Tiffany Wilson

See Sharp
Tiffany Wilson
(WeCoast Records)

It’s Tuesday, June 14, some 48 hours after the massacre in Orlando, and the distance between the world we wish for and the world we live in seems insurmountable. Our existence is dependent on the whims of a disturbed, disaffected few. Scar tissue, from wounds both psychic and physical, hinders our capacity for empathy. America feels absurd, unfair, threatening—especially so for some more than others.

Music is not the only answer, but it’s among the best we have. It’s a salve for pain and a channel for connection. It’s a reminder of our potential for transcendence, a spiritual signal wrought in earthly terms. It always, always helps.

Today I’m grateful to be listening to Tiffany Wilson. Particularly Wilson’s debut album on WeCoast Records, See Sharp, which binds soul music’s traditions of activism and romantic catharsis to an urgent demand for social betterment. For a while now, Wilson has recorded singles as part of the WeCoast crew, a blossoming cadre that includes Grace Love & the True Loves, DJ Funkscribe, Funky2Death, Marmalade and about a dozen more Seattle musicians, singers, producers and performers. She isn’t a rough-hewn belter but rather a meticulous vocalizer, able to hang back in poignancy, elevate in delicacy or settle into intimate simplicity. She adapts her vocal tone to the content of her songwriting. See Sharp captures an important voice at a crucial moment.

“How can we be made in the image of love if there ain’t no love for us?” goes the refrain to “American Dreams.” The question resonates across racial divisions and social-justice deficits, Wilson’s words poetic and incisive. Meanwhile Jimmy James slices on guitar and Joe Doria howls on Hammond. The song is a moral interrogation dressed in dancing shoes. “The Justice” directly condemns racial profiling and police brutality, Wilson joined by WeCoast comrade Victortrey Funklove (!) on guest vocals and backed by a group chorus, chanting words that paraphrase countless, infuriating YouTube videos: “Mister officer/Get off me sir!”

Not all of See Sharp’s 11 songs are political, but the handful that are each cast a light of awareness on the others, painting the entire album in an aspirational glow—which perhaps stems from Wilson’s early days as a gospel singer in Memphis. The love she sings of over the neck-snapping groove of “Your Love” is the romantic as well as the humanist kind: “Making love and making change/Tell me they ain’t the same damn thing.” She’s singing to a lackadaisical paramour; she’s singing to you and me. A trumpet solo sends the message into the stratosphere.

By the time “Apocalypse Party” closes the album with a call for unified celebration, Wilson has made her point. “With chaos all around,” she sings, “we came to get down.” “We” is the operative word here. None of us will make it on our own. - City Arts Magazine, Encore Media Group

Life in the Vinyl Lane

Tiffany Wilson definitely has an Aretha Franklin vibe on her A side “Your Love,” (WC005) but it’s on the B side that she truly shines. “Apocalypse Party” is sultry. It’s sexy. It showcases her vocal range and includes some impressive backing vocals to boot. The guitar and bass is funky, and the horns are like exclamation points placing emphasis on different points of the song. Tiffany Wilson is the female Marvin Gaye on “Apocalypse Party.” - Seattle Hockey,

Women of the world, your panties are showing, and Seattle (via Memphis) R&B songstress Tiffany Wilson is trying to let you know. On “Your Panties are Showin’,” she asks, “Where are all the ladies at?” and it’s not in a rapper-style effort to hype a crowd. She’s honestly asking, because she hasn’t seen any lately. It pains Wilson’s heart to see females walk around with their backyards out, and this song is her plea for a gender-wide step-up to a higher plane of respectability. Somehow, it doesn’t come off preachy.

The song is on local producer RC Tha Trackaholiq‘s recent album “Full Circle,” an effort I previously (and favorably) blogged about here for featuring elder statesman of the 206 rap game making weird, funny threats. On “Your Panties are Showin’,” RC’s in his comfort zone, mixing hand drums with wacka-wacka guitars and sustained synthesizer strings. It’s smooth ‘n’ mature R&B, strong enough for a man but pH balanced for a woman - Seattle Times, Andrew Matson

I have found round here that most people's knowledge of great, or any, R&B vocalists in Seattle is at best typically limited to my man Reggie Watts or the sultry stylings of Choklate- who without a doubt, puts her foot in it everytime.

