Perpetual Change: Two Reviews — Beth Isbell and Ryan Cassata

This is going to be a slightly different Perpetual Change this time around. This month’s column features more than one music review of artists who have recently been featured here — Beth Isbell and Ryan Cassata. Okay, so reviews have been expected fare for this and our companion TransVocalizers column, but in this case we’re also throwing in some new music reviews.

With the holiday shopping season upon us, there’s a lot of new music out there right now and here’s a great way to support some of our own plus share some great tunes.

We Are The Gods by Beth Isbell

Beth Isbells makes no apolgies for her in-your-face punk material, as well as her attitude. But don’t let the raw nerve crunch of her musical approach fool you. Ms. Isbell is a very serious, talented and schooled musician, songwriter, and performer. As she said in the interview posted here in September of this year, she has recently completed a music degree and has spent considerable time working on her writing and performance skills.

Beth has literally dozens of videos on YouTube that feature her in performance as an acoustic soloist, with small groups, and with her band. On We Are The Gods, Beth shows her rougher, edgier side.

The project starts with a bit of techno weirdness called Ancestral Dance. But that’s as techno as this album ever gets. The pure punk starts immediately afterward with Pathetic, which offers one of the better guitar sounds on the entire album. The other good punk tunes are Ruby (a tender, yet angry love song with very explicit lyrics); She’s Not Catholic; and Hometown, once again with angry lyrics, some spoken word, and excellent guitar work, somewhat reminiscent of older Black Sabbath towards the end of the tune. One of the better production moments on the entire project. The spoken word technique continues on Freak, which also contains some excellent guitar work.

The stand out tracks on We Are The Gods include Oblivion, a very good mid-tempo feel, almost country in a way. What’s interesting is that there is a sort of call-and-response interplay between the voice and the guitar work; Bleed, an acoustic start, and musically more mid-tempo 1970s rock, very self-deprecating lyrics; and the title track, We Are The Gods.

The title track is interesting in that it riffs on David Bowie’s Major Tom, then goes in an entirely different direction about halfway into the song. It’s also the best production moment on the entire project.

Since it took some time to get the proper clearance to use the Bowie riff, Beth had cautioned me to not say anything about it until the album actually came out. Nonetheless, the Bowie influence added an entirely different dimension to the song, and is Beth Isbell and her band at their most creative.

We Are The Gods closes with In This Moment, which is kind of bluesy compared to the rest of the project and also contains the best vocal harmonies.

We Are The Gods features Beth Isbell on lead vocals and guitar; Justin Alan Hays and Blaise Thompson, guitar; Nicholas Ley, drums; and Cody Fowler, bass. Produced by Beth Isbell.

For music and upcoming dates, please check out Beth’s website at www.BeThisBell.com. Also on Bandcamp, Twitter, ReverbnNation, YouTube, Facebook and Amazon.

Jupiter, It Won’t Be Long by Ryan Cassata

The other artist interviewed recently in October was 19 year old Ryan Cassata, a singer/songwriter who is also a well known speaker and transgender activist. He has just released his newest project Jupiter, It Won’t Be Long The Acoustic Sessions Vol. 3.

As the title implies, this is the third in a series of CD projects that showcase Ryan — and only Ryan, his guitar, and his songs.

The tunes are all rather short, with the first tune, I Don’t Really Want To Go To College, clocking in at 1:07. The last tune, Grass Hat, is the longest at 4:43.

I Don’t Really Want To Go To College is a sort of tongue-in-cheek argument with his father about not wanting to go to college. After all, what really is success? And if you make me go, “…I think I might die.” In Ryan’s age bracket, there are definitely some listeners out there who can more than identify with this tune.

The subject matter of Ryan’s lyrics covers a lot of territory. The Mob’s Rolling Cadillac is an anti-crime song; Sobering Up is about just that (sober up, grow up, become more aware, because “your body’s a temple”) and Dear Lucas, a look at what can happen to someone who has been institutionalized too long. Here’s a brief sample of the song’s lyrics:

Dear Lucas
Dear Lucas, how’s the mental institution
When we met you all was gold
And over the course of a year
That just disappeared
Dear Lucas, where’d you go

Don’t let the tide pull you under

Another good example of Ryan’s lyric writing is found in the song Liberation:

Liberation
Liberation starts within the mind I say
Free yourself from the pretentious kind
You’re coming down high

The standout tracks are the title cut, Jupiter, It Won’t Be Long, and Tell His Old Man. On Jupiter, Ryan’s rapid-fire lyric approach is somewhat reminiscent of very early Bob Dylan, and Old Man contains his best guitar playing on the entire project.

The only real criticism I have is also found with the guitar playing itself. As with most singer/songwriters who have spent most of their time as a soloist, there is a tendency to overuse a particular strumming pattern. (Personally, I’ve been in bands with singer/songwriters who have never played with other musicians very much, and have experienced this first hand…) Having said this, it’s something that’s easily overcome by working with other musicians whenever possible.

