Collected Sounds' Anna Maria Stjarnell reviews TBWCAN

Levator is fronted by singer/multi-instrumentalist Sky Lynn complimented by Rando Skrasek and Nate Henry.
This is their third album of dreamy yet distorted music.

12:34 sounds like P.J Harvey fronting Morphine, all saxophone and waling vocals. The band captures a late night mood here.

Bruises is shoegaze gone jazz as waves of sound wash over Nate Henry’s sax and Lynn’s angelic singing.

Dark Hair is ghostly and fluid, Lynn’s gorgeous vocals supported by a lovely melody.

Mocking Bird edges into harder territory, and must be a live favorite. The squall of noise is woven into the bands dynamic sound well.

This album is just wondrous.

Click here to view the actual site.

My Parents...

I love my Mom and Dad so much. I can't be thankful enough for who they are, and for who they've let me be. They are always supportive and encouraging. I think I'm one of the luckiest kids alive. It's really been hitting me on this tour....

Levator Live @ Soda Bar - San Deigo

Filmed by Jermy of Origami Ghosts at Soda Bar in San Diego.

tour - day 15

happy valentine's day?

let's see, what has happened since last we spoke: well, shirley's brakes still work, we had a great night in l.a., a great night in san diego, and the less said about long beach the better...

mr. t's in l.a. was awesome; an old converted bowling alley that has shows where the lanes would be. we played with some fantastic local psychedelic bands: electric children, spirit vine, and rocking horse people. we're lucky enough that we get to play with the electric children again in san francisco next friday.

we weren't sure how san diego was going to go; we played the same venue last year and it was a dud, but it's under new owners now and the change was unreal. we crossed paths again with origami ghosts, a band from seattle that we met up with in arcata. never met them until then, but they had their cd release the same night as ours at the high dive, left for tour the same day we did, and have already hit many joints along the way that we're hitting on the way back. apparently they've seen our fliers everywhere.

once again, long beach stories are for later.

we are sitting in the silver fox in bakersfield, one of our favorite places to play. I swear it hasn't changed since the late sixties, and it's perfect. right before walking in I was talking with joe alton on the phone, telling him about the silver fox, and, no shit, a fox ran right by me! they love their foxes in bakersfield I guess...

okay, I'm thirsty, it's time to end this rant. buenos tardes, amigos.

California Bars...

Ever heard of "Mood Lighting"? Well, apparently it's something California bars take very seriously. I don't even know why I bother brushing my hair in this state because no one can see it anyways! hahaha That's really funny because I haven't brushed my hair in two days. No, that's a lie. Today. But time seems longer. Or shorter. Maybe I only need to brush it once every two days. I also have a theory about that, but back to my point.. lighting....

No, I actually really like it- the low lighting that is, (unless I'm trying to find something in my lego case) but I have a theory. I think it's so dang sunny here that the bars keep it very dark day and night to kind of even it out and have you noticed that most bars in Seattle are too bright? Well, maybe they are trying to make up for the big thing that's usually MIA in the overhead compartment of clouds.

I wonder if there are less single people in California. hahaha.. I apologize, that was crude humor. Like people just go to bars to pick people up or something....

SPINearth's Em Brownlowe interviews Levator

Progressive-shoegaze trio, Levator, hope Seattle's moody rain cloud won't follow them into sunny California. In search of a cure for seasonal depression and to realize the rock n roll dream, Sky Lynn, Rando Skrasek and Nate Henry aim to leave Northwestern territory and embark on a month long tour of the Golden State's inland empire.

Such an adventure is nothing new to Levator, as the trio tours regularly throughout the year. However, this time they are driving senior-style in an old school RV (which singer, Sky Lynn, has inherited from her grandfather) to promote their latest self-released album, The Biggest Waves Come At Night.

Levator's first show on the road happened at Portland's Mississippi Pizza, a kitschy pizza lounge whose decor is inspired by the lost city of Atlantis. Inside, Levator's unique sound washed over the audience whose conversation was drowned in awe of the band's somber orchestrations. Sky Lynn, a master of atmospheric sound, wears pointy toed heels to assist her maneuvers upon a effect board containing over a dozen pedals, creating live loops of guitar and vocals which she exhales with impressive range. Meanwhile, saxophone player, Nate Henry adds suspense and mystery through tasteful blows while Rando Skrasek keeps the songs steady with his forceful minimalist beats.

