Multitask Master

Folk-popster Shawn Fogel zeroed in on an unlikely inspiration as he recorded his latest EP, One Day in the Desert. But if he hadn't read that Stevie Wonder lays down his albums' tracks by playing all the instruments himself, Fogel probably would have released his disc earlier than its October 31 debut. "I wasn't going to aspire to be the master of anything," says Fogel, who's in town tonight for a one-man show at the Barking Spider. "But after listening to Stevie Wonder and how great he was at the drums, keyboards, and everything else, I thought it was possible to play everything yourself." A New York native, Fogel studied the drums and guitar at Massachusetts' Hampshire College, where he jammed in local bands, from the Lonely Robots and the Billy Ripken F*ck Face Card to his own Shawn Fogel Rock Music Orchestra. During his last couple of semesters, he wrote, recorded, engineered, and mixed his debut album, Millions of Miles Away, as his final-year project. Fogel has since toured the country as an opening act for Guster, the Moldy Peaches' Adam Green, and Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore. And while he took only six months to make One Day in the Desert, don't expect his next disc anytime soon. "I know, for a lot of bands and artists, they sit down and crank out a record in a couple of months," says Fogel. "I just want to be good on all the instruments." Fogel takes the mic at 8:30 tonight at the Barking Spider Tavern, 11310 Juniper Road. Admission is free. Call 216-421-2863 or visit www.barkingspidertavern.com.
Fri., Feb. 22, 8:30 p.m., 2008