posts by Adam McKinney
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Music history is lined with family bands, with qualities spanning the good (the Everly Brothers), the bad (the Jonas Brothers) and the indescribably weird (the Shaggs). Those examples are all sibling acts, and that avoids the potential sleaziness of parents promoting their children as music acts. It’s easier to …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS It’s a sad fact that a lot of people, even those who would consider themselves passionate fans of music, still have a blind spot when it comes to classical and chamber music. Perhaps it’s possible that years of classical music concerts being big-ticket affairs have conditioned people to view …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS (Featured ART: Maybelle Carter by Paula McHugh) As an art form, one of music’s most admirable traits is its ability to adapt: Trends come and go, and styles emerge in a sort of call-and-response pattern. New sounds blaze trails in response to old ones, lending us revelations like the …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS For some bands, messiness can be a virtue. Not everyone thrives on the airtight compositions of Robert Fripp or other leaders of compositional tidiness. A band like The National draws its strength from disciplined arrangements and an almost drum-machine-esque rhythm section, but that focus can result in music devoid …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS As the winter months descend on the world, the cold and darkness is met with a combination of reverie and revelry. Nights get quieter, and the solitude is countered with companionship. One lasting holiday tradition is the singing of Handel’s Messiah, an oratorio from the mid-18th century. Messiah‘s enduring …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Why is it such a common occurrence for comedians who talk politics to be met with the dismissive refrain, “Stick with the comedy?” For as long as comics have been making audiences laugh, they’ve also been ferrying us through tumultuous times of uprising and conflict. They comfort anxieties while …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Local music scenes like Olympia’s can’t always support bands built on classical influences. From a purely economic standpoint, not many struggling musicians can afford string or woodwind instruments like cellos or oboes, and audiences tend not to be as inclined to come out on a weekend to hear music …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS In Islam, there are three times a day when it is forbidden to pray: sunrise, sunset and when the sun rests at its highest position on the horizon. Sunset, when praying isn’t allowed, is called Shuruq. Since 2012, in the South Sound, Shuruq has also become the casual name …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS The band name Evolfo is a shortened version of its original, longer form, Evolfo Doofeht, which is itself a reverse spelling of “the food of love.” Having formed as college students in Boston, of course there’d be some pretentious designs on creating a band name, but those instincts have …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS In an indie music culture which, in the past decade or so, favors stripped-down bands that offer no-frills music and disaffected live shows, Molly Raney’s Poppet project is thrilling in its efforts to craft a performance that truly leaves an impression. That the music stands on its own is …