APTBS have been called “the loudest band in New York” and take their ear shattering sound to a more melodic level on their most recent album Exploding Head.

The Big Pink burst onto the scene last fall with their excellent debut album A Brief History Of Love and combined with APTBS, this show might be the best thing to hit Southgate House on a Monday night ever. (the show is next Monday, March 22)

To win tickets, you know the drill, just send an email to enscontests at gmail dot com with the subject line reading “Big Pink/ APTBS.” We will draw a winner at the end of the week, good luck!

In the meantime, check out our interview with Oliver from A Place To Bury Strangers here.

In 2007, after years of toiling in the psychedelic noisy rock underbelly, A Place to Bury Strangers’ self-titled debut album earned the band an avalanche of press, acclaim, and tour dates with the likes of Nine Inch Nails. Three years later, the band is touring on their sophomore release, Exploding Head, which features infectious hooks and choruses that mold the group’s electric cacophony into something even more memorable.

In conversation, Ackermann; who also runs his own guitar effect pedal company, performance space, and record label under the name Death by Audio; is so full of genial wonderment at his current good fortune and bite-sized advice to follow one’s heart and stick with dreams that it’s easy to forget he’s the mad scientist behind brutally intense music about heads with gashes, heads exploding, and everything going wrong. This combination of sweetness and ferociousness mirrors A Place to Bury Strangers’ method of songwriting; laying vast oceans of squalling noise over deep undercurrents of melody, rhythm, and pop hooks.

Oliver Ackermann recently took some time out of preparing for A Place to Bury Strangers’ upcoming tour with the Big Pink to answer some questions for Each Note Secure.

[Each Note Secure] Your new album, Exploding Head, sounds a little bit like a stylistic shift. It contains fewer harsh or noisy moments than your first one, and more hooks. Is that a direction you’re moving in consciously?

[Oliver Ackermann] It was for this record. I don’t think it’s any kind of overall thing going on with the sound or anything. For this record I tried to focus on recording some feedback a lot more minimally. We tried to make the most of a lot fewer instruments and a lot fewer elements. That was to goal for this record. In the future, I’m sure there will be some things which will be even harsher than the first record. I think as a record, Exploding Head came out great – perfectly for what it is. But they’ll be different stuff to come.

[ENS] Exploding Head sounds like it has more deliberately structured songs than your self-titled debut. There are quite a few catchy choruses and even “hooks.” Was that intentional? When people call you “noise” do you feel like pointing at the song and saying, “Noise?! Look at these choruses and hooks!”

[OA] I’m a sucker for 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s pop music, and even pop music today. I like songs with structure, songs that go places, and that you can hang on to. For some people, I’m sure [my music] is too noisy, so much so that they might not be able to handle it. I like things with contrast; I think it can make things sort of creepy and scary when there’s not something to constantly latch on to. When it’s harsh, and some of the sounds are a little unrecognizable, I think it can be really interesting.

[ENS] A Place to Bury Strangers has also earned the nickname “the loudest band in New York.” Does volume serve a function for your songwriting, in the way it does for groups like Sunn O))) and Lightning Bolt, as an integral part of your musical dynamic?

[OA] I don’t think it’s impressive to be called the “loudest band” anywhere. It doesn’t really sound appealing to be loud just for the sake of being loud. I actually think it sounds kind of stupid. That being said, we’re definitely [playing loud] on purpose, because these volumes are what sound best for the listener. It makes the music more than just sound; the listener can actually feel what’s going on. Being there, you have no option to do anything else than to listen; it almost takes over your mind and your body. We want to make it as crazy as possible.

[ENS] Have you ever had any problems with performing at such a high decibel level?

[OA] Sure. Cops come to shows, we’ve broken tons of stuff, tons of sound guys have screamed at us, we’ve had the power shut off… that kind of stuff just happens. I guess it’s a little funny. You just sort of learn what to say to sound guys so they let us have [the volume] at a level it’s not supposed to be at.

[ENS] Your albums have a lot of piercing drum machines and loud synthesizers. How do you recreate those instruments live with only three band members?

[OA] There’s a whole different thing with a live show than with a recording. It depends on the environment and what you have to work with. All of our shows end up being a little different based on what we have and what’s not broken. But you often have the opportunity to do a little more in a live environment. It’s like suddenly being able to use Dolby 5.1 sound as opposed to just having a two speaker stereo. You can do a lot of things you might not be able to do on recording. You may not have as many instruments, and there are only three people playing, but everyone can be in control of a whole range. It’s nice to have three people who can take the songs and bring them back to a place where [the listener] can grab on to it more, or take songs in new directions. If there are too many [musicians], things might have to get a bit too orchestrated. Some the songs parts [in our live set] will be almost completely improvised.

