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| Photo By Philosopher's Stone |
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Philosopher's Stone
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The location of the "philosopher's stone" remains unknown. Legend says that it can transform metals into gold, cure illnesses and create enlightenment. Reminds me of post-college -- Vancouver, nude Wreck Beach, foreign dudes and bare-assed waitresses selling "funny" cookies. Now there's revelation.
But according to the local band Philosopher's Stone, this elusive substance represents their trancelike, visionary sound -- five open minds and the zone of in-the-moment collaboration.
Singer Brad Denham is jam-packed with intensity; his gaze hacks through the shield of his sunglasses. A speedy talker, but when describing band practice, he slowly says, "Everything flows freely in a stream of consciousness. It's not contrived. I'm like, OK ... to me ... this is a verse."
Some tracks jam on, playfully saying "Screw you" to the three-minute rule. Jam band, perhaps, but bassist Chris Laile notes, "In Jam bands, there are a lot of solos. We're not doing solos. It takes an active ear to pick up the under layers. Passive listeners are looking for solo, verse ... but sometimes the intricacies hide."
What makes this music captivating is its highly suggestive, visual nature. You will see things. Guitarist Charlie Padgett says, "We want it to feel epic, create movies in your mind."
Take "Paint," for example. It opens with steady drums, then Denham's voice, like spoken-word poetry, coolly repetitious. The lyrics provide a base for the background groove, stirring up gentle visions. Picture the tail end of Garden State, lips on lips and slow motion moves. Around 3 a.m., this song will get you laid.
The band's history goes back to 2001, when Denham was recording solo at Florence's Commonwealth Audio with engineer Joe Burns. Putting an ad in CityBeat for studio musicians, Denham found Chris Laile, a positive, pensive, creative type with black-rimmed glasses. Next came Burns' cousin, drummer Joe Alig, and the three released a successful 2002 album, The Goods and the Ills, now sold out.
With a 2003 three-song EP, they placed in the Top 20 of the 97Xposure contest, but that summer Alig left in what Denham calls "an amicable split." Enter drummer John Carrico. Beaming and buzzing, he's funny, feisty and fired-up. Formerly the band's album photographer, he played his first gig with Philosopher's Stone at Covington's 2003 Oktoberfest.
The beginnings of a 2004 album featured guitarist Josh Knarr, who soon left to go on the road with Freekbass (Knarr still plays with the Funk band). During this time, Philosopher's Stone released "Paint" on Free Lap Dances Vol. 2: Return of the Snuggler, a CD benefiting a stray pet-assisting organization that was compiled by Buckra guitarist Jacob Heintz. "Wait Around" was also recorded, but the album project was abandoned.
Charlie Padgett, graphic designer for The Goods and the Ills, says, "At first, I wasn't totally into their music. I came from a Hard Rock background."
But over time, Padgett grew interested, hinting around until the band added him as guitarist 10 months ago. Padgett notes the big picture: "Sometimes you take each other for granted, and it's cool to take a step back and look at our process."
Also a recent addition, dark-eyed Jon Divita (keys, synth) seems as laid back as his Birkenstocks. At last year's opening of Argentine Bean in Northern Kentucky, Divita was covering the event for the Community Press. Meeting Denham at the bar, the two talked music, drank absinthe and, Denham says, "That was that."
So "fuck" might be in the first line of "Infinity," but the word just blends into the sentence. This song would play on a film score after the fight, the breakdown, the overdose. Addressing hard times, power rests in the understatement. Imagine some woman shoe shopping on her first day out of prison.
In their first recording venture with the new lineup, Philosopher's Stone works from Denham's home studio, taking time to experiment. Ironically, even in ad-libbing, a loose arrangement exists. Denham says, "We know the direction, and everybody's walking the same steps ... free floating."
PHILOSOPHER'S STONE (pstone.net) headlines "Sound + Vision" at The Poison Room Friday with Bulletproof Charm, Captain of Industry, Backseat Virtue and more, plus DJs, Barnyard Burlesque, digital projection and other visual art.