But allow me to introduce to many of you to the talented singer and songwriter (not a singer/songwriter, that makes me think of like, James Taylor or something) known as Tiffany Wilson who I really first noticed as a name around town on a D.Black tune":

Not long after, I was struck by the awesomely titled "Your Panties Are Showing", a standout track from the Full Circle LP by Cidewayz AKA RC. Silky, slinky, and grown, the groove and the messenger come together seamlessly to deliver a plea for what my my friend in Jesus, Andrew Matson, called "a gender-wide step-up to a higher plane of respectability".

saw her perform at the Full Circle release party last month, and the Sonny Bonoho CD release over the weekend, and she's got it. I was remembering all this when I came across her recent album Music Therapy in my stack. The Memphis-bred Wilson's sound is simply beautiful, expressive soul (thankfully light on the neo- trappings) with the subtle neckrolling swagger of 90's R&B. Love music. The production is slick and classy, moving and never syrupy—kinda reminding me of say, Faith Evans (just to continue yesterday's whole Bad Boy trip). However, it's that powerful southern soul tradition that informs Wilson's voice the most- a hunch backed up by her Myspace, which tells us that she was hooked on music after seeing Candi Staton (whose Grammy-nominated take on "Stand By Your Man" is a personal fave). Wilson also calls my hero, the great Bobby Womack, her "favorite representation (of) Soul music", which was the moment I was absolutely, 100% positive I was going to blog about her.

While Music Therapy is no Voodoo-heavy, modern soul masterpiece(and I'd love to hear Tiffany, or any modern soul artist for that matter, with such a unified suite of music as that—even though all the production is way onpoint, all the songs just kind of end), but it's dope, and will definitely get play in my home (I think my lady will dig it too).

Plus! The album's lovely last song "You Can Have It All" (which uses that same sample as "Sunshine", one of my favorite joints on Lupe Fiasco's debut Food & Liquor) is produced by a guy who was one of my favorite rappers as a kid: the indomitable Def Jef! Responsible for cuts like "Black To The Future" and the classic "Droppin Rhymes On Drums":

What's fucking with that? The whole tangent I could take with Def Jef, leading up to "We're All In The Same Gang" should just be assumed. Meanwhile, check for Tiffany. - The Stranger, Tim Keck

MAY 19, 2017 COMMENTS OFF ON UPSTREAM / DOWNSTREAM: A TALE OF TWO MUSIC FESTIVALS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, MUSIC, MUSIC FESTIVALS, MUSIC YOU SHOULD KNOW, MUSIC-QUEERCORE
UPSTREAM / DOWNSTREAM: A Tale of Two Music Festivals

The inaugural Upstream Music Fest took over the venues of Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood the weekend of May 11-13, 2017 Photo: Ann Brown for SGS
The inaugural Upstream Music Fest took over the venues of Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood the weekend of May 11-13, 2017
Photo: Ann Brown for SGS

UPSTREAM / DOWNSTREAM: A Tale of Two Music Festivals
And PURSE-GATE AT THE QUEER SHOW!
Multi-stage, multi-day music festivals are another world. Attendees who commit to a full time experience are on a vacation of sorts. The energy, enthusiasm, and the pace of moving from one stage to another create an exciting whirlwind. Last month, The New York Times published an article about aging rock fans using their retirement to attend them. Seattle already boasts Bumbershoot and Capitol Hill Block Party, but they were missing an aspect of the most acclaimed music fest in the U.S., South By Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, every March since 1987: industry panels that attract professionals. Microsoft founder and billionaire Paul Allen has contributed Upstream Music Fest & Summit to the Emerald City’s music fest landscape, with the clout to close streets in Pioneer Square and attract Macklemore and Quincy Jones among its keynote speakers. It debuted last weekend with a mostly positive response, and a few glitches.

