Stage Hymns

Back to the Beginning: Creep

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 05:21:00 +0000

Today's post is quite lame, actually, because I've just moved back to school, and I'm going through RA training right now, which is incredibly rigorous. If my writing quality has diminished, please forgive me. It should be back to normal when I am more rested.

I was thinking just now how I first got into Radiohead, consistently my favorite band so far. It's funny, cause I was actually looking for a little number by The Stone Temple Pilots called "Creep", and I downloaded all the resulting MP3s. Now, keep in mind, this is before p2p file sharing and such, so there weren't really that many songs to look through. Of course, I wound up downloading Radiohead's "Creep" and I couldn't get over the way Johnny Greenwood rips that guitar leadind into the chorus. It's funny, because I completely abandoned my search for the STP song until much later, since I was distracted by Radiohead's music.

At any rate, STP's song is definitely up there in my favorite's, even though I don't care for all that much of their work. So today I'd like to share their song with you in case you didn't pick up on it back when it was a radio hit. I've also included Damien Rice's version of Radiohead's song. It seems appropriate that he sing it because his debut album O had plenty of songs with the same tone and theme as "Creep".

EDIT: I posted Damien's cover as "Radiohead - Creep (Radiohead Cover).mp3" cause it was late. I don't know what I was thinking. At any rate, it's fixed now.

Download:
Stone Temple Pilots - Creep.mp3
Damien Rice - Creep (Radiohead Cover).mp3

+joe

An Interview With Ingrid Michaelson

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 06:42:00 +0000

Well, I've posted enough about her, so it's about time I did an interview with the fantastic Ingrid Michaelson. Here it is folks, I hope you enjoy it!

On your second album, "Girls and Boys" you dwell a good deal on a few central themes, including childhood, growing up, relationships, imperfection, trust, heartache, and acceptance. Universality aside,were these some of the central themes of your life while you werewriting the album?

The word "theme" kind of frightens me...I definitley did not write this album with any theme in mind. I named it Girls and Boys because all the songs were about relationships, some mine, some others, some made up. It kind of just ended up that way.

In the song "Die Alone" the premiss is that you've found someone who gives you hope for a future with someone. Have you truly had a struggle with the fear of dying alone, or is that song sung somewhat tongue-in-cheek to over-emphasize the point?

Of course I have had times where I felt that i would not have anyone to grow old with, but doesn't everyone?? I mean, it doesn't consume my days, but I have had moments where I thought my selfish ways would lead me to the life of lonliless, sure!

What thoughts do you have about your career after putting out 2 full albums?

This album (in my opinion) is much better, cleaner, it makes more sense. I feel that I am finally making music that is my own, not whatis expected of me. So I feel that i am starting over in a way. I feel alright about my...um...career. (I don't like that word) I thinkthe record is slowly gaining momentum.

What are some of your musical influences, and do you hear them coming out a bit in some of your songs?

Death Cab for Cutie, Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor to name a few. Yes, I hear aspects of their music in mine. I don't ever want to replicate, I just get inspired to push myself past my comfort zone...and that always makes for better music.

You've expressed a desire to get your album out there into people's hands. What does it mean to you to have someone listening to your music, half a world away, enjoying it?

Yeah!! Myspace (I had to bring it up) is so incredible!! People in Sweden are reviewing my cd!! weird...but so cool. Every time someone says they like my music, it's like the first time all over. It is really surreal to know that people, complete strangers, are listening my voice and words...and that they like it!!!

How accessable do you think your music is from a listener's standpoint?

Pretty accessable. My words are very straight forward and my melodies (I have been told) are "deceptively simple" and catchy...there are some songs where you will listen over and over and still not know what the hell it is about. if you listen to one of my songs once, you'll get it.

How do you describe your music to people when they ask you about it?

I think every one who plays music hates that question. Ummm, indie /pop...Fiona [Apple] meets Death Cab [For Cutie].

What does the song writing process look like for you?

I come up with the chords, then the melody, then the lyrics.usually, i finish a song in under and hour. then there are timeswhere i'll struggle and struggle with a chorus for days, and neverfinish it. the best songs are the ones that come tumbling out!

And now the obligatory interview question: Do you prefer playing live or writing?

Writing.

How would you describe your voice as a songwriter?

Arg...again with the self describing??? Clear and soft, with a lot of control...all those years of classical training paid off.

Could you name a few musical acts that interest you today?

Well, the three I mentioned earlier, The Magnetic Fields, The Shins, Ben Folds, Bjork, Imogen Heap, Laura Viers, Nada Surf, Weezer.

You're currently (at the time of this interview) a finalist in The Mountain Stage Newsong Festival. How did you come to be involved in that? What else can you tell us about that contest?

Sonicbids baby! Whoever said you don't get gigs from sonicbids didn't know what they were talking about. I really don't know too much except that i get to play at the south street seaport here in NYC!!! woohoo!! Plus, my picture was in the daily news!

What is so beautiful, special, unique about the dynamic between Girls and Boys?

We will never understand eachother, and that is why we want each other so much. the constant struggle feeds us, at least me!!

What is your greatest aspiration as a musician?

To have a loyal fan base and be able to make music and make enough money that I never have to do anything besides music for the rest of my days. And to get my songs on Grey's Anatomy!!Seriously, I am obsessed.

In my experience, some of the people who create music tend to see themselves as primarily singers, musicians (instrumentalists), or songwriters, but rarely as all three. I'm not entirely sure why that is. Does that ring true for you, or do you consider yourself all three?

I think I am a singer/songwriter. i am a decent piano player and ok on the guitar, but I am most comfortable when I am simply singing.

If someone were to ask you to name something you would die for, whatwould be the first thing that came to mind?

At this point, i do not think there is anything I would die for, realistically speaking. I don't know though. You never know the answer to questions like that until you are really faced with a situation that demands an answer.

How do you get inspired to write? Do you seek inspiration? Does it come to you?

Most of the time, it is not my own experiences that inspire me, but other music and musicians. I don't really seek it out though.

You end your album, Girls and Boys, with an uplifting, carefree sounding song. I wonder, was that a conscious decision? How did you select your track order?

I liked that song ("Far Away") but it did not fit in with the rest of the songs, so i made it the hidden track, but not the "last track". The order just came to me...there was no real concious effort except thinking which song would flow into the next. I suppose if you listen to the words, one could draw some conclusion on why we ordered it like that...

What was different in your experience making your second album in comparison to making your first album?

A lot more time and effort was put in this time around. we all loved these songs so much, we wanted the very best for them!!

What plans for the future have you been able to make at this point?

To keep giging, do a college tour, get my music "out there"....just keep on plugging...what else can you do? the battle is half the fun anyway!

+joe

Summerbirds in the Cellar

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 09:40:00 +0000

Well, I thought I'd let you all know--the rumors...they're TRUE. I'm sorry, but there's another blog in my life. Don't worry baby! You know you're my only true love! This other blog is just a temporary thing. I'm posting for a few days over at Great Body of Water while Alex is out of town.

Earlier today, on GBOW, I posted about an incredible band that I have yet to share with you all, Summerbirds in the Cellar. They're affectionately known as "1/2 of Now It's Overhead. I was handed a copy of this amazing side-project's album, With The Hands Of The Hunter It All Becomes Dead, at the Now It's Overhead concert I last attended (Read the Review), and I've been listening to it quite a bit since then.

It's that perfect blend of dreamrock, pink floyd, and electronic ambience. I would be remiss to try and pinpoint any real influences from listening to the entire album. This is not, however, the typical inoffensive rock side-project that you might be expecting. No, this is quality music. Does is challenge my tastes? No. Does is play right to them? Yes. Do I mind that? Not on your life. The instrumentals are flawless, compelling, and shiny. The vocals are decent on most tracks, and even rise to a level we can call "good" on certain tracks. This is an extremely cohesive album, and you've got to give it a listen. Even if it isn't going to bring the revolution to your backyard, it can still make you tap your toes like the best of them.

Downloads:
Summerbirds in the Cellar - Behold the Wolf.mp3
Summerbirds in the Cellar - Beware Of False Prophets.mp3

Links:
Clever Titles Are So Last Summer's Post on the Summerbirds
My Old Kentucky Blog's Post on the Summerbirds

+joe

The Banjo Consorsium

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 08:21:00 +0000

There comes a time when we have to reach way back to the first few weeks of this blog's existence and mention old loves. One of my favorite instrumental acts, The Banjo Consorsium, has informed the public that he has a new project in the works with the ever talented Savery. The best way to describe TBC is "folktronic". After I first heard this guy back in January, I did some searching for other good "folktronic" acts. There really aren't many. A few you may have heard of are Tunng, The Books, and Caribou. It's almost the sound of industrious nature. It's surprisingly organic sounding. I would almost call it the "soundtrack to growth". On one of Jacques' (TBC) songs, "My. Sugar Melted" from le debut, you can almost picture an ant colony hard at work. On "une soirée kebekoise" I feel as though I'm flashing through vignettes of plants growing. Considering how many electronic noises are involved, it's incredible that it sounds so natural. This is some of the most uplifting and calming music around.

The Banjo Consorium has a new album set to arrive in September with 9 brand new songs! A video for "My.Sugar Melted" from le debut will also be coming out around that time. As if that wasn't enough to keep Jacques busy, he's also preparing a show with 5 other artists that will be on in September. He's promised me a few more details as these projects approach.

Downloads:
The Banjo Consorsium - My.Sugar Melted.mp3
The Banjo Consorsium - Une Soirée Kebekoise.mp3
The Banjo Consorsium - Tuesday Craker.mp3*

(*very highly recommended)

OR Download the entire album, le debut, for free (zip): HERE!

Links:
The Banjo Consorsium on MySpace
Savery on MySpace
Seedsound (TBC's label)

+joe

A Mish Mash Sort of Day

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 08:15:00 +0000

Today is a mishmash. I've been working on a special project with the Bully of Culture himself, Chris, for a while now, and I just haven't had the time to dig for that next new artist. So I thought I'd resort to something more expected, I suppose. Today I'm serving up a mini-list, with a couple of mind blowing tracks.

Downloads:

Herbie Hancock - Don't Explain (Featuring Damien Rice & Lisa Hannigan).mp3
Starting off, we've got Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan's vocals joining Herbie Hancock's mastery of the ivory keys on "Don't Explain". This track features one of Damien's and Lisa's best performances ever. I don't think I have to tell you that Herbie's on top of him game, too. Do I?

