Manx and Breit Team Up for Another Album
by Chris M Junior
When the plan for a slide guitar album with Greg Leisz fell through, Harry Manx and Kevin Breit looked to change course.
They chose a familiar path, remembers Manx: "Show up with our songs and see what happens."
Manx and Breit are accustomed to letting the moment unfold when they work together. The first time that happened was in 2001, when they met during a folk festival in their home country of Canada.
"Sometimes they'll put you on a stage with another artist to have a workshop and see what comes out of it," says Manx. "The guy who organized that festival—he had seen me play briefly somewhere, and he knew Kevin, so he put us together to see what would happen."
He adds, "I just remember listening afterward to a rough tape that somebody made, and I thought, This is some nice musical magic happening with Kevin. I wouldn't mind recording with him." And Manx did, later teaming with Breit for the 2003 album Jubilee.
Manx had the idea to make a slide guitar album last summer with Breit and Leisz, but illness prompted Leisz to back out at the last minute. With studio time already booked, Manx and Breit moved forward and spent four days making their second album, In Good We Trust, released in April on Stony Plain Records.
"We were pretty good and teaching [one another each] song, playing it a couple of times and then rolling the tape," says Manx. "Kevin's a studio player, so he's a quick study. I probably am not, so I took a little longer, but he always sets up his songs so I can create my own thing, which is great."
The rootsy In Good We Trust contains 11 songs, and Manx sings lead on the seven tunes that feature vocals, including the material written by Breit.
"He's still coming into his own as a singer," Manx says. "His thing is all about harmony as far as I can see. He's a great harmonizer; that's why people want him to play on their records. He plays harmonies on his guitar, and as a result he can sing harmonies, too."
Breit has been singing more lead vocals in their live shows, according to Manx. "I think the more he does it, the more he'll get really good at it," he adds. "He has kind of a character voice in the same way some of the guys in The Band had a certain sound or character in their voice."
Manx and Breit will roll through Manhattan this month for a gig at the Cutting Room on July 16. The club is at 19 W. 24th St. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show cost $20 and are available through www.smarttix.com. Call 212-691-1900 or visit www.thecuttingroomnyc.com for more information.
The official Harry Manx site is www.harrymanx.com; the official Kevin Breit site is www.kevinbreit.com.
What Stoley Says
Life can be a drag, says the Queens-based singer/songwriter/guitarist known as Stoley, and music is one way to "share in the comfort of communal hopelessness."
And as long as the music is honest, it will not grow tiresome. "What gets boring and redundant are artists who pretend to be self-loathing or tough or whatever they think it's cool to be," Stoley explains. "If you truly are sad and you're just expressing that purely and honestly, I think it will always hit home and never get old."
Stoley shares sad and funny perspectives on Lesson #1 (In Music We Trust Records), his latest album as leader of the rock trio Stoley P.T. The band will rock Manhattan on July 20 with a show at Lit Lounge, 93 Second Ave. Admission is $6 for the 8:30 p.m. show. Visit www.litloungenyc.com for more details.
For more about Stoley P.T., visit www.myspace.com/stoleypt.
No Holding Back
No matter what a gig's circumstances are, The Automatic Automatic sticks to the same game plan.
"Our ethic has always been to play every gig as though we were headlining—to draw the audience in as much as possible and give the best performance we can," says singer Rob Hawkins. "We play every gig as if we own the stage."
Hawkins' dance/electronica/punk band, known as The Automatic at home in the U.K., is on the road supporting the U.S. version of Not Accepted Anywhere (Columbia Records). On July 26, The Automatic Automatic will perform at Manhattan's Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St. Tickets, priced at $14, can be purchased at www.ticketweb.com.
Worth Checking Out
New York City singer/songwriter Angela Ortiz, on tour supporting All About You, will perform July 18 at the Sidewalk Cafe, 94 Avenue A, and July 19 at New Leaf Cafe in Fort Tryon Park. Visit www.angelaortiz.com for more details.
To contact "Manhattan Sounds" columnist Chris M. Junior, e-mail chrisjr@mindspring.com.
