Sally Taylor’s apt success; Dr. Isosceles’ chirpy North County pop
By Seth Rogovoy

(WILLIAMTOWN, Mass., Oct. 20, 2000) - On first glance, the title of her Sally Taylor’s new CD, “Apt. #6S” (Blue Elbow), is an awkward one. Taylor has said that it’s the number of the Upper West Side apartment in which she grew up in New York, but it doesn’t exactly trip off the tongue like, say, “Playing Possum” or “Mud Slide Slim.”

But the title has another, hidden, and perhaps more appropriate meaning. The title could be read as “apt success.” And indeed, the combination of sinuous, slinky pop-rock melodies and Taylor’s alluring alto vocals spell nothing if not success for this daughter of pop-rock royalty (her parents are Carly Simon and James Taylor of the more sonorous album titles).

Taylor’s album sounds fresh and up to the minute - “Give Me the Strength” could be a Tori Amos ballad, and others have noted that her voice sounds at least as much like Natalie Merchant as her mom. But there is also an unabashed, old-fashioned quality to “Apt. #6S,” an eclecticism that ties it to the sort of pop albums her mom made in the ‘70s, where dramatic ballads sat comfortably next to folk-inspired numbers, pop tunes, R&B scorchers and rock songs.

What ties it all together, just like it did for Carly Simon, is Sally Taylor’s voice. It’s a phemonenal instrument, full of deep, husky power and sensuality, yet one she wields with authority that belies her relative youth and inexperience. It’s heard to perhaps best effect deep into the album, on some of the recording’s darker, more bluesy or jazzy tunes, like “40 Years,” “Nisa” and “Without Me,” tunes that boast a stark, startling intimacy.

“Apt. #6S” is an album deep and rich with hidden pleasures -- musical, lyrical, rhythmic, and otherwise -- that repays repeated listening. Taylor celebrates the release of her new album tomorrow night at Club Helsinki in Great Barrington (528-3394). For more info visit www.sallytaylor.com.

Dr. Isosceles

Like any movement, the much-touted North County revival - the Silicon Village spurred by the dot-coms - needs a sound or a theme. The chirpy, melodic, upbeat pop-rock of the Northern Berkshire-bred trio Dr. Isosceles just might be that sound.

The group, which has been together for two years, but which has roots going back much further, has just released its debut CD, “8 Cents Is Your Birthday” (Root Hog). The collection of ten original songs range from the Cheap Trick-like opener, “Substance” to the R.E.M.-like rock ballad, “A Naïve Sense of Me” to the moody pop of “Something For Yourself” which recalls mid-‘80s band Crowded House, to the three-way, Crosby, Stills and Nash-like folk harmonies of “Fall Overture.”

Doctor Isosceles grew out of the ashes of the North County band Dead White Males. Russell Miller, who already had garnered some local recognition for his solo album, “Springfield Mystery Plays,” joined that band, which was founded by Choquette at North Adams State College, midway through its lifespan. Around the time the band broke up in early 1998, Matt Jenkins, who had played with Choquette in a high school band called Reptile House, returned to the area.

Jenkins, Choquette and Miller started jamming and writing songs as a unit that quickly became Dr. Isosceles. “Musically we all clicked very well,” said Choquette. “The only problem was figuring out who would play what, as we are all multi-instrumentalists. In fact, we still deal with that issue after three years!”

For a brief time singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Adam Rothberg was also a member of the band; in the end, Rothberg’s participation in the album was as a studio musician and co-producer with Greg Steele. The album was recorded at Steele’s Derek Studios in Dalton between September 1999 and July 2000.

Several of Miller’s songs on the album are about the business of music itself. “Moving Some Units” imagines radio interviews with public radio personalities Liane Hansen and Terry Gross (a smart strategy and one that just might land the band on weekend Edition or Fresh Air), and “Unhappy Girlfriend” is an ironic portrait of the personal price paid by those who commit themselves to a life on the road.

The band’s other songwriter, Jamie Choquette, favors more cryptic, plaintive lyrics like “One time she told me everything, everything that never made sense,” and “It’s lonely when you’re not alone/You can captivate your own mind.”

How does the band balance the different approaches and outlooks of its members? “I feel we juggle them by allowing each song to belong to the writer,” said Choquette. “If he wants a certain feel we try to add our style to support that particular feel. Ultimately, we all have songs that satisfy each bandmate. I feel we all have a lot of patience and respect in the creative process for one another.”

From Miller’s point of view, “There is a chemistry that can happen in a group -- a balancing of tensions -- that can make for a more lively musical experience.”

North County’s economic and cultural revival has yet to produce any sort of concentrated music scene. There is, for example, still no single music venue around which for a scene to focus, in the way Club Helsinki functions for Great Barrington.

Still, Choquette sees some reason for hope. “ Although there isn’t much of a scene here, there are many businesses that make it possible to play in North County, like Papyri Books and the Appalachian Bean Cafe. The college and the local bars have also been very supportive. My hope is that an outlet for music will appear soon, with regular events for new area employees and museumgoers to inhabit each night and give bands like us a place to play and an audience to play for.”

Said Miller, “There is an air of expectancy in North Adams today, a sense that a scene is building, though I can’t point to anything more specific than the summer music series at Appalachian Bean Cafe and occasional performances at Papyri Books.”

For now, Miller points to Derek Studios as the countywide focal point for original music. “Almost any Berkshire musician with a song to sing will pass through there eventually, and just by sitting in the control room you can meet all sorts of people who drop by.”

As for the band’s strange album title, it was the product of an exchange with a cashier at a local fast-food eatery. “The cashier had other things on her mind -- her friend’s birthday -- and therefore replied in a confident fashion, ‘Eight cents is your birthday’ while giving us change. “It became quotable at rehearsals and band outings and took top seed for the album title when the time came to choose.”

The band celebrates the release of its album tonight at 8 at North Adams State College’s Amsler Campus Center on Church Street. Berkshire county singer-songwriter Eric Underwood will warm up the crowd for the trio. More info is available at www.doctorisosceles.com.

[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Oct. 20, 2000. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 2000. All rights reserved.]

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