HOTlanta trap star Young Jeezy is bringing his tried and true to the Showbox at the Market on Friday, September 2nd for a rare Seattle stop. Young Jeezy has come a long way since his first top 10 single, “Soul Survivor” featuring Akon, in 2005. Jeezy will be releasing his fourth studio album, Thug Motivation 103 on September 20th, which he’s released his first single “Ballin” featuring Lil’ Wayne, for.

It’s rare that Seattle gets paid a visit from commercial rappers of this caliber. Don’t miss it! TIX HERE

A fair amount of notable acts have emerged from the Australian music scene over the past couple years. From the likes of Cut Copy, Tame Impala and Empire of the Sun, Australia’s taste continues to be at the tip of listener’s tongues. Judging by the recent buzz created by Melbourne’s Little Red, there’s seemingly another name to add to that list.

Late last year, Midnight Remember arrived from Little Red and turned some heads. Little Red has since signed with True Panther Records, home to lovely Delorean, Girls and Tanlines, who will release their Midnight Remember LP on October 25th.

After the five-piece emerged in 2005, they were featured on Triple J Unearthed and eventually won Australia’s 2008 “Garage to V” competition, winning them a set at the V Festival. In 2008, they independently released the Listen to Little Red LP which made the Aussie charts and gained some applauds.

Little Red traditionally brought a classic garage sound with layers of R&B. They’ve been frivolously compared to acts and sounds such as Franz Ferdinand, Empire of the Sun and Phoenix with even mentions of Beach Boys. Midnight Remember seems to have really brought the fun out of the band with songs like “Get a Life” and “Rock It” (video above), that almost bring a careless, sing-along, Oracular Spectacular feel. With their Australian release of Midnight Remember already going Gold, many are optimistic that Little Red’s October 25th North American release on True Panther will bring a global spotlight on the band.

Little Red, following their North American release, will be doing a US/CA stint with a stop in Seattle at The Sunset Tavern in Ballard on November 3rd. And, judging from the live reviews around the Aussie blogs, it certainly doesn’t look like a show to miss.

TOUR DATES

10.25 – Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA

10.26 – T.T. The Bears – Cambridge, MA

10.27 – Le Belmont – Montreal, QC

10.28 – The Drake Hotel – Toronto, ON

10.29 – Beat Kitchen – Chicago, IL

11.02 – Media Club – Vancouver, BC

11.03 – Sunset Tavern – Seattle, WA

11.04 – Mississippi Studios – Portland, OR

11.05 – Rickshaw Stop – San Francisco, CA

11.07 – Soda Bar – San Diego, CA

11.08 – The Satellite – Los Angeles, CA

Chad Valley – Now That I’m Real (How Does It Feel) from Lucy Bridger on Vimeo.

Seattle Scenester got a chance to catch up with Chad Valley, the emerging New Wavist from the ever-so-thriving Oxford scene. Chad Valley (Hugo Manuel) has put out two EPs in the last year and has become quite the name drop in the blog world. Hugo is the lead singer of another notable Oxford band, Jonquil. Above is a gem from his latest EP, Equatorial Ultravox. Chad Valley will be playing at The Crocodile with Active Child on September 23rd and should not be missed (TIX HERE).

RC: Jonquil One Hundred Suns was fucking unreal. It has to be easier to make music on your own. How are you balancing the two?

Chad Valley: Balancing the two is huge fun in a way…. I get bored very easily so its really nice being able to switch between projects, particularly now as i’m writing material for both things simultaneously. But of course there is something inherently enjoyable about playing music with friends, and that is an aspect that I don’t get with Chad Valley much.

RC: Blessing Force seems like such a rad idea and makes me wish I lived in Oxford. Who’s behind this force and where do you see it going?

Chad Valley: Thats nice to hear man. We are a loose collective of musicians and artists in oxford consisting of Pet Moon, Solid Gold Dragons, Trophy Wife, Rhosyn, and Jonquil. I think one of the main purposes of forming BF was to draw attention to our mates. From past experience a lot of us felt that it was really necessary to help your friends if you are in a position of power, and we just took that one step further. We are having a lot of fun creating the occasional event, and we are stretching out to other parts of the UK, rather than just Oxford. Those things are great opportunities to get the art side of BF recognised too.

