By C.E. Hanifin
Enquirer staff writer
With the new Organelle compilation, three local record labels set out to take a sonic snapshot of the area's music scene.
And it sounds like the broken-hearted twang of the Light Wires. And the sludgy guitar churn of the Strongest Proof. And the angular, dissonant chords of Hilltop Distillery.
From punk to folk to experimental rock, each of the 14 artists on the album contributed a unique view of the local music landscape.
Cincinnati's Tiberius Records and Save Your Servant Recordings and Northern Kentucky's State Bird Records will celebrate Organelle's release with shows Friday and Saturday at Radio Down in Covington. Twelve bands are to perform.
Three of the labels' founders, Mike Montgomery (Tiberius), Joe Thompson (State Bird) and Jerry Dirr (Save Your Servant) - who also play in bands appearing on Organelle - sat down together to talk about the project. (Montgomery, of North Avondale, claims membership in Thistle, Ampline, the Light Wires and El Gigante; Thompson, of Florence, plays with Hilltop Distillery; and Dirr, of Price Hill, is a member of Theraposa.)
Why did you choose the name "Organelle"?
Dirr: Robyn Roth, who plays in Theraposa with me, came up with the idea of the organelle, which is a cellular part.
Montgomery: It's part of the whole. It's like an organ of the cell.
Dirr: She just thought it was fitting because music is very much a part of her existence and the existence of everybody who was involved with the project. It's stressing the importance of what makes us all tick.
What's the common thread among all the bands that makes "Organelle" work as a collection?
Thompson: Friendship, mostly. We've all known each other for so long ... we just said, "Hey, why don't we all just come together with this?"
Montgomery: It's weird how different the songs are, yet somehow there's continuity to the album. It's almost like it has the pacing of a record from one artist. There's an ebb and flow to the start and stop of each song.
Describe the ideal place to listen to the record.
Montgomery: Due to the diversity of the sounds, I don't know that you could say that it's a driving record, or a bath-time record, or a sleepy-time record, or a camping record.
Thompson: It's an everything record.
What's your favorite song on "Organelle" that's not by one of your label's bands?
Thompson: I really dig the Theraposa song ("Leviathan"). It rocks and it's artsy; it's a little bit of everything all together. That's why we made it the first track on the album.
Dirr: The one that really struck me was the Cameron Martin Cochran song ("It Is Hard to Be Faithful"). Even though it's kind of folky and mellow sounding, it still has an intensity to it.
Montgomery: I like (the track from) this solo project called Hover ("Beating My Head Against a Wall"). Weird lyrics, a weird sense of melody, programmed drum beats. It's just a really cool song.
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