Duncan Sheik Feb 23 09

Pop Music Review: Duncan Sheik shines with his poprock and theatrical music 02:57 PM CST on Friday, February 13, 2009 By MARIO TARRADELL Music Critic [email protected]

FORT WORTH – Certainly Duncan Sheik's show Thursday night at McDavid Studio wasn't your usual pop-rock concert. Among the eight musicians who surrounded him on the cozy stage were a cellist, a clarinetist and even a guy playing a French horn. But Sheik's career has never followed a paved path. He parlayed early pop success into a Tony Award-winning stint as the music writer for Broadway's Spring Awakening. And now, with his new CD, Whisper House, he's penned a set of songs destined for a future musical-theater production. The soft-spoken artist's first of two nights at McDavid Studio was filled with tunes from Awakening and House. His band featured guest vocalist Lauren Pritchard, who served as the evening's opening act and was in the original Spring Awakening cast. With Pritchard on hand, Sheik delivered four songs from Awakening, including the haunting "Don't Do Sadness/Blue Wind." He did six cuts from Whisper House: The best ones were the rocking "Take a Bow," the psychedelic ballad "I Don't Believe in You" and the whimsically malevolent "The Tale of Solomon Snell." We also got a few pop selections. "For You," with beautiful cello touches, was gorgeous. "Such Reveries," accented by French horn, was stunning. And an encore version of "On a High" got a cool reworking thanks to French horn, cello, bass clarinet and vocals from Pritchard. Sheik is among the rare pop singer-songwriters whose talents are largely undiscovered by the mainstream but who have found respect in another arena while keeping one foot in the culture of popular music. His songs keep getting better, whether they are played on the radio or sung by a stage actor. Either way, he deserves to be heard. Plan your life Friday at 8 p.m. at McDavid Studio, 301 E. Fifth St., Fort Worth. $49.50. www.basshall.com. 817-212-4280. Saturday at 8 p.m. at McKinney Performing Arts Center, 111 N. Tennessee St., McKinney. $21-$31. 214-544-4630. www.mckinneyperformingartscenter.org.

Another awakening for Duncan Sheik By Jon Matsumoto It's easy to separate Duncan Sheik's career into two distinct spheres. There's the singer-songwriter who has often made challenging solo albums since striking commercial gold with his 1996 self-titled debut album. And then there's the theater and film composer who garnered great acclaim for creating the music for the Tony awardwinning "Spring Awakening" in 2006. But, now, a third category may be required. With the recently released "Whisper House" CD, Sheik has managed to merge these two seemingly separate aspects of his musical career. The project was launched as a theater piece with actor Keith Powell from the TV series "30 Rock" and playwright Kyle Jarrow. Powell planted the conceptual seeds for "Whisper House," Jarrow wrote the script, and Sheik composed the music and lyrics. But after hearing the demos of the songs Sheik had written for the project, his manager convinced him that he had also written the material for his next solo album. "For some reason I recorded the songs very carefully, and I got some really good musicians to do the recordings," says Sheik, 39. "When they were mostly done, I gave them to my manager and he said, 'You know, this is your next record.' "So we sent the songs over to my label, Sony Music, and they were really excited about the material and the concept of the whole thing. "So here we are with a new Duncan Sheik album. It was a happy accident that it turned out this way." Sheik's current concert tour (which comes to the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz on Friday and the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on Saturday) will feature songs from "Whisper House" as well as material from his past solo albums and music from "Spring Awakening." There are nine musicians and singers involved to better capture the wide range of musical styles being presented on stage. The theatrical material will no doubt be aided by the presence of musicians playing cello, French horn and clarinet.