[ENS] So are there many parts of your songs that were always intended to be improvised live? Are the songs as they exist on your records only one version of how they could potentially take shape?

[OA] Well, when you’re playing around live with high volumes, feedback, and this crazy noise, you can’t really predict exactly what will happen. It’s sort of a beautiful thing how these noises come about, but if you were to try to make it exactly one thing in particular, I think you would lose some of this amazing beauty of sound. So we’re almost playing with chaos.

[ENS] A Place to Bury Strangers seems to have gotten a lot of attention fairly quickly after the release of the first album. What’s it like to suddenly go from “just another band” in New York City to getting a lot of press and touring the world?

[OA] I can’t believe it, really. I’m just used to playing music and having almost no one pay attention at all. I can’t even really believe it. It’s all grown past what I ever expected. This band started around 2003, and, before our first record came out, I had almost given up. I used to really try to plan tours, spend all night making posters, try to get into some sort of magazine or something, and after a while it all seemed completely useless. Eventually, I came to the point where I was just going to make music for myself and enjoy it, and get together with the rest of the band because we like to play. To have this stuff happen … I don’t think I’ve even acknowledged what’s going on yet.

It’s all an example of how if you follow your heart and do what you really want to do, things can work out. So you should always follow your dreams. [Laughs] Right on!

A Place to Bury Strangers will perform at the Southgate House on Monday, March 22nd with the Big Pink and Eat Sugar.

~interview by John Crowell

In this episode:

How does one do the Monkey Foot? We don’t know either, but you’re going to want to figure it out for all the great music on this episode.” Don’t blame us if “Bourgeois Shangri-La” by Miss Li causes you to break into a spontaneous dance, musical-style, as you’re walking down the street. And there’s the toe-tapping, head-scratching “Oh! Centra” by Javelin, which might have the most laid back use of a chipmunked voice in the history of music. There’s also a new song from Jonsi, and while it’s a break from his day job the lead singer for Sigur Ros, “Go Do” has the same fantastic, driving sense of wonder found in the Icelandic band’s songs. But first up is the tender “This Sweet Love” from James Yuill, who takes the solo singer-songwriter mold and manages to actually make it interesting.

But what goes on in between the great new tunes? For starters, Ken and Mandy measure Oscar picture nominees on a scale of Lifetime Network awfulness to Hallmark movie tolerability while peanut gallery members Ben and Yusef choke down some past-its-prime Christmas candy. It all makes for plenty of “That’s what she said” moments. Plus, Mandy interviews new city councilwoman/original member of Phoenix Laurie Quinlivan, who gives us the lowdown on why the city didn’t get a hefty grant from the federal government for the Cincinnati streetcar. What businesses and chambers of commerce are behind the plan? Listen to find out. Doesn’t sound like you’ll be able to take the streetcar to Paul Brown Stadium any time soon, hint tint.

Also, there’s sexual tension at a goth bar in Orlando, and awesomely dressed listener Joshua calls the Milling About hotline to get their take. Or maybe he was just drunk dialing.

All that and more in this episode of Milling About! Boom-shocka-locka!

Jonsi – Go Do
James Yuill – This Sweet Love
Javelin – Oh! Centra
Miss Li – Bourgeois Shangri-La

They recently released their debut album on vinyl for the first time, and now, have some more exciting news. The band has a new label home and a new album on the way as well. The new label is Afternoon Records out of Minneapolis and has released albums from artists like Haley Bonar, Now Now Every Children, One For The Team, We All Have Hooks For Hands, and Mouthful of Bees.

And the boys new record is slated for release sometime this fall, so get excited!

Check out a quick video of the guys getting ready for their current tour.

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings (photo credit: John Van)

The 6th annual Nelsonville Music Festival recently announced their lineup, which includes headliner Loretta Lynn, plus Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Man Man, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, Buffalo Killers and The Swell Season.

The 3-day outdoor music festival takes place May 14-16 at Hocking College, a mere 3 hours from downtown Cincinnati.

Weekend passes run $45 until April 1st, when they increase to $50, and then $55 on May 1st.  Individual passes will start selling in April, and last-minute buyers can purchase passes at the gate for $60.