Quentin Grey - Growing Agression.mp3
Here we have an incredible electro-rock song called "Growing Agression" done for an online comic book ("Broken Saints") done by Quentin Grey. It's got an amazing heart pounding chorus. You wont be able to stop playing air guitar after hearing this! It totally belongs in an action movie.

Mice Parade - And Still It Sits In Front of You.mp3
Finally, we have a really nice track by Mice Parade. I haven't been able to get into their music as much as I'd like to, but this song is definitely reason to. I actually came across it playing in the background on someone's blog many months ago. If you're not familiar with Mice Parade you really should be. This song is off their album Obrigado Saudade. If you know MPs music well, I'd love to have some songs reccommended to me!

Well, that's all for today my dear friends!

+joe

William Fitzsimmons

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 09:22:00 +0000

One of the great things about encountering new musicians is encountering their friends, who are often also great musicians. I can't tell you how many bands I have posted about here that I have come across through links from musicians I was already enjoying. It says a lot to me when a musician that I love gives an endorsement to another musician. Such is the case with the subject of today's post: William Fitzsimmons. His musical friend Ingrid Michaelson has "long" been a favorite of mine (okay, so maybe not as long as I'd like to pretend), and her MySpace page referred me to him.

My bro William is a folk artist of the non-garden variety. If you're already seeing flags because he's another folk musician (I know I'm on a roll), then please bear with me for just one more! William's music definitely has a DIY quality that can be decieving at moments, because an honest listen to any song will show you just how professional he is, all the while making you feel like you must be sitting outside in a cirlce listening to one of your extremely talented friends. Intimate. Though it's a word that others may overuse, I challenge you to find more than one or two instances of me ever using it. I don't use it lightly or flippantly. It's very accessable music, at it's heart, which is very important in the folk genre.

After grabbing the free download below, head over to William's MySpace page to hear 4 more songs you're sure to enjoy just as much. I've thrown in a live track from Sia, singing "Breathe" on KCRW, which is probably the best version of the song you can hope to find, ever! It's been in my head for a while, so I had to share.

Downloads:
William Fitzsimmons - Shattered.mp3
Sia - Breathe (Live on KCRW).mp3

Links:
Download William's CD, Until We Are Ghosts
William Fitzsimmons' MySpace Page

+joe

Possible Favorites: The Possible Selves

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 21:32:00 +0000

I don't think I've been shy about the fact that I use MySpace as a vehicle for exploring usigned and small-time bands. Often, these explorations are rewarded, as in the case of my most recent findig: Possible Selves. The Selves are really just Neal Williams, with a backing band, playing Psychedelic Folk/Country music, as it were. Now, 'Psychedelic Folk/Country' music isn't usually my cup of tea, but you gotta make that jump sometimes, you know? At any rate, I've really enjoyed what I've heard of his so far, and what kind of person would I be to keep this a secret from you?

So how does he sound? Well, he sounds like the type of guy who would just as easily write a song about the end of the world as he would about the pattern of your fingerprints. Does that make any sense? There is equal wonder and understanding in his music. It's quietly stirring, and subtley playful, as though Neal were playing on strings of glass, and feared that they might break. Because of this I would say it makes for very good late-evening music, although, honestly it might be just as beautiful on an autumn afternoon. "Welcome Home" reminds me of old school southern folk, with a twist. The plucking banjo on that track, though, makes it my personal favorite of his. Definitely check that mp3 and 2 others in the download section below, then hit up the Possible Selves MySpace page for another download.

Oh, and be sure to watch for an interview with this talented artist in the near future, as well as an interview with a Stage Hymns favorite, Ingrid Michaelson (which will happen just as soon as I get her some decent questions), and a feature on a friend of hers, William Fitzsimmons. Sorry about the infrequency of posts. Trust me, I know it's frustrating. I'm trying to batten down the hatches on 2 websites right now, as well as getting ready to move back to school for RA training. It's all happening very fast.

Downloads:
Possible Selves - Welcome Home.mp3
Possible Selves - Future Plans.mp3
Possible Selves - Three Birds.mp3

Links:
Possible Selves Official Website
Possible Selves on MySpace

+joe

Along Came A Spider: An Interview With Jane Herships

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 20:57:00 +0000

Spider is the best thing to happen to folk music since Joanna Newsom, and maybe even longer than that. Spider is New York singer-songwriter Jane Herships, and whether you've heard of her or not she's been sweeping the internet's music elite with her self-released album, The Way To Bitter Lake. As I've listened to the album, I can't help but ask myself why more music doesn't sound like this. Shouldn't music always be beautiful like this? All I know is that this album is the only thing I've listened to in the past few months that's made me bleary eyed.

Jane Herships isn't exactly sure of everything she does. She's not acting too sure anyway. But that's okay, because that's why I'm here!...to tell you she's a sure thing. As sure as they come. This artist is one of the most tender and gentle souls I've ever spoken with, but she insists she loves "to rock". How charming is that? I've had this interview for a month now, but I kept poor Jane on the phone for over a half an hour, and that makes for one long interview to transcribe. I did it for you, though, folks. I asked every question I could possibly think of, and I think you'll find that by the time you're done reading this interview you will know Jane very well, and you'll see just how well her music echoes of her personality.

If you're unfamiliar with Spider's songs, you'll find 2 juicy downloads at the end of the interview, and a bunch of links to other blog posts about her.

How are you today, Jane?

I’m fine, thanks. Where exactly am I calling to?

You’re calling to Omaha Nebraska...

Oh...nice.

...yeah...

Is it nice there?

Sure...I guess. I’ve lived in Chicago, L.A., and San Francisco as well. I guess it’s small by comparison, but...

Wow.

Yeah. I’ve got some questions here, and you’re going to have to correct me if any of them seem misinformed cause I researched as best I could but...

There’s not a lot of information. It’s ok. I’m looking at these plants in my garden, and there covered with these crazy...things!

Don’t you live in the city [NYC]?

I live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. So I have a little back garden.

Gotcha.

It’s like an overgrown mini-jungle.

I would think that would be much better than just having everything look urban and "city-like" all over the place.

Yeah. I prefer it this way. Absolutely.

[A helicopter flies loudly in the background]

Can you hear me okay?

Yeah, I can hear you just fine. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you grew up listening to bands like The Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, and other rock bands.

Yeah, total classic rock. I think the first introduction to music I had was some Beatles tapes that my dad gave me when I was about twelve. Beatles 1967-70. I think I listened to it for a year straight because it was the only tape I had.

When did you start listening to this very beautiful, hushed, strummed music that you now play? Cause it’s very different, to an extent, than those bands you listened to growing up.

I should say Joni Mitchell is another musician I’ve listened to, but I was introduced to Indie Rock in college. I’m not a music nerd at all. Actually, I’m probably the opposite. I didn’t listen to music for a very long time. I just listened to things like NPR, and a lot of classical music–though I don’t even know the names of a lot of composers. I like Chopin a lot. I listen to Court and Spark [a Joni Mitchell album].

That’s an amazing album.

Yeah, I listened to that about nine-thousand times cause I got into Belle & Sebastian, (That probably had a big influence on me), Cat Power...You know, your typical, more mainstream Indie Rock.

So you’re not necessarily listening to Iron & Wine, Diane Cluck, and other comparable artists?

I definitely do now. I guess I was thinking back to my more formative years, and what amounted to my first knowledge of music. It was all that classic rock stuff. I didn’t even know about that other stuff, because we didn’t have the internet like we have today, and I was super-young still. So the way to delve into more unknown music was to go to the record store with my friends and find older stuff. Psychedelic Rock and all that stuff. We tried to find things we’d never heard of, so we had to go to the mall.

Okay then. Here’s a hypothetical question that might go more into that. If you were eighteen years old today, moving into your college dorm room, what bands' posters would you hang on the walls?

From today, Joanna Newsom, definitely. She's a big favorite of mine. I do like Iron & Wine. Nico, not Neko Case (I haven't had time to listen to her new album), but the other Nico...um...

...I've got a list here of supposed influences that other people have mentioned. Would you like to hear some of those?

Yeah, sure.

Vashti Bunyan...

Vashti Bunyan? You know I've honestly never heard her before, and I get a lot of comparisons to her.

Diane Cluck...

Um...I've seen her play. I think her music is beautiful. I've definitely listened to her before. I don't know if I'd call her an influence. Maybe, an inspiration. I've only been doing this [playing professionally] for about a year and a half. I saw her perform at a show right around the time when I was beginning to do this. To see a woman stand up and play these quiet songs in front of a really nice, polite, respectful audience was really inspiring. You know, she has a lot of passion when she plays, and that's really great.

You've been playing publicly rather extensively for the past year and a half, correct?

I played my first show ever, by myself, with these songs in December of 2004 at the Sidewalk Cafe in New York. So I'd really never done anything other than playing at a coffee shop in college a few times. Aside from that, years had gone by and I'd never done stuff like that before [December 2004]. One of the reasons I've been playing so much is to get used to it...to learn how to do it.

What did you go to college for? You had a band or two before college, right?

I played in a band in college for three months [laughs]. We had one show. [laughs more] We were called The Irl. Then I began playing with a band about three years ago in New York, called Numb Numbers. We were a practicing band. We practiced and practiced until we got really tight. Then we played out [in public] for about three months, and we broke up. [laughs] Then I had another band, and we did about five shows. It was a girl rock duo called The Burners. It's hard to find time, so we haven't played in a while. That's the extent of my musical history.

You're doing a publicity campaign through email, sending out info to several different people. What made you decide to go that route now, and to "push it" at this point?

I don't really know. I guess I see other people doing this for a living. It seems like a wonderful thing, to be able to do this for a living, be able to do something that you love. I have no idea what it takes to do this, but I know a lot of people have teams of people working with them, all kinds of stuff. [laughs] I'm kind of just pluggin' along blindly, [laughs] going on suggestions of friends. Basically, why not?

Well, you're doing a wonderful job. I bought the album off of iTunes a while ago... [planes fly overhead very loudly]

Wait. There's a plane...there's actually a lot of very loud planes going by. Ok...what was the last thing you said?

I guess I was just saying I bought the album a while ago off of iTunes and it kind of shot up to the top of my "Most Played" list pretty quickly.

Oh, thank you.

Yes it's wonderful. Would you be offended to hear that your album is really to listen to while doing lots of different things, as ambient music for unwinding...to listen to or just to play in the background to set a nice mood? Because it's very somber. Is that something you're okay hearing?

Absolutely. I set out to write songs that definitely mean something to me, to write evocative music, but I equally wanted to write accessable music. I want to write interesting music that people will respect, and hopefully I've pulled that off. I always wanted to write satisfying songs.

Where does the moniker 'Spider' come from exactly?

