some super tight bass from Jim Watkins. The guy could play. It was structurally simple, a progression of B to A for pretty much the whole song, but embellished of course, and with two guitars there was that Faith No More kind of heaviness, though of course it sounded like the Furniture Girls. There was even, finally, a solo, and an excellent one at that. Good tune. Good closer. People set their fries down and cheered.
After talking briefly with the band, I left feeling a fair bit higher than I had been. Good music of any genre will do that to me. I wandered around a bit more and didn’t mind bumping into people. I looked at all the crafts I didn’t need. I made my way over to the Purrfect Pals booth and once again asked the woman out for a drink and did not mind that she once again was not interested. I even got some fries and settled finally at a pub with some beer. Nothing wrong at all with being part of the french fry crowd after some music on a Sunday afternoon. The sun was beginning to show. The women walking about looked fine. And I had the lyric in my head, “I like it when you say…”
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How I Learned to Crawl - Album Review (Nov 1, 2010)
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I doubt that you would be brave enough to sit on this band, or eat your dinner off them, either. The...I doubt that you would be brave enough to sit on this band, or eat your dinner off them, either. They look a very tough bunch indeed, all five of them. Not that the two women aren’t attractive (girls, I really, really don’t want you to think that… please!), it’s just that from the photos you know that these people are totally street wise, have street cred, and they’ve obviously earned it.
After the first couple of tracks that try a little too hard to impress the listener with their bombastic approach, the album is launched properly with “Sleep”, a relaxed song (as you might expect with that title) that meanders along with mean background guitar licks, and a delightful funky beat. I say delightful because I don’t usually ‘do’ funky - one Sly and the Family Stone track is enough for me in one go, thanks - but this really is good. “Weenie” follows - again quite funky, and with a keyboard backing holding its end up very well. The main vocals are credited to Stayc Meyer (with Nikki - the other woman – also doing vocal duties) and for this material she has (or they have, I suppose) ideal voices for the alternative funk material that has been laid down here. (In fact, Stayc and Nikki have voices that are both sexy and strong, and anytime they want to sing me a lullaby I am ready and waiting…).
There is no doubt that the slower tempo, more deliberate tracks are their forte. They might look like they can cut up a storm (and maybe they do when playing live), but just listen to “BPM” and you’ll see what I mean. And this is where the funk in their music actually lies, with a neat and subtle edge added to the production. These tough hombres really can swing, as calm but lively “Jr”, the blissful “Shatner’s Universe (Getting Older)”, and then the more up-tempo “Riviera” drive the album forward. And we are far from finished: “Real Woolie” is a fine ballad, “Aurora Village Daddy” is a hip-hop/funk/rock eulogy for all the stray girls out there (and could be the best thing on the album), “Text Mess” (slightly spooky) and “Chitoses Golden Gate” (slightly golden vocals) make for an excellent two-track finale.
So, a debut album from this Seattle band, but with more built-in pizzazz than almost any previous debuts I have had the pleasure of dealing with. I hope the follow up is not too long in coming, although the wait, whatever it might be, shall certainly be worth it.
Kev A.
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SMI featured Artist of the Month: Furniture Girls
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What makes this band unique and makes them stand out from the crowd is their use of interesting soun...What makes this band unique and makes them stand out from the crowd is their use of interesting sounds, textures, musical instruments and technology, coupled with intelligent lyrics and superb musical chops. Furniture Girls to creates a tasty blend of funk, electronic, industrial and alternative rock that is guaranteed to delight the eardrums and electrify the soul.
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Tonight in Music: The Keeper, Furniture Girls
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The fantastically tattooed stayC and friends’ mix of electronic, indie, and industrial rock will blo...The fantastically tattooed stayC and friends’ mix of electronic, indie, and industrial rock will blow the roof off Scott Pilgrim style. Furniture Girls only has one female in the band. The dudes in the band have crazy musical chops (and have done session work for many a band) and they bring the best out in their fabulously quirky female vocalist, a beloved veteran of Seattle’s alternative music scene.
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Tomfoolery with the Furniture Girls
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A dark haired girl in a little black dress sauntered from the crowd to the side of the stage with br...A dark haired girl in a little black dress sauntered from the crowd to the side of the stage with brazen confidence at the Tractor Tavern Tuesday night. Lost in the groove of the melody, her feet carried her up the steps and onto the stage. stayC Meyer, the Furniture Girls’ magnetic lead singer, didn’t miss a beat, wailing on her microphone as she joined her stage crasher in a steamy dance, never once breaking from her gravely, lioness growl.
A bill full of locals elicited a crowd of loyal die-hards amped to be supporting their friends. The Furniture Girls, who feature a slew of Seattle scene veterans, opened the night for Surprise Party and Trombone Cake, but could have easily headlined the show as they were the highlight of the evening.
With a sneer to rival Elvis, stayC brings intensity and dramatism to this band of incredibly tight, quality musicians. The sound is dynamic, rhythmically dense, texturally rich, and emotionally present–kind of like Pat Benetar, but more late ’90s than ’80s with a good dose funk and some sneaky bits of electronic sounds tossed in to round things out.
The drummer, Thane Mitchell, is a master of his craft, making it nearly impossible to distinguish between the electronic beats and his own organic rhythms. Guitarist Bubba Jones delivers lavish licks you can roll your hips to, and with his eyes closed and head thrown back just slightly, he is in it every chord he strokes. Nikki Wolgamott’s backing vocals are a perfect compliment to stayC’s rock and roll howl, and Jim Watkins, the band’s bassist (and newest addition) rounds out the sound with juicy fullness.
Brooklyn Benjestorf
supersonic
