Last year Seattle’s own Sub Pop Records celebrated Record Store Day with the release of some limited-edition vinyl offerings from Bllitzen Trapper, Flight of the Conchords and more. This year Sub Pop stepped up its game a bit with some pretty cool releases including a benefit CD of live performances from 2008’s two-day SP 20 celebration (that’s the cover of the album over there on the left) and a limited-edition 7″ reissue of Soundgarden’s first Sub Pop single “Hunted Down” with “Nothing to Say” as the B-side. If you weren’t at SP 20 check out the review of Day 1 here and the review of Day 2 here.

Here are the details of the Soundgarden and SP 20 releases as well as  the rest of Sub Pop’s Record Store Day offerings straight from the peeps at Sub Pop

Soundgarden “Hunted Down”  7” Reissue

This reissue of a Sub Pop classic was arranged specially for Record Store Day. “Hunted Down” was released in June 1987 as the band’s first single and was later available on Screaming Life. This single is pressed on translucent orange vinyl. The original, now a Soundgarden collector’s item, was pressed on blue vinyl.

Side A: “Hunted Down”

Side B: “Nothing to Say”

SP20: Casual Nostalgia Fest CD

We at Sub Pop Records celebrated our 20th anniversary in 2008 with, among other things, a 2-day music festival July 12th and 13th at Marymoor Park, somewhat unimaginatively called SP20. We’ve collected here some of our favorite performances from the SP20 festival. Sub Pop will be donating all of the profits from the sale of this CD to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.

1. Green River: “Leech”

2. Wolf Parade: “Fine Young Cannibals”

3. The Vaselines: “Dying for It”

4. Obits: “Run”

5. Les Thugs: “Dirty White Race”

6. Eric’s Trip: “Smother”

7. Beachwood Sparks: “You Take the Gold”

8. Blitzen Trapper: “Furr”

9. Flight of the Conchords: “Carol Brown”

10. Iron & Wine: “Woman King”

11. Constantines: “Why I Didn’t Like August ‘93”

12. Seaweed “Baggage”

13. Grand Archives: “Dig That Crazy Grave”

14. Low: “Silver Rider”

15. The Helio Sequence: “Lately”

16. Kinski: “The Wives of Artie Shaw”

17. Pissed Jeans: “Caught Licking Leather”

18. Mudhoney: “The Open Mind”

19. Comets on Fire: “Dogwood Rust”

Beach House “Zebra” 12”

The Zebra 12” features two new tracks (“The Arrangement” and “Baby”) and two alternate takes on songs from  Teen Dream (a UK radio edit of “Zebra” and the Cough Syrup remix of “10 Mile Stereo”).

Side One:

1. Zebra (UK Radio Edit)

2. The Arrangement

Side Two:

1. Baby

2. 10 Mile Stereo (Cough Syrup Remix)

The Album Leaf “There Is a Wind” 12”

The There Is a Wind 12” features two new tracks (“Landing in Snow” and “Resonations”) and two alternate takes on songs from A Chorus of Storytellers album (an acoustic version of “There Is a Wind” and the Jamuel Saxon sunburnt remix of “Falling from the Sun”).

Side One:

1. There Is a Wind (acoustic)

2. Landing in Snow

Side Two:

1. Resonations

2. Falling from the Sun (Jamuel Saxon sunburnt remix)

Dum Dum Girls/ Male Bonding 7” (sp876)

Two brand-new tracks, one each from LA’s Dum Dum Girls and London’s Male Bonding. Both bands have debut albums out this spring on Sub Pop.

Side A: Dum Dum Girls “Pay for Me”

Side AA: Male Bonding “Before It’s Gone”

Happy Birthday 7”

Two brand-new tracks from Kyle “King Tuff” Thomas’ Happy Birthday. Both of these tracks were recorded and mixed at Kyle’s home studio.  Happy Birthday’s

Side A: “Shampoo”

Side B: “Alien”

CocoRosie “Lemonade” 7”

The A-side to this limited-edition single is an edit of one of the stand-out tracks from the new CocoRosie album Grey Oceans and the B-side is the band’s cover of the Beach Boys’ classic “Surfer Girl.” Grey Oceans, CocoRosie’s Sub Pop debut (and fourth full-length album overall) will be released on May 11, 2010.

Side A: “Lemonade”

Side B: “Surfer Girl”

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

M

MINUS THE BEAR: “MY TIME”

Brad, the Stone Gossard side project featuring the highly underrated Shawn Smith on vocals, is also releasing a new album this year. The record is titled “Best Friends?” and if you sign up for the Brad mailing listyou can get a download of “Runnin’ For Cover” off the album. I’m sure you’ll be hearing the song when Brad plays Showbox at the Market on April 17. Of course, you remember the last time Brad played at Showbox at the Market, don’t you?