A friend of mine, who I was playing with and had approached with the songs I had already written (his name is Steven, and he's played drums on a couple of songs on my record) had suggested it as a name for his dog. Or, if he had a son, he would name him Spider. We'd really been changing the name, playing out a lot, changing the band's name. This was last spring. We'd been changing the band's name every week or so. So it seems like as good a name as any, and it's kinda stuck. I actually had a horrible phobia of spiders. So when it became the name it began to mean something to me because I think I had a horrible phobia of playing music for a really long time. I don't know if I should go deep about it, but we thought it was a cool name, and we were starting to play some rock songs.

If there's something so deep about that you don't want to say, that's fine...

No, it's actually simple. It's a "facing your fears" thing. After a while it took on the meaning for me that you can't be afraid of things. I think for a long time I was really afraid to play music, even though it was something that I’d really always loved. I kind of shied away from it for a really long time. It’s not like I love spiders now, or anything., [laughs] but I’ve actually gotten over my fear of spiders a lot.

It would be lazy of me to categorize your music with terms that might get thrown around (especially in New York) like ‘Anti-Folk’ or ‘New Weird America’ unless I knew that you identified with terms like that. But do you ascribe any genre or subgenre name with your music? Are you comfortable doing that?

I have no idea. The guy I used to play with in Numb Numbers said we played ‘Modern Rock’. Maybe ‘Soft Rock’? [laughs] I listen to Lite FM [a NYC radio station] a lot, though. I usually just tell people it’s ‘Indie Folk’ for lack of a better genre.

[At this point, my recorder was running out of room, so I asked to stop it for a second so I could delete some files from it before we continued through the questions. Unfortunately I forgot to hit ‘record’ again until a few minutes later. So I don’t have the exact transcript of those few moments, but I believe I asked Jane who she would want to have a tea party with if she could pick anyone alive or dead. She answered Eleanor Roosevelt, which is where we pick up…]

…you know, there’s something very honest about her.

You released ‘The Way To Bitter Lake’ independently, right?

Oh Yeah!

What made you decide to release it independently? And are you looking into any labels at the moment?

Well…I don’t even know how to begin a conversation with a label. I think for my next album, which I’ll start to record soon, there are some labels I’d like to contact. It would be wonderful to have a label and tour, have tour support and everything. I think that would be a great help and opportunity. But I kind of had this thing [the album], and when I was done with it I wanted to…[laughs] I think with the internet and the way things are today it just seemed so feasible.

I see. So do you have any offline distribution set up at the moment? Can people buy your music at a certain store?

I am selling at about ten independent record stores right now, but it’s been growing. When I go to cities I try to visit record shops, definitely. I’ll probably be doing more of that soon.

Towards the end of ‘Maggie’s Song For Alice’ you have this ‘Melt-your-face-off’ guitar solo come in, which is in total striking contrast to the rest of the album (albeit a wonderful and, possibly vital contrast). What made you decide to change things up in that way, at that point on the album?

Well, it just kind of came out that way. In the band I had played with, Numb Numbers, I was the lead guitar player. I didn’t sing, and I didn’t really write the songs, but I got to shred. And with the other band, The Burners, it was totally a girl rock-duo. Actually on the next album there’s going to be a couple of rock songs on it. I love…to…rock! [laughs] I know that sounds silly. The latter songs didn’t really fit in on that last record, except in that one element.

What was it like for you to play at this years South by Southwest Festival? How did that opportunity come your way? What were some memorable experiences from that?

That was a blast. I had never been before, but I heard it was different from previous years. Now it seems that everyone and their mother who has a garage can have a party. Basically some friends of mine were having some parties, and Peter and the Wolf (with Whiskey & Apple Records)…um, I got to play on his bill with another amazing artist, St. Vincent. I am really glad I got to see her.

South By Southwest has really opened up some opportunities for non-label people and independent artists. The amazing thing is that you pretty much just go to shows all week, and everywhere you go there are people there. Even if it was in the smallest "Tacoria" [taco joint].

Did you get a pretty good response from the people that heard you play?

Yeah, I had a really nice response. Everyone was really warm, and the parties themselves were just great. I got to play with Brightback Morning Light, which was really wonderful. That was just a completely outside party that they were nice enough to come to. You know, they had just come from playing to open for Belle and Sebastian, earlier that day. [laughs] Then there in some, you know, random girl’s back yard.

Almost every major music blog that I can think of has posted about you recently. None of them seem to have said anything that wasn’t really good about you. Have you noticed any recent surge in publicity? Do you get more emails from people visiting the site recently because of that?

I’ve definitely noticed a small, steady climb in all that. Yes.

A year from now, where would you like to be professionally?

I would just like to always be playing music. I would love to have a band. I would actually really love to collaborate with other people. I’ve been working on my own project now for about a year and a half, and I really miss playing in somebody else’s band. [laughs]

Do you enjoy writing as much as you enjoy playing?

Absolutely, yes.

So, in the future, with these collaborations you'd like to have a hand in the writing aspect?

Yeah. I think that comes naturally, but I guess what I miss about playingwith somebody else is...and maybe it's just the mood of what I've been writing, but I feel like I've been focusing on the guitar. Acting as a guitar player with someone else is really interesting. I really never thought of myself as a guitar player. I thought of myself as somebody who knew how to play guitar and liked to sing. Being in a band where we practiced three times a week, and having never used a guitar pedal before--using pedals for all sorts of things--I really grew as a musician. I remember one day I realized, "I'm a guitar player!" [laughs] It's a really good feeling. You know, I really like that.

Am I correct in thinking that you picked up guitar at the age of fourteen, after going to band camp? Is that right?

No, I went to a YMCA camp in the Poconos [laughs]. My best friend at the time was going there, and there were always cute boys playing guitar while sitting around the fire. [laughs]

[laughs] Well, that's perfectly understandable. It's surprising though, because there are many girls who own acoustic guitars because they know boys who can play them, but they don't necessarily know how to play them. So it's interesting that you could start that way and wind up being an awesome guitar player.

It was a struggle. It was hard because I came home from camp, and I was like, "Mom! Dad! I want a guitar!" And they said, "...no." We had already tried with piano and violin, and band class, and everything else. And they were not into it. It wasn't until about six months later, when one of my mom's friends said, "Hey, we have an old guitar in the basement, and Jane can use that one." I got myself one of those little books, The Beatles: Learn to Play Guitar. Then I worked at it.

What is the name of the album, The Way To Bitter Lake, about?

Well, I had bought my friend a preasent. I had gone to a kind of 'junk shop' up in New Hampshire, and I bought her an old journal because she loves old books. Written in the back of it, probably one-hundred years old, was, "What is the way to Bitter Lake?" or something like that. It just really struck me as a beautifully suggestive place. It seems to fit with a lot of my songs. There not all about actual people-- a lot of the ideas have happened to me--but there a little bit more ethereal now, I guess.

So what does the writing process look like for you?

I usually play into a little tape recorder that I have, and then I listen to it play back. Sometimes I'm walking around the city and some little melody will strike me. I write in a journal, separately.

And final announcements, words?

I'm going to be recording soon. I'll record over the summer and hopefully have some things for late fall.

Awesome! Thanks very much.

Downloads (MP3s):
Spider - The Bitter One.mp3
Spider - Maggie's Song For Alice.mp3

Links:
The Official Spider Site
Spider on MySpace
GorillaVsBear's Post on Spider
*Sixeyes's Post on Spider
Cable and Tweed's Post on Spider
Yeti Don't Dance's Post on Spider
Rbally's Post on Spider
Palebare's Post on Spider
CYSTSFTS's Post on Spider
Sweetheart of the Radio's Post on Spider
Village Indian's Post on Spider
A Robot Commeth's Post on Spider

+joe

An Interview With Office's Scott Masson

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 22:43:00 +0000

There has been one band out of Chicago in recent memory that makes me a bit sad that I left Chicago some years ago. That band is Office. They have had the unique effect of appearing equally genuine and contrived at the very same time to the skeptic in me. Songs so earnest are rarely found in the "pop" vein. Call me what you will, but how could it be that these folks making pop music could really love music? I don't know, to be honest. But they are, and you can tell.

You might find it funny that my first introduction to Office was through a free download of their song "Wound Up" on iTunes several months back. I know what some of you are thinking, and yes, usually iTunes can't recommend bands I haven't heard of. But lo...there was Office. A short while ago I sent some questions to the band's frontman, Scott Masson, through the band's publicist, and today I got my answers! The band is currently unsugned, but in this interview Scott hints at how that might change in the future. So the question you have to ask yourself is this: When Office comes and takes over your world, will you be ready?

In as many words as you would care to use, how did this awesome band come to be?

Office formed because it made sense at the time. We all love each other very much, and there are some things we have to get off our chests. Gravity is a strange phenomenon, and nobody will ever be able to predict when it will bring people together. The word "office" is superfluous in the end. It's not a concept band, contrary to what a few people think. Every band makes decisions and delegates responsibilities. With a little bit of luck, we'll write some good songs that people will put on 15 years down the road.

Describe, if you could, each member's background in music or art before joining the group.

Tom Smith (guitar, voice) is a brilliant artist. His guitar playing is painterly, unique, and the work of a genius. He sings with a lot of wit and sardonic humor, which works well for us. He's been playing the guitar and singing since he was a young lad, and did a lot of time in punk rock prison. Tom studied print-making in Baltimore, and had some bands out there before he moved back to his hometown of Oak Park, IL. He's the youngest in the group, and definitely the most romantic.

Alissa Noonan (bass) is a closet vocalist. Since she's incredibly shy, I only hear her sing every once in awhile. She's got a beautiful voice, and I can't wait until we start working with it in the studio. Her background is mostly in art, particularly photography, but she takes a very serious approach towards music. Almost scientific. There have been shows where Tom, Erica, and I are extremely spent, but Alissa will carry us through the entire set because she is so solid and consistent. Alissa, who grew up in Chicago, is a very strong and opinionated lady, which is always refreshing to be around
.
Born and raised in Rockford, IL, Erica Corniel (drums, voice) is not only a fantastic drummer, but her voice has a lot of love in it too. She is a natural entertainer, and a hilarious person offstage. She keeps us loose, and helps me out with the administrative duties for the band. Her background is mostly in electronic music and DJ culture, as well as MCing on various hip hop tracks with underground Chicago-area producers. Erica has a keen understanding of dance music, and hits the drums way harder than most male drummers. She doesn't believe in unnecessary drum fills either, and plays only what is best for the song. This approach towards beat-making is almost impossible to find these days, so it's a kind of a gift when you do.

