Lance Brenner is one of the most calm musicians I’ve ever met, a study in stillness. But as soon as music provokes him, his hands start moving, as if the slight, long-haired rocker is conjuring a new world of noise for fans of local music.
During the final Satellite Ballroom concert—dubbed “Acoustic Mafia,” the last of four mini-festivals Brenner organized under the banner C-Fest—the local musician took the stage between each set to introduce the next act, his hands moving in slow waves like a conductor’s as he tried to quiet the audience. When we met for drinks last week, Brenner spoke a bit about his love for Red Light Management clients The Decemberists, and his hands went to work again.
 Flying the freak flag: Lance Brenner, pictured in one of his C-Fest t-shirts, plans to wrap records for his bands The Falsies and Thrum, in addition to a few other projects. |
“I wish they’d go from ‘The Sporting Life’ into [The Smiths’] ‘This Charming Man,’” said Brenner, fingers miming a bass line while he talked about the rhythms shared by the two bands. “And then, maybe, [The Stooges’] ‘Lust for Life.’”
Brenner, whose prior careers included stints with Charlottesville Social Services and Region Ten, is an enabler: He helps bands learn to sustain themselves. He has recorded highly addictive EPs and demos for a mob of Charlottesville’s hookiest rock acts, including Trees on Fire and Kate Starr, and produced an album by the unruly rockers Love Tentacle Drip Society that honed the group’s mania into a goofy, memorable album. C-Fest, which consumed most of Brenner’s past year, was as much about equipping bands with the audio and video materials to market themselves as it was about providing a venue for a huge variety of local acts to engage a new audience.
| C-VILLE Playlist What we’re listening to “Bears,” by Lyle Lovett (from Step Inside This House) “Jinx Removing,” by Jawbreaker (from 24-Hour Revenge Therapy) “Boléro,” by Maurice Ravel (from Boléro) “Swizzy (Remix),” by Lil Wayne (from Da Drought 3)—Weezy blows minds on this mixtape track with some of the most creative references in hip-hop—everything from Kevin Costner to Emmitt Till. “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,” by Elton John (from Honky Chateau) “Ruler of my Heart,” by Irma Thomas (from Sweet Soul Queen of New Orleans)—A sultry plea for a lover’s return. Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse know their Irma—you should, too. |
“Anything I like that I’m not involved in, I want to be a part of,” explained Brenner. “I’m not desperate to take on gigs…[but] I’m lucky to get stuff that I’m interested in.”
Brenner has been so committed to C-Fest and recording other bands, in fact, that it is almost possible to forget the man is a musician in his own right—the feathered drummer for The Falsies, the swaying guitar-noise monster of Thrum and the pop-punk muse of the Naked Puritans. It was more surprising, then, to hear that Brenner has two new records in the works.
The first, a new Falsies record, will be released on September 5 with a CD release gig at Outback Lodge. The songs are a year or two old, by Brenner’s count, and the record is largely completed, save for a song or two left to track. “We’re trying to get our live energy,” he explained, “with a hi-fi sound.” The first Falsies record was recorded three months into the band’s career; now, jokes Brenner, “I dare to say we’re almost competent.”
The second, a new record by Brenner’s “more ambient” group, Thrum, will feature songs that date back as far as 10 years. There is no release date set for the Thrum album, but the band just nabbed an opening slot for Richard Lloyd and Billy Ficca, members of the spidery post-punk band Television, for an August 15 gig at Gravity Lounge—a prime time to hear a few unreleased tunes.
In the meantime, Brenner is still at work processing the audio and video content from the four C-Fest events, culled from 36 bands. As if he weren’t busy enough, Brenner is arranging dates to record Corsair, a ’70s rock ’n’ metal act featuring members of Screaming Infidels and Mass Sabbath that performs next at Outback Lodge on August 8 with the excellent metal act Valkyrie.
“Catchiness is primo to me, and I really liked [Corsair’s] melodies,” explained Brenner as he reached for an invisible pair of drumsticks. “When their drummer does these off-time accents, it can be really powerful.” His hands snapped as he spoke, busily striking imaginary snare drums and cymbals before settling down again.
’Tis the season for method acting
Plainly put, it’s nice to see an actor get his or her crazy juices flowing, be it Daniel Day-Lewis screaming about milkshakes in There Will Be Blood or Heath Ledger’s way unnerving Joker in The Dark Knight (read a review of the film here). That being said, Jon Cobb spent the last week blowing braincaps with his shifty embodiment of Edgar Allan Poe as Peter Coy’s play Poe and All That Jazz made rounds at Washington, D.C.’s Capital Fringe Festival. The play and Cobb’s performance received praise in The Washington Post’s “Going Out Gurus” blog and dctheatrescene.com.
I caught the last local performance of the show at The Hamner Theater before the cast headed north, and Cobb’s wily-eyed performance was an utterly consuming thrill, an effort that elevated and largely carried the show. Poe and All That Jazz served as a nice reminder that interesting plays and refreshing performances are being culled from local theater folks by the crew at Hamner. Check thehamner theater.com to read about the Fringe fest and see shots of Cobb’s gothic gymnastics as Poe.