While Ryan’s voice is definitely an acquired taste, his lyrics are pure poetry. He has an awareness and depth of understanding practically NOT found in most 19- year-olds any more. It’s obvious that his experience as a trans person and as an activist has matured him well beyond his years. Jupiter, It Won’t Be Long is his sixth release. That in itself is quite an achievement at his age. Ryan Cassata is going to be someone worth paying attention to in the years to come.

Check out www.ryancassata.com; also on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. Music can be obtained through iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud and Rhapsody.

ALSO THIS MONTH

Rev. Yolanda

Rev. Yolanda will now be in a movie. On November 17th, her show Rev. Yolanda’s Old Time Gospel Hour was filmed during her performance at NYC’s The Duplex. No word as of yet regarding when the film will be released, or where it can be seen.  In order to help meet some of the expenses, Rev. Yolanda is offering a special t-shirt. Please go to www.tfund.com/rev.yolanda for details.

David de Alba

David de Alba

David de Alba will be presenting his renowned tribute to Judy Garland called Dorothy…The Later Years on November 24th (this coming Sunday!) at The Onyx Theatre, 953-16B East Sahara, Las Vegas, NV. Call 702-732-7225, or go to www.onyxtheatre.com. Tickets are $15/$20; also please check out www.david-de-alba.com.

House Blend

The fundraising CD House Blend, produced by J.D. Doyle, is a benefit project to “acquire property to house the Houston Transgender Center and Archives..”. It features 21 tracks, showcasing mostly the work of transgender artists (many of whom have been featured in our TGForum columns over the years), as well as contributions by other LGBT artists. After the first of the year, TGForum hopes to present an interview with producer J. D. Doyle as well as a full review of the project itself. For more information, and to purchase the CD, please go to www.houseblendcd.bandcamp.com.

NEW MUSIC

Overtime by Cash Cash

Cash Cash from New York has just released a new EP entitled Overtime. Comprised of Jean Paul Makhlouf, Alex Makhlouf, and Samuel Frisch, the guys collectively known as Cash Cash, have previously done remixes for Icona Pop and have also produced acts such as Krewella, Bruno Mars, Calvin Harris, Capital Cities, Nicky romero, Showtek, and Vice Tone.

The Overtime EP is pure dance material. It includes their new single Take Me Home (featuring Bebe Rexha), as well as Overtime, Hideway, Satellites, Here And Now (featuring Kerli), and Kiss The Sky. There’s nothing about this project that won’t work in a club, or not fill a dance floor somewhere. For more information, please check out www.cashcashmusic.com; also on Twitter, Soundcloud, and Facebook.)

Love To Love You Donna

A re-working of Donna Summer’s greatest hits

Love To Love You Donna is a re-mix collection featuring many leading re-mix talents, along with Summer’s longtime original producer, Giorgio Morodor.

Born LaDonna Adrian Gaines on December 31st, 1948, Summer passed away May 17th, 2012. During her career, which coincided with the rise of the “disco era,” Donna Summer went on to earn 5 Grammy Awards, a string of American Music Awards, earned 11 gold albums, 12 gold singles, 3 platinum double albums, and 2 platinum singles. Over 25 years, she had 21 #1 Billboard Disco/Dance charted songs. In 2004, she was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in New York, and was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2013.

Love To Love You Donna is not officially being called a tribute album, but it might as well be. Included in the project’s 13 tracks are re-mixes of Summer’s biggest hits: Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger); On The Radio (which is very atmospheric, almost ambient/New Age, with great bass work); Love To Love You Baby; Hot Stuff; Bad Girls; Last Dance; an unusual version of Mac Arthur Park; and La Dolce Vita (which is perhaps the best re-mix production on the album, with more of a rock feel which still manages to maintain the dance groove).

The overall production of Love To Love You Donna is by Dahlia Ambuch Caplin and Randal Poster. Please check out the album credits themselves for proper individual track production and musician credits.

The Dragon Flies EP by Versun

The electronic/dance duo Vensun-David Vendetta and Sylvia Tosun- have released their debut EP The Dragon Flies. The project’s three tunes — The Dragon Flies, Chasing Summers, and Ever After — are also followed by re-mix versions of each song. Tosun’s voice is powerful and has even been described as haunting. Filtering through the non-stop blend of house, Techno and EDM, it remains the focus point for the entire disc.

The Dragon Flies follows the release of Vensun’s single, Love Is Love, which evokes a message of equality and according to a recent press release, “…promotes the right to love for every human being regardless of sexual orientation.” It’s obvious that Vensun cares about more than just the music.

Vocals by Sylvia Tosun, produced by David Vendetta, lyrics and melody by Sylvia Tosun and Anton Bass. Tracks 1 & 2, music written by David Paprusso and Robert Allouche. Track 3 by Paparousso and Angelo Vaggeli. For more information please check out www.seatosun.com; www.sylviatosun,com; www.davidvendetta.com,

Tags: Beth Isbell, featured, music, Musician, Ryan Cassata

Category: Music