Jessica Gonyea (voice, percussion) is a new addition to the group, and she helps us keep our energy elevated. She's from Grand Rapids, MI, and moved to Chicago around the same time I moved here. She's got a really sweet voice, and plays a mean cowbell and tambourine. Her background is in painting, design, and fashion. She'll be doing some keyboard work with us pretty soon as well. We just started to work with her, so we're still learning more about her as we go. Again, Jessica is one of those people who keeps you laughing through the stressful moments of being in a band.

My name is Scott Masson (guitar, vocals, piano), and I'm from a little town in the suburbs of Detroit called Milford, MI. When I was a kid, I would listen to records, and pick out the individual vocal harmonies, and practice them over and over for about 8 hours every day. I applied this same strategy to drums, bass, and guitar. To this day, I don't know how to read music, because my education was through listening. I was a hired musician by the age of 13, and was making a lot of money playing in wedding bands, country bands, pit orchestra bands, and as a session player, etc. I gave up that whole scene around 15 years old, when I discovered punk rock. Later on during art school, I was very much inspired by Jake and Dinos Chapman, Christo, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Modigliani, and Barbara Krueger....among others (old and contemporary). All of these people completely blew my mind, and forced me to think about music in a different light. Office was born around that same moment I was studying these visual artists. It was never supposed to be a rock and roll band. That was an accident.

Has the band come anywhere close to signing with a label that meets the band's needs/requirements?

We are in discussion with a few labels as we speak. Our requirements are very simple: let us produce our own records, write our own songs, and create our own visual design aesthetic.

What is the song-writing process like for Office?

I write the songs, and we orchestrate them together as a collective. It's way more enjoyable for a band to work together, rather than having the "front man" spoil the show with one singular vision.

Production is where each composition is fine-tuned and sculpted. All of those notes and parts that work well during band practice or onstage, may not work during the recording phase. Most of the time, production is simplifying parts......if not completely subtracting them altogether. This tends to be my area of dominance, since I write the songs, and have made so many albums throughout my life. I'm always open to new ideas though, as long as they fit the song. I'm discovering that the band is fully capable of making these songs better than I can. This is a new sensation for me, especially since I have been working alone for the last several years.
Writing songs and producing records is usually a pain in the ass, and it's never a relaxing experience. The fun is when you can sit back, have a couple drinks, and listen to what you've accomplished with your friends. In our Office world, the song is only "complete" when there is a recorded, mixed, and mastered version on the table. Composing is only 50 percent of the game. Until the recording is finished, there is no satisfaction in life....only heartaches, clenched teeth, bitching and moaning, and a total lack of sleep. The process of giving birth is always painful, if you really love what you're doing.

I've been wondering something for a while, since your songs are somewhat lyrically subtle or inferential. What's the story behind "Wound Up"?

Nobody has ever asked us that question, so I appreciate it. "Wound Up" is a song about not being afraid to leave your house during a full moon, when all the freaks are out on the town. It's about embracing that wonderful city chaos, and going with the flow. I used to have this friend who never wanted to leave her house during a full moon, because she was afraid she'd lose her mind, or get murdered in the process. Forget drinking a bottle of wine, for she would surely lose all bodily control! Basically, it was much easier for her to stay at home, and sit in front of the TV, where she could wait out the night. Oddly enough, I'm sure she ended up even more wound up than I was, despite that fact that she stayed inside during such peculiar evenings.
This song was my way of calling her out for being afraid of the unknown.

The production of "Wound Up" took 11 months of composing, editing, drafting, demoing, and revising. It's by far the most epic pop song I've ever been a part of, and a lot of time and love went into it. Erica and Tom's vocals were great. I'm very proud of the song, and the production. It's ironic that the song comes across as "light-hearted" and "care free" as it does, because the lyrical mood is somewhat dark. There's a homeless guy offering up a joke for my pocket change, cars colliding, black cats, alley rats, drunk, patriotic tourists, social awkwardness, blue skies turning black, and people coming and going in and out of our lives.

The concept of "fear" was really in style the year "Wound Up" was written (2004). It's interesting to see all of that changing now. It feels as though people are less afraid this year. Maybe I'm wrong though. Who knows?

Here on this site I do my best to avoid describing bands in terms of other bands, opting to use music-specific terminology instead of band-specific terminology. Taking that somewhat into account, how would you folks describe your music?

It's folk music to my ears, but that concept seems to only bring up images of people on haystacks and wagons, playing acoustic guitars. That's not how I see us though. Our music is basically inspired by our environments, experiences, difficulties, domestic culture, friends, families, and lovers (oh my!). It's complex song-writing under a facade of simplicity. We like this idea of people dancing and enjoying themselves while they digest certain classic thematic concerns with us. There's a story being told within these songs, and that is the most important part of what we do. The best pop music is usually subversive. We're not singing to select groups of cool underground people, nor do I see us performing at the Super Bowl either. Office is intended for people from all sorts of age, race, economic, and social brackets, and we are very unapologetic about this. It's our goal, however, to do this thing called "pop" with some intelligence, craft, and honesty. Real pop music is always folk music, because it's communicating something in a very believable and truthful way.

If you folks could pick any band you all wanted to, can you think of who you'd like to tour with?

We'd like to tour with The Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

What does the band's prospective schedule for writing and recording look like for this next year? Are you folks excited for the upcoming tour and recording?

We're wrapping up the writing portion of our new LP, and then immediately jumping into the studio to record. It's all up in the air right now, since we're about to sign with a label (TBA soon!).

Could you explain the concept behind the double EP you have planned for fall release?

Well.....we still haven't decided if it's going to be a double EP, or another full-length LP. I will tell you that the mood is going to be different on this next recording. The lyrics are not as easy to digest, and it's going to be a bit rawer than our previous installment. I can't wait to start working on it, especially since it's going to be recorded on 2-inch tape. We want to re-create a good studio version of our live show. It's something we've never done before. The last 3 Office LPs have had drum machines and synths, and I guess we're all ready to make music that's more organic and human this next time around.

Are there still times when it feels odd to be professional musicians, or has the musician frame of mind taken hold rather thoroughly?

Interesting question. It's always odd to be a professional musician. The public tends to be a lot more critical of musicians than they are of visual artists, actors, and writers. The pubic also tends to hold musicians on a higher pedestal, which is really weird, since most musicians are freaks.

Musicians are dealing directly with the people on a daily basis.....face-to-face.....ear-to-ear. Other creative people can do their work, and not have to show up in person to promote it as much. I'm always amazed at the things I experience before or after we play a show. People tend to treat you differently than the other people in the room, just because you were onstage. That's very bizarre to me.

As a side note, I'm very intrigued by band rivalry, industry politics, legal affairs, and the stalkers that this job brings. Never a dull moment these days. You can't take any of it seriously either, or you'll wind up with a broken heart, and become a bitter and jaded individual. I'm definitely still working on this aspect of the job. For example, we're in the middle of some legal stuff right now, because we were burned by somebody we trusted. Now, this person wants to take a giant sum of money away from us, which we don't even have in the first place. The funniest part about the whole situation is that it's for work he didn't even do! Absurd. Sad. Sometimes this business can drive you to tears because you work so hard, and some people will just take advantage of your trust. I have broken down on numerous occasions in the last few months, but I try and remind myself that not everybody in this business is evil. We have some amazing people working with us to counter-attack all the bullshit.

Every day is a lesson in who to work with, and who to stay away from. At the end of the day, you just need to laugh it off because it\'s just politics. Music is the only thing that matters, especially when you\'re in love with it like we are.

Do any members of the band hold regular jobs? Does any one of you actually work in an office at the moment in addition to your musical obligations?

Erica owns her own dog-walking company, while Jessica is a free-lancer in Chicago. Tom works at a letterpress company, and Alissa is a stylist for a professional photography company. I am the only member in the band who works full-time on Office, doing administrative stuff, mailing CDs, conducting interviews, phone conversations, and tending to our other business affairs. That has become a 9-5 job in itself, which I simply cannot complain about. It's the best job I've ever had!

How did the idea for the band's..."costumes" come about, and how did that concept involve into how the band dresses now?

Our onstage attire has nothing to do with our band name. We hold the belief that if you're getting up in front of people to spout off a bunch of information, then you should look your best in the process. It just so happens that men and women working within Western civilization wear suits, ties, slacks, dresses, skirts, blouses, and power suits to their formal occasions. Anybody who thinks it's a "schtick" has obviously never been to a serious job interview before. Every show we play is a job interview.

Are there any musical acts out there right now that really inspire you guys who you would care to recommend?

All of the following artists are doing beautiful things in Detroit and Chicago. Our friends inspire us on a daily basis: Devin Davis, Mannequin Men, Freer, 800Beloved, The 1900s, Crap Engine, Velvetron, Crush Kill Destroy, The Modern Temper, Star, My Were They, The Changes, The Fake Fictions, and Roommate. I know I\'m probably leaving a few people out though. My apologies to them.....

Thank you for this wonderful interview.
Scott Masson

Here's a couple of songs from Office's album, Q & A...

Download:
Office - Wound Up.mp3
Office - Possibilities.mp3

Links:
Office's Official Website
Office on MySpace
Stage Hymns' Previous Post on Office

+joe

Radiohead: Rare Songs

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 06:29:00 +0000

I decided that it had been a while since I put up any Radiohead b-sides, remixes, demos, etc. So when I went into my iTunes to select from my catalogue I was surprised to see that I have nearly 800 songs concerning Radiohead (including popular covers, live performances, b-sides, proper remixes, and album tracks. After seeing that, I decided to just start at the beginning. So here I've got an unreleased Radiohead song, a fairly rare B-side, and 3 demos from On A Friday (What Radiohead was originally named). You'll notice that the unreleased song, "Permanent Daylight", was actually made into a string quartet version on Enigmatic: The String Quartet Tribute to Radiohead, which you may have already heard.

It's a lot of fun to listen to the demos, because it helps you see the evolution of this great band. On these particular demos I've selected you'll notice just how trendy sounding they were for the time. What a change they've made! Honestly, though, they're all really good songs, and it's easy to understand why they would write them. They certainly would make it hard to refrain from offering these boys a record deal.

Downloads:
Radiohead - Bishop's Robes (B Side).mp3
Radiohead - Permanent Daylight (Unreleased).mp3
Radiohead - Everybody Lies Through Their Teeth (On A Friday demo).mp3
Radiohead - Give It Up (On A Friday demo).mp3
Radiohead - Keep Strong (On A Friday demo).mp3

Links:
Radiohead's Official Page
Buy Radiohead Stuff

+joe

Band of Horses "Funeral" on Letterman 7-13-06

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 06:20:00 +0000

Hey there folks. I've got a quick download for you. It's Band of Horses performing "Funeral" this evening on Letterman. I recorded it myself, but I'm new to this, so it's a bit off with the bass when the song picks up. Sorry for that. Otherwise it's very clear, though.

