Caught in the Carousel

Il Gato

By Christine Fort

Il Gato

All These Slippery Things is an apt title for a collection of songs that's at once accessible and elusive. The sweet, engaging sounds of Il Gato's sophomore album belie its complexity: if you combined the viscous, circumlocutive singing style of Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock with the plaintive horn sections from Neutral Milk Hotel's In An Aeroplane Over The Sea, you'd still be scraping the tip of the iceberg. Not only do the songs layer Damien Holiday Scott's harmonica and Matthew Souther's brass over Andrew Thomas' upright bass and Johnny Major's drumming, they also interweave vocal work by all four band members.

Il Gato

Not surprisingly, Il Gato's lyrics are also smart and well-crafted. They meander with intention, then bring the listener back to the album's title and theme. There's so much engagement between the different elements of the songs that, for the listener, any given
moment on any track feels like overhearing a handful of conversations at once. Il Gato's lyrics are also a study in the possibilities of paradox in that they fuse opposites like levity and earnestness, optimism and loss. In “On Feathers & Arrows (On Burnt Pine),” an
elegy for someone who's (perhaps barely) still living, the narrator's grief turns into inspiration: “Remembering your life / As I change mine.” “Burning Red (The Fa Fa Fa Song)” comingles “human spirits and ghosts,” while “Chocolate Lemonade” combines character criticism with culinary-themed quirkiness. The result is an album that becomes
richer with each successive spin, drawing the listener back.

Il Gato’s Damian Holiday Scott sat down with CITC and agreed to be subjected to our Scouting Report questionnaire:

FULL NAME: Il Gato

RECORD LABEL: Tiny Telephone

HOMETOWN: San Francisco, CA (& Gainesville, FL)

WEBSITE: www.ilgato.com

DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND IN ONE SENTENCE: Folk with a reggae down beat, harmonious rap, lavish modern-classical instrumentation, and emotionally charged vocals with a floating delivery.

PROUDEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT: Hearing people say how much they love our album that we labored over for such a long time.

STRANGEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT: Interviews? Playing in a bar where no one’s listening?

THE SONG YOU WISH YOU'D WRITTEN: “This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)” by the Talking Heads

FIVE MUSICIANS YOU ADMIRE: David Byrne, Ry Cooder (Buena Vista Social Club, Talking Timbuktu w/ Ali Farka Toure, etc.), Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz, The Good, The Bad & The Queen, etc.), Manu Chao, Jens Lekman

ALBUM YOU CAN’T STOP LISTENING TO: Most recently, Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago

DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS A KID: Shy and playful hippie child; head full of glowing, blonde hair…

THREE THINGS THAT KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT:
How do you earn money doing what you love?
What does giving “enough” actually look like?
How do you fully know when you are on the right path and not the right-ish path?

LAST TWO BOOKS YOU’VE READ:
Blink by Malcom Gladwell
Wampeters, Foma & Granfaloons by Kurt Vonnegutt

THINGS WE’D FIND IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR: Actually in all parts of the car you would find my bike (don’t own a car)

FAVORITE MUPPET WITH A BRIEF EXPLANATION: Good question…. Really hard question… At this moment I will choose Fozzy Bear because despite the insults and the jokes falling flat he is still always in such great spirits. Gotta admire his chutzpah.

HARDEST PART ABOUT BEING A MUSICIAN: Being a musician. Also, the debt.

FAVORITE LATE NIGHT TV SHOW: Does Charlie Rose count? If not, then “Between Two Ferns” with Zack Galifinakis

IDEAL BREAKFAST: Cuban breakfast featuring plantains, fresh-squeezed orange juice, buttery Cuban bread, cereal-grained batido, café con leche, papas fritas and a guava pastry

DRINK OF CHOICE: I heard of this drink on a ship from Copenhagen, Denmark to Oslo, Norway: The Great Gatsby (Ginger ale, lime and Spiced Rum). But really it depends on the day.

BEST ALBUM TO PLAY AFTER A BREAK-UP AND YOU’RE HOLDING A BOTTLE OF VODKA AND SOMETHING SHARP: Arcade Fire Funeral. Violent Femmes. The “I Broke Up And Now I’m Sad” mix. Something to yell and dance and celebrate with; happy punk music!

INDULGENCE YOU REFUSE TO GIVE UP: The food shot. My favorite: Crisp, green olive with Jalapeno, followed by a sharp Sheep/Goat’s milk cheese, chased with Sesame Sticks. The trick is to have all 3 tastes at one time in your mouth, but to have the spiciness of the jalapeno and the sharpness of the cheese be dissipated by the sesame sticks neutral taste.

WORDS TO LIVE BY: “If one person, for whatever reason, has the ability to lead an extraordinary life then they have no right to keep it to themselves.” by Jean-Jacques Cousteau

First encountered in “Rushmore” by Wes Anderson. I truly wish everyone believed this as we all have the possibility to lead extraordinary lives.

Il Gato