Music & Concerts

New band LAYNE blends pop-rock sounds with nonchalant sexuality

‘I want people to walk away feeling something heavy’

Published

8 years ago

August 28, 2016

Mariah Cooper

LAYNE is Layne Putnam, left, and Alexander Rosca. (Photo by Brandon Wolford; courtesy ReyBee Inc.)

LAYNE

DC9

1940 9th St., N.W.

Wednesday, Aug. 31

Doors 8:30 p.m.

Show: 9 p.m.

$12

Inspiration isn’t always easy to come by and while others seek it out in the walls of a coffee shop or by taking a late night drive, Layne Putnam’s creativity flowed into her songwriting in the woods.

Growing up in Black Hills, S.D., Putnam, 21, admits the music scene was “almost nonexistent.” So Putnam, who grew up playing mostly drums and guitar, had to make her own and used her environment as her musical canvas. She says music was always in her life, and also her blood as her father Kenny Putnam was a fiddle players for the Red Willow Band and toured with country legend Roy Clarke. For Putnam, music was just “part of living and breathing.”

Putnam has since taken her musical ambitions from sparse South Dakota to Los Angeles as half of the indie pop-rock band LAYNE, which she formed with fellow bandmate Alexander Rosca. The band is on tour and LAYNE makes its D.C. stop at DC9 on Wednesday, Aug. 31. Putnam, who moved to Los Angeles three years ago, met Rosca there through someone they were both working with and says the connection was instantaneous.

“I needed a drummer and he was like, ‘Hey, I’m a drummer.’ We met and had coffee and it was like immediate, instant,” Putnam says. “We looked at each other and we were dressed exactly the same and we listened to the same music and he understood things like I did. I played him some stuff and he was like, ‘I’m there.’ We’ve hung out pretty much every day since. He’s like my best friend. We just clicked, and now we’re a team.”

The pair created a system with Putnam on vocals, synths and guitar, and Rosca on drums. Putnam says their collaboration is different every time. At times, Putnam sings a track and takes it to Rosca to create a drum beat and other times Rosca comes up with a drum beat for Putnam to build around.

“The Black Hills,” named after Putnam’s hometown and the duo’s first EP, is the finished product of their collaboration. “Good” and “Somebody” are two singles that have already been released as previews to the release with both music videos receiving thousands of YouTube views. Putnam says the EP, which will be released Aug. 26, is a collection of songs from the past year. Some of the tracks have the tell-tale mark of Putnam’s love of nature. She says the two got sound bites from the lakes, wind and trees from the areas Putnam grew up in and sampled them on the track.

Putnam says the EP chronicles their creative journey from the last year.

“I was in a midway point kind of transitioning and really honing in on the sound,” Putnam says. “So it really encapsulates the last year of what we’ve been doing creatively. We didn’t necessarily sit down at one time and do it. But I think that’s cool because it kind of sums up our last year.”

The EP reflects the pop-rock sound of the band which Putnam has always admired. She says she has always enjoyed both and likes to pull bits from each genre. The happy medium felt “natural and right for her.”

Putnam credits musicians like Prince, Joan Jett, Bjork and St. Vincent as musical favorites, but for more than just their songs.

“People like that their entire project is an art project, you know? From the music, to the visuals to the videos, it’s all a part of it and all encompassing,” Putnam says.

Although the band is just kicking off its career, Putnam has been open about being a lesbian from the start. Being out and proud at the onset of her career is something Putnam has no problem doing, but doesn’t want her sexuality to be a reason people listen to her music.

“I feel like we’re at a point now where the best thing you can do is just be equal,” Putnam says. “We’ve fought as a community to be treated the same way and I think now I’m in a place where I don’t ever want to openly say, ‘Listen to me because I’m a gay artist.’ I don’t want that to be a thing. I want to say, ‘Hey, listen to my music, and also I’m gay.’”

Putnam says she is “very proud to be part of the community,” but doesn’t want that to be the defining characteristic of her as a musician.

“People think it’s such a huge part of who you are as a person. And the message I would like to send is, it’s not a huge part. We’re all the exact same,” Putnam says. “So I wouldn’t necessarily come out and say, ‘I’m a gay artist’ but I’m not going to come out and say, ‘I’m not.’ I think there’s power in just acting like we’re equal. We are. There’s no reason to further put yourself in a minority or group when we’re all the same.”