Download:
Band of Horses - Funeral (Live on Letterman 7-13-06).mp3

+joe

Upcoming Album: Now It's Overhead "Dark Light Daybreak"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 22:57:00 +0000

As a band, Now It's Overhead doesn't need much of an introduction in the world of independent music, but they've had a suprisingly small presence in press on this here intershizzle. They must be stuck in one of the "tubes" the internet is apparently made of. Now It's Overhead (NIO from here on out) is currently touring the US with Tilly and the Wall (another Saddle Creek band) and they will be stopping by Saddle Creek home base (Omaha, Nebraska) next Tuesday. I will be in attendence, so I thought it would be fitting for me to post my review of their upcoming album, Dark Light Daybreak, which hits stores September 12th.

The first thing I need to mention about approaching NIO's newest album is that if you like music from the '90s, then you will like Dark Light Daybreak, which has been infused with a lot of '90s sentiments.

"Well, how do you figure, Joe?" you ask.

I'll tell you what I hear in this album. I hear the Smashing Pumpkins (or maybe Zwan, but don't be afraid), I hear the lead singer of Train, and then I hear a bunch of the electronic instrumentation and beats that Saddle Creek artists are notorious for. That warehouse reverb on all the instruments and vocals...The prominent multi-layer harmonies...Just the notes that singer Andy LeMaster chooses, and how they differ from singing the melody, it really reminds me of '90s music. Maybe that's all a bit vague, but nevermind cause we're moving on to more concrete material now...

The album opens with "Let the Sirens Rest", which will undoubtedly be a single from the album, and for good reason. It has the makings of a radio-friendly pop-rock song, with a catchy chorus I can just imagine people singing along to while driving their cars listening to Lite 95 FM, or whatever their area's equivalent is. If you here this song before you hear the rest of the album, rest assured that this is both a good and poor representation of the rest of this very accessable album.

There's a lot of building up in many of the songs, giving off an urgent and dramatic tone. Many of the songs have multiple points where they swell to climactic highs. It's all very compelling to say the least. Stand-out tracks also include "Believe What They Decide", "Night Vision", and the title track "Dark Light Daybreak". I could hear any one of these songs on the soundtrack for a dramatic thrill movie (or even in it's compelling trailer). It's a very cohesive album, with each song clearly tied together in some way (be it sonically or thematically).

I really love this album, and I highly recommend it to all of you. Oh! Did I mention that Stage Hymns favorites Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink (both members of Azure Ray, as well as solo artists) are members of the band? Be sure to check back after Tuesday for a review of their show Tuesday night at the infamous Sokol Underground. Here's a couple of songs off the upcoming album, Dark Light Daybreak.

Download:
Now It's Overhead - Believe What They Decide.mp3
Now It's Overhead - Dark Light Daybreak.mp3

Also:
Ingrid Michaelson's First CD, Slow the Rain, is finally available on iTunes!

+joe

Canadian Hip-Hop: Pocket Dwellers

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 05:08:00 +0000

With this post I decided to do something unprecedented here at Stage Hymns. I would like to present my first ever Hip-Hop artist feature! Aren't you proud of me?! I'm growing so much!

But seriously, the band that warrants such an event must be a great one. I actually like the sound of bands like The Black-Eyed Peas, but I find most of their songs laughable and stupid because nobody in that group is interested in doing something mature or...well...non-sexual with music. It's music for hormonal teenagers if you ask me, which is a shame since they have an interesting sound.

What I have found in the Pocket Dwellers is that same off-the-wall energy and some very similar drum 'n bass, pop, and rock influences--with intelligent lyrics and messages actually worth writing music for. My good friends over at ThisCityRocks.com did an amazing interview/video podcast on these guys last week, and so I had to hit up their website for more info and tunes. They've even got a really cool music video for their "hit" song "Trust Us", which is the most catchy song off their most recent album, PD-Atrics. They've also got their own blog and a number of video blog entries available through their official site's video player.

Check them out for yourself!

Download:
Pocket Dwellers - Trust Us.mp3
Pocket Dwellers - Play This Music!.mp3

+joe

A New Mars Volta Song!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 22:44:00 +0000

I'm a big fan of progressive rock. Really, I am! But there aren't many musical acts today who do it in the spirit which it began with. One group that has done an outstanding job of carrying the torch is The Mars Volta. This incredible duo knows how to make music without limits. Whether it's an 11 minute song or a sonic-assault-electro-blip solo in the middle of a song--these guys know that if it's good...people will listen.

The band just threw up a new song on their MySpace page (here) from their upcoming album, Amputechture, which comes out August 22nd on GSL/Strummer/Universal Records. You can head over to their MySpace page to stream the song in two parts, but I've got this MP3 of both parts together which makes listening much less distracting in my opinion.

The new song is called "Viscera Eyes", and it shows no lacking of the ultimate Mars Volta stylings. It appears as track number 6 on the upcoming album, leading this reviewer to believe that it probably makes for a good sample of what's to come. Yes, it definitely sounds like a Mars Volta song, but do you really think you're brain could take anything more progressive anyway?

Download:
The Mars Volta - Viscera Eyes

+joe

Jim Noir Remixes Sebastien Tellier

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 21:15:00 +0000

French electro-ish musician, Sebastien Tellier, has been making music for several years, and has enjoyed a fair amount of success with outstanding reviews from the likes of NME and other--as well as with the appearance of his song "Fantino" in the movie Lost in Translation. I just recieved a copy of his single "La Ritournelle" remixed by the one and only Jim Noir in my mail this morning, and I simply had to share it with you. It's an instrumental version of the song, but it's simply gorgeous. Jim Noir has added that "fog" that seems to move across his recordings to this remix, and really brought out the beat. I also figured that many of you might have no frame of reference for this song, so I've included the original edit and a couple other versions of it. If you enjoy it be sure to head over to Sebastien's label, Record Makers, to order yourself a copy of the single's remix cd. It can also be found on iTunes and Napster.

Download:
Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle (Jim Noir mix).mp3
Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle (Original Edit).mp3
Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle (Piano Studio Session).mp3
Sebastien Tellier - La Ritournelle (Mr Dan's Magic Wand mix).mp3

Also, be sure to head over to Culture Bully today where my good friend Chris has posted a recording of Thom Yorke performing "The Clock", from his solo CD: The Eraser, on The Henry Rollins Show which is set to air next week on the Independent Film Channel. That's right, you get to hear it before anyone else!

+joe

Lindsay Rae Spurlock

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 10:25:00 +0000

When I was doing the rounds in the wee hours of the morning over at Cable & Tweed I stumbled across someone in The C&T Mix Tape Project, Vol. V: Atlanta Pop/Singer-Songwriter. Her name is Lindsay Rae Spurlock, and she has some talent that the world should not miss! I love the singer-songwriter genre in general--being so pleased with many recent acts that fall into that category. As a matter of fact, if you read this blog on a regular basis you'll notice that my posts seem to bounce around between Electronic, "Experimental", Power-pop, and Singer-Songwriter types-- with heavy emphasis on the last. I have no idea why that happens since I like such a broad variety of music. Anyway, Lindsay has a very good voice, and can write some wonderfully plaintive songs. Definitely piano-driven. Definitely nice.

Downloads:
Lindsay Rae Spurlock - November.mp3
Lindsay Rae Spurlock - Let It Go.mp3
Lindsay Rae Spurlock - Time's Up.mp3

Check out her MySpace page here for another download, but be sure to mind her official website is a bit rough at the moment.

+joe

My Brightest CD Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 03:00:00 +0000

One of the most anticipated released so far this year is My Brightest Diamond's Bring Me The Workhorse. For those who may not know, My Brightest Diamond is mainly singer Shara Worden, although she does have a band backing her. It's sort of ambiguous who is "the band" and who is not--kind of like Bright Eyes isn't really just Conor Oberst. You may have heard Shara on background vocals for Sufjan Stevens' Come on Feel the Illinois. Anyway, I am one such person who has awaited his own copy of the album, and my wishes were granted a couple of weeks ago. I've been a fan of the group ever since "Riding Horses" appeared on the Asthmatic Kitty compilation, Mews Too. Since that time several of the albums songs have been leaked by blogs (and one by Asthmatic Kitty). I must tell you now that those singles give no justice to the experience had by listening to the entire album.

Those who have made a point of the operatic tones of the band (mostly in Shara Worden's vocals) are dead on. It's like a modern opera! I don't think I've heard such a justifiably dramatic album since Radiohead's Hail to the Thief, no joke! When I say "justifiably dramatic" I mean that it never feels melodramatic or like it's taking itself too seriously. It's just a serious album. Beautiful, but serious. "Disappear", a track which has been circling the internet, is the most light-hearted song on the album--and if you're familiar with the song you know it's a stretch to call it light-hearted. It rings a lot like Damien Rice's O album, equal in beauty and equal in seriousness. Obviously, the sound is much larger than that on anything Damien has done, with a full band of instruments backing Shara. Her voice reminds me of cross between an Opera singer's and Mia Doi Todd, perhaps. She just has a really strong female voice, and it's totally entrancing.

It's a terrific album, with as much beauty as a Grimm fairytale, and as much honesty as Shara's own diary might have. You simply must pick up a copy when it comes out on August 22nd.

Also, I should mention that MBD's violist, Marla Hansen, has a few original songs for download on MySpace herself. They are more than worthy of a check out, so I have provided some those for your listening pleasure as well. Marla can also be heard with Shara on Sufjan's Illinois album, and has toured with him as well. Head over to her MySpace page: here.

Downloads:
My Brightest Diamond - Riding Horses.mp3
My Brightest Diamond - Golden Star.mp3
Marla Hansen - Lighten Up.mp3
Marla Hansen - Wedding Day.mp3

+joe

Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye Preview/Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 01:51:00 +0000

The more of these promotional copies I get the more I realize that a year is a long time, and I think how foolish I have been to have thought that so many of the year's best albums have already been released. Have some of those "Best Of 2006ers" come out yet?...Yep. Will there be more albums released this year that will also join, and maybe top such a list?...Yep.

