Lazarus: Rock n Roll Heart
A review by: Moose
Lazarus Nichols has a new record out
called “Rock n Roll Heart” which is a title that pretty much sums him up. The
traditions he grew up around, and with, were anything but rock n roll but he
came to age in the prime of rock n roll, but with a family steeped in the
traditions of folk music. Lazarus has put together forty minutes worth of ten
songs that combine storytelling and the traditional sound from his youth.
His grandparents moved the family
from West Virginia to Ohio in the early sixties, and the family carried the
musical tradition with them. According to Lazarus “Every time the family would
get together there would be a meal and, eventually my Granny would get the
banjo out and she and my Mom and her sisters would sing.” Lazarus went on to
say “And if you’ve heard it, the way shaped note harmonies sound when everyone
singing is Kin, you know it….there’s an authenticity to it that can’t be
faked.” Nope it truly cannot be faked, and he, Lazarus may not have carried
along those traditions on this record, well maybe not outright, but
subliminally he has. On the song “Promise Not to Tell” there is a sound
mimicking, or not, the sound of bones clicking. Bones now are made of wood,
well some of them at least, and are sort of played like spoons. The violin as
well is a nice nod to those days way back when.
However, this record is not about
yesteryear, it is more or less a reflection on where Lazarus has come, and
where he is gone, but most importantly where he is heading towards. Four years
ago he was pushing 40 and suddenly had this urge to create music, again. I say
again because life had come about and many years before this. When his wife and
him decided to get married and have children Lazarus decided and in his own
words “I gave it up (music). My choice. Right or wrong. I didn’t want to be the
aging punk rocking, bartending dad. So, we did the suburban thing, I did the
W-2 thing.” His wife whom he says “I’ve
been deliriously happily married for nearly 17 years” has been his biggest supporter,
and even pushing 40 with a mortgage and two daughters in their teens she was
standing beside him. This record, with me taking some artistic liberty here,
would be me saying that is sort of his tip of the cap or homage to his muse.
Because with their love, and him lying in wait the art that he was able to
create on these ten tracks is the “worthwhile art (being brought) into this
world” that we now have the pleasure of listening to. It’s sort of like a good
wine. You don’t just mash the grapes and drink, no you have to let it age and breathe
a little. Lazarus was under no pressure to put out this record. If there was
any it was on him. With the simple idea of wanting to become a full time
musician in hand the ten songs were created.
Without my artistic liberty I would recommend
this record to anyone willing to give a guy with gravel in his voice, and a
story to tell a listen. It truly is as
simple as that. Lazarus and the band are booked pretty heavily which he is
excited about. To simply bring these songs in front of new faces and new
listeners, and one of those is this guy. I typically like pretty much anything
I listen to, but this record had that something else to it. That something else
isn’t for me to decide I’d just say listen to it, go and see him, or both. My
last question to Lazarus was why music? Of all things to do why this? And I
will let him close this out. Go see him, and or give him a listen, and
hopefully you have the same reaction I did, or better, and now Lazarus:
Good question. A hard question... I
grew up believing in the magic of music. From those earliest memories of 4 part
harmonies, to the time I spent following the Grateful Dead, to my days as a bar
rat during the 90s post punk explosion of indie rock... I believed. I believed
that music was transformative. And it was, and still is. We live in a golden
age of music! Technology has allowed the independent musician to record and
distribute music affordably, just as much as it has allowed listeners to seek
out the music that they want to listen to. And, I feel that the true “voices”
are found and heard.
As for me? Well, I feel like I’ve
stumbled upon something. Love... and magic. And, since all musicians are at
least minor magicians, it is incumbent upon me to cast my spells. We live in a
transformative age and music, if anything can, will be what moves us forward.
