I’ve been told that using various means, Cortelyou Rd’s liberal cafe Vox Pop has raised enough money to stay afloat; it should now be able to pay its outstanding fines and bills, and resume the sale of edibles and drinkables. Here are some pictures from a benefit show Kensington’s The Loom put together, along with their friends Holler, Wild Rose!, who came all the way from New Jersey, and whose song you should listen to after the jump if you haven’t already.

Download “Song for the Winter Sun” by The Loom

Holler, Wild Rose!

This was my first time seeing Holler, Wild Rose!, who I’d previously listed in my notable band names list. With a total of five guitars (including bass) and a singer who can shake the high pitch, they sound a bit like a child of Jeff Buckley and Radiohead, and their song “Holler, Wild Rose”, after which the band was named, is a good example of that sound. They joked that it was awesome that this cafe was going to be owned by the community (it sold stocks to raise money), since the only thing they had to support in their own neighborhood in New Jersey was Applebee’s or the upcoming Walmart.

Download “Holler, Wild Rose” by Holler, Wild Rose!

Owing to “lack of management” and some harsh health regulation fines, Cortelyou Rd’s liberal cafe, Vox Pop, has been unable to sell any food or beverages, and hence unable to make money for the outstanding bills and fines. From what I hear, there’s about $18,000 more they need to raise, and that if they don’t raise it by the midnight of Sunday, it’ll have to shut down (they’ve hired a proper manager since, though she remains unpaid).

The cafe was co-founded by Sander Hicks, who also started Soft Skull press as a guerrilla operation out of Kinko’s while working there in the early 90’s. If the fact of it being one of its kind in a neighborhood that was previously neglected from a cultural standpoint and the fact of it having luminaries of liberal thought in its logo aren’t enough, think about the coffee? Says Oliver Moné, a fan:

“This is aggravating,” he said. “I like the coffee. I like the place. Dunkin’ Donuts is O.K., but this is prime stuff. I mean, I hate Starbucks. God, I hate Starbucks.”

Money is being raised in two ways: a benefit show tonight featuring The Loom and Holler Wild Rose (tickets are $10 each but you should feel free to pay more); stocks are being sold at $50 each, which will be refundable if the required amount isn’t raised and the cafe is forced to close. To make donations directly, email Debi Ryan, current President & CEO of Vox Pop: debi.ryan101 [at] gmail [dot] com

Download “Song for the Winter Sun” by The Loom
Download “Holler Wild Rose” by Holler Wild Rose

#6 Holler, Wild Rose!

When I asked them what their name meant, I didn’t really get a straight answer. They told me it was the name of the winter sun rising behind Manhattan, the way warm sunlight strikes a windshield to rest on your cheeks, the way dried salt and rainwater mix to throw a pattern of shadows across your face; that it was both a declaration of joy and an emphatic imperative to the listener. Fair enough

It’s also the title of the song which they feel defined their musical identity. I like it because it’s such a wonderful way to greet anyone, really, especially if we were all inside an old movie. There’s another band with a similar name: Hello, Blue Roses, but I suppose the tone there has a little less swagger. mp3

#5 Salt & Samovar

The world of stories and warmth I associate with the word “samovar” is best alluded to in the Russian animation Yozhik v Tumane, in which our little hedgehog in the fog is on his way to meet his bear friend for a little bit of tea and stargazing (pictured above). It seems the band had a similar idea: “Our name was inspired by the rolling tides of New England, by the salt that is in the air and in the way of life there. We imagine a family gathered around a hot stove brewing tea and telling stories, stories that are like music whistling up the trunk of the enormous family tree out back.”

They’re playing an acoustic set at Zebulon on Jan 23, and then a regular show at Public Assembly Hall on the 29th. mp3

#4 French Horn Rebellion

There’re several stories behind this band name, but eventually they’re all one. Robert Perlick Molinari, who majored in French Horn, told me, “What they say is, ‘You just have to be true to yourself and have fun!’ You know, ‘Don’t let the post-Holden world get you down’ and that’s kind of what we did, because as a French Horn player, I like creating hot beats as well as playing horn.”At the same time, he says, when his horn teachers were starting out, there were a lot of opportunities for live musicians, such as playing on TV spots, film scores, and other orchestras. But now that most things are replaced by computers, one person is able to create a full symphony of sounds: “So, sadly, the French Horn player is forced to make exactly what he hates… which creates questions in my own mind as to why we’re doing what we’re doing… a lot of our lyrics are about us playing French Horn.” They do, however, bust out a French Horn, freestyle, at their live shows, and perhaps you’ll catch some of this when they play next: Jan 17 at the Delancey with Team Robespierre & Ninjasonik. mp3

#3 Fleet Foxes

Though there’s been no shortage of bands evoking wintry woods, I love the sound of these two words, “fleet” and “foxes”, and the flurry of nimble motion packed within, like you could almost hear the rustle of the leaves, even. It’s a two-word poem, really, and as an adjective “fleet” is just an awesome word. According to this article in the Independent their previous name was “Pineapple”–pretty horrendous for a band name–which they dropped after another band with the same name objected. Robin Pecknold says he settled on “Fleet Foxes” because it was “evocative of some weird English activity like fox hunting”. mp3

#2 Pattern Is Movement

Here it is, a profound truth and a succulent bite of intellect strung along three words. A three-word poem!, and perhaps that’s illustrative of the word-punch that was involved in the making of the longer poem this name comes from, T.S. Eliot’s  ‘Burnt Norton‘:

The detail of the pattern is movement,
As in the figure of the ten stairs.

It’s a nice fit for the band’s dynamic sound, too. Pattern Is Movement is playing the Bellhouse on Jan 23rd, with Ponytail and These are Powers. mp3

#1 The Builders and the Butchers

I like this name more than others in the list because it’s very true to the band’s music, so it seems like a significant fragment of the whole story rather than a mere afterthought. But really, I can’t resist the proletarian might to it: the builders and the butchers, the givers of our towns, the rocks of our civilization, the dirty callused hands, and so on. According to singer Ryan Sollee, they had a list of band name options, and this one was the one nobody hated. I asked him if it was taken from anything, but it seems it wasn’t, which is probably why it feels like an extension of their music.

They were previously known as the Funeral Band, and they walked around playing unannounced shows around Portland wherever there were crowds. Catch them at Bowery Ballroom on Feb 6; they’re really fun to see live–they’ve got the spirit. mp3

Websites: Holler, Wild Rose!, Salt & Samovar, French Horn Rebellion, Fleet Foxes, Pattern Is Movement, The Builders and the Butchers