Music
Press
Monthly Carnival of Arts
Empire Dine and Dance, Portland, ME
11/19/08
It’s the second monthly Carnival of Arts at Empire Dine and Dance, and there are poets, filmmakers, and musicians galore. However, for this review I want to talk about my two favorite acts of the evening. John Fountain, a twenty-something bartender with long dirty-blonde hair takes the stage with his guitar. He begins to sing, and my arm hairs stand at attention. The sound and rhythm of his voice is a cross between that of Bob Dylan and Ray LaMontagne. Although he forgets the lyrics to his first song, he cracks a few jokes to keep the audience entertained. After this, he doesn’t miss a beat. His voice is deep, yet soothing. He holds his guitar close to his body, seemingly at home onstage. A girl sitting next to me says, “I could listen to this guy all night long.” The feeling is mutual. (Jill Harrigan) - the Noise - December, 2008
The live music appears to be coming from the street, but the only busker in sight sits with his saxophone on his lap in front of the Portland Museum of Art. A few people look up and point to the silhouettes in the fourth floor window at 602 Congress Street.
Inside an old hotel, singer-songwriter Johnny Fountain and his friend Will Ethridge have organized an informal live show during Portland, Maine’s First Friday Art Walk. They call it the Tower of Song.
“John is a musician, and we would always look out the window and we’d say, ‘This is the perfect stage,’” Will says. “We thought, ‘Why don’t we open the windows and point the PAs in the opposite direction to give people an impromptu concert?’”
It’s the first Friday in January and the Time and Temperature building flashes 5:50. It’s 25 degrees in Maine’s biggest city (pop. 64,000) and the quiet, indie act Dead End Armony, off the local Peapod Recordings, is finishing up their set inside the apartment. Their drummer sits on the couch. After all, he doesn’t want to piss off the downstairs neighbor.
Aly Spaltro, the petite 19-year old singer from Portland’s prolific, up-and-coming duo, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, makes a quick phone call to her mom.
“Take exit 7,” she says. “It’s at the corner of Congress and High.”
Minutes later, she’s in the midst of a song from her new album, Samples for Handsome Animals, with her friend TJ Metcalf on guitar. Tonight, the duo’s raucous, bouncy “Comet Flies Over the Underbelly” echoes throughout the streets of Portland.
“The Eastland Hotel and all the buildings around here act like this giant brick amphitheater,” Johnny says. “The sound fills out. It’s like the buildings are singing.”
The song ends. Inside, a few people clap and drink slushy, frozen beers (Welcome to Portland, where the fridge warms up your beer). The real audience is outside, walking around the eerie land of the frozen chosen, with their hands buried deep in their pockets, listening to the live show. A few hoot up at the show from the sidewalk.
When the three bands are done with their free, live show at the Tower of Song tonight at 6:43, they’re going over to One Longfellow, another Portland venue, to play another set.
“Thanks for involuntarily listening to me tonight,” Johnny says to the streets of Portland. Then, he unplugs the PAs.
CODA: Will Ethridge told me they’re going to do this once a month – and may even attempt an all-day event in May. The cops only come if there are complaints. So far, there’s been only one. (Peter Andrey Smith)
http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/03/04/its-like-the-buildings-are-listening-the-tower-of-song-in-portland-maine/
- Arthur Magazine
"On the first Friday of each month, the streets of downtown Portland fill up with people taking advantage of exhibits, performances, and other attractions during the First Friday Art Walk. Since May of last year, the monthly festivities have had a soundtrack provided by local musicians, playing high above the street in John Fountain’s apartment as part of an innovative concert series known as The Tower Of Song. Live video from inside the room is projected on a window so that people on the street down below can see a bit of what they’re hearing, amplified out the windows and reverberating throughout the city.
The March event included performances from Lady Lamb The Beekeeper and Johnny Fountain (who perform each month), as well as the band responsible for the name of this very site, Phantom Buffalo.
A recent Arthur Mag piece by Peter Smith explains a bit of the experience quite well, though it seemed quite a bit crowded during this latest concert. The Pine Haven Collective also visited last month. I wonder if this semi-private event could soon outgrow its humble beginnings - time will certainly tell, especially as the still-developing Tower Of Song Festival being planned for May gets closer.
It was great to get a chance to see this from the inside after hearing it from the streets for so many months. Check out the full photo gallery. Thanks to Will Ethridge for inviting me up to take photos!" - Hillytown 3.10.2009 - Hillytown
Discography
Sirens LP - 2008
The Manes EP - 2008
Hit the Road LP - Coming April 2010!
Photos
Bio
Who is the real Johnny Fountain?
Is he the bare-chested hero of the wilderness, wrestling bears over a fresh catch of salmon? Or is he the wild-haired stranger in the corner of the bar, scribbling incoherents upon a stack of coasters? Or is he the footloose rambler of the highways, singlehandedly throttling the baby seals with a carbon footprint the size of New Jersey?
Little is known of Johnny's past. Most that we do know is a collage of fragments, a scattered pile of sightings and eyewitness accounts. We do know he is a man of many hats. Once spotted on a Coloradan rock face, and later spotted on the wrong side of a bar in Portland, Maine, Fountain's modus operandi seems to be covering the miles between, haunting stages by night along the way.
Perhaps the greatest archive of information available can be found in Fountain's music. Ballads of wine and barbiturates in distant Istanbul, an ode to mischief on the company dime, and a salute to the marching return of Henry Ford are all part of a patchwork series of stories that Johnny presents. The lyrics are specific. The guitar playing is suggested. The direction meanders, but the listener won't mind the destination.
"Every story left untold will begin when we hit the road." From the highs of the Sierra to the chop of the Atlantic, Johnny Fountain is out there on the highways, doing his part, keeping the peace with a worn bag of musical tricks. He moves quick, so take notice while you can. The interstates are vast and there are stories to be told.
Be assured, he may look like a caveman, but he won't trash your venue.
Links
