This week Three Stars returns to feature three interesting local acts. On Wednesday, we try something new and review the album Proof, by Laura Tsaggaris. On Thursday, DCist looks into the work of Meredith Bragg and the Terminals. Today we discuss the band Alcian Blue.

Alcian Blue
Alcian Blue is the kind of band you know right away. You know them when you see their name. You know them when you visit their website, and the first scratchy sounds of "You Just Disappear" make their way through your overmatched laptop speakers. You know them when you step through the Warehouse door to the sounds of an opening act from Tokyo. And when the room’s rear projector flashes inscrutable video on a wrinkled sheet behind the band, you know you know Alcian Blue. You know, because you’ve heard it before, though maybe not quite like this.

From the Ian Curtis vocals, wandering, but subdued, to the Cure-like melodies, to the shoegazing, spiritualized wall of guitar and synth, the constituent parts of the music were familiar. And though the presentation of the band, inscrutable background video notwithstanding, was a bit spartan and, perhaps, wanting, the overall effect was compelling.

When DCist caught Alcian Blue on a September evening at the Warehouse, our immediate impression was that the venue didn’t suit the band particularly well. The Warehouse space is cozy and unassuming, and unfortunately well-lit. Alcian Blue seemed to want something a bit more dramatic, darker and more epic, and in being squeezed, the ambitious sound of the group failed to fully materialize. With the music somewhat constrained, the activity of the band on stage seemed incomplete. While the electronic drum tracks work well in the band’s recordings, the percussion seemed swallowed up live, a victim of the overall distraction of the night’s setting. It was quite simply difficult to get all of the music in our heads.

But the band was not wanting for virtuosity or purpose or pleasant melodic sensation. Alcian Blue can play, and if the influences are clear, it doesn’t make them less satisfying. Days after the performance, DCist continued to hear echoes of the band’s songs in our heads. Given the right atmosphere, Alcian Blue is an aural joy.

Alcian Blue has been around for more than five years, though this year marked the departure of drummer Clark Stacy and the addition of synth player Kim Reid, wife of guitarist and lead vocalist Jake Reid. Sam Chintha and Matt Welch complete the lineup, with percussion produced electronically.

Visit them at: www.alcianblue.net

Hear them next: November 15 at DC9

Questions for Alcian Blue:

How did Alcian Blue first take shape?

JR: Matt and I had a band in high school and so did Clark and Sam, a year or so after high school we all decided to start collecting ideas as a group. This year Clark joined the Air Force and we gained Kim who picked up guitars and synths with us while we have been converting over to using electronic drums.

What kind of subjects or ideas motivate your songwriting?

SC: Speaking for myself, sounds that imply moods. I tend to write songs around single elements that I've discovered by accident. Though I once read Brian Eno say "accept your accidents as hidden intentions."

JR: Sometimes we pull ideas from dreams/nightmares and try to re-create the themes in our music. We've also taken natural sounds around us and have tried to create a similar ambience through our instruments. And of course we draw influence from art, movies and other bands we get to know too.

How does the D.C. area affect the music you play or the way you perform?

SC: Most of the tracking for our upcoming album was done in Takoma Park in an old house that was literally built by our drummer's grandfather. I really loved that place. I mean it was only a mile from D.C., but it was like our little hide out from the noise of the city. The natural beauty of that neighborhood and sligo creek park has really had a positve effect on me. I'm sure it has affected our music as well.

JR: We always like to try and put on a good rock show no matter where we're at, but playing in D.C. is always a lot more fun since it's home. Speaking more broadly about the area, we're not a political themed band, but the current administration and the political climate has certainly had some sort of affect on my mood personally when writing music as of late.

What are some positives about the DC music scene? What are some of the negatives?

JR: There are a lot of positives about DC's music scene. You have DJ's like Rick Taylor, JJ & Christopher (Saccharine), Steven McPherson and Will Eastman. People like Vicki and Bernie at the Black Cat, Scott Verastro at DC9 and Warehouse, and Brian at DC9. I'm sure I'm missing plenty, but those people all keep on the pulse and we couldn't ask to find cooler people to help us with shows and promotion.

As far as the negatives, DC is a tough area to break through. But then I think it's that way anywhere you try to form a band.

Who are your favorite local bands?

SC: Medic, Ceremony, the recently defunct A Cricket in Times Square, The Antiques, Kahoutek

JR: Soft Complex, The Sounds of Kaleidoscope, Metropolitan, Cartel (now Cedars), and all of Sam's choices.