I'm just going to go ahead and say it -- I've never been much for the singer/songwriter types. I don't know, perhaps the genre seemed a bit too self-indulgent at best, or just really boring and predictable at worst. I've always declared my indifference to the bulk of these singers and their songs -- that is, until recently.
For some reason, October has rendered me longing for the tales of such tortured souls like Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Barsuk's Rocky Votolato, Milwaukee's own Willy Porter -- who is a huge stylistic stretch for me, but whose new album, "Available Light," is too pretty to pass up -- and just about any other seemingly coy man for whom music is his only salvation, given that it, too, doesn't get up and desert him come morning.
Most recently, an album called "Half The Time" (Curb Appeal Records) showed up at the OMC offices, officially introducing me to yet another infectious singer-songwriter type who goes by the name Pablo (although the press release says his name is actually Paul Schalda).
"Wall Street" begins and you hear the lonely harmonica before any vocals come in, but when they do, it's as if he's recorded this disc among the stones and shallow water below the bridge on the outskirts of town. The album carries on in a way that the track changes go almost undetected, although that's not to imply that there are not memorable -- if not completely catching -- parts that make you stop what you're doing and figure out where in the song list you are (this will happen, most likely, as the vocals to "This Will Be Our Year" -- an almost '70s Elton John-like piano ballad -- kick in.)
As for the album as a whole. the piano (played by his brother William) is strong and haunting, and Pablo's voice quivers perfectly, yet, when combined with his wife's (Maggie Schalda), sounds especially powerful and beautiful (i.e. the last minute or so of the title track, "Half The Time.")
Sometimes these singer/songwriter guys just get it right.
For some reason, October has rendered me longing for the tales of such tortured souls like Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Barsuk's Rocky Votolato, Milwaukee's own Willy Porter -- who is a huge stylistic stretch for me, but whose new album, "Available Light," is too pretty to pass up -- and just about any other seemingly coy man for whom music is his only salvation, given that it, too, doesn't get up and desert him come morning.
Most recently, an album called "Half The Time" (Curb Appeal Records) showed up at the OMC offices, officially introducing me to yet another infectious singer-songwriter type who goes by the name Pablo (although the press release says his name is actually Paul Schalda).
"Wall Street" begins and you hear the lonely harmonica before any vocals come in, but when they do, it's as if he's recorded this disc among the stones and shallow water below the bridge on the outskirts of town. The album carries on in a way that the track changes go almost undetected, although that's not to imply that there are not memorable -- if not completely catching -- parts that make you stop what you're doing and figure out where in the song list you are (this will happen, most likely, as the vocals to "This Will Be Our Year" -- an almost '70s Elton John-like piano ballad -- kick in.)
As for the album as a whole. the piano (played by his brother William) is strong and haunting, and Pablo's voice quivers perfectly, yet, when combined with his wife's (Maggie Schalda), sounds especially powerful and beautiful (i.e. the last minute or so of the title track, "Half The Time.")
Sometimes these singer/songwriter guys just get it right.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