So This Is Goodbye, the upcoming release from The Junior Boys, is just such an album. There are few electronic acts out there that can impress me, but these guys are right up there with Thievery Corporation, Boards of Canada, Four Tet, et al. Not that they sound anything like those other acts: In fact, they sound more like a perfected vision of 80s British synth-pop, but they have done nothing short of astounding me with their next album. Their arrangements are so tight you could set your metronome to them. And what hooks! If like me, you find Thom Yorke's The Eraser somewhere short of amazing, then maybe this is the electronic album you've been waiting for. There's no excess activity on their tracks, but they're nowhere near "barren" or empty sounding. The Junior Boys have infused the perfect number of elements into each of the album's tracks to provide a wonderful variety stretching from dance-floor superbeats to rainy day window-watching soundscapes.

If you're the type of person with an aversion to "squeaky-clean" production, don't be afraid. So This Is Goodbye has enough charm, honesty and vulnerability to help even the "indiest" kid get past the amazing technical quality the album has. It's really a lyric-listener, as well. While you can dance to it, you wont find any clichéd or trite phrases on this one. So what do you call an album that has incredibly catchy songs, visceral technical qualities and wears its heart on its sleave?...Perfect. That's what! And it almost would be perfect were it not for the two songs that this reviewer found somewhat lackluster. No, I wont tell you which ones I feel that way about. I'll let you decide for youself, and hopefully you'll like all 10 tracks on the album. So, it's near perfect. Very near indeed. For me, the "quanitifiable" rating I give So This Is Goodbye would have to be a 9.6/10. I know I shouldn't be giving out ratings like that this early in the year, but I'm totally confident that this album will remain in the upper ranks by year's end.

Be sure and pick up your copy of So This Is Goodbye when it hits stores in August. Domino Records must be pleased as punch to have signed these boys back in May, cause this is one heck of an album.

Downloads:
Junior Boys - In The Morning.mp3
Junior Boys - Double Shadow.mp3
Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (Junior Boys Remix).mp3

+joe

Tapes 'N Tapes Contest Winner and EP MP3s

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 10:18:00 +0000

Well, folks. Sorry it's been a few days. I'm somewhat bogged down with some design work in "real life". So here's the update you've been pining after. The winner of the Signed, Limited Edition 7" "Insistor" Single from Tapes 'N Tapes is...Mike Roeder for his suggestion that Tapes 'N Tapes cover Television's late-70s hit "Marquee Moon", which is an amazing song, and an obvious precursor to much of the music that influenced Tapes 'N Tapes. It's an epic song, lasting over 10 minutes on the album version and over 14 minutes on the live recording. I'll be posting the song (possibly 2 versions of it) in the next few days, so you can all share in it and see for yourself why this was such a good selection. Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest.

Also, Mike from the UK asked if I could post "Moldy Bread" and "My Name is Not Horatio" from Tapes 'N Tapes' EP. So here I have 4 songs from said EP, including the requested tracks.

Download:
Tapes 'N Tapes - Moldy Bread.mp3
Tapes 'N Tapes - My Name Is Not Horatio.mp3
Tapes 'N Tapes - The Lion.mp3
Tapes 'N Tapes - 8 Or Ate.mp3

Again, be sure to check back this week for reviews on the upcoming CDs from My Brightest Diamond, Now It's Overhead, and The Junior Boys, as well as interviews of mine with John Roderick of The Long Winters, Jane Herships aka Spider, and Chicago-based band Office.

+joe

The Long Winters - Putting the Days to Bed Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 09:09:00 +0000

I recieved a promotional copy of the upcoming album from The Long Winters entitled Putting the Days to Bed (Barsuk) a few weeks ago, and I've just been loving it. MammothPress.com will be running a promotional campaign with the band all through July, where you will be able to stream the entire album off of the site before it comes out on July 25th. The promotion will also feature an interview of MINE with John Roderick, the band's founder and principle song-writer, as well as the following review I wrote for the album. Be warned, this review contains plenty of spoilers:

The Long Winter’s are an interesting band, with an ever evolving line-up and a corresponding sound. On the band’s two previous albums, principle song-writer John Roderick has co-produced, working with some great producers to achieve a truly unique sound. But on Putting the Days to Bed John has finally taken the reigns completely. He produced this album himself in order to achieve a sound that was more loyal to his singular vision. Is anyone reminded of Billy Corgan? Well you shouldn’t be because John’s bandmates are all too happy to follow his vision, and it shows. The result is one of the most cohesive album’s ever produced by a small-label band, and one of my favorite albums of the year.

The album kicks off with "Pushover": a tender examination of the loving dynamic between a man and a woman. Complete with acoustic intro and mid-song guitar solo, it’s a truly revelatory song, and an inspired way to start the album. There are some terrific harmonies in this song, making it one of the more light-hearted songs on Putting the Days to Bed.

Next comes "Fire Island, AK", which is an intensely guitar-driven song. John’s vocals become a bit more biting on this track, expressing a rare range of personality which is totally infused into the song. It’s one of the more "rawking" songs on the album.

"Teaspoon" features a great horn section, which complements the guitar in a way that doesn’t turn the song into anything like Ska, but still adds a lot of fun.

"Hindsight" is a slower, more sweeping song that’s all about just what it seems it would be, a relationship from the tail-end perspective. Something about the slower pace, and the large, built-up atmosphere of the music fit the feeling of the lyrics perfectly.

"The Sky Is Open" opens with a groovy bass line over what sounds to be a drum machine. This track features more electronic elements than any other song on the album, but almost doesn’t sound like it. The great bass line and the angel-chorus-like background vocals keep it far from electro-territory. It may prove to be the most...dare I say..."radio friendly" song on the album in this writer’s opinion.

"Honest" is my favorite song on Putting the Days to Bed, hands down. It opens with a powerful bass line and delicate acoustic strumming, meshing contrasting sounds in true Long Winter’s fashion. From there it goes on to detail a conversation between a daughter who’s in love with a singer in a band and her mother who’s been there before, sixteen years before. It’s difficult for me to tell for sure if the song is inferring that the daughter is the product of her mother’s short-lived love with a singer sixteen years before, but I like to think of it that way. This song boasts one of John Roderick’s best vocal performances.

On "Clouds" the beat plods like a steady train; just one of the ways the song channels an alt-country train ride feeling. This is also noticeable in the echo delay on the electric guitar and the close harmonies on the vocals. It’s a fitting mood for a song about adventure, dreams, lofty goals, and...a relationship.

The biting vocals come back in on "Rich Wife" were the singer addresses a woman who’s in love with a man she "doesn’t like". The unsympathetic singer lays into her for her discontentedness and indiscretions, with harshly delivered lines and a sarcastic sounding chorus that’s carries all the "snarkiness" that John Roderick is unashamedly known for.

"Ultimatum" comes next, but it’s not the arrangement you’ve heard on the Ultimatum EP. No, it’s a much grander arrangement, with more of a start/stop rhythm than the EP version. It really communicates the conflicted feeling the singer has about his love. Is it a better arrangement? That’s hard for me to say, so I listen to them both!

"(It’s A) Departure" is the hardest rocking song on the album, with a punchy beat, and ripping guitars. There’s even a moment where a legion of voices join John’s in a line of lyric that make it sound like a number from a musical being performed in a pub.

"Seven", the final song on the album, is definitely the "prettiest". It’s a song about missing someone, and couldn’t be more sentimental if "Dear John" letters and baby tears rained down on you when you listened to it. It’s a fitting end to the album, leaving the journey open to begin again, like any great album does.

This album is like one of those movies that just screams "sequel", which is not to say that it doesn’t leave you completely satisfied in the performance of the band. It simply leaves you wanting more because it’s so good. But let’s give The Long Winters a rest. If I had just finished an album this personal and amazing I wouldn’t be knocking down the door to get back into the studio right away.

Downloads:
The Long Winters - Ultimatum (EP Version)
The Long Winters - Blue Diamonds
The Long Winters - The Commander Thinks Aloud

+joe

Under the Covers with YouTube 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 04:38:00 +0000

Well, I had really hoped to have my review done for The Long Winter's upcoming album, "Putting the Days to Bed", but I'm not quite done with it yet. So I decided to give this YouTube cover thing another try. I'll tell you what, though. It's dang hard finding people on YouTube that can both sing and play well. Still, I've got a few pretty good ones here, but just for good measure I'll throw in some non-YouTube stuff. If you recall, I posted about the ironically named "The Males" a short while back, and now I've got the song to that video I posted, "Slit Wrist Teen Queen". Definitely check that out. You may also recall that I have posted about and interviewed Marybell Katastrophy of Tiger Tunes fame. Well, the rest of her band mates contacted me about their own band called Beta Satan. Yeah, I don't get it either, but they make some catchy music, so check out "Q's Wasted Dreams".

Downloads:
Gamatasu007 - Yellow (Coldplay cover).mp3
Miyavi - Blew (Nirvana cover).mp3 *
Beta Satan - Q's Wasted Dreams.mp3
The Black Keys - Act Nice and Gentle.mp3
The Males - Slit Wrist Teen Queen.mp3 (awesome brand-new track)

*This guy is an amazing guitarist

So I promise that very soon I will have reviews for the upcoming Long Winter's Album, My Brightest Diamond Album, Now It's Overhead Album, and Junior Boys Album--so stay tuned!

+joe

Ingrid Michaelson, In the Corner of Your Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 05:40:00 +0000

I finally ponied up and bought Ingrid Michaelson's masterpiece "Girls and Boys" instead of wasting away my life on her MySpace page with the built in player. I've been listening to the CD for a while now and I can't express just how amazing it is to hear an entire album of great songs for the first time in so long. I think the last time I was this happy with an album was with Azure Ray's "Hold On Love" which I got a year ago! There is no more perfect album to describe the dynamic between girls and boys than her album "Girls and Boys".

Ingrid has a latent ability to transport you back to your childhood through her lyrics, which happens to be where a good little bit of her songs take place (mentally, as it were). She uses some of the most effective and unobvious (Can I say that? Is that a word?) images to connect you to her situation and her message. If you're a fan of the stylings of Regina Spektor or Fiona Apple, you'll definitely find a gem in Ingrid Michaelson. She can hold her own with them musically and vocally, and she surpasses them lyrically. She's the type of musician that makes you smack your forehead because you don't live anywhere near her (at least I don't, you lucky bandersnatches in New York!). She's got herself an awesome following in NYC, and is a regular performer at several of the city's music clubs.

If Radiohead's "OK Computer" is a 10 out of 10, and The Spice Girls are somewhere around a 2 out of 10, then Ingrid's album is a 9.5 out of 10.

