You would think—given 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue’s current inhabitants—that there would be more bands out there raising hell about the Trump administration’s divisive policies. But this isn’t the 1960s, and sadly, most folks would rather not mix their music with their politics. Obviously, this hasn’t stopped bands like Rise Against or Public Enemy from espousing their beliefs, but a larger movement of furious, vitriolic rockers—one many anticipated Trump’s presidency would inspire—has yet to manifest itself.

Perhaps Rhode Island’s Downtown Boys can lead the charge. They’ve already been touring the country for months, bringing their unique brand of politically-charged, socially-conscious punk rock to venues both big and small, and inspiring Rolling Stone to declare them one of America’s “most exciting” punk bands.

Downtown Boys formed in late 2011 in Providence, and this summer, issued their third full-length record, Cost of Living, which was produced by Guy Piccioto, guitarist for post-hardcore legends Fugazi. “We were searching for a producer fairly last minute for this record,” explains Joey La Neve DeFrancesco, who plays guitar and sings in Downtown Boys. “Our bassist Mary (Regalado) originally reached out to Allison Wolfe to produce, but she was unavailable, but she recommended Guy to us. Originally, it didn’t seem it was going to work with his schedule, but just a few weeks before, he decided to go for it and it was a wonderful experience to work with him.”

Downtown Boys/. Photo courtesy of Sub Pop Records

The members of Downtown Boys are all self-taught musicians, who’ve come from far and wide, for myriad reasons, and ended up settling in Providence. Only La Neve DeFrancesco and saxophonist Joe DeGeorge are lifelong New Englanders.

“We’re on tour pretty constantly right now so we mostly live in a van,” La Neve DeFrancesco says. “I think wherever you are right now, whatever job you’re in, the goal is destroying white supremacy, tearing down the structures that have been in the process of destroying humanity for a long time and are only ramping up the effort at the moment.”

Singer Victoria Ruiz is the face of the band, which is rounded out by drummer Norlan Olivo and bassist Mary Regalado. On the Downtown Boys’ latest for Sub Pop Records, Ruiz uses her powerful voice to promote Chicana, queer, and Latino issues.

The new offering opens up with “A Wall,” which scoffs at the notion a wall could ever shatter the spirits of those it is being designed to suppress.

“Providence has a long and full music history and that seeps into what we do,” La Neve DeFrancesco says. “There is also a long political history of violence and resistance here, and that comes in as well. So much of Providence’s musical and political past, including our band’s, is centered around the mill buildings in the city and the accompanying history of industrial capitalism and slavery, and the resistance movements to those two systems, and so whatever you’re doing here, there’s that weight you have to take seriously.”

Want to know what’s on Joey La Neve DeFrancesco’s playlist? Check out our Take a Listen Spotify channel. While you’re there, take a listen to the playlists of other musicians we’ve interviewed.

Joey La Neve DeFrancesco, guitarist and singer for Downtown Boys
Providence, Rhode Island
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Top image: Downtown Boys. Photo by Miguel Rosario

The post Joey La Neve DeFrancesco Heads Downtown appeared first on Take Magazine.

“It’s really fun for me to stand in the audience and hear music I like played by people I like on one of my instruments,” Lea says modestly.

In the 14 years since Creston Electric Instruments sold its first guitar, Lea has developed a cult-like following among strummers of all stripes. The Vermont luthier models his six-string electrics mostly in the post-war Fender style and strives to balance the look, feel and sound of the instrument. “I don’t think I have any superpowers in that regard,” Lea says. “I just really love guitars.”

Lea, a New Hampshire native, moved to Burlington in the mid-’90s and worked on rehab of old houses, eventually doing carpentry and cabinetry. In 2003, he opened a workshop to build cabinets, many for speakers and amplifiers, but started crafting guitars in his garage.

Creston Lea at work

Playing in various bands over the years, he often considered what made one guitar sound or strum better than another. One day, he took out a measuring tape. “I just became totally consumed with every aspect of the guitar,” he says. “I really couldn’t turn my brain off of it.”

He would love a guitar’s tone but maybe wish for a fatter neck. Or he’d like the feel of the instrument in his hands but prefer it sounded a bit brighter. Most guitars, even the best, come off an assembly line. Lea saw the need to customize.

A musician friend had a guitar he wanted to refit with different electronics. That was Lea’s first foray into construction, and it was a success, he says.

That friend—guitarist Mark Spencer, a one-time member of Burlington punk rockers Pinhead and Americana outfit Blood Oranges—showed Lea’s work to fellow players, who started calling for their own Crestons. “His endorsement was enough,” Lea says of Spencer.

Lea has since outfitted Grammy winner Ray LaMontagne; new-wave singer Adam Ant; Ian MacKaye of punk band Fugazi; and Eric Heywood, who has played with The Pretenders and Son Volt. Jay Farrar, front man of Son Volt and formerly Uncle Tupelo, is a Creston fan. So is M.C. Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger, whose band members also own Crestons.

Every instrument is tailored to a client’s specifications, down to the 1,000ths of an inch and the amount of lacquer. (Some players are remarkably particular.) Crestons typically have 12 coats.

A certain kind of wood generally produces a certain tone—though not always, Lea says. Most Crestons are ash, alder, or mahogany, but his specialty is sugar pine, which he salvaged for a cabinetry job in his early days and found to make a nice-sounding guitar.

One of Sarah Ryan’s hand-painted Creston guitars

Vermont artist Sarah Ryan has painted ornate body designs for some Creston buyers. Lea also has made bass guitars, baritones, mandolins, a lap-steel guitar, and a bouzouki (a long-necked mandolin).

In 2014, Creston Electric expanded into an old garage with more space. Above a work bench, guitars hang in various stages of painting, polishing, or curing, which takes several weeks. Lea completes about 60 guitars a year, with a wait time of at least two months.

Creston Lea–guitar maker
Creston Guitars
Burlington, Vermont
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The post Striking the Right Chord appeared first on Take Magazine.