Hem of your garment

Hem's Messé uses 'music as a shield'

By Chris Nixon
February 3, 2005

Dan Messé rides through the heartland of America in his tour van, holding his cell phone in one hand and looking across the West's wide-open spaces. You can hear it through the phone lines: the solitude of the plains in his voice and the hum of the Nebraska highway in the background.

"We're slowly winding our way down Interstate 80 and stopping at anything that catches our eye," says Brooklyn native Messé between tour stops in Omaha and Denver with his band Hem. "It's beautiful. It's a lot of open spaces and we're used to very closed spaces."

Despite hailing from the bustling center of commerce and consumer lifestyle, Hem comes across like a back-porch folk song sung from a creaky rocking chair in the midst of a cicada-filled night. Or maybe its brand of sweet folk sounds like a long drive across the plains. Either way, it's not the streets of Brooklyn.

"We definitely write music as a shield or a reaction against (the chaos of the city)," says Messé in a quiet voice. "I'm writing music to find comfort in life, and we hope it does that for other people too. But that's our goal: We don't have space in our real lives, so we create it sonically."

The eight-piece folk pop orchestra sculpts quiet, contemplative country tunes revolving around the beautiful simplicity of Sally Ellyson's voice. With the band's 2001 debut album, "Rabbit Songs," Hem joined a group of musicians melding earnest folk and American roots music. Along with such artists as Neko Case, the Sadies and Eastmountainsouth, Ellyson and her bandmates seem to sing in defiance of the standard glitz and glamour of the music industry.

Bandleader, composer and pianist Messé pens most of Hem's songs, including the majority of the first disc's 16 subtle tracks. On the group's follow-up album, he decided to employ a more orchestral feel.

In the beginning of 2004, Messé traveled to Eastern Europe to record with the Slovak Radio Orchestra. No one in the orchestra spoke English; no one in Hem spoke Slovak or Czech. By chance, one person in both parties happened to speak Spanish. So essentially, Messé traveled to Slovakia to converse in Spanish and record American roots music. In the face of massive lingual and technical hurdles, Hem managed to capture the classic folk pop sound they sought.

"Once we decided to do the orchestral folk pop sound, we started looking around for the studios they recorded the classic albums in: everything from Muscle Shoals to CBS Studios. They just don't exist anymore. All those rooms are closed down," says Messé, flashing back to early 2003. "We asked the guy who does our mastering, Greg Calbi, and he had just done a project that had used the Slovak Radio Orchestra.

"We somehow finagled our way over there. It was an absolute nightmare culturally, musically and technologically. A lot of sleepless nights, but it was really wonderful in the end."

The result is 2004's "Eveningland," 16 songs of sweeping strings, hushed acoustic guitars and weeping pedal steel. Despite the intricate intertwining layers, Ellyson's beautiful voice shines through and remains center stage. After creating a multifaceted album, Messé faced the dilemma of reproducing and enhancing the "Eveningland" on the road.

"We're really trying to make a living at this, but all of our decisions in our professional lives have seemingly subverted it," admits Messé. "We could tour as a four-piece I suppose and make a lot of money. But we want to create this beautiful folk orchestra on stage. Ultimately, we've never made any decisions based on money. We're really trying to stay true to that, even if it bankrupts us.

"This whole project was a reaction against irony in general and the whole stance of coolness," added Messé, who performs with Hem at Brick by Brick in Bay Park tonight. "I'd rather be emotionally honest and brave and let the cards fall where they may. I tried to write cool songs and it was not something that came naturally to me. I'm not a cool person. I just wanted to write songs that I could feel good about."

Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.

To listen to sound clips from Hem, log onto SignOnSanDiego.com at entertainment.signonsandiego.com

Phat Tuesday

Three the Big Easy way

San Diegans have a trio of Carnaval, Mardi Gras fests to attend

By Chris Nixon
February 3, 2005

Attending the Brazilian Carnaval and the last-ditch parties of Mardi Gras is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, evoking images of beautiful people adorned in colorful costumes dancing to the propulsive drums of the samba through the sweaty tropical night until dawn.

Of course, Rio de Janeiro and its legendary Carnaval parties are more than 3,000 miles due south. But getting a taste of the Mardi Gras vibe is a simple trolley ride away.

San Diegans should deem themselves lucky to have three top-notch Carnaval and Mardi Gras festivals to check out: the 10th annual Mardi Gras in the Gaslamp, the fourth annual Hillcrest Mardi Gras Street Party and the San Diego Brazil Carnaval 2005 at 4th & B nightclub.

All three events are 21-and-up parties and not suitable for the kids. So if you have kids, flip on a CD of samba music and have a homespun dance party. Maybe you could even conjure up a little Cajun food.

