Ears Wide Open: Gary Calamar

Kevin Bronson on September 23rd, 2014

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Gary Calamar is best known as an amiable KCRW DJ whose Sunday evening show connects the dots between past and present, and, frequently, the serious and whimsical. In the industry he’s known as a music supervisor with credits on shows such as “True Blood,” “Dexter” and “Six Feet Under,” and he often hosts the Mimosa Music Series songwriter showcases on Sundays in North Hollywood. But it’s never too late for a coming-out party, right? For years Calamar has “banged out songs on my acoustic guitar just for myself, just for the fun and the hell of it,” he says, even having one of those tunes recorded by Iggy Pop for television. Now he’s releasing “You Are What You Listen To” (out Oct. 14), and rather than grapple with the existential argument the title suggests, it’s best to just listen in: Calamar has fashioned a half-dozen dexterous power-pop songs that recall a bunch of ’70s provocateurs, especially in their lyrical tussles. “I need something to hold onto / Not a jewel case without any charm/ The fall leads into the winter / of my compact discontent,” he sings in “The Last Revolution,” pining for vinyl and lamenting having hocked his record collection. At a time most guys would be looking forward to getting 10% discounts, Calamar is embracing the kid rocker in all of us. Bring on the scissor-kicks.

||| Stream: “She’s So Mid-Century” and “Back Door Man”