Witch House

Quite a while ago a friend of mine and I drove around the warehouse district looking for a party we never found, listening to music. He sees a lot of shows and suggested Purity Ring. He turned the tracks up but for some reason it didn't go into my head completely. I thought I liked it but I never looked it up again.

It was only a few weeks ago when I remembered the name of the band and looked them up on Spotify. I got a basic account recently because you seriously cannot listen to Diamanda Galas with movie commercials between tracks. It's horrifying, really. So, I listened to some songs and there was one true stand out track. It's called Fineshrine.

I added the track to a mix I've been working on lately. The songs in this mix, called "In Blue," are trip hop influenced. The heavy beat in Fineshrine was what got it placed in that mix along with Megan James' vocals. I decided to see what Spotify radio had to say about their song and started it up. As in previous mixes a band called Austra popped up with a track called Beat and the Pulse. This one also made it onto the play list. I was really curious about what the genre would be because I identified with the sounds of the bands.

I looked it up and discovered it's called Witch House. The name was originally a joke, according to it's creator, but it stuck and people ran with it. I love the sound and listening to new bands where there are tons of synths and women is inspiring. I would dream of playing a show with any of them. I would feel like I fit right in.

Check out my mix!

Let's spend the weekend together...

Looking for something interesting to do this weekend? Want to sit back and enjoy some creativity after wandering around doing all the work after last weekends Art-A-Whirl? Friday night I'll be performing in Saint Paul and again Saturday night at the illustrious Club Jager in Minneapolis. Enjoy a relaxed atmosphere at both shows. Though each night boasts a totally different feel.

Friday I'll be opening the night up at 9 for a slew of dangerously strange acts. This is going to be the most interesting thing to do in Saint Paul by far. Eclectic doesn't even cover it. After my set you'll be aurally enticed by the maestro one man act called Primadonahue. He has his eye on conspiracy, creativity, and quirk to the extreme. One look at his web site and you've already entered the Temple of Weird, one you'll never leave. Third up is Well Trained Monkey, another one man audio assault machine. He plays loops, guitars, saxophone, and sings. WTM is always from the heart and always a ton of fun. Closing up the night is a band I haven't played a show with yet so I'm really looking forward to seeing what they're all about. I'm talking about The Future Was Then, a local electronic group. Certainly this evening at the Hat Trick Lounge will befuddle and confuse those just in for a beer. Check out the event page on Facebook and come down. We'll take over Saint Paul for the night...

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Saturday night at Club Jager is an experiment in decadence. I'll be opening the grand event which will feature electronica, gorgeous instrumentation, belly dancers, and even a drink special. (Har!) Scott Keever will be offering up his debut release, "Salieri's Revenge." I've listened to my copy many times already and I must say it's a beautiful album. Lush layers of guitars that create landscapes of a far away evening in your mind. A Twin Peaks feel throughout the length of the songs, echoing a psychic space of creativity and mystery that is rarely found in a bar show. Live he will have a percussionist with him and with a new, sleek set up for his electronics we're all in for a true treat Saturday night.

Dissociate will close out the night with his always dancey beats of destruction. With me opening and Dissociate closing we've become the sacrilicious bread that Keever's performance will be sandwiched into. A delicious meal of amazing proportions in one of Minneapolis' coolest venues. RSVP for the show on Facebook and spread the word!

Mpls Mayday 2012

Coming up is a really amazing show that started as a facebook post by Dissociate to get added to any upcoming shows. After several of us chimed in wanting to play more shows Joshua Lexvold of JSL and [301 Studios] record label took it upon himself to give birth to the brain child that became Mineapolis' inaugural induction of Germany's famous May Day electronica festival. The list of performers is solid. We got sponsored by Radio K and booked the gig at the 7th Street Entry, our own iconic local venue situated in the foothills of First Avenue.  Josh also booked the illustrious Toki Wright of Rhymesayers to do a tribal/house set, somewhat out of his normal vein of performance. This is going to be a special night and the first festival style show I truly am excited for!

New Uploads

Check out my pregnant soundcloud. I've been uploading tracks there for a while but I haven't been spreading the link around very much. I just recently uploaded my cover of Love Will Tear Us Apart Again and it's gotten a lot of positive response. Podcasts are picking up some of my tunes and there was a little buzz surrounding Ficshe for moment there. I've been performing this cover for years but I never laid down (what is admittedly a home recording) the track for online perusal. Sometimes things that would seem obvious to an outsider, like "Hey, people might like your Joy Division cover, silly pants," are mystically invisible from the inside.

I know people like covers, people like familiar things. I program cover songs because it's how I get that song out of my head. If I find myself singing the same song for weeks on end I learn it. I imagine myself as the singer, performing it. I program it.

Programming a cover is an intensive process. I don't read music and so I learn by ear. I play the track over and over, one part at a time and match the sounds or find a sound. (Say for the kick drum, I find one on my machine that's more "me" yet still has whatever intensity/flavor I liked in the original.) Because I use the machine I do (Roland MC 808, AKA Emcee Bob) I end up writing the music out in long strings of numbers. The track number, the measure number, etc. It looks more like math when I program a cover.