Check out the line up and schedule  after the jump.

Friday, May 14th:
Man Man
Black Joe Lewis
Detroit Cobras
Those Darlins
Buffalo Killers
Drakkar Sauna
Michael Hurley
Seascapes

Saturday, May 15th
Loretta Lynn
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Billy Joe Shaver
Those Darlins
Spikedrivers
Drakkar Sauna
Michael Hurley
Alwood Sisters

Sunday, May 16th
Swell Season
Todd Snider
JD Hutchison
Drakkar Sauna
Michael Hurley

Stuart’s Opera House presents
6th annual Nelsonville Music Festival
May 14-16
Robbins Crossing @ Hocking College
Nelsonville, OH

So please check out this new song, “Terrible Love” below, which Jimmy Fallon also lets us know is the first song off of High Violet, which is due May 10. Check out loads more great photos of The National that our very own Keith Klenowski shot at High Violet.com!

If you come to ENS on a regular basis, you know that one of our favorite live acts in town is The Lions Rampant. In the past couple of years, the guys have made a name for themselves as the band to see if you wanna party in Cincinnati. The missing piece of the puzzle though through all this, was the lack of a full length album. It was not for lack of effort though. After two EP’s, TLR were more than ready to put their first album together, and actually, have had it ready to go for some time now.

However, as it goes sometimes in the music industry, the right fit just isn’t out there, and their album, It’s Fun To Do Bad Things, seemed like it might never come out. Well, the band found the right fit earlier this year when Deep Elm Records offered to put it out. The album of course, is still “the kind of rock n’ roll you wanna raise your PBR to” like we told you last July. But now, it will get into the hands of fans who have been waiting, as well as folks that have yet to experience The Lions Rampant.

Congratulations to the guys, I know they have worked hard for this. The record gets an official release on April 4th, but until then, I invite you to download some of the new songs below. These were recorded in the WOXY studios last summer.

The Lions Rampant – Give Me (Live On WOXY.com)
The Lions Rampant – Lights On (Live On WOXY.com)
The Lions Rampant – It’s Fun To Do Bad Things (Live On WOXY.com)
The Lions Rampant – Shake (Live On WOXY.com)
The Lions Rampant – Do You Feel It?
The Lions Rampant – Cigs & Gin (Live On WOXY.com

Bazan is best known for his Pedro The Lion persona, but his album released last year under his given name, might be his best work to date. Curse Your Branches is a honest and revealing look at Bazan and his life over the past couple years and regardless of what you think about his previous work, it’s worth your attention. And Headlights will be in town as well, touring off of their third album Wildlife. The band have been touring the country and already have drawn here in Cincinnati really well several times.

It’s a great show, and we not only want to recommend it, but also want to give you a chance to go to it. The show is next Monday night at the best music venue in town, the historic Southgate House. So, if you would like to hit up this excellent show next week, send an email to enscontests at gmail dot com with the title reading “Bazan / Headlights.” We will pick a winner at the end of the week, good luck!

Headlights – Secrets

Bad Veins –

THURSDAY 3/18

11:00pm – Official SXSW Showcase @ Red 7 611 East 7th Street -badge or wristband only

FRIDAY 3/19

12:30pm – Sonicbids Day Party @ Maggie Mae’s (upstairs) 323 E 6th St -free food and drinks
-RSVP here

5:00pm – Dominican Joe’s Day Party @ Dominican Joe’s 515 South Congress -Free to attend : no RSVP required

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SATURDAY 3/20

3:15pm – Swing House & Hell Ya! Day Party @The Roxy (Rusty Spurs) Outdoor Stage 405 E. 7th St (@corner of Trinity) -free food and drinks -Free to attend : no RSVP required

8:00pm – Dangerbird Records Showcase @ Mellow Johnny’s 400 Nueces St. -Free to attend : no RSVP required

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The Seedy Seeds –
Mar 17 2010 8:00P
SXSW 2010 Austin, Texas
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Mar 18 2010 ***Official SXSW Showcase 7 PM @ BD Riley’s***
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Mar 19 2010 2:00P ***Buzzgrinder / Buddyhead Showcase***

