>PREVIEW
PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES
Friday, August 12
The Warehouse
In addition to being the guitarist for Pretty Girls Make Graves – one of this decade’s most concentrated rock ’n’ roll talents – Jay Clark is also a DJ. His latest night is a monthly affair called "Tramp" that finds him and fellow Pretty Girl, Derek Fudesco, spinning soul, funk and dub at The War Room in Seattle — and he loves it. "You pick your most favourite songs and play them as loud as you want to. I’m a fan and not a musician when I do that," he says.
"Derek and I had been talking for a long time about starting a night because (here) there aren’t very many fun nights to go to that aren’t just ’80s and hip hop and dance punk — and we were totally sick of that."
It’s true that formula can be contagious in all facets of the music industry, and after the incredible following that Pretty Girls maintained with their 2003 Matador release, The New Romance, some might expect them to succumb to a similar fate – something to keep fans satisfied, minus the stakes. They would be wrong. Having recently completed the recording of their new album (which will be released early next year), Clark describes it as being totally different from previous efforts. With strange songs that go from goth to bohemian, the graduated darkness walks alongside a new production style. "All of our records have been really polished, really over-produced," he says. "We wanted to have someone record a rawer version of what we do — like what we do when we practice and write songs… or at least have the balance of the two."
For that balance, the band turned to Colin Stewart, best known for his work with Vancouver supergroup Black Mountain. While Clark admits that initially he didn’t want to work with Stewart, he eventually grew to love the man and his methods. "The process was a lot looser – it wasn’t so intense about having everything perfect, it was more about just having it be right."
Featuring five members, who have collectively played in more than five different bands including the Murder City Devils and Kill Sadies, Pretty Girls Make Graves deliver an energized attack of rock fit for shouting, jumping and dancing. This intense and sexy live show is absolute in the way the band presents themselves and their music. Despite their capacity for such a stylish sonic assault, Clark insists that they are relaxed and laid-back bands when it comes to planning. "Playing live is just natural. It’s not conceived at all."
Gaggles of tween girls and flocks of 40-year-old men alike gather in cities across the continent for any Pretty Girls gig. "I really don’t understand it but it is pretty awesome," says Clark. Perhaps they just enjoy hearing their favourite songs played as loud as they want. Trust me, so will you.
CELEB TOP FIVE
Jay Clark’s Top 5 pretty girls
1. The girl in the white dress dancing at "Tramp" last night
2. Joanna Newsom
3. A young Tina Turner
4. Jessica Alba
5. Scarlett Johansson |
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