Sound Advice: Wordsmiths, wildlings and X's wild gifts

Nerd rap and neo-soul: In one song, Milo drops references to thrift-store sweaters, “Spidey senses,” God, vegetarianism, Kurt Vonnegut and being “passively unaggressive.” The 22-year-old rapper—from Maine then Wisconsin and soon moving to Los Angeles—is a wordsmith in every right, and an exciting up-and-comer in the world of artistic, intelligent rap.

Milo headlined Witch Room on July 9. He brought a frenetic, eccentric energy, dancing around like a wildling, burping into the mic and anxiously discussing adjustments with the sound engineer all the way through his set. It was captivating. His wordplay, spoken with a mumblecorelike nonchalance, was inspiring.

And he had some serious fans in attendance. A group of young guys wore huge grins, occasionally mouthing deadpan, easily digestible lyrics, such as, “I’d like to be a better man. Better at making sandwiches.” The rest of that hook went right over my head, and the boys couldn’t keep up with their mouthing, either, and under his breath, Milo acknowledged it: “Whatever the fuck that means. Fucking nerd rap shit.”

Yeah. Nerd rap shit. It’s good shit.

Before Milo, the crowd got some sets from his Wisconsin friends—who are also moving to Los Angeles—Safari Al and Nedarb Nagrom. Nagrom showed some insane energy, jumping into a lifeless crowd and thrashing around. The move got a few people dancing for maybe 30 seconds. Safari Al impressed with his silky crooning mixed with smart spoken word.

We also got local neo-soul singer-songwriter Stevie Nader. Nader took home three Sammies awards last year—New Artist, Singer-Songwriter and Release of the Year—establishing himself as a force. His voice is smooth, sexy, floating over equally sexy synth compositions. He held his mic close with two hands, eyes closed, in the zone, for too short of a set.

About a month ago, Nader quietly dropped a second album, Grit. It’s a collaborative project with Boywolf, and it’s a beautiful collection comprising seven ethereal, chill electro-soul tracks.

And like his debut 333, Grit also features a song with Sean LaMarr of local hip-hop duo DLRN, who showed up at Witch Room to join Nader onstage.

For more artful hip-hop, catch DLRN with a full band at Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub (2708 J Street) on Friday, August 1.

X, unplugged: Sure, it seems like the seminal Los Angeles punk band X tours a lot, so no big deal that it’s making an appearance in Grass Valley on Thursday, July 24, right? Well, actually, this show is kind of a big deal. The Center for the Arts gig is part of a seven-city acoustic West Coast tour that marks the first time X’s original members—singer-bassist John Doe, singer Exene Cervenka, guitarist Billy Zoom and drummer D.J. Bonebrake—have played entire sets in that format.

The trek came about via a push from various club bookers, Doe said.

“They were hounding us, ’If you didn’t play so damn loud, we could do something,’” Doe said. “This was a cool opportunity. We have good songs and real stories.”

So, what to expect—besides an unplugged set, that is?

“You have to play better, play more specifically [because] you don’t have the volume to gloss over certain notes,” Doe said.

The band recently completed a four-evening engagement at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles at which it played its first four albums—Los Angeles, Wild Gift, Under the Big Black Sun, More Fun in the New World—one on each night.

Doe added there are plans for a new X album. Eventually, anyway. Someday. Maybe in this lifetime.

“There is new material there,” he said.

A few years back, Doe, also well-regarded for his music with the country-punk band the Knitters as well as his solo work, participated in What Would John Doe Do?, which invited fans to write for musical advice on the KnowTheMusicBiz.com site. The feature’s been quiet since 2012, but the singer said he wouldn’t mind reviving the concept—perhaps on his own website. Still, Doe added, when it comes down to it, such interaction never really disappeared.

“I actually do that quite a bit while I’m touring,” he said. “[Fans ask me questions] while I’m at the merch table, while I’m walking into the club.”

Ask Doe your own burning questions: The Center for the Arts show (314 W. Main Street in Grass Valley) starts at 8 p.m., and tickets are $45-$50. Folk Uke, a duo comprising Cathy Guthrie and Amy Nelson (Arlo and Willie’s daughters, respectively), open the show. Details are at www.thecenterforthearts.org.