Music / Interview w. Torin Alter and the Lying Angels ... local music from Tuscaloosa, Alabama

A host of local talent is showcased on "Blood Orange". Can you name these great players?
( Jil Chambless, Torin Alter, Dan Vogt, Craig Gates, Chris Zeiler)

One of Tuscaloosa's hottest groups releases debut album ... download a song!

A band of Tuscaloosa musicians is preparing to release what will be one of the best local albums of the year. "Blood Orange" is the debut release from Torin Alter and the Lying Angels. It features a deep pool of local talent, drawing musicians from a wide variety of styles ... from gospel to opera to punk. This unique mix of talent produces a heaping helping of foot-tapping music, served up "countryfied" style. The band is led by Alter, who spends his daylight hours as an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Alabama. Alter sat down at the keyboard for an online chat with Druid City Online about his band, the Tuscaloosa music scene and what it means to be a "thinking man" ...

Druid City Online - Please introduce yourself, and tell me where you’re from and what instrument you play.

Hi. I'm Torin Alter. I'm from Tuscaloosa, though originally from New York. I play acoustic guitar.

When did you start playing, and where was your first performance here in Tuscaloosa?

I started playing when I was sixteen. My first performance here in Tuscaloosa was at the Chukker.

I was happily surprised how good the stage sound was and how warmly I was received. The crowd seemed to be listening seriously and appreciating the music even though they'd never heard my songs before.

Talk a little bit about your band. I understand you have somewhat of a rotating membership. Who are the Lying Angels?

Presently, the singers (besides me) are Jil Chambless, Tommy Sorrells, and Atonge Gardner; and the players are Chris Zeiler (drums), Michael Bowman (viola), Brandon Taylor (bass), and Dan Vogt (guitar). All of these folks played on the album ("Blood Orange"), plus several other musicians, including Dennis Sanford (pedal steel), Greg Brown (mandolin, guitar), and various others. But 'rotating membership' is correct: I expect the membership to continue to change. In fact, the line-up will be different for the two shows we're playing in January. At the CD release show at Hale's on the 31st, we'll have a bigger group. I expect people will be able to hear Atonge's vocals from across the street. She's a gospel singer with a background in Opera; she can *belt*!

I’ve read Torin Alter and the Lying Angels described as“alternative country”. How would you describe it?

That's as good a label as any. Musicians who hear Blood Orange say it sounds like Gram Parsons meets Exile on Mainstreet. Think of the song "Wild Horses" (which I understand was written for Parsons by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards). Also, on Blood Orange there's the song "Angels Lie Sometimes", which sounds sort of like "You can't always get what you want"--gospel influenced but with some country and Motown too.

Let me start with people I've played with; I've played with them because I think they're the most talented people around. Tommy Sorrells is underappreciated. He's known as a stellar guitarist, which he is. But he's such a good singer, at least for the sort of music I write. You can just feel the pathos in his voice. Listen
closely to "In the Company of Strangers" on Blood Orange to see what I mean. It's as though he's lived through the pain I wrote about. I hope to work more with him in the future. I wish I could sing like he does. Atonge Gardner is a world-class gospel/jazz/blues singer. She sounds like Aretha Franklin in her prime. If there was any justice in the world, Atonge would be famous--winning Grammy's, on TV, etc. Listen to her improvised solo on "Angel's Lie Sometimes", the closing track of
Blood Orange, to see what I mean. Chris Zeiler is an exceptionally talented drummer. Listen to the drums on "Angels Lie Sometimes": they're amazing. He understands his instrument in a way that most good rock and country drummers don't. I recently saw McCoy Tyner's (of John Coltrane fame) group and the
drummer's style reminded me of Chris'. I hope he stays with me whatever direction I go in; he can do anything. Michael Bowman is a remarkable fiddler. I don't know many violinists who excel at both classical and country music, but he sure does. It's a priviledge having him play on my stuff. John Smith, who played electric guitar on Blood Orange, is an amazing guitar player--he sounds like Mick Taylor (formerly of the Stones). To the extent that Blood Orange has a hard "rock" edge, John's playing gave it that. Everyone around here knows what an angelic voice Jil Chambless has. Brandon Taylor and Stacy Morris are both solid bass players. I like Dan Vogt's 'classic country' guitar style. Craig Gates is a good all-around musician. Matt Willey, who played keyboards on Blood Orange, is a real pro. Greg Staggs is a terrific guitarist.

