Lexington, Kentucky

Always been curious about the music scene in cities oustide your own little cocoon? Each month, Subbacultcha! Belgium feed your hunger for gossip, insights and secrets in their fresh feature, Scene Report. Their first edition tells you all you want to know about the Lexington scene (Kentucky, USA), home to bands like Idiot Glee, Street Gnar and more.

 

Text by Idiot Glee’s James Friley.
Photos shot by Coleman Guyon and Melissa Carter in Lexington, Kentucky, USA

 

‘We’re all friends and there’s too much bleed-over stylistically to put everyone in their own corner’

 

 

Lexington, Kentucky has been my home for six years now. It’s beautiful here. The music scene is amazing. We’re close to dozens of bigger cities so touring is easy. The list goes on… Case has been here just as long. We moved here in ‘06 to go to school and we never left. Coleman’s lived here his entire life.

 

I’m James Friley. I’ve been recording and performing as Idiot Glee for just over three years now. Case Mahan does the same as Street Gnar. Coleman Guyon is a videographer who’s got several excellent music videos under his belt. He also performs as Trailblazer. When we got here we met the noise guys: Robert Beatty, Eric Lanham, Mikey T, Chris Bush, Trevor Tremaine, Matt Minter, Ben Allen, etc. You probably know them by their bands. Hair Police did some touring with Sonic Youth years ago. They’re an amazing three-piece featuring Robert, Trevor, and Mikey Connelly from Wolf Eyes. Eric and Chris are Caboladies. Mikey’s ever-evolving band was Warmer Milks. They disbanded and Mikey went on to form CROSS. One of the earliest things Case and I ever did was record at Robert’s house for the Resonant Hole Vol. 1 compilation.

 

Somewhere along the line a lot of these guys took their experimental sensibilities and started applying them to pop music. Robert’s Three Legged Race is now leaning towards minimal techno. Trevor’s ATTEMPT is straight up Steely Dan-esque smooth rock and Eric makes amazing house music as Carl Calm. Ben is doing Live Island now. I was definitely influenced by these guys. They come from noise and I come from rock. Over time we all started to meet in the middle to some extent.

 

The scene here is incredibly supportive. Recently, Coleman and I joined Case to form Street Gnar as a full band. There’s also hairy man Josh Blaine on guitar, who also plays in Jovontaes, a super good, sparse, psychedelic, kraut-y band on Hello Sunshine Records (Woodsist sub-label).

 

‘The Sidecar is a tiny hole-in-the-wall bar with a shitty PA and just enough room for 50 people. It’s perfect’

 

 

A lot of the scene here is focused around one particular block: Al’s Bar and Al’s Sidecar. The Sidecar is a tiny hole in the wall bar with a shitty PA and just enough room for 50 people. It’s perfect. Everyone goes there: the punks, noise dudes, pop dudes… Really they’re all just labels. We’re all friends and there’s too much bleed-over stylistically to put everyone in their own corner.

 

Al’s Bar is next door. It’s a step up from the Sidecar but not by much. In the past I’ve booked bands there like Ariel Pink, Beach House, Soft Moon, Dent May, and dozens more. This summer, Case booked Dirty Beaches at the Sidecar on a Monday night. It was huge! He brought his crew, Eola and Run DMT, and they hung around for a few days. We had a blast. Alex and Makeout Videotape (Mac DeMarco) had come through town two years previously and played for 15 people. Peaking Lights did the same. My first gig was actually with them. We played to 15 people at the Void Skateshop. It’s been so good to see all these guys get so much love lately! Speaking of Peaking Lights, Robert actually made the cover for their latest album, Lucifer. If you don’t know, Robert is the man when it comes to record covers: Real Estate, Peaking Lights, Burning Star Core, Matt Duncan, and more. Oh, and speaking of Matt Duncan, if you’re looking for amazing throwback soul pop, he’s the best! Another fine KY artist.

 

The space here is amazing. Case and Coleman spent some time living in New York. Case worked at Captured Tracks and then Sniper’s (Mike Sniper, the man behind Captured Tracks, ed.) record shop. Coleman worked on music videos. It was draining though, financially, and it’s just hard to get as much done there. Lexington is cheaper. There are tons of creative people here: great artists, musicians, writers, … It’s all here. You can drive ten minutes and be nowhere. You can drive thirty minutes and go to the most gorgeous state parks and gorges, natural bridges, and more. It’s inspirational.

 

Last year Case put out a tape of B-sides from his record Study Wall on Gnar Tapes. He’s got another excellent new pop record coming out soon. I’ve got an EP out February 26 this year. And then I’ll have a new LP out later this year! Coleman is working on a music video for me right now, too. We’re all staying busy and working together.

 

 

Essential Lexington spots:
Al’s bar, Al’s Sidecar, Land Of Tomorrow

Essential Lexington bands:
Hair Police, Idiot Glee, Street Gnar, Matt Duncan

 

Idiot Glee – Let’s Get Down Together

 

Hair Police – Interruption And Invasion

 

Street Gnar – All The Time

 

Idiot Glee joins Blues Control, White Fence’s Jack Adams and Fictional Boys, and the Geetruida DJ-team at OCCII on Thursday, 20 June, and it’s free for members!