Peace & Red Velvet at Substation’s Recording Studio Stage for the rival DOWNSTAGE FESTIVAL. Photo: Ann Brown
Peace & Red Velvet at Substation’s Recording Studio Stage for the rival DOWNSTAGE FESTIVAL.
Photo: Ann Brown

Like SXSW’s inauguration, Upstream chose to focus on local music, booking a handful of national headliners once PNW acts were in place. Reportedly 1200 musical acts applied and a little over 300 were selected to perform. Some of the leftovers joined another fest, Downstream, held on both stages at Fremont/Ballard nightclub Substation, even submitting their Upstream rejections for consideration. It’s healthy. As Slamdance is to Sundance, as STIFF is to SIFF, and as countless alternative fests are to SXSW, here’s hoping Downstream will keep Upstream on its toes and thrive on its own.

While security at Downstream was minimal, I was surprised to read Facebook posts from two different industry professionals asking for people who loved music to work security for Upstream—only 48 hours before the festival. I messaged the secondary security staffer and he said he’d only been asked the day before those posts. Adequate security is more than a minor detail for 3-day event that reportedly drew 30K people. That oversight makes what happened on the middle day of the fest a surprise: Purse-gate At The Queer Show! Mowave booker Jodi Ecklund was asked to curate an all-queer show (previewed in SGS) downstairs at the Galvanize Building. Despite personally having no issue with my purse at other venues over the course of two days, I was not allowed re-entry to the Mowave show with my medium-sized purse after ducking out for a bite to eat. Other women were affected, too, with one FB commenter noting, “Music is enough of a ‘boy’s’ club as it is.” But Ecklund expressed optimism that the festival’s “kinks” would be sorted out next year.

Rumored to be funded for five years (billionaires can do that), will Upstream outgrow its kinks and grow into the entertainment behemoth that is SXSW, with its separate Music, Film, and Interactive entities? Seattle already has SIFF, the largest film fest in the country, so adding a film component to an event that takes place a week before isn’t likely. But with Amazon, Google, and Microsoft dominating this city’s economy, expect interactive to play a role while you’re grooving to one of the best and most diverse music scenes in the country.

Here’s a diary of the Upstream and Downstream acts (and antics) I saw.

THURSDAY, May 11, 2017
Star Anna at Comedy Underground, 6:45 pm.
www.staranna.com
Star Anna at Upstream Music Fest Photo: Ann Brown
Star Anna at Upstream Music Fest
Photo: Ann Brown

Star Anna is easily one of the most gifted vocalists in the PNW. The first time I heard her sing, she was playing a free show on a Sunday afternoon to an outdoor audience at The Doug Fir Lounge in Portland. It was noisy bunch until she sang the first line of her slow, intense cover of Call Your Girlfriend. Suddenly, “pin drop” silence covered the patio. Star’s Upstream set started off with the same devoted attention until, a couple of songs in, the inadequate space began to burst at the seams with her many, many fans. She’s simply too big an act to have been sandwiched into a tiny, dingy, low-ceilinged root cellar with no proper stage. And Pearl Jam’s Mike McCreedy was to follow? This venue also garnered gripes from merch sellers, and my wife, on her way to meet me the next day, noticed a wet t-shirt competition in front of the club—during the fest. Upstream should lose this venue. It’s an insult to established, revered performers and their dedicated audiences alike. [Star Anna plays The Skylark tomorrow, May 20, and Slim’s Last Chance with opener Jamie Nova, June 17.]

Grace Love at Court In The Square, 6:45 pm.
www.missgracelove.com
Grace Love performing at Upstream Music Fest. Photo: Ann Brown
Grace Love performing at Upstream Music Fest.
Photo: Ann Brown

Not able to see Star Anna adequately opened the gate to catch the last part Grace Love’s set, set at the same time. (Also in this early time slot, Guayaba—another amazing female vocalist logistically too far away that day, who wowed a packed house at The Wildrose on Capitol Hill in February.) Grace is no stranger to major fests, including Bumbershoot and a nationally televised performance at Sasquatch. With her all female band, she commands any space with her powerful pipes. [Grace Love plays The Grolsch Blues Festival in Germany, June 3 & 4.]

Rani Weatherby of Champagne Honeybee, was also in attendance at Grace Love’s show, glowing from meeting Quincy Jones earlier in the day. She busked in front of Café Umbria on Saturday afternoon and, quite frankly, deserved an official showcase of her own. [Champagne Honeybee plays The Vera Project, July 28.]