BRAD: “RUNNIN’ FOR COVER”

Drive-By Truckers recently became a small musical obsession of mine. I listened to “Southern Rock Opera” for the first time last summer and ever since I have been fascinated by Patterson Hood and the rest of the DBTs. The band is releasing its new album “The Big To-Do” on March 16 and you can click below to download the song “Birthday Boy” from the band’s new album. You can also stream the entire record over here.

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS: “BIRTHDAY BOY”

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

This just in from the awesome news department: Sunny Day Real Estate is entering the recording studio in May to record a new album

That’s what Marco Collins, former KNDD and current KEXP jock, reported on his Twitter account late Monday night. Collins wrote that he received an e-mail from SDRE/Foo Fighter member Nate Mendel stating the band would be recording in May.

The band, Jeremy Enigk, William Goldsmith, Dan Hoerner and Mendel, reunited last year and during the reunion tour SDRE performed a new song which was one of a few signs that the reunion was going well. You can read my review of the band’s homecoming stop on the tour here. Another sign things were working out during the reunion were the constant smiles on the faces of Enigk and the rest of the band during the show. Peep the photo proof of the smiles here.

The band’s 1994 debut album Diary  along with its second record LP2, were reisuued by Sub Pop last year. No word on what label will release the new Sunny Day Real Estate album or when the record will be released.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

No-Fi Soul Rebellion is the husband-wife dance-rock duo of Mark and Andrea Heimer. Currently based out of Bellingham, the pair are known for putting on fun, energetic live shows that typically include the band setting up their gear in the crowd with Mark running all over the place with a 50-foot microphone cord as he sings, screams and dances. More on the No-Fi Soul Rebellion live experience later this week, but needless to say No-Fi show isn’t a spectator sport, which is why Ear Candy likes Mark and Andrea so much and is thrilled to have No-Fi headline Ear Candy’s Birthday Bash 2010 Sunday at Nectar Lounge ($6, 8 p.m.). The above video is the failed attempt to film a video for “!” off the group’s 2008 album Terrible Muscles. Mark calls it the worst music video ever, but I’ve seen worse.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

The kids are alright.

Those words of Pete Townshend rang true during the finals of Experience Music Project’s Sound Off! competition, which showcased some of the brightest rising stars in Northwest music Saturday night (March 6).

The final round of the four-week, underage battle of the bands featured four groups that showed remarkable talent, musicianship, and poise, all delivered with the passion and vigor of youth.

Sound Off! is more than your typical battle of the bands. The contest focuses on young musicians who are 21 and younger, and at stake is more than just getting to be the cool kids in the cafeteria. The winner of Sound Off! gets a slot at Bumbershoot 2010 (although I suppose that might earn you popularity points in the lunchroom, too).

Great Waves, a sextet from Sammamish featuring the soaring vocals of Ashley Bullock, took home this year’s top prize. The band uses tinges of bluegrass and folk, and heavy doses of influences such as Radiohead and the Pixies to create lush soundscapes that accompany Bullock’s remarkable voice. Along with the Bumbershoot spot, the band also won radio play on 107.7 The End, a song to be featured for download in the videogame “Rock Band,” and other prizes.

Hooves and Beak, the stage name for self-taught harpist Whitney Flynn, finished second. She has perhaps the most unique voice in local music; while at first just a girl and a harp might seem like a gimmick, it’s almost impossible to avoid becoming enamored of Flynn’s music in a live setting. Hooves and Beak was awarded a performance spot at the Folk Life Festival and other prizes.

Candysound, a guitar and drum duo from Bellingham, finished third. They follow the tradition of locals like Death Cab for Cutie and Sunny Day Real Estate in that they produce powerful, emotional rock music. I was impressed by how they were able to create such a full sound for a two-person band. This should serve them well on their upcoming West Coast tour. Candysound was awarded a slot opening for a national touring artist at Hard Rock Seattle and other prizes.

The fourth place finisher, SEACATS from Kelso, was the youngest group, with members ranging between the ages of 14 and 19. The band’s powerpop is extremely contagious thanks to the help of catchy choruses and a distinctive guitar sound. They also feature an adorable bassist who always seems to be smiling while rocking a McCartney-style Hofner instrument.

All of Saturday’s performers have bright futures, and each won complimentary recording studio time.

