It’s obvious that Louisville has a reputation for pumping out some of the first and most original post-rock bands, many of which that ended up becoming influential among bands that replicated the style. Making recent waves is Sea Hero, a band that delves back to Rodan in it’s song structure, but introduces the aggressiveness into the instrumental genre that bands like Young Widows have exemplified on a local level. Think the quiet reserved moments in a Mono tune meeting the face-punching Explosions in the Sky elements. Here is where Sea Hero dwell.

The band recently recorded their debut LP Grave Talk with studio mastermind Kevin Ratterman at The Funeral Home. According to guitarist Buddy McHagan, the 7 track record was recorded live in a single eight hour session. That’s how you know the mark of a post-rock outfit hardcore above the rest.

You can catch the band open for Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) tonight at Zanzabar. They’ll have Grave Talk available for purchase on CD, and they’re currently developing a digital release. Either way you spin it, Sea Hero is a band well worth checking out. And you can do so below, with the album track “I Wish You’d Look”.

Continue reading LOCAL LISTEN: Sea Hero – “Grave Talk” at Backseat Sandbar.

Louisville’s very own Karass are back with some awesome spaced-out post-rock on their new EP, “Imponderable Bloom”. The new single is called “What Does God Need With a Starship”, and it will make you feel pretty good about life. This is a follow-up to last year’s EP, “My Robot Can Beat Up Your Honor Student”, and their 2009 full-length, “Or Grandfalloon“. Seriously, check this out. There’s no way not to like it. We’ve even attached the single to make it easy on you, gentle reader. So no excuses. Listen to it. Love it.

You can see Karass belt this wonder out, along with many others at their EP Release Show with Another7Astronauts. This show promises to be packed with space noises, some incredible instrumentals, and a very talented bunch of musicians. Show up at Zbar next Friday and get awesome.

Who: Karass and Another7Astronauts

What: imaginative instrumental rock that defies standard categories (think: the soundtrack to a futuristic space adventure)

Where: The Zanzabar

When: Friday, May 25 @ 9PM

Continue reading NEW SINGLE FROM KARASS + EP release show (5/25) at Zanzabar at Backseat Sandbar.

More info here.

Continue reading Paddock Concert Series @ Churchill Downs (Citizen Cope and The Black Lillies) at Backseat Sandbar.

Pierced Arrows (ex-Dead Moon) with Don’t (ex-Wipers)
& Old Baby
Doors 8pm
Tickets $8 / $10 (18 and over)
at Headliners box office & Better Days Records

We couldn’t be more excited about this show.  On top of Pierced Arrows and Don’t, which would be draws along, OLD BABY will be opening!!  We caught their show at the Zanzbar, and we have been waiting for our chance to see them again.  Check out one of their tracks and pick up their beautiful record via Hawthorne Street Records:

Old Baby “Misunderstanding Human Behavior” LP is now available from our web store. This is a limited run of 500 single sided LPs on black vinyl with a killer etching by Evan Patterson on back.

HSR033 – Old Baby “Misunderstanding Human Behavior” LP Buy Now.

If you haven’t heard of Old baby yet they are a Louisville super group featuring Jonathan Glen Wood on the guitar and vocals (singer/song-writer), Evan Patterson on the guitar & backing vocals (YOUNG WIDOWS), Drew Osborn on the drums (YOUR BLACK STAR, WORKERS), Neal Arghabright on the synthesizer (PHANTOM FAMILY HALO), and Todd Cook on the bass THE FOR CARNATION, SHIPPING NEWS, SLINT, DEAD CHILD). Recorded by Kevin Ratterman at The Funeral Home (Elliott/My Morning Jacket).

Track Listing:

1. Skip A Beat
2. Pale As Man
3. In The End
4. Train
5. Myth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWET3z8iVjE

Continue reading WIN TIX: Pierced Arrows w/ Don’t & Old Baby @ Headliners – 5/16 at Backseat Sandbar.

WE HAVE A PAIR OF TICKETS TO GIVE AWAY TO Y’ALL.  JUST COMMENT BELOW WITH YOUR NAME AND A SHOUT-OUT TO YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL BUSINESS.  WE’LL ANNOUNCE A WINNER ON WEDNESDAY. 