But for those who yearn to get their groove on Mardi Gras style, San Diego's three different flavors of Carnaval and Fat Tuesday may be just what the doctor ordered for you.


The new kids on the block
The Brazilian Carnaval traditionally begins on Saturday and ends on Fat Tuesday, the last day before the Catholic observance of Lent. Catholic parishioners observe 40 days of penitence during Lent, so Fat Tuesday is their last day to let it all hang loose.

Mardi Gras in the Gaslamp basics
Price: $15 in advance, $20 at the gate
Location: Gaslamp District, downtown San Diego
Time: Tuesday, 5 p.m.
Information: (619) 233-5008 or www.gaslamp.org/mardigras.php

The schedule:

Bourbon Street Dance Stage (6th and G Street)
5 p.m. – DJ Scott Martin
6 p.m. – Danielle Lo Presti & The Masses
7 p.m. – DJ Johnny Johnson
8 p.m. – 80's All Stars
9 p.m. – Knight Fever
10 p.m. – DJ Marc Thrasher
Zydeco Blues Stage (Sixth and Island Avenue)
5 p.m. – Ragin' Cajun DJ Tony Mirador
6 p.m. – Uptown Rhythm Makers
7:30 p.m. – David Patrone's Flat Five Combo
9:30 p.m. – Theo and the Zydeco Patrol
11 p.m. – The Modern Jazz Majestics
Urban Groove Stage (Fourth and F Street)
6:30 p.m. – Atari
8 p.m. – Kid Krazzy
9 p.m. – Scooter and Lavelle
10:30 p.m. – Miss Lisa

Steve Spencer and his partner, Christine Portella, have organized Brazilian Carnaval celebrations in San Diego for the past 13 years. Spencer, a San Diego native who traveled extensively in Brazil, brings together the city's diverse communities to dress up and dance the samba.

This year's festival includes performances by Brazilian reggae band Banda Diaspora and the percussion-driven SambaDa
featuring vocalist Dandha
da Hora, along with dance and costume contests. And, as Spencer has said: "It became my passion to bring some of that happiness, joy and celebration of life to San Diego."

On the more flamboyant and outrageous side, Hillcrest's Mardi Gras Street Party on Tuesday caters to the gay and lesbian crowd. Candye Kane, Babette Schwartz and the ladies from Lips will perform, along with go-go dancers and DJs pumping out electronica.

The Hillcrest event is relatively new, but seems to gain momentum every year. One thing's for sure: Hillcrest festivalgoers take their costumes seriously.


Mardi Gras in the Gaslamp
The biggest festival remains Fat Tuesday's Mardi Gras in the Gaslamp.

With a decade under its belt, the organizers have the production down to a science. The party draws huge crowds now, but the festival comes from humble roots.

Hillcrest Mardi Gras Street Party basics
Price: $15 in advance, $20 at the door
Location: University Avenue between First and Fourth avenues
Time: Tuesday, 6 p.m.-midnight
Information: (619) 299-3330 or www.hillcrestmardigras.org

The lineup
Tootie, Babette Schwartz
Candye Kane
All Worlds Video GoGo Boys
The Monicas
Chad Michaels
DJ Taj (San Diego)

"Mardi Gras has grown from a simple parade inspired by a couple of pioneering people in the Gaslamp on a traditionally slow Tuesday in February or March to help business," said Dan Flores of the Gaslamp Quarter Association. "It has now filled out into a Gaslamp-wide festival produced by a professional event organizer with an attendance of 40,000 to 50,000 people."

Flores also described a few of the new aspects to this year's festival: "This year will include strolling and roving entertainment through the streets of the Gaslamp. Mardi Gras attendees will see performances by the Critical Brass Band, a Cuban ensemble, a Brazilian samba band and the Procrastinators."

Brazil Carnaval
Price: $25 in advance, $30 at the door
Location: 4th & B, 345 B St.
Day and time: Saturday, 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Information: (619) 231-4343 or www.brazilcarnival.com

The lineup
Samba featuring vocalist Dandha da Hora
Banda Diaspora
Jazz & Samba de Alegria
The Riobela Samba dancers

One of Mardi Gras in the Gaslamp's biggest draws is the annual parade, in which locally sponsored floats cruise downtown's avenues throwing out beads and trinkets along the way. Three stages of music will provide the backdrop for the evening's festivities, with performance by Danielle LoPresti, David Patrone's Flat Five Combo, Theo and the Zydeco Patrol and DJ party music from Scooter and Lavelle.

Flores added: "We hope people will come away from the event with a unique experience that only the Gaslamp Quarter can provide and help people embrace the traditions of Mardi Gras in a unique San Diego way."

Chris Nixon is a San Diego writer.

Look for SignOnSanDiego.com's coverage of Mardi Gras on Wednesday at entertainment.signonsandiego.com, including extensive photo galleries of the night's festivities.