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December 4-10, 2008
buzz@boulderweekly.com
Sugar and spice
All-female punk band Civet bring the girl power
by Alan Sculley
Quieting the desert storm
The search for Israel-Arab peace through music
by Gene Ira Katz
 Sugar and spice
All-female punk band Civet bring the girl power
by Alan Sculley
Liza Graves has no problem emphasizing the fact that Civet is an all-female punk rock band. She accepts — and in fact embraces — the notion that an all-girl band is still an anomaly in rock, and is willing to deal with the tedious questions about being a woman in a male-dominated world and the stereotypes and obstacles an all-female group encounters along the way.
That’s not to say Graves sees Civet as some big societal/gender statement or has some bloated idea of the group’s importance to music. But she knows from experience just how much meaning her words, her actions and her approach to the band can have.
“There were some of these girl bands around me when I was growing up,” Graves explained in a phone interview. “I was, like, they’re cool, but they would totally take on that [attitude of] ‘we’re just a band, we’re not a girl’ band thing. That hurt me a little bit. I want to be like, ‘Yeah, girl power.’”
At this early point in Civet’s career, it’s hard to say how much success the band will eventually achieve. The group’s first album was self-released and its second CD, Massacre, came out on the small indie label Disaster Records.
But the band’s profile should now grow significantly. Before recording Hell Hath No Fury, Civet was signed by Hellcat Records, the label co-owned by Tim Armstrong of the punk rock band Rancid and affiliated with Epitaph Records, one of the leading punk/alternative rock labels going. Being on Hellcat positions Civet to get better distribution of its music, bigger tours and much more exposure.
As it is, Civet is doing its part to make the band worth hearing. Over the past four years, the group has been through its share of transitions and has come out stronger than ever.
The group, in fact, had an entirely different rhythm section when it recorded Massacre. But soon after releasing that 2005 album, bassist Jackie O and drummer Bombshell Brenz had parted ways with the group, with two new playfully nicknamed members, bassist Jacqui Valentine and drummer Danni Harrowyn, joining singer/guitarist Graves and her sister, guitarist Suzi Homewrecker.
The new lineup has solidified the personal as well as the musical chemistry in the band, which is based out of Long Beach, Calif.
“I think the fact that I’m now making music with people I get along with and that see eye to eye with me musically and share my same goals and are driven, I think that made a huge difference in how this record (Hell Hath No Fury) turned out,” Graves said. “I think the whole reason [the Massacre] album sounds kind of scattered was because it really was. Everybody was totally on different wavelengths.”
Graves said as a band, Civet brought greater confidence and improved abilities as musicians to the Hell Hath No Fury project. And as the band’s chief songwriter, Graves said she has grown considerably.
“Going into this record we really wanted catchier choruses, and not necessarily like we wanted a sell-out record,” Graves said.
“People like to sing along. I like to sing along. We wanted something that we felt like our fans and fans of music in general could really identify with and enjoy when they listened to it, but at the same time keeping, like, our punk rock edge. I think we struck a really nice balance on this record.”
The CD indeed sounds like the work of a band that’s beginning to find its musical footing. While Civet has amped up the melodic content of its songs (note the hooky vocals and guitar riffs that populate songs like “Son of a Bitch,” “All I Want” and “Pay Up”), Hell Hath No Fury is also the band’s most aggressive and hardest hitting CD. Civet doesn’t break much stylistic ground, but Hell Hath No Fury has enough sass and entertainment value to compensate for the familiarity factor.
The greater emphasis on melody figures to help Civet’s cause as the band tours this fall with headliner Aiden. Some observers see the tour as an odd couple pairing, noting that Aiden, with its goth-tinged punk sound, is quite different musically than Civet. Graves, though, said that was part of the reason Civet wanted to do the tour.
“I don’t see any reason why you can’t put two different bands from two different genres of music together to create a nice show,”
Graves said. “I think it was a good tour for us. We wanted to get back over to the east coast, and we don’t have issues with Aiden. I mean, we’re not big fans ourselves, but you just go out there and try to reach as many people as possible, and we thought this was a good tour for us to take because of that reason. That’s a crowd we don’t usually get to play for.”
On the Bill
Aiden and Civet perform with God or Julie at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6, at the Marquis Theater, 2009 Larimer St., Denver, 303-292-0805.
