As far as solo debuts go, Alec Ounsworth‘s Mo Beauty (Anti-) is impressive. The Philadelphia-based Clap Your Hands Say Yeah frontman travelled to New Orleans to record the album with producer Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) and a host of the city’s notable musicians, including bassist George Porter, Jr. (Meters), drummer Stanton Moore and keyboardist Robert Walter (Greyboy Allstars). The result is a mature, confident, 10-song collection that Ounsworth had only hinted at being capable of with his work in Clap Your Hands. He also has a second solo album, Skin And Bones (credited to Flashy Python and available online only), that features members of the Walkmen, Dr. Dog and Man Man. While all this new music is good for Clap Your Hands fans, you get the impression that the band (now on hiatus) is no longer a priority for Ounsworth, who became a father last year and is enjoying family life at home. Ounsworth is guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with him.
Ounsworth: I am writing this in and, in a way, about my dining room. Brat Productions‘ flyer for its recent show, Haunted Poe, is on the side table. Brat Productions is a theater organization in Philadelphia. At the helm, is Madi Distefano. My wife and Madi have been friends for years. My wife is (was?) on the board of Brat Productions, which I guess explains the flyers. The theater community in Philadelphia is a creative bunch. I am consistently surprised by the quality of productions put on here (with relative consistency) on a shoestring budget with the performers not being overpaid (certainly) and putting in long hours to make projects stand up simply because, it appears to me, they believe in them (which is, of course, as it should be). Haunted Poe took place directly after Philadelphia’s Fringe Festival, which happens every year here. I am intrigued by the theater, especially “smaller” theater, when the work feels honest, and here in Philadelphia, from what I’ve seen, it often is. Chances are taken. I have thought that there should more often be an element of theater in music. Video after the jump.
One reply on “In Alec Ounsworth’s Home: Brat Productions”
This is a very encouraging post from Alec. Ounsworth is a star – a gifted songwriter and performer whom I’ve admired for several years. To see a shout-out to companies like Brat (regardless of his wife’s relationship to it) and other fringe entities who, indeed, put in long hours for projects they believe in, helps to raise awareness for this art form and gives all of us a much-needed boost.