Lee Ranaldo Band (of Sonic Youth)
Featuring Steve Shelley with Wooden Wand & Sea Hero
Tickets: $16 Advance, $18 Day of Show
21 plus / Doors at 8pm

ABOUT LEE RANALDO:

Member of Sonic Youth, now in 30th year; visual artist, writer, producer etc. Recent live performances with partner Leah Singer, sight unseen, have been large scale, multi projection quadraphonic sound+light events, w Lee performing suspended guitar phenomena. A solo record of songs was completed this summer and slated for realease early in 2012, with band contributions from Steve Shelley, Nels Cline, John Medeski, Alan Licht, Irwin Menken, Jim O’Rourke, Kathy Leiesen and Bob Bert.

Leeʼs drawings, prints and videos have been on view this year in gallery and museum shows in places such as Bratislava Slovakia, Auckland New Zealand, Salt Lake City Utah and in Brooklyn and Manhattan, NYC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ3jzjh4oEM

Continue reading WIN TIX: Lee Ranaldo Band (of Sonic Youth) @ Zanzabar – 5/19 at Backseat Sandbar.

About Spooky Action at a Distance (via Kranky):

This is the second album from Lotus Plaza, the solo nom de plume of Lockett Pundt, better known as the guitarist in Deerhunter. Pundt has penned a number of the best songs on the last two Deerhunter albums, and his first album, The Floodlight Collective was a tour de force of guitar pop smarts.

He has the uncanny ability to build soaring, melodic gems from simple musical phrases; a möbius strip of a guitar line and repeating clipped drum roll in “Strangers”; a tribal drum beat holding down the foundation on “Out of Touch”; two acoustic guitar chords and a slight bit of snare as the basis for “Dusty Rhodes”; a series of slowly descending piano chord scales on “Jet Out of the Tundra”.

There is a wide variety of songs and moods here, from unabashed rockers such as “White Galactic One” and “Monoliths”, acoustic laced introspection on “Dusty Rhodes” and “Black Buzz”, to the lysergic electronics of “Remember Our Days”.

Spooky Action at a Distance is a wide angle view of what should be the zeitgeist of contemporary guitar pop.

TOUR DATES

05-03 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
05-04 Boise, ID – Neurolux
05-05 Seattle, WA – Neumos
05-06 Vancouver, British Columbia – The Media Club
05-07 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
05-09 San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop
05-10 Los Angeles, CA – Echo
05-11 San Diego, CA – Soda Bar
05-12 Tucson, AZ – Plush
05-13 El Paso, TX – Lowbrow Palace
05-15 Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s
05-16 New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jack’s
07-06 Chattanooga, TN – JJ’s Bohemia
07-07 Louisville, KY – Zanzabar 
07-08 Bloomington, IN – The Bishop
07-09 Columbia, MO – Mojo’s
07-10 Des Moines, IA – Wooly’s
07-11 Minneapolis, MN – Triple Rock Social Club
07-12 Madison, WI – Wisconsin Union Theater
07-14 Chicago, IL – Pitchfork Music Festival
07-15 Cleveland Heights, OH – Grog Shop
07-17 Allston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
07-18 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
07-19 Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory
07-20 Philadelphia, PA – The Underground Arts
07-21 Washington, DC – Rock & Roll Hotel
07-22 Asheville, NC – Emerald Lounge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lneHT10-CY

Continue reading Lotus Plaza @ Zanzabar – 7/7 at Backseat Sandbar.

I say it all the time, but srsly, if you weren’t at Zbar on Friday the 20th then you missed out big time. BIG TIME. Some people celebrate April 20th by lighting funny cigarettes on fire and getting high, and I celebrated by living the (Miller) High Life and chilling with my new bros Bear In Heaven.

Internet sensation Zach of We Listen For You and I arrived super early to have a hang sesh with the bears in the heavens before the show to do a rather serious interview. I don’t know if the interview can be posted yet due to the very controversial subject matter which was discussed over tea and biscuits. But rest assured, Adam, Joe, and Jon (the Bears) are standup gentleman with positive outlooks on life and are well educated on the hard hitting topics.

Yeah not really, we just bullshitted around with them and recorded it. It was fun times.

Oh they also played music for everyone at Zanzabar. That was fun times as well, so let me tell you about it. Are you sitting down? You should sit down before I tell you this. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Ok? Good.
In the immortal words of a billion people on the Internet, Bear In Heaven “KILLED IT”. Yes, they were that good. You can stand up now. I guess you really didn’t have to sit down for that, but I’m concerned about your health and would like you to exercise more. Get up and move around for 10 minutes for every hour you are seated. Are the ergonomics on your desk ok for you to be viewing this article, photographs, and videos? Do what’s best for your health. A recommended dose of dancing to Bear In Heaven’s latest long-player – I Love You, It’s Cool will get you up and going in no time.
Please keep safe. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1znD9OSWTg

Oh, and I had a note to myself to write about how cool the lighting was. So, yeah, their lighting was cool. Especially at Zbar. Yup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HChhVc_W54Y

Continue reading PHOTOS + VIDEO: Bear In Heaven @ Zanzabar 4/20 at Backseat Sandbar.

