A review of Telescopic by Tara Croft that appeared in the October 1998 issue of Chicago Magazine…
With a voice that adds a ghostly element to her music’s sleepy swagger, Frost looks at relationships from near and far. She paints each perspective with irony, woe, and lyrics that may or may not make sense. It just depends on how you look at it.
A review by Jordan N. Mamone that appeared in the October 1998 issue of CMJ New Music Report…
On Telescopic, Edith Frost sounds like somebody may have slipped her a few tabs of acid — "Walk On The Fire" launches the singer/songwriter’s sophomore full-length with more mind-clouding fuzz than you’ll find on an old angora sweater. The vintage guitar distortion effects, heartbreaking harmonies and ride cymbal pulse of "The Very Earth" also depart from Frost’s usual spartan musings. Rather than clutter her lackadaisically smooth voice, the support provided by some prominent backing musicians nurtures her craft, downplaying Frost’s vulnerability and eccentricity, and helping her overcome any potential girl-with-guitar novelty status. In addition to absorbing more acidic textures, Telescopic paves over large sections of the country road that cut through Frost’s debut album with chummy, easy listening ’70s pop. But nothing on Telescopic embraces slickness or saccharine sentiments. While at times Frost plays it too cool, her detachment is a stylish adornment to her expertise in downhome, avant-garde songwriting.
I finally got my ass to the post office today before they closed and mailed that pile of packages. Took me a little longer to get everything together than I thought it would! I’ve been working so hard on other things, especially this new tune I’m trying to work out. Well, two tunes actually, but I don’t think I really like one of them so it’ll probably be abandoned.
I’m still wincing from the idea of sitting there last night at the Rainbo for over an hour with nobody to talk to. That’s probably why I decided not to go out at all tonight, even though I was missing something really good — this month’s edition of Here Be Monsters at Schuba’s. Oh well.
Boring Monday. I stayed home all day working on stuff and doing e-mail. (I actually went to the grocery store yesterday so I don’t ever have to leave the house!) Did a little phone interview for Sonicnet, about the Pine Valley Cosmonauts’ Bob Wills tribute album. (I only sang on one track so they must be talking to lots of other people too.) Stopped at the Rainbo tonight for a beer, there wasn’t a soul to talk to.
I did the planetarium pictures with Braden King yesterday, that was a kick. The place was pretty empty, so we could do whatever we wanted. We got some wigged-out shots, plus it was cool looking at all those telescopes and chronometers and shit. We didn’t watch the movie though, no time for that.
I did a long phone interview today with a gal in New York named Steffi, for a feature in Raygun magazine that’s coming out I think in December. Braden King’s going to take photos for it tomorrow, we’re going to the planetarium!! How exciting. Going to the planetarium I mean… I dunno how good the interview went. I ran out of coffee, didn’t have a single drop today, which gave me a headache, which might have made me a little weird on the phone. I made some joke about how I shouldn’t smoke pot and do phone interviews at the same time… of course Steffi says "you KNOW that’s going in there!" Gawd, like there’s not enough things to pick on about me… she also said something about how boy-crazy I’ve been lately. I had to explain how this is probably just a phase… ‘cuz I’ve been living and/or going with some guy or another almost my whole life! I’m just not used to it, I need a relationship to nurture and feed off of. Should I just plant myself a vegetable garden instead?
Played an outdoor music festival in Halas Field at Loyola University
With: Assembly Line People Program; The Nerves; Starball; Handsome Family; Sarge; Pegboy
My band: Steve Dorocke (pedal steel, dobro); Rick Rizzo (bass); Gerald Dowd (drums)
A review by Tom Wright that appeared in the Staten Island Sunday Advance (Staten Island, NY)…
Continuing the quality established on her wonderful full-length debut album, Calling Over Time, Edith Frost has delivered another impressive body of work.
Complemented by a virtually new line-up of sympathetically adept accompanists — the remaining constant being drummer Rian Murphy — Frost proves that her laurels aren’t dependent on any one group of musicians.