In total, more than 130 entries were considered for this year’s Sound Off! and those were whittled down to 12 acts that competed for a slot in Saturday’s final round. Bands as far away as Kennewick and Vancouver, B.C. made the cut for the semifinals. Having seen all 12 Sound Off! 2010 performers (full disclosure: I served as a judge for a semifinal round), I feel comfortable that the future of local music is in good hands, and I’m not the only one who feels that way.

Between bands Saturday, Jim Keblas of the Mayor’s Office of Film + Music, who was one of the night’s six judges, fired off a tweet that echoed the feelings I had after watching every round of the competition. It read in part: “EMP’s Sound Off! gives me hope about tomorrow’s local music community.”

Pete Townshend couldn’t have said it better himself.

*** Great Waves photo courtesy EMPSFM.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

T

The group is difficult to describe and they are not like any other acts gracing stages in Seattle, which is one of the many reasons I am thrilled to have them as part of Ear Candy’s Birthday Bash 2010 at Nectar Lounge

Queerbait! is really more of a performance art multimedia project than it is a band and its live shows look to be equally visually intriguing and musically entertaining (see videos below). The core lineup consists of two modern dancers (Meredith Meiko and Tova Eisner), a visual artist (Johanna Breiding) and a musician (Gina Young). Not much is more is known about Queerbait! because they have a limited web presence, no recorded material and the group has only performed one live show. But from the videos you get a glimpse of lots of interesting costumes, makeup and some rapping in German. While the project is in its infancy,  I’ve been told the group intends future collaborations with musicians like Kamikavi and Radio Sloan, and queer theorists/academics like E.L. Hunter and Marisa Ragonese.

See, I told you they are unlike anything happening in Seattle.

Peep the videos below and come catch Queerbait! at Nectar Lounge March 14 when they open Ear Candy’s Birthday Bash 2010. Other performers slated for the show include Lisa Dank, Katie Kate and No-Fi Soul Rebellion. Doors at 8 p.m., show starts at 9 p.m. Tickets cost $6 at the door. Show is 21+

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

I wrote the below review for Crosscut. Expect to read more about MTV’s $5 Cover: Seattle when the series airs online in June.

Seattle’s music scene got its closeup Monday night (March 2) at SIFF Cinema during the world premiere of local director Lynn Shelton’s MTV’s “$5 Cover: Seattle.”

So how does the local music community look on the big screen? Like real people, not film characters.

The last time Seattle’s music scene was captured well on film was in “Singles,” Cameron Crowe’s 1992 tribute to the glory days of grunge. Shelton’s non-Hollywood production likely won’t get as much hype but it is far superior. The characters of her film aren’t really characters at all: They are genuine people playing their real-life roles on film. This should bode well for “$5 Cover: Seattle” in this era where musical tastes steer toward authenticity over mass-produced pop stars, and MTV’s music content is relegated to the Internet, not the television.

Set to be released on the Internet in June, Shelton’s film is a glowing love letter to Seattle’s music scene. The 60-minute movie follows 13 bands through a weekend in Seattle, via 12 episodic and scripted vignettes. Given that MTV has long lost its credibility with musicians, this project could’ve been a disaster. Thankfully Shelton, with her affection for local musicians, made sure this was a genuine and accurate representation of Seattle’s music community.

The main storyline that binds the vignettes together is an attempt by the Moondoggies to go on tour. But for the most part the 12 episodes stand alone. One vignette shows the loving relationship between Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White of THEESatisfaction. Another shows a failed relationship involving Dita Vox of Thee Emergency. Other scenes include a Champagne Champagne party at a secret location, a story about the Tea Cozies’ stolen gear, obligatory interviews with bloggers, and other moments in the daily lives of local musicians.

Shelton’s approach involved having the bands reenact events that happened to them in real life, which likely made it easier to turn musicians into actors and gave the film an air of authenticity. Adding to the authentic feel, members of various bands appeared in the crowds of other bands’ shows, which gave everybody involved ample screen time.

Scenes were shot in Phinney Ridge, SoDo, Wedgwood and other local neighborhoods. For the most part the music scenes take place in various clubs like Hidmo, the Tractor Tavern, the Wildrose and other spots — and the film accurately reflects what it feels like to spend a weekend entrenched in Seattle’s music scene.

At Monday night’s screening, the theater was filled with cast, crew and band members featured in the movie, all of whom were watching the film for the first time. Thomas Gray cheered loudly every time his band Champagne Champagne was mentioned. The Tea Cozies squealed when they got their screen time. And James Keblas, the director of the Mayor’s Office of Film + Music, whistled after the credits rolled. Shelton received an ovation for her efforts from a community that seemed to greatly appreciate her work. And if Shelton’s film didn’t show her passion for local music, her presence at the afterparty — she was in the front row dancing the night away — definitely did.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

You know how they say third times a charm? Well, it looks like the third round was a charm for a pair of bands that performed during Saturday’s final semifinal round.

