The Magic of Tartufi

The Magic of Tartufi

I wasn’t expecting it. But then again who is. Almost every time I feel a touch of magic, I don’t see it coming on. But then it hits you right? And you are gone. I have no idea what just happened, but I know I liked it. You may think I’m talking about a magician but Tartufi, though it may sound imaginary, is very real. Tartufi consists of two people, Brian Gorman and Lynne Angel.

Tartufi is a two piece rock band from San Francisco, California. I didn’t expect to meet the next best thing in music. I expected to go see a friend’s band play and be on my way. When they were setting up I was thinking to myself, this better be good, as they laid out this massive array of wires, pedals, instruments, and cables. Anyone who takes the time to load in that much equipment had better know how to use it.

Only moments later I was biting my tongue. They knew how to use it alright. And moment by moment, piece by piece, they were patching together the largest most fluid sound I had ever heard. I stood in awe for the entirety of their set. They would start playing one instrument, loop it, then pick up another, loop it, and so on and so forth. The whole time I was almost waiting for them to miss a beat, but they never did.

As they were playing I was thinking to myself, “This is way more rebellious than a punk rock band.” These guys are doing their own thing, carving their own path. But when I told them that, Lynne quickly dismissed it saying, “We’re not fighting anything. We really just try to push ourselves creatively. Our sound came naturally through problem solving”.

Although there were times when their sound seemed chaotic, overall there was definitely a sense of peacefulness throughout their set. Lynne would start in on a verse and before you knew it she had looped her own voice and you couldn’t tell if she was singing back ups for herself or if she had already sung backups and was now singing the actual verse. All the while Brian was building upon himself as well.

“We didn’t set out to be a loop band, we used to be just a straight indie pop band,” says Lynne adding that “it was just the natural progression of what we set out to do. It just made sense.” Brian added that “we were just trying to see how we could come up with the biggest sound possible. We used to have another member in the band and when she left we knew this is what we had to do.”

Lynne and Brian have been playing together for almost six years. They have been touring for two and a half and have hit every corner of the US. In February they plan to embark on their first European tour. When they are not touring or working on new material they try to help support other people in their music community. “We started Thread Productions as a way to help build a music community.” Over the last five years they have put out three compilations and also help their peers with booking tours of their own. On top of all that they also run a “School of Rock” called Saturday Morning Rock Out, where they teach kids how to play rock music.

Their album, titled “Us Upon Buildings Upon Us” stands side by side with their live performance. The whole album is seamless, meaning there are no starts and stops between songs, which is how their live set usually goes. The title is perfect not only for the album but for the band. In February they plan to release a new album on a label but were not free to mention names yet. “We like to call it our awkward secret plan.”

Tartufi played at the Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines, IA Monday, October 27 with Funks G and Steve Robinson and The Foundation. They play a free show tonight at EVOCAL

814 W 19th St., Costa Mesa, California 92627 For more information on Tartufi please visit www.myspace.com/tartufi or www.tartufirock.net and be sure to catch them next time they come through town. A band like this won’t be playing small clubs forever.