Strings of numbers and a love of Kali.

Writing original songs is a lot simpler. It all comes from inside and I don't have to worry that this note or that beat isn't right because it all comes out correct, it's mine. A cover, however, is hard because I'm trying to fit some wonderfully intricate song into the perimeters allowed by my machine. I have to study people playing the synth lines on YouTube and record over and over until I get it right. Measure by measure.

So one might think that doing a cover is easy and maybe for some people it is. In my world when it's time to do a cover it's really time to pay homage to the music that makes me want to sing and write. It's solve et coagula (the taking apart of something into it's elements and then reforming it back into a whole). I get to dive into the song, the melody, the beats, the words and then I get to express the part in me that connected so deeply with those parts of the whole. I get to show you how that song is also me.

More cover songs I've done:
Solitude Standing by Suzanne Vega
Wandering Stars by Portishead
Cupid by Sam Cooke
Elevator Love Letter by Stars

Coming Full Circle

 

Yes, this is Miss Bee's musical life coming full circle. The first of many, I do hope. Pictured above (left to right) is the amazing Venus DeMars, Courie Bee of Ficshe (me!), Tabatha Predovich of UZZA and their newest addition to the group Madeline Youngstrom.

I remember being 17 years old and going to the Loring (when it was on Loring Park) to see All The Pretty Horses and standing on chairs to see them over the crowd. I absolutely loved it and was so inspired and gratified by seeing that band play. Come 14 years later and I'm planning a wonderful show on July 30th at Wild Tymes with the infamous Venus DeMars. I want all my musician/artist friends to know, and understand, that you can make things happen. You can find good friends in the scene and you can realize your goals. It can be done, stop doubting. Let this photo be proof that it's true.

I wanted to showcase local, female talent that inspires me to keep moving forward. It's going to be one fabulous night and I will do a proper promotion post about it soon, this is just to show how grateful I am to have this moment in my life. This is a photograph I will look at when I'm old and I will feel proud of my life.

Busy Miss Bee

Ficshe - Ground Zero - Minneapolis 6/7/2011

I had a wildly fun show opening for The Trapezoids, The Echoing Green and Freezepop this week. It feels so good to be a part of the girl-synth set, not only do I get to meet the musicians I admire but I get to be on stage with them too! That never loses it's excitement for me. In a town with a million bands there really are some stand out nights and that was certainly one of them. Thanks to Kilted Farmer Productions for a fabulous night!



Coming up in July I've got some very girl-synth friendly shows and I couldn't be more eager for those days to finally come. I'm playing with Tailfeather, our fair town's newest all girl powerhouse and I'm going to hear Karma the Oddest Goddess for the first time. So much gratitude to Sir Dameun Strange for getting me on this bill and it's at Cause, a venue I haven't gotten to play yet. A night of new awesomeness! RSVP on Facebook right here.

 A new vid for a new song!

Speaking of music videos... I'll be at Patrick's Cabaret again in July as well for a mini film festival where I will feature some of my music video work and give a live performance. We're looking for some more bands to play outside during the event so if you're a band type and interested in getting your foot in the door there, let me know! If you've never been to or performed at Patrick's you really are missing out on the heart of our local performance community. Oh, and happy birthday Partick's! 25 years is a milestone and proof that the Twin Cities is a great place to be a creative person. Past, present and future!



Last, but totally not least in any way shape or form is the topper to the fabulous month July is turning into for Miss Ficshe. A Gothstravaganza in the heart of St. Paul's lowertown. I'll be performing along with UZZA, as|of and Venus DeMars from All The Pretty Horses (the horses are also invited, we'll see if they nibble my carrot or not...). It's Saturday, July 30th at The Palace Stage at Wild Tymes right across the way from the Artists Quarter.

 I love UZZA.

Detailed posts about all these shows are forthcoming so keep your bananas peeled, people. This is the summer of girls who push your fucking fuck buttons and make you shake your ass!

May Flowers!

This month I've got two performances with some amazing groups of people.




First off I will be at Patrick's Cabaret again on May 20th, but this time for their Mid-Continental Express/Television Dance Party. It's a tribute to all your old favorite tv dance parties! It's also a fabulous way to help raise money for my favorite place in the Twin Cities. Come down and dance in your hottest leg warmers with an amazingly talented and friendly crew then tell your friends to watch you on tv. Check out this event page on Facebook to RSVP and see who else will be there!



The very next night, May 21, I will be performing with Bawdy Blue Burlesque troop in lieu of my previous (and only so far) cancellation on 4/20. Apparently Jesus is coming too, you gotta be there for this. Maybe you've seen the billboards? Frankly, Im not surprised that I have a tantalizing show that night, just as our Lord would like it to be. I can't wait to share a stage with these lovely women, they are nothing but beautiful, gracious AND racy! How did I get so lucky? You can RSVP on Facebook, see?