Style and FormulaChris Cotton, The Big Sea, Little Fish, Large Pond Publishing [9/2/08]Chris Cotton's blues repast includes a healthy serving offolk and country, recalling Taj Mahal and other front-porchstylists. As is often the case with this kind of music, the spot-light shines brightest on the main player's voice and guitar.Eight other musicians, including his regular sidemen—Vance Ehlers (upright bass) and Justin Markovits (per-cussion)—pitch in, but Cotton owns this particular show.For fans of Mahal, John Lee Hooker, Creedence Clearwat-er Revival, George Thorogood, and other acts that boogieand choogle, The Big Sea will go down easy. While Cot-to

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For the Price of One: Part Six A Chat with Mark and Jay Duplass (click here for part five)Kathy: I want to go backwards a little bit. Steve kind of touch-ed on this, but you were talking about how you have to think onyour feet when you’re filming, and that’s part of the story. Yousee them writing the script; they’re thinking on their feet, soyou’ve got your process built into the film, but I’m also won-dering with your cast—and I’m guessing that maybe Gretadoesn’t fit this description—but to what extent do they feellike under-employed actors? To what extent do the otherthree feel like, ‘We should be getting more work, darn it.’Mark: I think all of the

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For the Price of One: Part FiveA Chat with Mark and Jay Duplass (click here for part four) “Well-made and genuine, yet also simplistic and unre-markable. That is just what its makers intended it to be."-- Neil Morris, Indy WeekHere's a continuation of the interview Prost Amerika's Steve Clare and I conducted with writer/directors Mark and Jay Duplass at this year’s Seattle International Film Festival. ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****Kathy: I have a question about time and not budget. Whatwere the lengths of the shoots for The Puffy Chair, Baghead, and The Do-Deca-Pentathlon? How did they compare?Mark: Puffy Chair was a three-week

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Thoughtful and CooperativeD+, What Is Doubt For, Knw-Yr-Own RecordsD+ represents democracyin action. Bret Lunsford(Beat Happening) found-ed the band, but on theevidence of their six full-lengths to date, he doesn'tlead in the traditional sense.For some groups that might spell anarchy, but in this case, Lunsford, Karl Blau, and Phil Elverum (Microphones, Mt. Eer-ie) all sing. In fact, they often share vocals within songs, and their voices are just different and similar enough that this approach works wonderfully well. All three have an intense yet laconic style; they can harmonize, but you can still tell them apart.So, if the vocals are fairly "neat,"

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PreciousGemsMuy Cansado, Stars & Garters, Precious Gems [8/19/08]A loud and loose trio, Boston, MA's Muy Cansado play rockand roll with a little country on the side. After a couple of listens,they don't bring any specific bands to mind, but if pressed forcomparisons, I would cite the Replacements and the Pixies.Chris Mulvey handles the regular-guy vocals and Joey Santiago-style guitar-slinging, but bassist Lisa Libera, who has more of apost-punk approach, pitches in for "Erased." She should dothat more often. Stars & Garters is well worth a listen.Sleeping in the Aviary, Expensive Vomitin a Cheap Hotel, Science of Sound [10/14/08]"The best thr

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Magnificent and BeautifulHere I do something magnificent and beaut- iful and people ask why. There is no why!-- Philippe Petit on his Twin Tower stroll***** ***** ***** ***** ***** These are the reviews and other as-signments I'm working on this month.Amazon DVDs: William Friedkin's The NightThey Raided Minksy's, Stanley Kramer's TheSecret of Santa Vittoria, Jellyfish (Israeli a-ward winner), The Price of Sugar, Twenty-Four Eyes - Criterion Collection, A Grand-pa for Christmas (with Ernest Borgnine), and Priceless (with Audrey Tautou).Amazon Theatricals: Man on Wire (the best docu-mentary of the year), The Rocker (with The Office's Rainn Wilson), Bott

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