March 2006
Lush and Low-Key
Pushing Stone
(Independent)
Hipmonk
By Tim Roberts
The following talking points are to be used in any and all discussions of Hipmonk's current release, Pushing Stone. Discuss them in any order you wish. Commit them to memory, but don't tell anyone where you got them. That way, you can come off as erudite and eloquent. Or stuffed with fresh meadow muffins.
Sound on Film: The music of Hipmonk is low-key without being lachrymose, subtle without being obscure. If it were a part of a movie soundtrack, you would hear some of the songs in the scenes that take place in an emotionally drained young male character's apartment late at night after his heart has just gotten the living crap kicked out of it and he's sprawled out on a couch, staring at a TV tuned to a shopping channel. The phosphor-screen flickers bluish tints onto his face. You might hear the more upbeat selections as he drives off down a strip of busy interstate into a new life, right before the scene cuts to black and the credits roll.
So Pushing Stone is "Music to Slack By" from Slackers? Hardly: R. Scot Payne, Ph.D., is a neuro-pharmacology researcher at the University of Louisville. Kirkby Tittle (under his alter-ego Kirby Gann) is the author of Our Napoleon in Rags and The Barbarian Parade and is managing editor of Sarabande Books. Patrick Donley is a painter and graphic designer. These are guys with busy professional careers. They only sound like they lounge around on a smelly couch, playing endless rounds of Doom before heading out to Taco Bell for some after-midnight munchies.
Bright, Shining Examples: The sparkling acoustic guitars that dip into minor chord changes on "Too Poor." The snap and crisp percussion and vibrant harmonies on "I Don't Remember." The late-night lounge piano of guest performer Joni Wilcoxon that melds into lonely guitar twang on "Broke Kabala." The snarling blues riff that underlies "It's You."
Shuffle, Deal, Reshuffle: Hipmonk consists of R. Scot Payne and Kirkby Tittle on guitars and vocals, Patrick Donley on bass, with Matt Barnett on drums and Jim Baugher as guest bassist on several tracks. This is the second iteration of the band. An earlier one performed around the Lexington area in the late 1990s. Tittle and Donley are part of Louisville's Jakeleg, for whom Payne wrote several selections on their Pour Me to Bed and Junkyard Café releases. Payne has also released two solo albums earlier this decade, Completely Blue and Sci-Fi Guy.
Summary (or the line the band will probably use in its press materials): Hipmonk's Pushing Stone is lush and low-key, a solid piece of work from a set of Louisville's most experienced musicians.
Get more talking points at www.rscotpayne.com.
by Cary B. Willis
Louisville Magazine
November 2003
 |
|
Using both halves of his brain: Sci-fi guy
Payne
|
It’s not so mad, really, to think that R. Scot Payne, Ph.D., can be both
scientist and musician.
After all, Albert Einstein and Ben Franklin both played stringed instruments —
Einstein the violin and Franklin the viola da gamba. Wolfgang Mozart was a fan
of mathematical puzzles. Even the NASA Web site includes an article about the
“surprising number of astronauts (who) are also musicians.”
No, the shocker here is that Payne, a neuro-pharmacology researcher for the
University of Louisville, is just so darned good at being a musician. His
self-produced CD, Sci-Fi Guy, is truly among the grandest collections of power
pop to bubble up all year. The dozen songs derive much of their considerable
power from riffs — repetitions of short musical phrases — and from Payne’s
understated, smoldering guitar style. The first track, “Luck & Love,” grabs the
listener instantly, pounding away with an unrelenting beat and a chorus that
declares, “Love’s as good as it gets.”
The nucleus of the disc is classic pop that suggests the Beatles or Badfinger,
but mixed in are elements of Neil Young, U2 and Zeppelin as well. “Beg,” in
particular, is a fine song about emptiness that’s launched into the stratosphere
by Michael Murphy’s saxophone solo, reminiscent of the way Dick Parry’s sax work
made Dark Side of the Moon such a gripping masterpiece for Pink Floyd. Fans of
more contemporary hard-popsters like Matthew Sweet, XTC, Tommy Keene or Francis
Dunnery will also find plenty to love.