So here's a couple of downloads that you should all be pouncing on before you promptly head over to her MySpace page or Official Website and buy your own copy of "Girls and Boys" from iTunes or CD Baby:

Downloads:
Ingrid Michaelson - Breakable.mp3 (full song) *
Ingrid Michaelson - Die Alone.mp3 (sample song) *
Ingrid Michaelson - Masochist.mp3 (sample song)
Ingrid Michaelson - The Way I Am.mp3 (sample song)
Ingrid Michaelson - Corner of Your Heart.mp3 (sample song) *

*personal favorites

And out of respect for Sleater-Kinney (RIP):
Sleater-Kinney - One Song For You.mp3
Sleater-Kinney - Get Up.mp3

+joe

My Interview With Tapes 'N Tapes

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 23:26:00 +0000

Here's the interview I did for MammothPress.com:

Some bands have all the fun, and Tapes ‘N Tapes is most certainly one such band. Through their incredible grassroots following and plenty of internet-related attention "The Brothers Tapes" have risen up from obscurity to become one of the most blogged about (and subsequently talked about) bands of the year. Connecting to their audiences with their quirky, anthemic songs, Tapes ‘N Tapes has been touring the country and selling out nearly half of their shows on their most recent tour. Stylistically, it’s impossible not to mention Pavement as a clear influence, but these boys have their own characteristics to bring to the table. With the occasional appearance of keyboards and horns, they bring a sound that’s all their own.

I sat down on the phone the other day with Matt Kretzman, the band’s keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist, to discuss the formation of the band, the "hype" that’s encircled them, the backlash to that "hype", their recent signing with XL Recordings, their hometown (Minneapolis), and their most recent tour with the Cold War Kids and Figurines.

Hey Matt. How’re you doing?

Good. How are you, Joe?

Doing alright. Are you guys on the road at the moment?

We’re actually in Seattle. Were just finishing up lunch, having a little sushi here. We’ve got a driving day, a couple days to get to Salt Lake [City]. So we’re enjoying the city a little bit.

You play keyboards, percussion, do some vocals and stuff like that for the band, but you didn’t always do that, right? I mean, you kind of switched around what you’ve played as the band changed its lineup, right?

Yeah. Initially, at the start of the band, Josh and his room mate Steve were both guitar players. I’ve played horn, basically my whole life–trombone, euphonium, and stuff. They were like, ‘Oh...You can play bass.’ So, to start the band we kind of scrounged up a bass, and they taught me how to play bass. I played along with...like Doolittle and stuff like that. That was kind of the initial incarnation of the band. It was us three and a CD player with drum tracks on it that Josh would make. Obviously that wasn’t the...uh [laughs]...the hottest rock line up. Eventually Steve went off to grad school, and we got a real drummer. Then I would kind of do bass and some keyboards. So it was a three piece for a while. Then I took a year and actually lived here in Seattle. Then it kind of made sense...I moved back in the late summer, a few months before the record came out. I always wanted to be there, you know. It was tough for me to move out here, but I just kind of needed a break for other reasons. So it just kind of made sense for me to rejoin the band and play keyboards, cause I was an adequate bass player, but not good, you know? [laughs] It made sense to just play the keys and do this other stuff because it enables us to really reproduce the records in the live setting a lot more faithfully than as a three-piece. In the three-piece we were always scrambling trying to figure out how to flush the songs out right. I think the band just works better as a four-piece for me too because I don’t have the responsibility of playing bass [laughs].

That’s good. I’ve played bass for nine years, and I’m not any better than when I started so I understand. At this point, though, am I right to say that there is only one song in the set that you guys actually need to use a CD player or pre-recorded track for, and that’s "Omaha"?

Yeah. We do it on an iPod now because we would run into problems occasionally with the CD player skipping. It was a really sh*tty little CD player. So we thought, ‘Well, that’s kind of stupid. Why don’t we just put it on the iPod?’ So we put the Omaha sample on the iPod. It kind of works out.

I know you don’t write the lyrics, Josh does, and I know that you guys don’t even know half the time why he writes what does. But I’m talking to you from Omaha so I have to ask, do you have any idea what the song "Omaha" is about?

Yeah. It’s a funny story actually. It was a couple of years ago Josh and the early drummer Carl were at a Yeah Yeah Yeahs show at First Ave. [a venue] in Minneapolis. I think it was an "all ages" show or something like that. There were these couple of kids there talking to each other and they were like, ‘Yeah...’ It was a couple of years ago when Bright Eyes and Saddle Creek were like the hot thing. You know Omaha was like on the map of indie rock, and these kids were like, ‘Oh Yeah Yeah Yeahs are from Omaha, and Bright Eyes...’ and then they basically listed off the entire Saddle Creek roster whether or not the bands were from Omaha or not. Josh and Carl thought it was really funny. So there is kind of an ironic story behind it.

I totally understand. There’s a lot of kids here that are into that. Speaking of which, what kind of audiences do you guys get at your shows? I mean, you’ve been a really big buzz band for a while now, and lot of people who tend to focus on buzz bands are the "cooler than thou" type. Have you encountered quite a lot of fans who are genuinely into your music on the tour?

Definitely. I’m sure there are people who just really read the blogs or something, or maybe there are critics and people who just want to see what its about. But we do genuinely have fans now. Especially like playing here in Seattle on KEXP has been really supportive. They play the record a lot, you know. And we sold out The Crocodile last night. People are into the band. I don’t think it’s a fad. It’s been a great tour. We’ve probably sold out like...half our shows.

Yeah, I’ve noticed!

There’s been no "stinker" in the bunch. It’s definitely something we’re cognizant of. The reason we tour is because we want to put the live show out there, and cultivate fans. You know? I think our live show is like the record and more because we’ve been playing the songs for a year now. A lot of them are way better, I think, now. Some of them were pretty fresh when the recording process was going on. There’s a little bit more to it now. It’s fun.

You guys have been writing some material along the road, maybe in between shows, right? That is...since you’ve cut the record, has there been any writing going on?

Yeah, there’s been a little bit. We’ve been so swamped with touring. We were in the UK for two weeks and then we went home for three days. That’s not really any time to go, "Hey let’s go write before we go tour for another three and a half weeks!" I think we’re realistic about it, but there’s definitely stuff we work on. Sometimes with sound checks we have time we can play around and stuff. But mostly I think we’re kind of setting our sights on...You know we’re going to tour, we’re going to have a couple weeks in July to work on some stuff, and hopefully when we go out with the Futureheads, and play some of these festivals later in the summer we’ll have a couple of new ones [songs] to try out. It is fun to test your new material a little bit and play with it a bit before you sit down to record it. It’s hard to write on the road, though. I mean, we tour in a small van, you know, and if anyone wanted to pull out an acoustic guitar [to write] I think they would get shot down pretty fast.

With the sheer amount of touring you guys are doing, like with playing so many shows all together at South by Southwest, do you attribute a lot of your success not so much to hype, but to hard work? Cause you guys are clearly one of the more hard-working bands out there touring right now.

That’s definitely been our philosophy. It’s a job, you know? I mean obviously it’s more than a job, but I mean we take it very seriously. We’re serious about music. With the "hype" thing it’s been kind of funny because up until a few weeks a go when we signed with XL we didn’t have a publicist or anything like that. Every single article or major indie "props" was all them asking us to do stuff, all the way from Rolling Stone all the way down to "x-blog". We’ve gotten a couple reviews lately that have been like, "They’re over-hyped," or whatever, and it’s kind of a weird thing for us [laughs] to get ragged on for, you know?

You don’t contribute to it at all.

All we wanna do is go out and play shows and do our thing.

You seem to take all that rather light-heartedly. Are there days when it’s frustrating to read in like, the New York Sun, that you’re not all your hyped up to be or is it pretty easy to brush off?

Well, it’s just not in our control. I mean, people are going to say whatever they want, and to some extent we expect some sort of backlash because we have gotten so much good press. It happens to any band, unless you’re like Radiohead or Wilco or something like that. [Laughs] Deservingly so they don’t get any bad press, period. Especially for a new band with a lot of good press it’s just going to happen. I’ve kind of stopped trying to read...I mean, we don’t have time to read them anyways. We’re on the road. We don’t scour the internet. It stings a little bit sometimes.

Your humility as a band seems pretty consistent in everything from how you guys write your songs to how you perform to how you guys do interviews and press stuff. Is that something that you guys focus on because you’re aware that you’re coming out as a new band and you’re not going to be all arrogant, or is that just who you guys are naturally?

Yeah, that’s just who we are. I guess we’re just typically Midwestern. Well, Josh is from Oregon, but it’s kind of an ethic. I think we would just be uncomfortable if we started to get fresh haircuts and buy really expensive fancy things...leather jackets, things like that, you know?

Speaking of all that you just described....Has the deal you guys just made with XL enabled you, at least in idea, to move away from having to work normal jobs at home? Or have you already started moving away from that? And I mean, you guys tour so much, has it been hard to keep the jobs you have back home?

Yeah it was hard for many months-many, many months! Actually, I had to resign. It was like a voluntary resignation thing, mutual I guess. I was doing housing development project management stuff for an affordable-housing developer in Minneapolis. Before we went to the UK I was like, "Here’s what the next...indefinitely looks like." They were like, "You should just do that." Cause it just doesn’t work to be gone for long periods of time and come back to just have no idea what’s going on. Josh is keeping his job. He has been at his company for a few years and has a really good relationship, and they’re okay with it. It’s funny when the band stuff is going really well, and they see how well the band is doing, you almost get a "carte blanche"-"This is cool to have someone working here." But when he’s home in between tours I think he’s going to try and get some work done. Eric’s pretty much been doing music almost full time with some part time jobs. Jeremy’s pretty much the same, you know. He’s off of school doing some part time work. That’s what most of us are doing.

What made you guys pick XL? You kind of had a cornucopia of labels you could pick from. What did they offer you guys that sweetened the deal over other labels?

I think it’s total artistic freedom. If you look at their roster, it’s such a diverse roster. Every artist is pretty unique or different from each other. So that was kind of the feeling for us. We knew we weren’t ready for a major label. We just thought, for development, it would be great to go with an indie label. And it’s worked out really well.

Eventually you’ll be done with all this touring, and you’ll get to go home and have a rest for a while before you go in to record. Do you guys have any anxieties about going through the recording process now that you’re signed to XL?

At least right now I don’t think there’s any anxiety about that. We’re just going to hunker down in my basement during the winter and just try to work on new stuff. I don’t know. You know Josh comes up with ideas and structures. Usually it’s pretty loose, and generally writing is a pretty organic process. I have full confidence that we will be able to come up with good stuff. We’re definitely looking forward to it, for sure.