The next day, before departing on a 110 mile trip to Eugene, Levator and I met up to re-nourish ourselves with Bloody Marys, eggs and plenty of bacon. Afterwards, they gave me a tour of their beloved RV and spoke about rock n roll's place in small towns, their new record and living the dream.

EM: Where are you all headed on this tour?
SKY LYNN: Our final destination is San Diego, CA.
NATE HENRY: And every place in between.
SKY: Different town every day...sometimes two towns in one day.

EM: A lot of bands just hit the big cities. What is it like playing small towns?
RANDO: Awesome!
SKY: A lot of times people are appreciative that you stopped through because a lot of people just blow through it. I grew up in a small town so I can appreciate that.
RANDO : I was very appreciative of any band that came to my small town as well.

EM: Where did you all grow up?
SKY: I grew up in Oregon in a town of 1,100 people and one stop light.
RANDO: Oklahoma
NATE: I grew up in eastern Washington and we didn't have bands come through....ever. Unless they were big....like Boston would show up.

EM: What are some of the smaller towns you're going to play between Seattle and San Diego?
ALL: Eugene, Arcata, Redding, Chico, Bakersfield, Monterey, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Eureka, Merced, Modesto...

EM: Tell us a little bit about your newest record, The Biggest Waves Come At Night. How and where was it was recorded?
SKY: The title, The Biggest Waves Come At Night, is a lyric taken from one of the songs. We recorded it in multiple locations. It started at my grandma's old house and then we took it to our practice space and our apartments. We mixed it in our apartment.

EM: Did you find any themes coming through during the recording process?
SKY: We weren't really picking a theme. We recorded a basket full of songs and let them sit together. The two or three that didn't fit the mold of the basket will be put on something else like a 7".

EM: How was the song collection composed?
SKY: We started to record them and then they grew on their own. We would record a skeleton and then listen to it and someone would put something here or there. It was cool and really collaborative.
RANDO: We had good experimentation with micing and sounds that all came out very colorful.

EM: What are the music genres that have influenced these recordings?
SKY: Gosh, what have I been listening to a lot?
NATE: Pink Floyd.
SKY: Yeah, I've probably seen "Live In Pompei" fifty times! I think that's the best movie ever!

EM: What are some of the records you have been pumping while on the road?
SKY: Well, we haven't been listening to a whole lot of music because we broke down twice and couldn't use the stereo because the battery was dead. I taught these guys a couple of rye whiskey songs and had a little sing a long.

EM: Do you all get cabin fever in the RV?
SKY: Not yet!
RANDO: (laughing) Shoo fly shoo....
SKY: Compared to a Chevy Astro Van...
NATE: We're living like kings.
SKY: It's like a football field! I was doing cartwheels, lunges, running back and forth.
NATE: We're gonna be making bacon right over there (points to built in stove)
SKY: And pizza! I brought a pizza pan.

EM: Well, I'll let you all hit the road. Is there anything else you would like to tell the world about the tour or your music?
SKY: I would just recommend [touring] to bands. I just can't even describe the pleasure of being in random places and towns I normally wouldn't even go to.
NATE: And meeting all sorts of cool people that you wouldn't necessarily meet otherwise.
SKY: And finding about all these other bands that I never would have known existed because a lot of people don't go on tour anymore. I mean, there is Myspace but it is different when you see it in person. It's always nice to come home with a stack of new stuff.
RANDO: The explorer...
SKY: The wanderer, gatherer.

Click here to see the video and pictures from the interview.

tour - day 12

I see a pattern developing: play a really fun show, have rv problems. I don't think it has anything to do with radio shows...

here we are in san luis obispo, california, after playing a really fun show last night at a place called the clubhouse. we were part of a "songwriters showcase," which sounds an awful lot like an open mic night, but trust me it's not. there were seven other solos/groups that played three or four songs a piece, with us smack in the middle with our five songs that turned into 45 minutes. we know how to party. some of the acts we played with were really quite good, and some were very funny. the people at the clubhouse were awesome and treated us really well; drinks, food, ghost stories, etc...

now we're waiting for the brake pads and rotors to be replaced on shirley so we can make it to l.a. for the show tonight. without a doubt, this is the most expensive thing we've had to work on yet. but hey, by the time we get back to seattle we will have an almost brand new rv, right?

right?