An Owensboro native who traveled a lot as a kid, Payne got his start in show biz
at age 15 in Anaheim, Calif., riding his bike to his dream job at Disneyland.
For two years he danced, walked on stilts and mugged in a Goofy costume. About
the same time he began teaching himself to play guitar by imitating the licks he
heard on Neil Young’s Harvest album and the Mason Williams instrumental
“Classical Gas.”
While he loves seeking cures for metabolically based diseases that affect the
brain — strokes, diabetes, Alzheimer’s — he loves music more. “The truth is, I
support my main passion — music — with my day job,” Payne revealed recently.
“I’m not religious, but I think of spirituality as my driving force, and
creativity is my channel to spirituality.”
Sci-Fi Guy is only Payne’s second release; at age 44 he’s obviously a slow burn.
Of course, one does tend to keep busy trying to cure brain diseases.
“At some point during matriculation I’d awakened to thinking I wouldn’t be happy
if I didn’t try like hell to find the flirty little muse that seemed to ooze out
of the music I’d been inspired by from other folks,” he says. “So I started
writing. It just took me awhile to find my lyrical voice. I had tunes, but they
weren’t songs till the words could come, and between the right-brain muse and
the left-brain logic, it took some time for me to get the muse to go along with
the wordplay.”
Took awhile, but the formula worked. The guy has created a monster.
December, 2003
Grown-up Music From a Grown-Up Guy
Sci-Fi Guy (Independent)
R Scot Payne
 |
Don't let the title fool you. Sci-Fi Guy may imply a certain amount of Star Trek headiness, but Louisville's own R Scot Payne has no problems going to a man's final frontier: the dark places of the heart. His poetic lyrics and non-formulaic songwriting make Sci-Fi Guy a solid and enjoyable effort.
Payne's voice brings to mind a twang-less James McMurtry and his music calls to mind later, more pensive REM. It's an adult-oriented sound that calls for a mature audience, one who can relate to the roads Payne has traveled. His perspective on love is well worn, as on "Beg": "Don't beg me please/don't make me feel/that all you wanted was a chance/to make the motions of romance/a slow dance to fill the hole inside you."
Payne has a penchant for mining life's complexities with just a few words. On "Payne's Gray," he addresses a friend who's missing out on the color of life: "You had your chance to dance/but when love came, it came and went away/ Love's red and blue, but all I see in you is Payne's gray." Payne delivers his lyrics with little emotion, his detachment emphasizing the power of his observations.
Payne is also not afraid to mine more touchy subjects, like his take on religion in "The One." Payne's transparent honesty makes his songs feel instantly familiar, giving the listener a feeling of comfort and a compelling reason to listen.
Much like a fine wine, it has a nice bouquet
Completely Blue
R Scot Payne
I like to think of myself as a music lover who is never at a loss for words in describing how a particular piece of music moves me. However, I am completely at a loss for words in describing Completely Blue, the indescribable album from local singer-songwriter R Scot Payne. Now you have to understand that when I use the term indescribable, I mean it in the most flattering of connotations.
I liken this album to a fine wine. With so many different flavors hitting you all at once, you have a tough time distinguishing each and every one individually. The most prominent characteristics stand out, but there always seems to be more than what meets the ears. The question is then posed. Is it: a) a pop album, b) a rock album, or c) a folk album. The answer is, and it's always my favorite answer, d) all of the above.
The finest quality of this album is, simply put, the talent and creativity that went into its creation. R Scot Payne seems to have a good grasp of what it takes to meld pop, rock and folk without being repetitive and predictable. Despite the difficulty of innovation in modern music (everything is alternative these days), this album keeps it fresh.
The only lacking quality of this album is the production value. It seems to want a more distinct sound, but has trouble attaining it. However, like a fine wine, R Scot's production experience can only improve over time.
| Send your comments about this article to the editor. |
************************************************************************************************************
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