What do you guys listen to in the van when you drive around?

We try to mix it up. It’s usually whatever is n the iPod. Sometimes we do "shuffle" or whatever. We’ll listen to full records on the iPod and try not to repeat things the whole time. I really like that new "Destroyer" record. I think that’s great. I like Animal Collective. They’re not really new, but I like them. We listen to those Wire re-issues that just came out. "Chair Missing", Josh has been a fan of that for a long time, and I’m a fan of "Pink Flag". But I hadn’t heard "Chair Missing" and I was pretty blown away by that. Jeremy will get the iPod and do the whole 80s mix thing. Space Jams, or some [Uncle] Tupelo, or Wilco (obviously we like a lot) and Radiohead. So it’s all over the place.

You’ve just said you tastes are pretty "all over the place", but do you have a lot of artists that you can all agree on?

I think there’s definitely a mutual appreciation of each others taste.

Does everybody in the band like Pavement?

We have a running joke with the iPod, because every article is like, "Pixies or Pavement-esque". So whenever we get into the car we’re like, "Ok, so are we going to listen to Pixies or Pavement right now? Which one? Which one?" [Laughs] We all love those bands. There’s no major dissent I guess.

Well, I could just see if somebody loved rap and country and everybody else hated it.

Jeremy likes "Rush" and Josh hates "Rush". So that’s one. Phil Collins? [Laughs]

Hey! Hey! I’m a big Phil Collins fan.

[Laughs]

It seemed like you guys were saying for a while that Minneapolis wasn’t responding the same way a place like, say, New York would to your music. Has that started to lift at all, or have I misinterpreted that? Obviously there were people that liked you, but haven’t you said it’s not the same as when you went and sold out the Bowery Ballroom [a venue in New York]?

I think it’s just a case of being one of many local bands in a city. I think it’s definitely turning. We’ve got a great right-up from a critic after our last local show at Seventh Street Entry. I guess the true test will be when we’re playing the main room at First Avenue in July with Plastic Consolations. We were actually just talking about this over lunch. It’s like 1600 people. So we’re going to find out what we’re made of in town, [Laughs] you know? But we just haven’t been in town either in the last six months or so. I mean, our CD release party in November was pretty packed. It’s not like people hate us. It’s just kind of like we’re one of many. The other thing is the band has just gotten a lot better. We’ve developed a lot, and we do kind of stand out now.

What are some of your band’s favorite Minneapolis bands?

Currently?

Well, currently or of all time. Whichever comes to mind. I’m just thinking, there are several different areas of the country at the moment that have a lot of really decent artists coming out of them, and Minneapolis is one of them.

There’s this band called Duplomacy. Their record should be coming out some time soon. It’s take forever to get it out, but I think they’re going to do really well. I mean, people are going to like it. It’s definitely more mellow, but it’s just great, great pop songs. It’ll go over really well. Of course, Plastic Consolations are a phenomenal live show. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a chance to see them, but they’re amazing.

I haven’t, but I’m writing it down.

Yeah, like ridiculous guitar air-play...I’m trying to think...I’m a little out of touch myself.

It’s okay, don’t worry about it. What are your band’s favorite songs to perform? Are there times when you’re approaching a song on a given night, and suddenly the band is like, "Oh yes! We get to play this song," and everybody kind of loves it? Or is it just kind of all over the place whether somebody is really feeling that song or not at a given moment?

It’s still really fun even though we’ve been playing "The Loon" for quite a while now. It actually still feels like it’s really fresh. So playing it for new people keeps it interesting for us. I don’t know about the other guys. Personally, "Jakov’s" ["Jakov’s Suite"] is always fun to play. We usually play it towards the end of the set, and it’s like an ultimate release song. That one get’s pretty huge live. I would say that one especially.

The current tour you guys are on seems to be doing really well, with Cold War Kids and Figurines. What is this touring experience like? Is it what you were expecting it to be from a certain perspective or does it go beyond your expectations as far as turnout and everything else?

It’s been really awesome. I think it’s the Figurines first major U.S. tour. I think they were at South By Southwest this year, and came up the west coast a little bit. We’ve played with Cold War Kids at a couple shows in L.A. after South by Southwest. So we kind of knew those guys, but it’s been great. We’re all buddies now, and there’s a great mutual respect for each other musically. I think we’re all different enough. The crowds have been really receptive to all the bands, which is kind of all you can ask for, you know.

Who are your audiences? From what you can see up on the stage does there seem to be a certain age range, or a couple that have a strong presence?

I would say it’s probably the 20 to 30 range. Last night was all ages, so there were probably some younger folks there. There’ll be some "silver foxes" in the crowd every now and then. It’s a mix, but it goes above the 20-30 for sure. Primarily, though, it’s 20-30, for sure.

Thanks very much Matt.

You’re welcome.
-----------------------------------
After the interview, I had the pleasure of attending the final show of the Tapes ‘N Tapes/Cold War Kids/Figurines tour here in Omaha, Nebraska. All three bands surpassed my expectations, and Tapes ‘N Tapes proved to this fan that they can live up to the hype. Be sure to catch them, if you can, on their upcoming tour with the Futureheads. Head over to TapesNTapes.com for show dates and locations.

Don't forget the contest we have running here to win a free signed 7" limited edition vinyl of the Tapes 'N Tapes Single "Insistor": click here to check it out.

Unrelated Downloads:
Radiohead vs Coldplay - High & Dry/The Scientist.mp3
Radiohead - How I Made My Millions.mp3
Radiohead - Killer Cars.mp3
Radiohead - How Can You Be Sure?.mp3
Radiohead - Maquiladora.mp3

+joe

Jim Noir's "Tower of Love" CD Review/Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 21:05:00 +0000

A week or so ago I recieved a copy of Jim Noir's upcoming LP "Tower of Love" from Barsuk in the mail with my promo copy of The Long Winters' highly anticipated upcoming album "Putting the Days to Bed". Needless to say I hadn't given it much of a listen since I dove straight in to The Long Winters' album first thing. When I finally did get around to it I realized what a mistake it was to brush this release off without any thought.

What I found in "Tower of Love" is an imaginative take on 1950s & 1960s British pop-rock. Jim's voice is incredibly beautiful and plaintive, and his music is no different. At times, sounding like the soundtrack to Edward Scissorhands ("Turbulent Weather") and at other times like The White Stripes ("My Patch"). It's hard to describe Jim in any other way than as this incredible blend of sounds. Though I hate to describe one band in terms of others, it just seems appropriate in Jim Noir's case because he really draws from a plethora of distinct sounds and pushes them together. Sometimes it sounds kitschy, but if you give it a good listen you begin to see that Jim is more of a bridge to yesterday than a copycat. As you move through the CD you can almost hear the evolution of pop-rock music from the mid-twentieth century up to today. It's really interesting from that perspective.

It becomes difficult to pull any tracks out as better than the rest since the CD works in that linear fashion, but some of the ones I find myself listening to the most are as follows (with downloads):

Jim Noir - My Patch.mp3
Jim Noir - Computer Song.mp3

Yeah, only two for download, since I really don't want to get in trouble or hurt sales for this guy by spreading too many tracks. Just take my word for it that if the description sounds good it's a sure thing so go buy it when it comes out on August 8th. I expect to see more of these tracks ("Key of C") as background music in more commercials anyway, so you've just got to own it!

EDIT: REPOST>> Sigmatropic & Cat Power - Haiku Ten.mp3

+joe

Tapes 'N Tapes Contest and Show Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 06:49:00 +0000

Hey there! You look sad! Would a signed copy (by all 4 members) of Tapes 'N Tapes single "Insistor" (with "Crazy Eights" on it as well) on limited edition 7" vinyl do the trick? It would!? Wonderful! The Brothers Tapes were kind enough to sign this copy for me, and I have nothing to play vinyl on! Anyway, here's how this contest works. You come up with the most original idea for a cover song you would like to hear Tapes 'N Tapes do at a show and I'll pick the one I like the most to win this awesome record! Pull out all the stops on this one people. I don't want to see stuff like "Freebird" or "Bird on a Wire" or something that gets covered all the time like that. Post your idea in the comments section of this post. I'll pick a winner next Friday night/Saturday morning so have yours in by then. Only one entry per person, so give it some thought. oh, and if you suggest Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" I'll tell you that you've won and get your address and send you a bomb instead of the record, okay? Okay.

EDIT: Please include your contact info. If you've already posted without your contact just shoot me an email (jszczepaniak@gmail.com) with your contact info in it. Thanks!

So the show tonight was amazing. It was the final night of the Cold War Kids/Figurines/Tapes 'N Tapes Summer Tour, and you can be sure that the bands made it worthwhile. Cold War Kids opened up with an amazing set. They move around so much on stage and bump into each other on purpose, so it was a lot of fun to watch. I was surprised at how good their backup vocals (from the guitarist) were. The band was totally on top of their game, and played my favorite two songs during the set: "Hang Me Up To Dry" and "Hospital Beds". They were really stand-up guys when I met them after the show, too. Josh from Tapes 'N Tapes joined them on a song to play the tamborine and cause good-natured trouble on stage. An incredibly electric performance!

Figurines were the "tightest" band (in an instrumental sense) all night, but their singer was a bit tired looking, and was a bit flat most of the time despite having some really smooth pipes. They got a pretty poor response from the audience, which was not deserved, but, oh well.

Tapes 'N Tapes were everything they said they would be. They pulled out all the stops and went nuts on stage. The do an amazing job of translating their songs for the stage. They played a good many songs including "Manitoba", "Omaha" (my favorite), "In Houston", "Insistor", "Cowbell", "Crazy Eights" and others. I can't remember if they ran through the entire CD or not, but they must've gotten close. They finished off by having nearly every member of the other two bands come up for their last song. There were 4 percussionists, 4 guitarists, 1 bassist, and Matt on keys and tamborine. It was amazing! Tapes came out for an encore as well, and played 2 songs which makes me think they must've played the whole CD. Again, though, I can't remember.

All in all, it was a great show. Was it the most amazing experience of my life? No. Was it the best experience of my summer so far? Definitely. Make sure you head over to their official site and see if they're coming anywhere near you on their coming tour with The Futureheads.

Downloads:
Tapes 'N Tapes - Frankfurt (Awesome Remix).mp3
Tapes 'N Tapes - 50s Parking.mp3
Tapes 'N Tapes - Crazy Eights.mp3
Cold War Kids - Hang Me Out to Dry.mp3

Links:
Tapes 'N Tapes' Official Website
Cold War Kids' Official Website
Figurines' Official Website

+joe