That doesn’t mean Putnam isn’t focusing on her sexuality in her music. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

Putnam admits she is always writing about her own experiences and relationships. Letting out her emotions in her music is deeply personal and writing about her relationships with women is bound to come out. But, Putnam believes her songwriting is universally relatable no matter what a person’s sexuality may be.

“I’ll say she, I’m not afraid of that. I like to listen to artists where I can relate to that. I absolutely have no fear in that. But I feel all relationships are the same. I write about my relationship and I feel anybody can relate to it if they’ve been in a relationship,” Putnam says.

At their upcoming DC9 show, Putnam is excited for her audience to connect with LAYNE’s music and simply feel that universality.

“I want people to feel empowered by feeling because that’s something that makes us superhuman, our ability to feel, and to hurt, and to be mad and be happy and all those things. I want people to feel either totally stoked or feel like, ‘Wow, that was heavy’ or think, ‘Wow, that made me sad.’ I want people to walk away feeling something heavy.”

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Music & Concerts

Pianist Jeremy Denk to play George Mason

Soloist performs Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 alongside FSO

Published

3 weeks ago

November 16, 2024

Tinashe Chingarande

Pianist Jeremy Denk (Photo by Shervin Lainez)

The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (FSO) and the Center for the Arts at George Mason University co-present Jeremy Denk — one of America’s foremost pianists—on Nov. 23 at 8 p.m. Denk joins the FSO as soloist for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. The concert, conducted by FSO Music Director Christopher Zimmerman, also includes the regional premiere of “She Dreams of Flying” by American composer Quinn Mason, and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. Tickets are available through the Fairfax Symphony and the Center for the Arts: $65, $55, $40 and half-price for youth through grade 12 (service fees may apply).

A pre-performance discussion with Denk and Maestro Christopher Zimmerman, moderated by Mason Dewberry School of Music Professor John Healey, will take place in Monson Grand Tier, located on the third level of the Center for the Arts Lobby, 45 minutes prior to curtain.

Music & Concerts

Lana Del Rey, Katy Perry plan fall releases

A Fleetwood Mac live album, more Joni archives among vintage options

Published

3 months ago

September 13, 2024

Joey DiGuglielmo

Dolly Parton’s ‘Smoky Mountain DNA’ is slated for a Nov. 15 release. (Image courtesy Owepar Entertainment)

Paris Hilton released her “Infinite Icon” album on Sept. 6. It’s just the second effort following a massive hiatus — her debut album “Paris” was released way back in 2006. Sia produces. This summer’s “I’m Free” was the first single. A tour is planned. Hilton promised a “heavily gay-leaning release.”

Miranda Lambert’s “Postcards from Texas” is slated to drop today. Lambert’s 10th studio album was preceded by the May release of single “Wranglers,” which stalled in the lower 30s on country radio. Lambert calls the album a musical ode to her home state. She co-produces with Jon Randall and either wrote or co-wrote 10 of the project’s 14 cuts.

Katy Perry’s “143” is set for a Sept. 20 release. It will be her seventh studio album. Its title refers to what she says is her symbolic angel number. Perry is aiming for a dance party feel working with producers Max Martin, Dr. Luke, Stargate, Vaughn Oliver and Rocco Did It Again! The proceedings are not off to a strong start. First single “Woman’s World” stalled at No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100. Follow-up “Lifetimes” failed to crack the Hot 100 at all.

Fleetwood Mac releases “Mirage Tour ’82” on Sept. 20. It includes six tracks previously unreleased including “Don’t Stop,” “Dreams,” “Never Going Back Again,” “Sara” and more. Available on double CD, triple vinyl and digitally.

Volume four of Joni Mitchell’s “Archives” series dubbed “The Asylum Years: 1976-1980” releases Oct. 4. It’s being offered in six-CD or four-LP (highlights) configurations. It will feature unreleased studio sessions, alternate versions, live recordings, rarities and a 36-page book with new photos and an extensive conversation between Mitchell and filmmaker/uberfan Cameron Crowe.

Sophie B. Hawkins releases her “Whaler Re-Emerging” album (a re-recording of her landmark 1994 album) on Oct. 15. Order through her site and the first 250 copies will be signed. Hawkins (who identifies as omnisexual) says it surpasses the original.