DUNCAN SHEIK: WHISPER HOUSE [RCA VICTOR]

Jeremy Medina on February 17, 2009 8:59 AM RATING: “COMMENDABLE” – 79/100 Theatrical, lushly orchestrated album a worthwhile experiment Six albums in, Duncan Sheik deserves credit for shrewdly repositioning a career that could have been relegated to one-hit wonder status. That hit—the ubiquitous '90s mainstay "Barely Breathing"—bears little resemblance to anything on Whisper House, an album that sees Sheik continue down the musical theatre path after penning the book to the incredibly successful, Tony-Award winning musical Spring Awakening. In fact, songs from Whisper House will anchor an upcoming musical of same name. The focused purpose actually benefits the album as a whole—Whisper House is a cohesive statement, both lyrically and musically. Heavy on atmosphere, the album evokes stark imagery from its collection of macabre, melancholic stories of a haunted lighthouse by the sea. "Secret places, stolen gazes, soft exchanges / All you ever dreamed," Sheik sings on "How It Feels," a lyric that fittingly describes the childlike curiosity that permeates each song. Two of the album's standout tracks, "Take a Bow" and lead single "Earthbound Starlight," typify the album's strengths: moody, melodic vocals seamlessly set against gorgeous instrumental arrangements— featuring piano, bells, horns, clarinets, trumpets, cellos, guitars and more. Sheik essentially creates a kind of literary chamber pop. And those vocals are also quietly impressive, especially on "I Don't Believe In You", but he wisely employs singer/pianist Holly Brook to provide back-up vocals (though she takes the lead on the stunning "And Now We Sing"). The two create a harmonious unity not like Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan—their voices compliment, and indeed enhance, each other's. Even better, the ethereal timbre to Brook's voice fits nicely into the world Sheik's created on Whisper House—a world that never escapes the feeling of being a soundtrack to a film or play you

haven't seen, but a world that's worth visiting nonetheless. Listen to Duncan Sheik's "Earthbound Starlight" from Whisper House on MySpace.

SANTA CRUZ SENTINEL Singer/songwriter Duncan Sheik gets theatrical By Jason MacNeil - Sentinel correspondent Posted: 02/20/2009 01:30:00 AM PST If Duncan Sheik sounds perplexed at questions surrounding his new album "Whisper House," you can certainly forgive him. In his creative world, there are so many different projects called "Whisper House" it's more like a "Whisper Neighborhood." Sheik, performing tonight at the Rio Theatre, originally created songs for a "haunted lighthouse" theater piece entitled "Whisper House." However, when friends and label executives heard the songs he wrote for the stage play, they persuaded him to release it as a solo album. "Initially I was recording them as demos for the theater piece," Sheik says from Fort Worth, Texas. "I wouldn't say it was a happy accident but it was in a way, it was really good that this record happened. I hadn't really written any songs or lyrics for songs since 2005. So it was kind of like killing two birds with one stone." The musician, who earned a Tony Award and Grammy for the smash Broadway hit "Spring Awakening," says working with a storyline helped sculpt the songwriting. "It's never easy but it's great having the narrative arc there and also having the ability to write songs from the perspective of a persona that's not yourself," he says. "It certainly makes it more fun and slightly more interesting to me personally."

The basic premise of "Whisper House" revolves around Christopher, 11, who loses his father in World War II and then his mother who suffers a nervous breakdown from the tragedy. William is then sent to live with his aunt Lily in a lighthouse with a handful of eccentric ghosts also inhabiting it. "The ghosts are the manifestation of Christopher's internal fears," Sheik says. "So the ghosts are providing a commentary of what's going on but also letting you inside Christopher's head." As for "Whisper House" the album, Sheik says the thoughtful number "Earthbound Starlight" came from Kyle Jarrow who wrote a book entitled "Whisper House" based on the stage production offering suggestions. "That was another example of Kyle saying, Maybe you should write a song like a series of Zen koans,'" he says. "That was a really interesting jumping-off point. I don't know if they are koans but it's a series of statements that are almost contradictory or paradoxical but hopefully bring the listener into this more contemplative state. "It's also a song about the idea that death is a part of life, parting from people you love is a part of life. There's a sense of sadness but also acceptance that hopefully is there in that song." While the theater production of "Whisper House" was nixed this year, Sheik says there are early discussions with San Diego's Old Globe Theatre to stage the production in January of 2010. For now though, Sheik has enjoyed touring in support of the album, even if it's taking some fans a little longer to grasp it. "It took them a minute," he says. "It's an album but also the floor for a theater piece. It's a bigger jump for some people than I thought it would be. They don't understand why I'm singing things like It's Better To Be Dead.' But hopefully and eventually they'll know the story and that all of these things are being sung with a little bit of a wink." And with more work on musicals in store for 2009, Sheik says writing for the concert stage and the theater stage isn't all that different.

