About Ethan Nahté
Location: Dallas
Occupation: Video & Film Producer/Director, Journalist, Titan Comics, Broadcast Coordinator
Bio: Began playing music in clubs @ the age of 13 while simultaneously getting published in school mags. Moved on to TV and has shot everything from naked women to wolves! He's traveled a 1/2 mile under the earth and a 1/2 mile above with his cameras! Currently working on a documentary, a book and attempts to sleep. LIVE'N'LOUD
Posts: 281
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Bobby Byrd & Jim Ward - How Will We Know When We’re Dead
Music: Easy Listening: 0 comments: 11/14/2006
By Ethan Nahté
I enjoy jazz and some of the odd, eclectic stuff here and there when it shows musical talent or vocal prowess. Spoken Word is a totally different beast. I’ve heard a few of the biggies in the genre and it takes a very acquired taste. I’m not sure where Bobby Byrd falls in the popularity/notoriety ranking in the genre as he spouts his poetry while Jim Ward backs him on guitar for the album How Will We Know When We’re Dead. I do know that he sounds a lot like Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong fame, both with the tone and inflection of his voice although some of the subject matter seems a little too pissy and even violent for something that Chong would say.
There are 15 tracks on this disc. The musings are from various books that Byrd has released on his own Cinco Puntos Press. A lot of the songs focus on a combination of violence, such as “The Broken Coffee Pot” and “Breaking and Entering” and civil/personal rights, primarily dealing with the Mexican community, which Byrd is evidently known for and has received some acknowledgments. He’s also known for his book publishing, including children’s books. This disc is definitely not for anyone easily offended by either language or subject matter.
There seems to be a lot of material that bounces around between religious subjects, such as “Pomegranates” and it’s talk of Mohammed & God, “The Moon Is The Eye Of A Crow” which deals with God, the winter solstice and possibly Native American and “Summer Solstice Near The End Of The World” that talks more of 7th Day Adventist and the Holy Ghost as he sings about Thelonius Monk and a Mexican woman.
Quite honestly, Byrd’s voice either rants or drones through each piece so much that both times I attempted to listen to the entire disc I never really noticed the music. Maybe that’s the point, but Ward’s work doesn’t really stand out on this album.
The production qualities are good and for the genre I guess it’s about average. Not everyone’s cup of chamomile tea. This rating is not based on personal taste but on production and how it fits within it’s own little field.