Joe Jonas’s “Music for People Who Believe in Love” and Shawn Mendes’s “Shawn” are both set for Oct. 18 releases. Jonas’s album (his first solo effort since 2011’s “Fastlife”) will feature songwriting he says is of a more personal nature. Billboard called it “unvarnished” but with a shimmery pop sound aglow with garage rock and alt-pop influences. First single “Work It Out” was released over the summer and failed to chart.

“Shawn” will be Mendes’s first album since 2020’s “Wonder,” the tour of which he cancelled citing mental health. Two singles — “Why Why Why” and “Isn’t That Enough” — have been released. The former stalled at no. 84 on the Hot 100. He has called the album his “most musically intimate and lyrically honest work to date.”

Lana Del Rey’s “Lasso” is expected for a possible fall release, although some sources say it’s been bumped to early 2025. No date had been announced as of yet. She’s apparently going the Beyonce route and releasing a straight-up country album.

Dolly Parton plans a Nov. 15 release for “Smoky Mountain DNA — Family, Faith & Fables.” Parton recruited family to help her on the 37 (!)-track collection, which will also encompass a four-part docuseries tracing Parton’s familial roots. One song (“A Rose Won’t Fix It”) is an outtake from the feverish writing sessions that led to her solid (but underrated) 1998 album “Hungry Again.” An extremely limited-edition triple vinyl release is also planned.

Release dates shift and many more releases will be announced later. Pitchfork keeps a great running tab at pitchfork.com/news/new-album-releases. Also check your local record store for Black Friday special editions available on Friday, Nov. 29. Release info was scant as of this writing.

(Joey DiGuglielmo was variously the Blade’s news and features editor from 2006-2020.)

Music & Concerts

Fall concerts feature Sivan, Eilish, Lauper, more

Ndegeocello pays tribute to Baldwin at Strathmore next month

Published

3 months ago

September 13, 2024

Joey DiGuglielmo

Sigur Ros plays the Anthem this month. Frontman JONSI (center) is gay. (Photo by Chloe Kritharas; courtesy motormouthmedia)

Sigur Ros will be joined by the Wordless Music Orchestra at the Anthem (901 Wharf St., S.W.) on Wednesday, Sept. 25th. They’re continuing their 2023 tour in support of “Atta,” their first LP of original music in a decade. Frontman Jonsi is gay. Tickets are $60.50-173.50 for this seated show.

Troye Sivan brings the “Sweat Tour” with Charli XCX (co-headlining) to Baltimore at the CFG Bank Arena (201 West Baltimore St.) on Thursday, Sept. 26th at 7:30 p.m. It’s sold out. The latter is touring behind her 2024 album “Brat.” The former is touring behind his 2023 album “Something to Give Each Other.” Sivan is gay and has performed at Capital Pride.

Cyndi Lauper brings her “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour” to Capital One Arena (601 F St., N.W.) on Sunday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $29-179. It’s her first solo arena stateside tour since her ’86-’87 “True Colors World Tour.” Lauper is a longtime and avid LGBTQ ally.

St. Vincent brings her “All Born Screaming Tour” to the Anthem (901 Wharf St., S.W.) on Friday, Sept. 13th at 8 p.m. Tickets are $55-95. A Variety review called it “minimalist” and said “with no video screens, backup singers or sketches, and a lot of electric guitar, it’s the purest distillation of St. Vincent we’ve had on stage in quite a few years.” Anne Erin Clark (aka St. Vincent) doesn’t identify as anything sexually but has mostly dated women in recent years.

Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming play Wolf Trap (1551 Trap Rd., Vienna, Va.) on Friday, Sept. 13 at 8 p.m. Individual sets are planned, but there will likely be a duet or two. Tickets are $29.

Out singer/songwriter Perfume Genius brings his “Too Bright 10th Anniversary Tour” to The Atlantis (2047 9th St., N.W.) on Monday, Sept. 16. This highly limited run will only play six dates in five cities. Mike Hadreas (aka Perfume Genius) will perform his 2014 album in its entirety. It’s sold out.

Meghan Trainor brings “The Timeless Tour” to Jiffy Lube Live (7800 Cellar Door Dr., Bristol, Va.) on Tuesday, Sept. 17th at 6:30 p.m. She’s touring behind her album of the same name released earlier this year. Tickets are $33-155. No lawn seats available for this show.

