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Jim Infantino's PoMo Alternative Folk-Rap
by Seth Rogovoy(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Oct. 24, 1996) -- Even when he was still a solo performer with an acoustic guitar, Jim Infantino was not your average, ordinary, folk singer/songwriter. But now that he has morphed into the leader of his own alternative folk-rock trio, Jim's Big Ego, it will be hard to mistake Infantino for a "Kumbaya"- toting folksinger.
Then again, maybe not. Last winter, in a performance at North Adams State College that ranks as one of the best of the past year, Infantino demonstrated how those impossible-to-make-out words in the chorus of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" were actually related to that old, folk spiritual. It was one of those rare but telling moments that sum up the entirety of a performer: in this case highlighting the unique fusion of folk-music roots with alternative '90s irony that is Infantino's trademark.
The Boston-based Infantino, along with his band, Jim's Big Ego, will return to North Adams this Sunday, Oct. 27, when they perform in the Chaise Lounge Gallery at Milltown Studios on Main Street in North Adams at 6. Admission is $5 for students and seniors, $7 for general admission. Call 662-5770 for more information.
Infantino's mix of folk, funk, alternative rock, rap, spoken word and other styles uniquely his own can be heard on his latest album, "Titanic" (Gadfly). The live CD was recorded on two nights last June at Club Passim in Cambridge, and includes solo tracks and songs recorded with Jim's Big Ego. Ex-Story vocalist Jennifer Kimball contributes harmonies on one of the 19 tracks, which include spoken word pieces, new songs and a few new versions of previously recorded Infantino tunes.
"The idea of capturing what we do live on a good night is a great idea and something I always wanted to do," said Infantino in a recent phone interview from his Boston apartment.
"Because of the restrictions in the way studios are set up and how hard it is to get musicians together at one time, it's very hard to get everything recorded at once, the way you normally play it," he said. "Instead you kind of dissect it, play it in pieces, and then put it back together again, and this just seemed like a weird way to record to me, especially now that I'm working with a band and the way we're playing it is the way I'd like to hear it."
The album is the next best thing to seeing Infantino live, taking the listener as it does on a roller-coaster ride through Infantino's idiosyncratic world-view, where a love song begins, "I really liked her but she's dead," and continues on persuading the listener that she's better off that way. Other songs include "Big Chinos," an ode to a very large pair of khakis; "At the Funeral," sung from the point of view of the deceased suicide; and "Cut Off Your Head," a Buddhist-inspired, ironic look at stupidity, egotism and their relation to self-mutilation.
Not your ordinary folk stuff.
Next up in the series at Milltown: Boston singer/songwriter Greg Greenway on Nov. 24.
Spotlight 1
Jazz groups are typically fronted by a leader, a chief composer and soloist who assembles a bunch of sidemen to record or tour with him. The Minneapolis-based Motion Poets takes its organizational cue, however, more from the tradition of rock bands than jazz ensembles. "We run things very democratically," said trumpeter Mark Sutton in a recent phone interview from New York. "All six of us compose, so it's kind of interesting. It's not like there's one person who says we're playing this and this and this."Sutton is a Williams College graduate, class of '93, and he and his bandmates are performing at his alma mater on Friday night at 8 in Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall. The free concert is sponsored by the Williams College Jazz Ensemble and is open to the public.
Motion Poets boasts a three-member horn section and a bass-drums- piano rhythm section. The group is in the midst of a six-week tour of jazz clubs, colleges and high schools, showcasing its wide-ranging mix of styles, ranging from "straight-ahead to more outside to more rock influenced," said Sutton.
"With six members who are all composing you have a lot of different influences and you definitely have to have an open mind," he said.
Spotlight 2
On Margo Hennebach's second album, "Michaelean" (1-800-PRIME CD), the New York singer/songwriter focuses on songs about identity, legacy and the self, inspired in part by her search for her birth mother. Hennebach's compositions, mostly written for piano, tend toward Judy Collins-style art-folk, with occasional forays into traditional and progressive Celtic styles and contemporary jazz. The Oberlin-trained pianist and music therapist is at the Campus Center at North Adams State College on Saturday night at 8 in the free CC's Cafe series.
Critic's picks
The top pick of the weekend, of course, is Black 47's show on Saturday night at 8 in downtown Pittsfield, when the Irish-American, rock 'n' rap group inaugurates The Studio, which promises to be the largest year-round concert club in Berkshire history. The group has played two shows in the past year at the Night Shift Cafe in North Adams: both were the sort of incendiary club shows that unify a crowd of diverse and disparate strangers, which is what club-rock at its best is all about. Tickets are available at Strawberries outlets or by calling Berkshire World Travel at 663-7646....This weekend's second annual Berkshire Improvisation Festival at Simon's Rock College in Great Barrington includes several evening performances featuring cross-disciplinary collaborations displaying the depth and diversity of improvisation. Friday night's gala performance features Jazz and Jest with Roger the Jester and the Larry Chernicoff Band, which includes composer/keyboardist Chernicoff, Charlie Tokarz, Rick Tiven, Mark Papas, Christopher Sblendorio and Tom Schmidt. Saturday night features a mix of dance, theater and music, and Sunday night's performances include an appearance by Lithium Friends, a band featuring Charlie Tokarz, Rick Herter, Ram Miles and Scott Clark. For more info call 229-8080....
The acerbic, witty, English singer/songwriter Richard Thompson will be accompanied by former Pentangle bassist Danny Thompson, multi-instrumentalist Peter Zorn, and former Fairport Convention bandmate and Jethro Tull drummer Dave Mattacks at his concert at the Troy (N.Y.) Savings Bank Music Hall on Sunday at 7:30....
[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Oct. 24, 1996. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1996. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
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