RC: Chad Valley EP and Equatorial Ultravox are absolutely phenomenal. There are obviously a lot of hungry folks for an LP. What’s the skinny?

Chad Valley: I’m putting the thing together as we speak, but its early days. I have been constantly writing for the last year, so there is a lot of material and I am forming some kind of mood and theme at the moment. I think its going to be out early 2012.

RC: Most artists tend to wait for an LP drop before coming overseas. Are you getting a lot of love here in the States?

Chad Valley: Well this is one of the things about putting out two EPs before the album… i’m hopefully going to be in a pretty strong position when the album drops. Also, I think I have been incredibly lucky with timing, along with other things. Playing at SXSW and in New York were a great help and insane amounts of fun, so I can’t wait to see the rest of he country.

RC: You have tracks such as “Anything” and “Now That I’m Real” that are just instant jams that are timeless. Then, you have tracks such as “Acker Bilk” and “Reach Lines” that have a slow tempo that (while amazing) take a little warming up. Do you see yourself continuing to experiment or do you see yourself honing in on a particular style of tracks?

Chad Valley: Don’t expect I’ll ever stick to one thing. I see Chad Valley as a very evolving thing… I do know that I want to get more pop. I want to push myself to write the most pop thing possible, but retain my credibility.

RC: Other than Mariah Carey and R. Kelly, are there any other out-of-the-box artists you dig?

Chad Valley: I think most of the stuff i listen to is out-of-the-box. I like that phrase. I’m a lifelong Carpenters fan, i think they are so technically great, and the recording is so crisp, it really sounds like nothing else. I listen to a lot of bollywood music, but only the old stuff. I don’t know any of the films, but i’ve got a few compilations of Lata Mangeshkar or Asha Bhosle that are great. And I love Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and other qawwali stuff.

RC: So, you’ve blessed us with a stop in Seattle. Have you ever been to Seattle before? Any Seattle connections?

Chad Valley: nope, not at all. Other than the fact that I like Sleepless in Seattle.

RC: What about Seattle music? Are there any Seattle bands that you’re into or talent you recognize?

Chad Valley: Beat Connection. I have their song “In The Water” stuck in my head all the time.

Sonny Smith and his friends (and backing band) The Sunsets are working their way back to Seattle to play The Funhouse on Tuesday, June 28th. Sonny brings his innocent, lovey dovey doo-wop songs from San Francisco on the first leg of their US/CANADA tour with The Sandwitches. Seattle’s Seapony, who Seattle Scenester has seen on several accounts, will be opening for the show.

Sonny and the Sunsets have kept mouths fed for the past couple years. In 2007, The Sunsets, a rotating group of Bay area kids well known in the scene, united with Sonny Smith and created a fuzzy, indie pop with a 50′s grin. The summery bunch unleashed a debut EP, hypnotist, and followed up rather quickly with the flavorful LP, Tomorrow is Alright. The album was well received and while playful, was tight and top notch. Their sophomore LP,Hit After Hit, dropped this year and brings 11 more songs to throw in the mix since they played at Neumos last year with lo-fi, surf rockers Best Coast. Sonny and The Sunsets, simply put, are a blast and are not worth missing.

TICKETS

DIRECTIONS

Every college band’s dream is to escape the inebriated house party circuit and make some music for the greater ear. The New Division, originally a dorm room project by frontman John Kunkel, has done exactly that. In 2007, Kunkel created a four-piece out of California Baptist University, keeping the name and the synthy influence. Kunkel has continued to be the brain child of much of the writing and sound while his mates have aided in their great live shows, playing out of Riverside, California. Over the past three years, The New Division has added over 300 tracks to their name and have developed a sound that is quite timely.