Queer-affirming gospel singer Amy Grant (who also had a decent pop chart run in the ’90s) brings her fall tour to The Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria, Va.) on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m. As she’s done on tour with previous re-releases, Grant could include more songs than usual from her 1994 “House of Love” album, which was just released in an expanded edition and on LP for the first time. Tickets are $95.

Sara Bareilles, a self-described LGBTQ ally, joins the NSO Pops for a three-night stint at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) on Sept. 24-26 at 8 p.m. each night. It’s sold out.

Billie Eilish brings her “Hit Me Hard and Soft: the Tour” to CFG Bank Arena (201 West Baltimore St.) in Baltimore on Friday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. Her album of the same name dropped in March. Although she’s mostly dated guys publicly, Eilish identifies as bi. It’s sold out.

Queer artist Meshell Ndegeocello plays the Strathmore (5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, Md.) on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. Her show is dubbed “No More Water: the Gospel of James Baldwin” and is billed as a tribute event to the legendary Black gay writer. A pre-concert event, “The Gospel of Meshell Ndegeocello” is free but advanced registration is required. Tickets for the concert are $28-74.

Former Capital Pride headliner Betty Who (“queer/bi” herself) brings her “An Acoustic Evening in Celebration of 10 years of TMWYG” to the Lincoln Theatre (1215 U St., N.W.) on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $55. It’s a nod to her 2014 debut album “Take Me When You Go.”

Justin Timberlake brings his “Forget Tomorrow World Tour” to Capital One Arena (601 F St., N.W.) on Sunday, Oct. 13. This seventh headlining concert tour (and first in five years) supports his 2024 sixth album “Everything I Thought it Was.” Reviews for the tour have been strong; the setlist looks career-spanning and generous. It’s sold out.

Gay-helmed Pink Martini with China Forbes and Ari Shapiro plays the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) on Monday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $40-80.

’80s pop sensation Debbie Gibson brings her “Acoustic Youth: Songs & Stories from Electric Youth Era” to the Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria, Va.) on Wednesday, Oct. 16. Tickets are $59.50. Gibson is celebrating her 1989 album “Electric Youth,” her second. She’ll accompany herself on piano playing the songs “the way I first wrote them.”

DJ/producer Diplo, who says he’s “not not gay,” plays Echostage (2135 Queens Chapel Road, N.E.) on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 9 p.m. Walker and Royce join. Tickets are $60.

Motown diva Diana Ross brings her “Beautiful Love Performances Legacy Tour” to MGM National Harbor (101 MGM National Ave., Oxon Hill, Md.) on Oct. 24-25 at 8 p.m. Except for adding a couple cuts from her abysmal 2021 album “Thank You” (her latest), her setlist has not changed much in 15 years. She’s a little better about performing Supremes songs than she was earlier in her career (for ages, they were crammed into one medley), but she still heavily favors her solo material. Tickets start at $102.

“The Life and Music of George Michael” comes to the National Theatre (1321 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) on Friday, Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. Hard to tell from promo material if this is a typical jukebox musical-type show or more like a tribute band concert for the late gay singer. Tickets are $55.

“Sapphic Factory: Queer Joy Party” is at 9:30 Club (815 V St., N.W.) on Friday, Oct. 25 at 10 p.m. It’s slated to feature music by artists such as Mana, Chappell Roan, Fletcher, Phoebe Bridges, Kehlani, Rina Sawayama, boygenius, Kim Petras, Tegan and Sara and more. Tickets are $23.

Kacey Musgraves brings her “Deeper Well World Tour” to CFG Bank Arena (201 West Baltimore St.) on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m. It supports her sixth studio album, released in March. The setlist morphed slightly over a spring run in Europe. It’s sold out.

Soul diva Gladys Knight plays the Hall at Live! (7002 Arundel Mills Circle) in Hanover, Md., on Sunday, Nov. 17th at 7:30 p.m. Knight, who hasn’t had a new album out in a decade, tends to be fairly generous with her classic Motown- and Buddha-era hits with the Pips in approximately 75-minute sets. Tickets start at $95.

(Joey DiGuglielmo was variously the Blade’s news and features editor from 2006-2020.)