ARTIST DIRECT Duncan Sheik: Whisper House Sun, 22 Feb 2009 13:38:56

Album Reviews: Whisper House by Duncan Sheik Duncan Sheik, the folk/pop artist always identified with 1996's smash hit "Barely Breathing," has more to offer than pop radio hits. Whisper House is proof of it. The album serves as musical/lyrical accompaniment for a play of the same name. Written by Sheik, Kyle Jarrow and story creator Keith Powell (Toofer on NBC's 30 Rock), the story involves a young boy who believes that the ghosts of dead musicians haunt the lighthouse in which he lives. And damn, the album serves as one hell of a score for such a story! You'll feel cold winds and sea breeze, as well as experiencing visions of apparitions partially hidden in fog. "The Tale of Solomon Snell" alone–with its creepy, yet infectious, chorus of "Ring the bell, ring the bell…"– will haunt your dreams. Whisper House is an album that is dark, yet graceful, chilling, yet beautiful and features stellar songwriting that moves between relatively upbeat ("We're Here to tell You") and majestically sorrowful ("Better Off Dead"), and all of it is memorable. The female vocal accompaniment of Holly Brook is brilliant; her sweetly melancholic voice is the album's "X" factor. Whisper House will make you want to see the play. It's that good. —Scott Alisoglu 02.22.09

Driven to succeed Bandon Western World By Geneva Miller For Bandon Western World

Artist and musician Candace Kreitlow has charmed local audiences since her arrival in Bandon in 2006, playing harp in the Bandon Playhouse production of “The Fantasticks,” contributing to shows like Marlo Dance Studio’s “Night Before Christmas,” even busking on the streets of Old Town. As a child, Kreitlow’s dream was to sing back-up vocals for Simon and Garfunkel. Her mother, however, suggested she pursue a more practical career. So when Kreitlow’s younger daughter Holly Brook decided to move from her childhood home in Madison, Wis., to pursue her musical ambitions in Los Angeles, Kreitlow gave her blessing. Brook was 17 years old. “I always supported the move,” said Kreitlow, who spent a year commuting back and forth from Wisconsin to California to help her daughter make the transition. Four years, a collaborative top 40 hit and a solo album later, Brook, who will turn 23 on Feb. 23, looks forward to visiting her mother in Bandon as part of the Duncan Sheik “Whisper House” tour Feb. 25 at the Sprague Theater. The show is almost sold out. From the tour bus en route between Louisville and Austin, Brook reminisced about her childhood experiences performing with Kreitlow in their duo, Generations. “I’ve always known what I wanted to do,” said Brook. “Even as a kid, I was constantly driven.” Brook says she and her mother maintained a busy musical schedule, performing and recording independent folk albums. She studied piano and was lucky to find an instructor who nurtured her writing skills. Brook and Kreitlow are both Joni Mitchell fans, so Brook also learned guitar and dulcimer. While Kreitlow and Brook enjoy everything from pop to Broadway, folk music provided an accessible entry into performing. Kreitlow admits that her initial impulse to direct her daughter soon gave way to a balanced creative partnership. “As Holly got older, she got more sophisticated,” said Kreitlow, “and she stretched me. I realized her (musical) intuition was just as good as mine, if not better.” Brook began composing her own songs at age 12, and spent her adolescence collaborating with and learning from Madison area musicians. Her move to Los Angeles brought many surprises, which she says were both good and bad. Her contract with Warner Brothers facilitated a debut solo album, “Like Blood Like Honey.” She contributed vocals to the 2006 Billboard hit by Fort Minor, “Where’d You Go.” But she also discovered that the business and art of music aren’t always compatible. She severed her contract with Warner Bros. in 2008. According to Brook, the biggest surprise — and best outcome of her work at Warner Bros. — came when she was scheduled as an opening performer for Duncan Sheik. “I listened to his songs growing up. Opening up for him was a dream come true,” Brook said. In the decade since his Grammy-nominated solo “Barely Breathing,” Sheik has successfully written for stage and screen, earning Grammy and Tony awards. Brook contributed vocals to Sheik’s “Whisper House” album and says Sheik is producing her second solo record, “O’Dark Thirty.”