Year of the Cobra performing at the Upstream Music Fest in Seattle. Photo: Ann Brown
Year of the Cobra performing at the Upstream Music Fest in Seattle.
Photo: Ann Brown

Year of The Cobra and He Whose Ox Is Gored at Elysian Fields, 7:30 pm and 9:00 pm.
www.yearofthecobra.bandcamp.com and www.hewhoseoxisgored.bandcamp.com
Two bands in, and the wife and I were hungry! Which venue would be likely to have food? Elysian, of course, with their delicious Avatar Jasmine IPA. Though not on our original schedule, the two female fronted bands we stayed for were also tasty. Diligent “doom duo” Year of The Cobra perform thunderous, tightly-wound jolting earthquakes of searing sound with lead vocalist Amy’s calm delivery floating above to save you. [Year of The Cobra plays Substation, June 9.]

He Whose Ox Is Gored performing at Upstream Music Fest. Photo: Ann Brown
He Whose Ox Is Gored performing at Upstream Music Fest.
Photo: Ann Brown

And how could we not stay for a band named He Whose Ox Is Gored? Their sound is chaotic, yet also deftly layered, orchestral “progressive metal sludge,” with weaving time signatures and ever expanding chords. Thoughtful and intriguing. [He Whose Ox Is Gored is currently on a national tour of the U.S.]

The Maldives at Upstream. Photo: Ann Brown
The Maldives at Upstream.
Photo: Ann Brown

The Maldives, J & M Café, 9:30 pm.
www.themaldivesmusic.com
These fifteen-year Seattle music veterans led by intense singer/songwriter Jason Dodson are always a must-see. They’ve evolved into their own hybrid of urgent folk rock and there always seems to be room to add more players. Their latest album, “Mad Lives,” dropped March 31.

Seated near us at The J & M for The Maldives show, a father and son asked me what printed schedule I was perusing. My own. I handed it to them and invited them to keep that copy for the weekend. They’d been struggling with Upstream’s mandatory app. Not only does it require you to sign in with Facebook (don’t have an account?—they ask you to create one), you have to sign in to activate the computer chip in your wristband that gets scanned each and every time you go in (and out, automatically) of a venue. The handful of folks I talked to about the app didn’t care for it. My concern was not to have a dead phone at the end of the night when it’s time to request Uber. I gave a copy to the production manager of three consecutively located venues who appreciated it. Next year, dear ‘stream fellas, let’s stream this down and get old school about it. The app is fine for details, music, and videos, but don’t send us diving en masse for the nearest outlet to resuscitate phones simply to find out which band is on next.

The elusive home printed Upstream schedule was a lifesaver!
The elusive home printed Upstream schedule was a lifesaver!

Budo & Kris Orlowski at Starbucks At The Ninety, 11:00 pm.
www.budomusic.com, www.krisorlowski.com and www.budoandkris.com
In addition to his solo work, Budo (aka Josh Karp) has written and produced for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. His collaboration with rich-voiced, charismatic indie-folk singer/songwriter Kris Orlowski debuted new songs at Upstream. The video to their single “Waterski To Texas” was also directed by Budo.

[Budo plays The Crocodile’s Back Bar, May 30.]

Budo & Kris Orlowski at Upstream Music Fest. Photo: Ann Brown
Budo & Kris Orlowski at Upstream Music Fest. Photo: Ann Brown

During their set, an oddly dancing woman was discreetly taken outside where she kissed the ground. Apparently security was aware of past bad deeds and smoothly pre-empted any problems. Well done.

Ejected Photo: Ann Brown
Ejected
Photo: Ann Brown

Hobosexual at Axis #1, 11:30 pm.
www.hobosexualband.com
Y’all, southern rock is alive and well in the PNW! What a hoot! This grinding, hair-whipping, crunchy-fried sweaty duo Tore. It. Up. One fan was so moved she literally jumped into the mix. Sincere fun.

[Hobosexual plays during Ballard Seafood Fest, July 7, 8, & 9 (just announced).]