With dancy, synth-pop and new wave grabbing ears and charts this year the way it has, The New Division plans to have a solid year.  Their sound truly combines the head high of a Chad Valley, encompassing a slight darkness of a Joy Division (dubbed Dark Wave). The end of last year, the band released a well recognized EP The Rookie which was blogged and applauded on many levels. Their newest singles, “Saturday Night” (above) and “True Lies” were released on May 31st and have developed quite the buzz. Stay tuned for their LP Shadows coming out in September (and the Seattle Scenester review).

Be sure to follow us on twitter, if you aren’t already: @seattlescenestr

Improvolution has a cutesy story behind it, in that the six of them met as freshman back at Cornish. They are comprised of Richard Andreissen (the musician), Dana Blasingame (the songbird), Sami Detzer (the sassy starlet), Jerick Hoffer (the drag queen), Tim Smith-Stewart (the opinionated one), and Carol Thompson (the inanimate object). They claim to make “spectacular and fantastical comedies of epic proportions completely on the spot” using audience suggestions. It’s your typical improv. It’s fantastic.

Show starts at 11pm. $10, cash bar; Theatre Schmeater is located at 1500 Summit Avenue Seattle, WA 98122 (206) 324-5801. Get your tickets!

Pinter Fortnightly, Monday evening readings of works by the late Nobel laureate playwright Harold Pinter, performed by some of Seattle’s favorite local actors, was to kick off tonight with The Birthday Party. There is no word on if The Birthday Party will be rescheduled. The next schedule Pinter Fortnightly will take place on April 18th, with A Slight Ache.

Our thoughts go out to Chamberlin’s loved ones.

The exhibition is called ART.WRITE.NOW, and is featured at SAM through April 24th 2011. The exhibit features 600 pieces (art and writing) from teens in forty-five states and six countries. It is raking in the high reviews, deemed a not-to-be-missed opportunity (SAM). From the online preview, it looks pretty sick, and will put your art work to shame (and we mean that in the nicest way possible)! This year marks the first year that these selected works are a traveling exhibit. It’s already been to Texas and Indiana, and after Seattle, it’s making its way to LA, Philly and back to it’s home turf, NYC.

ART.WRITE.NOW is free and located in the Community Corridor (first floor) of the Seattle Art Museum. Be sure to check SAM’s hours before heading down, they’re closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

For a look into the literary publishings of Alliance of Young Artists and Writers, they’ve put out a downloadable PDF of the Best Teen Writing 2010. Since SAM is closed today, you could spend your evening with a glass of wine and these short stories.

Seattle Art Museum Downtown
1300 First Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101-2003
206.654.3100

Hours
Wednesday–Sunday: 10 am–5 pm
Thursday & Friday: 10 am–9 pm
Monday & Tuesday: closed

Image Information:
RACHEL LEZON
Age: 17, Grade: 12
LYONS TOWNSHIP HIGH SCHOOL LAGRANGE IL
Teacher: Patrick Page
Regional Affiliate: Downers Grove North and South High Schools
Gold Medal, 2010
from Art.Write.Now

No Color has made it to Billboard Top 100, which is at the very least exciting for the group, and has received pretty favorable reviews: a 7.6 from Pitchfork and an A- from The Onion AV Club. It features Neko Case, whose voice definitely adds notability to tracks like “Don’t Try and Hide It.” The album is produced by Phil Ek, whose produced albums for Built to Spill and Fleet Foxes. This comes as no surprise, as the album sounds similar to these artists’ most recent releases: airy, stark, and totally atmospheric.

Neumos is a great place to catch a band, especially on a weekday when it tends to be a bit less crowded for non-sold out shows: they’ve got two stories so it’s easy to get a good view, the top story has some seating options, and the drink prices are slightly better than venues like Tractor Tavern and the Crocodile (and stronger mixed drinks). However, seating is probably a non-starter for this particular show – just listen to “Black Night” below and imagine yourself in a deep forest just after dusk. You’ll definitely be up, standing and swaying to the deep percussions and haunting vocals. Don’t miss it!

Tickets available at eTix for $15 or at Neumos’s box office.

The Dodos’ “Black Night”: