peek II: belle rings a voice

by Bing Futch

Logan Belle is doing funny voices. He’s cranked up the Cockney and says “potty emergency, I’m gonna explode!” just like Wakko Warner from the “Animaniacs” cartoon series. One glance around the small studio where he currently resides will reveal this to be one of his favorite t.v. programs. Thin and lanky with long, thick dreadlocks and a mellow demeanor, Belle is reserved upon first meeting–but is relaxed and prone to affecting accents in the company of friends. We’re currently in the process of recording demos for a new band called DARKRIDE. He sits at the four-track and tweaks knobs, bringing up compressor pedals and digital reverbs for use in the mix. His guitar tracks will be added later, once he learns the two songs; “No Fear Have I” and “April Fools”. STEVE CURTIS is the lead guitarist for this theatrical rock project and the search for a bassist and drummer continue. I originally wanted to work with Logan after we played a show as SERENDIPITY up in Gainesville with Tampa/St. Pete songstress/diva SHANA. His CD release “Songs From The Everville” introduced me to his clear, airy vocals and I was surprised at how our voices blended together during jams on PETER GABRIEL’S “In Your Eyes” and the old PINK FLOYD staple “Comfortably Numb”. After noodling and talking about concepts of rock operas and originally naming the group AQUAVIT, plans were made to gather other players. Today, we’d be recording a demo for players to have before auditions. Working on a new EP release, Belle has been playing with something that he dubs “folktronica” and has created densely layered funk symphonies of distorted guitar, heavy dance grooves, slippedy- slidey bass and sharp, sizzling multi-harmonic vocal lines that shine and wail. Even electric banjo slips into the mix.

Understandably, I wanted to hook up with this cat.

Originally from New Jersey, Logan Belle picked up the guitar at age 14 and with the help of a friend, began writing his first original tunes two years later. He left home for Florida in 1985 and worked his way through school, majoring in English and creative writing. Teaching jobs and a host of other vocations led to frustration for the budding songwriter, who turned to his music for solace.

“The guitar was always an outlet for me to get out frustrations,” he says, twisting around in his chair. That outlet soon became an all encompassing embrace and before he knew it, music was a full-time concern. Says Belle, “It was a twist of fate, I don’t remember ever consciously making that choice that you know, music is going to be the forefront, I just remember it taking over at some point, I didn’t have a choice–it was a need, like breathing.” That need forced Belle into the full-time arena of music, which meant being poor a great deal of the time. His first live performance was at The Big Bang downtown, a small Orange Avenue club now known as Skinny’s. A 1997 open mic stand introduced the Orlando scene to the straggly Jersey native with the rich tenor and easy laugh. His music is folk-inspired, leaning towards a Neil Young-esque affinity for rock-tinged grooves. At times, he jazz rocks it with a passion and rhythmic attack that is sharp and sweet. His songs often deal with issues of the mind and soul, arguments with your inner demons and dedication to that which is most true. Two songs, “Love For The Tune” and “My Wooden Fences”, address the relationship between the music and the musician as he becomes a vessel, a mirror for the muse. “This is what I’m all about, this is what I want to do, it doesn’t have to make sense, we’re nuts to be musicians!” he laughs.

When the muse chooses to work through you, there’s nothing that can really be done, if you’re in tuned. It’s an evil trick and it often results in you waking up at all hours of the night as if to console a baby. Logan laughs again and recalls when the fever first hit. “I was working at an ad firm as a studio engineer, great job, neat people, easy thing to do, good money, the ‘perfect job’, but I wasn’t happy, because I felt that every moment that I wasn’t doing something with music was a moment wasted.” A real slave to the rhythm, this one. Someone who writes every day, never ceases experimenting, always racking up hours on the computer working on sound loops and tracking it back to the Fostex. Four-track engineers of the world unite, for it is they who hold the key of economy and get real good at it. Ping pong clean and you’re the perfect machine . Logan pushes all the right buttons and gets a good mix out of my sludge. The piano is out of tune, a fault of mine–but he waves it off. “It’s a demo, they get the idea.” And they do, it’s just an approximation of what the song should sound like. The real magic happens when all members grab ahold of said song and turn it into a melodious taffy pall party. The wild calling had guilt descending upon Belle as he wished to end his duplicitous days as a “real job” holder. “You were cheating on your wife,” I tell him. “You’re supposed to be married to the music.” He laughs as the chair swirls some more. “I was having an affair with the American Dream.”

The real dream was to play in a band, and with a handful of his own songs under his arm, he began to jam out with college friends and ended up in a cover band called AMPLE PARKING that was based out of UCF. In 1988, PURE OF SOUND (“Which we affectionately referred to as ‘Piece Of Shit’” says Belle) formed and played a few gigs and then disbanded. Angel Of The Odd formed out of the ashes as a trio for about two years before assembling a band behind their debut album. Known for their eclectic jams, AOTO gained much acclaim and have since gone the way of the Big Band in the Sky. Guitar player Joe Rodriguez remains a close friend and colloborator with Belle and is currently playing axe with a reformed and relocated FLOCK OF SEAGULLS. Logan reflects on his friendship with Rodriguez: “He has the same type of drive and determination that I aspire to, his CD, ‘The Grand Design’, is incredible–it sounds like a really cool soundtrack. That was his baby, he’s an incredible guitar player who is able to utilize the tools of his trade and other technology to come out with something like that.” Belle and Rodriquez (As Antares) contributed the spooky textures of “The Fear” to JOE SKINNER’S “Trackspotting IV” compilation. Along with the releases and frequent gigs at venues like Starbucks, Coffee World, Borders and Java Jabbers, Belle also does voice-overs for WMFE Channel 24 and announces an overnight weekend music program on WMMO. The freelancing life is a hard one, but he sees a day when all of that juggling will stop. One can only hope, but for the meantime, the scene in O-Town seems to be encouraging. “My only gripe with the Orlando scene is that I think a lot of attention is being diverted from where the true art is, where the true scene is,” he says. “I think a lot of people tend to jump on the next big thing that comes around and flock to it, and they need to be told what it is, hence radio airplay. If SEVEN MARY THREE had never gotten on the radio, would they have been the big thing then?”

Will Darkride be the next big thing? None involved thus far are really counting on it. There’s the wide open road and it’s filled with places that love touring bands. If you can get paid to do what you love, then why go overboard? This mentality, if shared all around, would result in the most kind and gentle music scene there ever was. But that won’t happen, because the capitalistic elements ring too loudly and someone has to scramble forth at the sound of that dinner bell. “There are lots of players out there who are touring, making a living doing what they’re doing and are happy at it–and aren’t looking for that superstardom. They’re able to perpetuate what they do because the people who do know them, appreciate them and will come out and support them,” says Belle. The demo is finished, he needs to run, I need to run. We’ll meet in the middle again and work in a creative symbiosis, but we’ll also joke around and do funny voices because “Animaniacs” just happens to be one of my favorite shows as well. Another deciding factor, since your bandmates are like family, it only helps if you’ve got a lot in common. Being two fairly anglo dreads with a love for rock music and cartoon shows puts us somewhere in the same pea pod.

“You’ve got pee-pee on your smock,” I say, doing my best Yakko Warner. Logan picks up the cue. “Gooooodnight everybody!”

Another day, a very musical day. After running into members of THE ALLEYS in a parking lot, Logan dropped me at home and SUE BOWLUS picked me up shortly thereafter on the way to my first show with SOSUMI at Fairbanks Inn. Musical days are good, productive days are swell. Makes the party afterwards all that sweeter.