Louisville’s eccentric sci-fi harpist Erin Hill showed what can be done with a good kickstarter campaign. Earning over $34K from 303 backers, she financed a video for “Lookout, Science,” the followup to “Giant Mushroom” from her upcoming album currently titled “Girl Inventor.” Erin describes the ten songs to be like mini-episodes of the Twilight Zone. The new video premiered exclusively on USA Today, but is now available below.

We last caught (and first met) Erin at Forecastle in 2009 where we had this to say about her…

Although a New Yorker these days, Erin Hill is originally a Louisville girl and was glad to be back in town with her gang of diverse artists, from JP “Thunderbolt” Patterson originally of seminal NY punk band The Dictators to the gorgeous Meena Cho who Erin met while on tour with Kanye West, and several other incredibly talented artists with side-projects galore. While hip hop wouldn’t immediately come to mind with a harpist (or cello in Meena’s case), Erin is hardly ordinary, making a career out rethinking the harp, including an entire series of harp-based rock shows. Ironically, some hippies decided to be less than discreet with their drug usage and the arrest was mentioned on WHAS’ nightly news. I mention this for the fact that if you liked the song you heard scoring the newscast (which I wasn’t aware they do) it was Erin…and yes, it was the song “Giant Mushroom”!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeIq1HaaiTA

and Giant Mushroom:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ml-gr5QiLQ

Continue reading Video: Erin Hill – “Lookout, Science” at Backseat Sandbar.

The talented and beautiful, St. Vincent (Annie Clark), will be at Cincy’s Bogarts on Wednesday, May 9, 2012.  Tickets are on sale here.  She stole our hearts when we saw her open for The National a few years back in Cincy.  Since then, she has treated us with three must own albums: Marry Me, Actor and Strange Mercy.  We also picked up her new 7″, KROKODIL, on Record Store Day.  If you are anywhere near this show, hop in your car and check it out.  Give us a shout for a carpool from Louisville!!  You can also go to her show in Indy the following night.  We may just go to that one too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEY9GJAm8bA

Continue reading St. Vincent @ Bogart’s (Cincy) – 5/9 at Backseat Sandbar.

Continue reading WIN TIX: Old 97′s Derby Eve Show @ Headliners – 5/4 at Backseat Sandbar.

The talented and beautiful, Sharon Van Etten, will be touring through the area again and stopping at Cincy’s Mayday this Friday.  We caught her show in Bloomington with The War on Drugs and loved it so much, we hare hopping in the car again for this show.  We picked up her newest album, Tramp, and it has rarely left the turntable at the Backseat HQ.  Check out ‘Leonard’ below.  SVE seemingly effortlessly has the unique power to suck you in to every lyric.  If you miss this show, you are going to have to wait a while for another chance, so go grab your tickets now.  Hit up Shake-It before the show!

DETAILS:

Sharon Van Etten
with Flock of Dimes

This Friday, April 27th
Doors open at 8 pm

$10 advanced tix / $12 day of show
click HERE to purchase tickets online or head to Shake-It

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1OBHLTaHnU

TOUR DATES:

Continue reading Sharon Van Etten @ Mayday (Cincy) – 4/27 at Backseat Sandbar.

As if you needed reminding. You better be there on time, then head over to Please & Thank You for RSD.

Go listen to these bands to GET PUMPED:
Bear In Heaven:
http://soundcloud.com/bear-in-heaven
Doldrums:
http://soundcloud.com/doldrumss
Blouse:
http://soundcloud.com/blouse

INFOrmation:
ZANZABAR & SHARK PRODUCTIONS present:
Bear In Heaven (w/ Doldrums & Blouse)
Friday, April 20th
Doors @ 8:00, Show @ 9:00
$10
Tickets available online: http://www.ticketfly.com/event/83135/
or at Zanzabar
You have to be 21 too. Or older, that’s on you.

Continue reading REMINDER: Bear In Heaven w/ Doldrums & Blouse @ Zanzabar 4/20 at Backseat Sandbar.

