Localist

Valley of the Vapors 2006

A preview of the must-see acts playing the Hot Springs festival

Words: Burnt Motor

      Chicago transplants Bill Solleder and Shea Childs had no idea what to expect last March when they put together the first Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival (VOV). The Hot Springs “kids” had told them that a club show hadn't happened in nearly a decade.
      “The kids were sitting on the ground, cross-legged, watching the opening band on opening night,” says Solleder. “I thought to myself, ‘These kids have no idea what to do at a show,' but to my surprise the audience stood up and went absolutely berserk.”
      As a result of that reaction, Hot Springs is showing up more and more on tour itineraries of some of the best independent, underground music in the world today.
      Beginning March 15 and running for five consecutive days, VOV 2006 will host nearly 100 musicians, sound guys, roadies, and hangers-on.
      “This is a sub-culture that needs to be documented, there are thousands of bands touring coast-to-coast every day, which go unnoticed by the masses. It's a culture at large,” says VOV co-producer, Shea Childs.
      Although all the bands performing at this year's VOV are worth seeing, here is a short list of the must-not-miss:

Hanalei , whose sophomore record, Parts and Accessories (Thick), has gained early nods from Chicago's prestigious arts weekly, The Chicago Reader, comparing singer/songwriter Brian Moss to “Jeff Tweedy, Jon Langford, or latter-day Joe Strummer,” opens the festival. Through layered instrumentation, including banjo, fiddle, and pedal-steel guitars, Parts and Accessories is a remarkable leap forward from the band's debut CD that takes Moss's intimately prolific lyricism to a new plateau. Hanalei appears on The VOV opening night with Mad Happy (Florida) and Push to Talk (San Francisco) at The Exchange, 100 Exchange Street in downtown Hot Springs. All ages. 7PM. $5

The Architects just made Alternative Press magazine's “Top 100 Bands to Watch in 2006” list, but accolades like that are old hat for these seasoned vets, who, believe it or not, are all still young pups. The Phillips brothers, who make up three quarters of The Architects, got their feet wet for the first time while touring and recording under the Epitaph umbrella as The Gadjits. Since then these kids have learned to shave (while on the road) and now rock harder just about any band around. The band's latest CD, Revenge (Anodyne) just hit the shelves, and with song after song of maximum rock 'n' roll in the vein of The Replacements and The Black Crowes, it is very possible this band will show up on radio play lists from coast to coast. The Architects appear on Thursday, March 16 with Mad Happy and The River City Tanlines at The Exchange. All ages. 7PM. $5.

The Dials will make two appearances at VOV. The quartet includes Patti Gran from Chicago's New Black. The Dials sound could be considered a close cousin to New Black with punk, pop, and new-wave forming a new kind of sound that's just as sexy to listen to as it is to watch. CMJ said of the band: “Chicago-based lipstick ruffians The Dials make pretty pop-punk like a soundtrack for smokin' in the girls room: gossipy echoed vocals, polished guitar licks and a flirty Farfisa.” The Dials appear on Friday, March 17 at Schapiros in downtown Hot Springs with Sugar and the Raw and on Saturday, March 18 with Dropsonic and The Mutts at Skateland Skates at 2156 Higdon Ferry. All ages. 7PM. $5.

The Mutts will be kissing mummie and daddie good-bye and making their first trip to the USA from the UK . Their flight cases should include plenty of guitar power in the vein of The Stooges and Generation X. The Mutts appear on Saturday, March 18 with Dropsonic and The Dials at Skateland Skates at 2156 Higdon Ferry. All ages. 7PM. $5

Mr. Quintron and Miss Pussycat will bring their traveling organ-dance freak out to Hot Springs once again. Q and P's appearance at the fall VOV took all by surprise as Quintron stomped, howled, and sexed-up a Halloween crowd into a frenzy. Q's organ, modified to look like the front of car, complete with working headlights, polished chrome and a Louisiana license plate, can shake up any size club. Not only is Q sexy and musical, he's an inventor to boot. The Drumbuddy is Mr. Quintron's light-activated drum-machine invention and accompaniment to Q and wife Miss Pussycat.Quintron and Miss Pussycat appear on the final night of VOV with The Trashies (Seattle) and The Modern Machines (Milwaukee), BEHIND Skateland Skates on 2156 Higdon Ferry. All ages. 7PM. $7.

I have been told that VOV will only take place one time a year from here on out—a change from 2005, which saw a VOV in the spring, summer, and fall. Hot Springs should be proud of its re-birth of underground rock, and hopefully the fine folks that make the rules in that town will let the kids play. It's a much better alternative than cooking meth on West Mountain.

For a complete festival schedule, visit www.valleyofthevapors.com.