Dead Winter Carpenters at S.F.'s Independent
Updated 5:54 pm, Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Judging from its penchant for California country, North Lake Tahoe band Dead Winter Carpenters sounds like it has its finger on the quickening pulse of a "high-mountain-town vibe," as rhythm guitarist-vocalist Jesse Dunn puts it. Yet the combo is a fully capable of making music from beyond its mountains - that's why it regularly mixes up its live set with rarely rootsified covers like Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day" or the Scissor Sisters' "Take Your Mama."
"That's a weirder one because I have to sing falsetto the whole time," Dunn, 32, says of the latter. "But we never play the same list twice. We play as hard as we can and hopefully that translates to the crowd."
Covers aside, the focus for the fivesome's show at the Independent is a new EP, "Dirt Nap." Consider it a reaffirmation of Dunn, lead guitarist-vocalist Bryan Daines, fiddler-vocalist Jenni Charles, bassist-vocalist Dave Lockhart and drummer-vocalist Brian Huston's commitment to energetic C&W rave-ups with a darkly rock 'n' roll bent.
One suspects as much, learning about the band name's origins, which revolve around yarns of disappeared workers on a railroad trestle above Donner Lake, and the EP title itself - a Wild Westernism for that final, big sleep.
"We draw a lot of songwriting influences from Western tales," Dunn says. "A lot of our stuff is written in minor key and is more about the darker side of the human condition. We just like that darker edge, and the imagery goes along with it."
Brisk, bright finger-picking and fiddle lines enliven songs such as opener "Long Arm of the Law," yet the shadows keep falling, as the interlocked harmonies kick in on "Easy Sleep": "Sleeping comes real easy when your soul is made of dirt and when there is someone you hurt and you don't mind."
"West Shore Town" closes "Dirt Nap" tempestuously, unfolding with thunderstorm sound effects and moving into a rock-tinged guitar solo.
"It's kind of a love tale," Dunn says, "but all the details aren't given, so people have come up and said, 'I love that song about a stalker.' I've said, 'That's interesting, but that song isn't about a stalker.' "
Pinpointing the precise place, between tall tales and real life, that a song lies isn't easy, considering the outfit boasts five songwriters and vocalists, all of whom managed to play well together as they incorporated banjo, pedal steel and sitar into "Dirt Nap."
"The nice thing about our band is we draw inspiration from each other," Dunn says. "Someone comes to the band with an idea, and it'll be that much better because there are five brains behind it."
If you go
Dead Winter Carpenters: 9 p.m. Friday. $15. The Independent, 628 Divisadero St., S.F. (415) 771-1421. www.theindependentsf.com.