Hey, I finished that song today! I like it, I think it came out good, though I can’t be sure until Rian Murphy hears it and tells me he digs it. (Me and my fragile ego.) Took me all day to sew it together and get it demo’ed, I didn’t even leave the house ’til 9:30!! I think it’s called "You’re Decided"… I was gonna call it "Emotion Detector" but I think that’s too corny. I looked up that title in the BMI database and can’t find anything… of course they had lots of listings for the ol’ chestnut "You’re UNdecided". So that’ll be my little nod to that song. I can’t remember how that goes but I’m sure it’s nothing like what I just did.
I’m in the middle of working on another tune so this’ll have to be kinda short, I don’t wanna lose my train of thought and stuff. It’s coming out pretty cool, it’s almost finished. Okay halfway finished… if I work on it tonight and tomorrow I can get it demoed by the weekend. I don’t know what it’s called yet, but it’s a slow sad bluesy thing, like a Pony Song in tears. Yeah yeah, same old shit, but what can I say? I really am sad and lonely, it ain’t no songwriting gimmick. I mean, I dig living alone and having time to myself, but I also want love and affection in my life, doesn’t everybody? God, it just mystifies me that people can go years and years without a s.o., I think I’d go insane if I stayed by myself for too long. So… yeah. ::tap tap tap:: I know, I shouldn’t be so frickin’ impatient.
I have some super good news: I’m finally divorced!!! My sister Lucie (the lawyer) told me on Friday. Yeah… it took 2-1/2 years but it’s finally official, the judgment has been signed and I’m a legally free woman again. As soon as I get my copy of the decree, I’m gonna go get a new driver’s license with my REAL name on it… Edith Frost, that is. My current one has that old "married name" which I really don’t ever want to hear again. I’m so grateful to Lucie (and Judy, the lawyer in New York that did the dirty work) for helping me get all that shit behind me.
I went thrift-store shopping with Jeff Fisher yesterday, that was fun. We went around to three or four places… Jeff just opened a store of his own that sells some thrifty-type clothes, among other things, so he was shopping for stuff to sell. He found some really awesome fur-covered boots, like something Ted Nugent would wear, and a giant mod-style painting which he ended up having to take apart in order to fit inside the teensy rent-a-car he was driving. (His store is called the Cellar and it’s on Milwaukee underneath Modern Times, so go there and tell ‘em I sent you!!) I got a couple of shirts and a dress for myself, only spent eight bucks. We had lunch at this Middle Eastern restaurant on N. Kedzie called Salam, it was really yummy. Now I know I don’t have to drive all the way to Greektown to get that stuff.
The Pine Valley Cosmonauts: SALUTE THE MAJESTY OF BOB WILLS: KING OF WESTERN SWING, PIONEER, TRADITIONALIST, AVANT-GARDIST, MAGICIAN
©1998, Bloodshot #BS029
More info * Purchase at Amazon
Each song features a different singer. I did all the vocals on the song "My Window Faces The South". Other singers include Alejandro Escovedo, Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, Robbie Fulks, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and the Meat Purveyors.
I never did hear back from that lady that saw me at Schuba’s. Maybe I scared her off, which would be unfortunate… but I dunno, it still seems a little weird for somebody to be complaining about what I write in my diary. I am not a music reviewer! And the whole point of a diary is that I get to write about whatever I want… sure, I like to drop names but I shouldn’t feel like it’s my duty or nothin’. Yeah yeah, I know I’m being overly defensive; this whole diary thing is a big issue with me. I’m always questioning why I’m doing this and why I’d tell people the things that I do… always wondering whether I’m going too far over the line with what I say, or not saying enough. It’s dicey no matter how I look at it and I’ll probably never feel 100% right about it. But that’s true of everything I do, to some extent.
© 1994-2010 Edith Frost / all rights reserved. Powered by WordPress. Subscribe to entries 
and/or comments