Okay, now for people I haven't played with: I like the group Jackleg, who are opening for us at Hale's on the 31st. I also like Second Hand Jive. Those guys are excellent songwriters and players. Justin Peake is a talented drummer and the people I've seen him play with are all excellent musicians. Their names are escaping me at the moment, but they play around town, sometimes in a group called something like "the earth ensemble". (editor's note ... Earth ART Ensemble)

What’s the best show you’ve seen in Tuscaloosa? Choose any musician or band.

That's hard. Maybe the recent Bluegrass show (Sept. 2003) at the Bama Theatre. The featured act (the name of which escapes me) was phenomenal. Philip Shack's solo show about four years ago at the Chukker is right up there. Other contenders are Richard Thompson at Kentuck, Hank Williams III at the Chukker, and Ralph Stanley (in the rain!) at Kentuck.

Your CD release party is at Hale’s Tavern on January 31st. Hale’s is a pretty small place for a five piece band to play. What’s it’s like performing in there?

I'll let you know after we play! I've never played there (except a couple of times at open-mic night). I hope to do another show soon at 600 Studios, where we played last summer. I like that place.

My top choices would be Neil Young, the Rolling Stones, McCoy Tyner, and Elvis Costello, in that order.

In terms of writing, I'm hope to introduce more jazz elements into my songs. In terms of recording, I hope to record another full-length CD. And I hope by then I'll be performing more regularly in town and occasionally elsewhere. Also--this is more a dream than a hope--it'd be nice if well-known artists started recording my music. Some lesser- known groups have covered my songs, but it'd be great to hear one of my songs on the radio. I'm not holding my breath on this, though. I'm
happy that so many talented musicians in town are interested in collaborating with me, and if things continue to go as they've gone recently I'll be satisfied.

Talk a bit about your current employment at the University of Alabama. How does your job effect your music? Are you a "thinking man's musician"?

I'm a tenured professor in the Department of Philosophy at UA. I've been here since 1995 and I like my job. My research is primarily in philosophy of mind. More specifically, I'm interested in the nature of conscious experience--in questions such as "Is consciousness physical?" and "Could there be 'philosophical zombies'--creatures that are physically just like you and me but lack consciousness altogether"? But I teach courses on a variety of subjects, including symbolic logic, philosophy of language, and the history of philosophy. In addition to my music webpage, I have a philosophy web page. Just as the music page has MP3s of some of my songs, the philosophy page has links to some of my articles. My job doesn't affect my music in any direct way, at least none that I'm aware of. My approach to philosophy is strongly analytic, whereas my approach to songwriting is more intuitive. Even so, there is this connection: in both my philosophical writing and songwriting I strive to "say more with less"--to use no more words than is minimally needed to express an idea or a feeling. Also, there's one song on "Blood Orange" that overlaps with my philosophical interests in one respect. The chorus of "Shades of Blue" asks, "Do you see colors like I do, or just different shades of blue?" That's reminiscent of a philosophical case known as the "inverted spectrum"--where someone sees red where most people see green and vice versa. (Actually, there are reasonably strong scientific grounds for believing that such "inverted" people exist, but the condition is hard to detect, since people learn color words by example: the inverted person sees grass as red but calls it "green" because that's what everyone else calls the color of grass.) But that's an exception and I didn't even notice the connection until Dave Chalmers (a well-known philosopher who heard the album) brought it to my attention.

Am I a thinking man's musician? In one sense, no. My lyrics are accessible (though not without subtlety, I hope) and my melodies and chord progressions are pretty straightforward (though not without hooks, I hope). My music isn't intellectual, in the sense that, say, Schoenberg's is.

Thank you for the thoughtful questions. I enjoyed the interview. Thank you also for doing Druid City Online -- this sort of thing helps makes Tuscaloosa culturally rich. I guess I'd like to add a couple of plugs. I hope Tuscalooosans come to the Hale's show on Saturday (1/31/04). Atonge Gardner, Michael Bowman, Brandon Taylor, Jil Chalmbless, Dan Vogt will be playing with me (Tommy Sorrells will hopefully stop by briefly too). It promises to be a fun show. Also, I hope people check out the sample MP3s. If they like them, I hope they buy the Blood Orange CD (on line or at local record stores). Based on the reactions I've been getting (including from complete strangers) I think people will like it a lot.