Great Waves, from Sammamish, Wash. won Saturday’s Sound Off! competition and automatically earned a slot in  the finals round this weekend. Runners-up from last weekend’s Sound Off!, SEACATS, from Kelso, Wash., won the wildcard bid to the finals round. SEACATS was chosen by EMP’s Youth Advisory board as the wild card winner. The band, which has a poppy, Weezer-meets-Tea Cozies sound, beat out melodic indie rockers Sea Fever from Seattle and Bellingham instrumental jazz group Pan Pan for the wildcard spot.

The band will compete against the charming indie rock of Bellingham duo Candysound, the beautiful harp and vocals of Hooves and Beak and the folk/rock hybrid of Great Waves The winner of Sound Off! gets studio time, a slot at this year’s Bumbershoot and many other great prizes.

I’m not going to write much about the bands that performed during the final semifinal round of Sound Off ! last weekend because I was a judge of the competition that week. However, expect to read some words here soon about my experience as a judge in the coming days. In short, it was a fun and challenging experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat if asked.

Tickets for the Sound Off! finals can be purchased at the EMP|SFM box office or by calling 206-770-2702. Tickets cost $10 for the general public, $7 for students or EMPSFM members. Doors are 7:00 pm, shows start at 8:00 pm.

*** SEACATS photo courtesy EMPSFM

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

The P section in the record bins at your local record shop got a little more topheavy with Pacific Northwest rock today thanks to two excellent releases by Post Harbor and Past Lives. Both provide compelling listens with each showcasing different sides of Seattle’s rock landscape. If these albums are any indication, 2010 is going to be a great year for rock in the Emerald City.

Artist: Post Harbor
Album: They Can’t Hurt You if You Don’t Believe in Them
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Label: Burning Building Records
Score: 8/11

While it can be considered cliche to label a record epic in some circles, there simply isn’t another word to describe most of what Post Harbor pulls off on They Can’t Hurt You if You Don’t Believe in Them. Expert musicianship combined with excellent songwriting creates 10 beautiful, emotionally powerful songs. It’s quite a feat considering most of the record relies on the simple arrangement of cello, keyboards, bass, guitars and drums to make an impressive post-rock record.

For the most part vocalist Anthony Calucci keeps quiet throughout the album, which allows the spotlight to shine of crescendos of colliding guitars and drums that create the record’s many memorable musical moments. Tracks like “Shirakashi” and “Augustine” stand out from the pack thanks to sweeping arrangements and Calucci’s at times digitally distorted vocals. The record’s only downside is that the instrumental nature of most of the music might not appeal to a wider audience, which is unfortunate because a band like Post Harbor is something that needs to be experienced by anyone who has ever wondered what the more rocking parts of the soundtrack of their life would sound like.

Artist: Past Lives
Album: Tapestry of Webs
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Label: Suicide Squeeze
Score: 7.0/11

In theory the first full-length record by Past Lives, a band that features several former members of the Blood Brothers, should have been a tough pill to swallow. Combining the often sqeaully vocals of Jordan Blilie with a solid rhythm section to make a new batch of post-hardcore rock that at times oddly sounds pop-driven should be a recipe for disaster. However, that’s not the case for this Blood Brothers breakup project. Tapestry of Webs provides a much needed jolt of energy to the list of local releases during the early months of twenty-dime while somewhat filling the void Blood Brothers left behind.

The first thing any Blood Brothers fan will notice is the lack of screaming and guitar acrobatics. Instead of reinventing the wheel and trying to recapture the Blood Brothers sound of searing guitars, loud screams and lots of high-pitched shrieks, the band goes in a more melodic direction creating a sound that is extremely different than, but equally as distinct, as the Blood Brothers. Part of how the band does this is by having Blilie actually sing, not scream, his way through songs. At times the music sounds sparse, like it’s waiting for a blazing solo or some other embellishment to jump in and capture your ear, but this works to Past Lives advantage. Songs like “Hospital White” and album opener “Paralyzer” are catchier and far less abrasive than anything the in the Blood Brothers catalog while “K Hole” is the closes the band comes to sounding like a cheapened version of Blood Brothers past. Tapestry of Webs is an album both fans of the Blood Brothers, and anyone seeking out new thrills from local music, will enjoy.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post