“We like to play host to traveling bands. We will line them up with a show or they do one at the cottage,” says Tony Kapel. “So far we have had a good run of what we call ‘Silly Sundays’ or ‘Watermelon Wednesdays,’ these shows are usually matched with a local act and they are recorded as a live set.” Though Kapel’s been a man of many hats in South Florida for the last two decades, he is best known as an avid and involved member of the music scene. Along with his wife, Maitejosune Urrechaga as Pocket of Lollipops, they’ve championed the crossings of the arts and music worlds with their raw, experimental, NYC No Wave, post-punk racket.
As a duo, they’ve served South Florida as artists, documentarians and ambassadors; “we feel it’s important to document what’s going on, not just in our city or scene, but playing host to touring bands.” Kapel’s documentary, Closing Time was shot over a few years and covered what would’ve otherwise been a lost moment of music in the transitional pre-digital era. An arduous endeavor, Kapel and Urrechaga have since 2013 chosen to control the variables out of their Coconut Grove home with their venue/studio/space/gallery, the Houndstooth Cottage – a self-described “creative safe haven” for artists.
Whether there’s an intentional or unintentional appropriation of the instantly recognizable tessellated clothing pattern; the effect is unmistakable and assuring as houndstooth is just at home in boardrooms as it is in kitchens. This dichotomy serves the duo well as they’ve become nurturing parents to voices within the scene (and out) who need a comfortable spot to get their legs wet in. The Cottage’s greatest appeal is the intimacy that it affords the artist and spectator.
Their events, semi-private affairs have already hosted Scotland’s Frog Pocket, Whoorish Boorish, In Oculus and Fsik Huvnx among others. Many times, these sessions are recorded for documentation but the Cottage is “not trying to be a label,” as Kapel explains, “but we do have a few artists we are recording and will be releasing by this summer. I consider them audio sketches, and if the artist likes what I did and wants to do more, then we do.”
This falls in line with a spring 2014 recording project called “The Loop ñ Off Session,” which was set up at a gallery and spotlighted musicians and the recording process that was then turned into a compilation. A second one in Delray and a third in Rhode Island continued the trend blending their fascination with art and music, “obsessing over someone’s tracks is no different than obsessing over a painting.”
With an already busy schedule upon them as a live and recording act, Tony and Maite are actually well-equipped to undertake the Houndstooth Cottage’s task of providing that safe haven for emerging and established artists in South Florida as they understand all-too well the rigors of etching out an existence as a band in this scene through perseverance and hard work. That it occurs in the shady environs of Coconut Grove is a great boon that mirrors the neighborhood’s arts-embracing attitude.
Houndstooth Cottage also shared five songs with us on this months PureHoney promo compilation! Listen to and download awesome tracks from Sarah Pink, Ghost Foot, Lizzie Davis, Nightmom and Landica.
Find them online at http://houndstoothcottage.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/houndstoothbooking
~ Abel Folgar