 Quieting the desert storm
The search for Israel-Arab peace through music
by Gene Ira Katz
Much has been written throughout history about the psychological power of music. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called music “the universal language of mankind.” Bono claims, “Music can change the world because it can change people.” Perhaps music can also help promote peace. That’s the intention of Light from the Desert, an upcoming concert series created by a local musician/producer and a professor of Israeli studies.
Dr. Shaul Gabbay heads up the Institute for the Study of Israel in the Middle East (ISIME) with offices at both Denver University and the University of Colorado. In many ways, notes Gabbay, people have lost hope in the possibility of peace between Israelis and Palestinians. “At ISIME, we are optimistic because we believe we can make a difference in creating a lasting and sustainable peace for people throughout the region.” Gabbay has written numerous articles and reports on this issue, in addition to a recent book, The Search for Israel-Arab Peace, along with Joseph Ginat and Edwin G. Corr.
ISIME fosters collaborative projects among people of all nationalities and faiths, such as a colloquy planned for spring 2010 that will bring together chancellors and presidents from dozens of universities across the planet to explore conflicts and develop a global peace-studies program. ISIME has also been known to bring together creative artists from different cultures — that’s where Boulder-based musician Sheldon Sands enters the story.
After receiving a BA in music from Naropa, with an emphasis in jazz and world music, and then going on to study the relationship between music and healing, Sands was awarded a seven-month artistic residency in Arad, Israel. During his time there, studying Middle Eastern music, roaming the desert, and tapping into the spirit of the land and its diverse peoples, Sands produced a series of recording sessions in Tel Aviv with some of Israel’s top Jewish and Arabic musicians. The CD, Dead Sea Strolls, was released in March 2002.
Sands was approached by Gabbay to produce Light from the Desert, noting that, “He really wants to create events to have the public become more involved in the process of helping to find solutions. I’ve been producing concerts somewhat in this vein since 1999, at the Boulder Theater and other venues around town.
“This is a stellar cast of musicians, very famous in that world,” Sands says of the three performers slated for the concert, Yair Dalal, Naser Musa and Ty Burhoe. “For people who know Middle Eastern music and Jewish music, these are pretty important figures.”
Composer, violinist, oud player and singer Yair Dalal is probably the most prolific Israeli ethnic musician. Dalal’s family came to Israel from Baghdad and his Iraqi roots are embedded in his musical work. Through a dozen or so albums (solo and with his ensemble, Alol), Dalal has developed his own unique style, combining the traditions of Iraqi and Jewish Arabic music with sounds from such diverse regions as the Balkans and India. Dalal is also a peace activist, devoting much of his time and energy to helping
remove barriers between different cultures and, in particular, between Jews and Arabs.
Naser Musa, a Jordanian of Palestinian descent, is a talented singer, composer, oud virtuoso and versatile studio musician. His music has been featured in films such as The Passion of the Christ and You Don’t Mess with the Zohan and on Beyonce’s recent single, “Beautiful Liar.” Naser is also a peace activist, performing and promoting concerts and presentations with artists from all over the world. He is quoted as saying, “Music is the sole border that we may all cross together with the passport of love in our hearts and peace in our souls.”
Ty Burhoe, who resides here in Boulder, is a celebrated disciple of the great tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain, and has attracted international acclaim, weaving tabla with the traditions of jazz, flamenco, rock, bluegrass and fusion, among others. He can be heard on dozens of recordings the world over, with artists such as Tony Furtado, Bela Fleck, Walter Becker, Kitaro, Jon Anderson and Bill Douglas.
“[A lot of people] haven’t had the exposure to music coming from the Arab countries or the traditional music of the Middle East,” said Sands. “But this is accessible and infectious and compelling. I think that if people come and get turned on to something this exciting, then they’re going to want to hear much more of it.”
Gabbay’s optimism is infectious as well. “Some people think that the Israelis and the Arabs can never come together. Well, what can be more beautiful or powerful than people from two sides of the conflict creating this magnificent art together? They’re doing it.”
On the Bill
Light from the Desert concerts take place at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6, at Old Main Chapel, CU campus, Boulder, 303-394-9993 ext. 104 and at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7, at the Newman Center, University of Denver, 2344 E. Iliff Ave., 303 830 8497.
Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com
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