By Manny Theiner for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09050/949979-388.stmBetween Liberties rises from the open-stage circuit
Music Preview
Thursday, February 19, 2009
By Manny Theiner
Kevin Ross
Between Liberties -- W. Wytold Lebing, left, Erika May and Jason Buzon -- knows how to go live.
There are several parallel music scenes in any decent-sized city
like Pittsburgh: The rockers play the bars, the punks play the dives,
and the folksingers play the coffeehouses.
And then there's the open stage circuit. If you don't have a demo or
a full set of original songs, don't worry -- just show up and sign your
name on the list, and you've got 15 minutes of stage time.
That's the world Erika May (also known as EMay) entered while
pursuing a fine arts degree at Carnegie Mellon. Growing up in the
outskirts of Boston, May was introduced to the live music scene in high
school, sprouting as a metalhead (she saw one of Godsmack's first
shows) and ending up in the jam-band scene.
While still a CMU freshman, May organized acoustic open mics on
campus and later approached Squirrel Hill's Te Cafe about running an
acoustic open stage there.
In the meantime, she prowled the open stage circuit, encountering
guitarist Jason Buzon at one of the Calliope-sponsored Songwriters'
Circle Tuesdays at the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern. "There was a group of
girls who stuck around listening after the open stage was done. I asked
if he knew any Pink Floyd, and he started playing 'Comfortably Numb.'
We began singing along, and we've been friends ever since."
The folk-rock trio Between Liberties germinated when EMay saw Buzon
play with cellist Wytold "William" Lebing at the now-defunct Azteca Mex
in Shadyside. "It was helpful to start at open stages," she says,
"where a lot of musicians listen and critique each other's songs."
May then did her part building up the music community by working
with Andrew Watson and A.J. Schaffer, who opened the coffeehouse venue
Your Inner Vagabond in Lawrenceville. "When I first met [those two], I
was doing a bellydance performance with Mandrake Project and Ishtar at
Club Cafe, and they had just arrived in town. We hit it off and started
talking about music, and I basically became their consultant on how to
establish relationships with artists."
She took on the early booking tasks at YIV as the venue was getting its feet wet in the scene.
From then on, May decided to concentrate on ramping up interest in
Between Liberties, and the trio recorded a disc called "From the Lamp
Light" at the studio of CMU instructor Riccardo Schulz, who made it a
semester project for the students in his sound engineering class.
"I knew him from when I took his class," explains May. "He stood
back and offered advice as necessary, but the students did a phenomenal
job. They really got into the process and enjoyed it. We even have a
couple of them clapping on the track 'American Dreams.' "
That song, one of two written by Lebing, has a distinct
sociopolitical bent, as does "In the City" (which is about the
homeless), when compared to other tracks such as "Afar," which are more
strictly love songs.
"Will wrote 'Dreams' in a plane crossing the country. He was
thinking about where he wanted to go after graduating, and he saw two
paths: becoming a business person or doing the creative, artsy 'carve
your own way' kind of thing. So the song looks at those different
perspectives, and how they would affect two people in a relationship."
May might have dreadlocks and an acoustic guitar, but mentioning Ani
DiFranco is a clear no-no. "I didn't listen to her at all, and really
rebelled against the Lilith Fair stuff," she says. "I got most of my
vocal influences from the grunge scene, like Chris Cornell
[Soundgarden] and Layne Staley [Alice in Chains]. I learned how to sing
from male singers, and even though I was playing covers and singing
about girls from the perspective of a guy, I didn't feel the need to
change the lyrics. I wanted to do something more deep and emotive than
just sound pretty. I really appreciate Alanis Morissette, because she
had this gritty, earthy anger, and when I started listening to female
vocals, I was into Joanna Newsom or Bjork, who have interesting voices
and do more than just sing 'nice.' "
Yet May knew that a mellowish folky outfit without a solid rhythmic
base (even though guitar and cello provide some percussive elements)
would have difficulty appealing to the crossover audience they were
attempting to reach. So for the CD release of "Lamp Light" this Friday
at Club Cafe, they're debuting a new member -- percussionist Tom
Pashby, who adds British flavor. "He's from London and Bristol and is
Will's roommate. They're both getting their doctorates in the history
and philosophy of science at Pitt."
May is still involved in other bands. After immersion in the
bellydance scene, she now plays the riq (Arabic tambourine) in Kirik
Hava, a Turkish folk ensemble featuring Omega Love guitarist Luke
Williams and Middle Eastern percussion master Nick Ragheb. And she's
working on a more electronic-based project with boyfriend Chad Hammitt
of industrial rockers Agnes Wired for Sound.
But Between Liberties is more than a passing fancy -- it toured the
East Coast last March, venturing as far as Atlanta and Nashville, and
is already gearing up to recording another CD with its new
percussionist. "When we tour again, I'd like to have two albums out --
one that shows how we started, and another that points to where we want
to go."
Manny Theiner is a Pittsburgh-based freelance writer.
'Between Liberties'
- With: Chai Baba, Boca Chica, Machete, and Zack Simmen
- Where: Club Cafe, South Side
- When: 8 p.m. Friday
- Tickets: $8-$10
- More information: 412-431-4950 or clubcafelive.com