The awesomely named and very popular band HOBOSEXUAL performing at Upstream Music Fest in Seattle, May 11, 2017. Photo: Ann Brown for SGS
The awesomely named and very popular band HOBOSEXUAL performing at Upstream Music Fest in Seattle, May 11, 2017. Photo: Ann Brown for SGS

FRIDAY, May 12, 2017
Neu Youth at Upstream Music Fest Photo: Ann Brown
Neu Youth at Upstream Music Fest
Photo: Ann Brown

Neu Yeuth at Axis #2, 6:00 pm.
www.freakoutrec.com/neu-yeuth
Another “not originally on my schedule” delight, this synth duo happened to be next door to Axis #1, where I hoped for a better Star Anna experience than the day before. In an effort to kill time, I was drawn in to their polished electronica and silky vocal harmonies. Worth watching.

The Soft Offs at Axis #1, 6:45 pm.
This loosely formed group (they wrote some of their songs that week) is another side-project of Star Anna’s. She’s prolific, including her much lauded Patsy Cline tribute appearances at The Triple Door. More thrashy glam punk than her solo stuff, Star casually announced The Soft Offs have been toying with this venture for 5 years, appearing sporadically. It’s worth further exploration, as is everything she does.

For those acquainted with SXSW rules, bands who get into that fest are not allowed to play other than their sole SXSW gig (except for unadvertised parties, etc., which often legendarily go until dawn). But Upstream openly scheduled official showcases for at least three performers twice. In the case of The Soft Offs, it’s a completely different act. Musicians often play in different bands. But for those who got TWO holy sanctioned shots at festival glory with their main act, I can’t help but wonder if those second slots could’ve gone to some of the very deserving locals who didn’t make their particular cut. Next year?

The Soft Ups at Upstream Music Fest Photo: Ann Brown
The Soft Ups at Upstream Music Fest
Photo: Ann Brown

Dust Moth at Galvanize Basement (Mowave Stage), 7:15 pm.
www.dustmoth.bandcamp.com
Dust Moth’s dark dirge is elevated by lead vocalist Irene’s sugary pleas and plaints. Non-traditional arrangements propel their sonic journey. The overall effect is progressive and dreamy. On their third recording, they’re ready to break out.

Tiffany Wilson at Upstream Music Fest Photo: Ann Brown
Tiffany Wilson at Upstream Music Fest
Photo: Ann Brown

Tiffany Wilson at Starbucks At The Ninety, 9:30 pm.
www.tiffanywilsonmusic.com
Tiffany was not on my schedule, but I accidentally ran into her wife in the shared ladies room between venues! I’m so glad I did. Tiffany Wilson is a star in the best sense of that word. She has a huge yet distinct, precise, emotive voice, a big bold band complete with a Dap Kings-styling horn section, and compelling original songs. But what truly makes her so relatable and endearing is her gift to uplift. Hers was the most engaged audience I saw all weekend. She’s real and people love her for it. - Seattle Gay Scene

Slowly but surely taking Seattle by storm over the past year, Tiffany Wilson is a contemporary R&B and soul visionary with a distinct approach to her genre-hopping influences. Funk music is an unmistakable force in Wilson’s songs, her soulful vocals usually swaying along with funky, contagious guitar grooves. Wilson and her band also owe a lot to the worlds of sultry, intimate R&B, and their tender, soulful side goes down like smooth whiskey. A Memphis transplant from a very young age, Wilson signed with Hendrix Records at age 19, eventually releasing her solo debut record Music Therapy in 2009.

Tiffany Wilson’s music has the rare ability to sound both stylishly retro and refreshingly forward-thinking in their song-craft without either side drowning the other out. Her latest album, 2016’s #SeeSharp, is the singer’s most refined and profound release to date, laced with feel-good foot-tapping funk anthems, slower, sadder songs driven by lyrical themes of self-reflection, introspection, as well as songs that deal directly in strong political themes. Listening through #SeeSharp, it’s no wonder Wilson was among the local acts chosen to play the inaugural 2017 Upstream Music Festival. In the live setting, her vocals have an emotional resonance that few other modern singers can capture.

Modern R&B lovers of the Northwest, Tiffany Wilson needs to be on your radar, an innovative solo artist helping push the genre forward. - Northwest Music Scene