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Pomegranates –
Mar 16 2010 8:00P Beauty Bar – Art Damage SXSW Preparty
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Mar 18 2010 8:00P Maggie Mae’s – SXSW Showcase Austin, Texas
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Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore –
Thursday, March 18, 2010 Central Presbyterian Church (TX), Austin TX
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Thursday, March 18, 2010 Waterloo Records, Austin TX In store @ 3PM!
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Friday, March 19, 2010 WOXY Live Radio Session

You, You’re Awesome –
Mar 16 2010 1:00P WOXY’s SXSW Lounge Act
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Mar 20 2010 1:00P L4M Showcase @ Aces Lounge (w/ The Cool Kids & Rakaa of Dilated Peoples)
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Mar 21 2010 12:00P Obscure Magpie/Old Flame Party @ Encore Austin, Texas
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The Harlequins –

Mar 18 2010 NOON-4:00A House of Commons Unofficial SXSW Showcase 2610 Rio Grande St
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Mar 20 2010 2:00P La Boîte Café 1700 South Lamar Blvd
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Eat Sugar

Friday & Saturday Shows TBA

The Murat is quite an interesting complex, almost a little piece of Egypt in the middle of America. Aside from the architecture and décor, they also have two venues. There is the Egyptian Room which was where we were headed and the Theatre which featured Harry Connick Jr. on the same evening. While the theatre is much grander, the Egyptian Room felt a little like a hotel ballroom. Even still, the Avett Brothers put out my favorite album of last year, and so this was a great chance to see them for the first time.

Before the Avett Brothers played, it was time for The Low Anthem who put on a terrific show this past fall at Southgate House when they opened for Langhorne Slim. Even though I walked away enamored with The Low Anthem that night, there was concern that they would get a bit lost in a bigger and less attentive room. This proved true through the first four or five songs as they opened with some quiet numbers. Just as they were starting to lose the room, they dropped two rocking songs on the crowd which brought everyone right back. “Home I’ll Never Be” and “The Horizon is a Beltway” were so loud and raucous that they were barely recognizable to even seasoned ears, and everyone actually stopped and paid attention.

From that point on, The Low Anthem brought the set home. Closing out with songs that were on the “Oh My God, Charlie Darwin” album as well as “This God Damn House” from their first album they won the room back over. Standing out especially was Jocie Adams who was much more present lyrically than the Southgate House show. Without a doubt, this band is the most rewarding when everyone is paying attention but that is tricky as an opener in a big room.

Given the volume in the room for The Low Anthem as they played, it was clear that most everyone was there solely for The Avett Brothers, and that proved to be the point as they launched into their show. Opening with “Paranoia in B-Flat Major” a few things became evident quickly: the amount of energy brought to the stage was incredibly high and they were extra thoughtful in their choices of songs. As Scott Avett sang “… a place I thought I’d never be / Is people looking back at me” and the place went crazy, one final thing became clear. The Avett Brothers have a rabid group of fans that know, love, and sing along to almost everything.

The first part of the set was probably meant for people like me (the first timer) as it was heavy on songs from the newest album, I and Love and You. Some of the early highlights included “Laundry Room”, “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise”, and “Tin Man”. The stage was soon left to Seth Avett who played a solo version of “The Ballad of Love and Hate” which silenced the room, and for good reason. The song is an incredible lyrical story and because of the solo performance, it made the song that much more powerful. As the line came “but the clock in the kitchen is slow” Seth brought that to life by slowing the song to a crawl.

The middle of the set featured older and lesser known songs, which I didn’t know as well, but the long time Avett Brothers fans knew every word. These guys have been putting out albums for ten years now and have been building their fan base show by show, and it has really paid off. One thing that they haven’t lost though is that older fan, and I think it is due to the thought and energy they put into their shows. I had heard going in that they were a great live band and midway through the set it couldn’t have been more true.

The solid musicianship carried and thoughtful lyric adaptations continued through the remainder of the set. They finished out the main set with a mix of new favorites (“I and Love and You”) as well as old favorites (“Murder in the City”) which really got the crowd into a frenzy. The closer for the night was an old song called “Salvation Song” which came out back in 2004 and put a cap on the night with the closing line: “We came to leave behind the world a better way.” Mission accomplished.

Leaving Murat, I walked in with a much different question than the one I walked in with. I entered wondering what made these guys so special that they could build such a solid following and I left amazed that I had missed the boat for so long. Are they bluegrass? No, they aren’t. They are thoughtful and talented musicians that play extraordinarily well crafted songs which will likely stand the test of time. And yes, they do have a banjo.

-Dave Rolfes