Yeasayer will be at Headliners on June 23, 2012.  No other details are out yet, but I know we will be there.  We’ll update when we find out.  In the meantime, check out two of their videos below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6VatNuR_Uk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oXLqkKLg80

Continue reading Yeasayer @ Headliners – 6/23 at Backseat Sandbar.

WANT YOUR BAND TO HAVE THE TRACK OF THE DAY?  JUST SEND US THE MP3 OR STREAM LINK LINK TO BACKSEATSANDBAR@GMAIL.COM WITH ‘TRACK OF THE DAY” IN THE SUBJECT LINE.  JUST INCLUDE A LINK, WEBSITE/FACEBOOK INFO, TOUR DATES, ETC…  ONLY RULE IS THAT YOU HAVE TO BE FROM LOUISVILLE OR THE SURROUNDING AREA.  WE’LL GET EVERY SUBMISSION UP -  NO FILTER – AND LET THE READERS DECIDE.

Continue reading LOCAL TRACK OF THE DAY (WE POST, YOU DECIDE): The Over-Reactors – Can’t Get Out of Bed at Backseat Sandbar.

I’ve been a fan of Pelican since the first time I heard their self-titled EP some time around 2002 or 2003, and each album since has been personally meaningful to me – kind of like the soundtrack to different parts of my life. I’ve had the chance to chat with all the members of Pelican here and there over the years, going to their shows and it’s cool to know they’re all super nice dudes.

I had a chance to interview guitarist, Trevor DeBrauw, about their latest EP, “Ataraxia/Taraxis”, which is out this week (4/10/2012) on Southern Lord Records.

Check out what Trevor had to say:

Let’s start with the canned question and go from there: How does “Ataraxia/Taraxis” differ from Pelican’s previous work? As far as the songwriting process and the band dynamic goes.

Trevor: “The goal was to craft an EP that had a sense of trajectory from start to finish. We knew it had been awhile since our last release and that we’re still a ways out from a new album, so we tried to make something that felt like it played as a whole and covered a lot of territory in a short time span. Thence the songs are shorter and more direct, but cover more sonic territory than before. The last song on the EP, in particular, was a big experiment for us as we built it up from a home-recorded demo that started as an acoustic jam and gradually turned into something completely different.”

About the band dynamic: how have things like each of you living in different places, or going through different things in life shaped the music that you make together in Pelican?

Trevor: “Living in different cities has been an interesting challenge for us, but it’s made us more focused. Now that we have limited time with each other it makes the time we share more precious, which, in turn, means that we work harder when we have those opportunities. At the end of 2009 we kind of took a step back from the band as we needed to recharge our batteries a bit – having the time away gave us some perspective and I think all of us have a newfound respect and gratitude for this creative endeavor that we share together.”

What can you tell us about the meaning behind the name, “Ataraxia/Taraxis”? To be honest, I had to look up the meaning of ‘ataraxia’ and what I learned was pretty cool, but what about ‘taraxis’?

Trevor: “The terms are references to the Epicureans, who believed that the goal of life is to live pleasurably, free from anxiety. In many ways the source of anxiety is investment in civic life, politics and the like. In the information age the onslaught of anxiety is unending and overwhelming – the EP is about the dual instinct of trying to find peace in life by escaping the anxiety, but also the realization that in trying to escape – bliss in ignorance – you are only empowering those sources of anxiety.”

Does this meaning reflect the direction that Pelican has taken in its work since “What We All Come to Need”? It seems like there are a lot of potential interpretations for what “What We All Come to Need” means. You guys have always had some interesting titles on your albums.

Trevor: “The two releases are somewhat related – the last album was about hope in the face of futility, about seeking solace in friends and family when the knowledge that humanity’s course of self-destruction is inevitable and seemingly impossible to stop. The new one is similarly about this course of self-destruction, but it’s tone is a little darker because it is about facing that abyss and choosing your course in how you face it.”

What are some of the advantages Pelican has on Southern Lord? What are some of the things you enjoy about working with them?

Trevor: “Southern Lord is a really well run label with an excellent musical reputation. The biggest advantage of a label like Southern Lord is that they are artist-run: Greg Anderson knows exactly where we’re coming from and wants to make things as artist-friendly as possible.”

Would you like to say anything about the other projects that each of you are working on, outside of Pelican? I saw that Let’s Pet has been pretty busy lately. How’s that been going?

Trevor: “Next week Larry’s band ÆGES are releasing their debut full length on Mylene Sheath – they’re an excellent melodic post-hardcore band with Mark from Undertow, Tony from Cutthroats 9, and Kemble from The Rise. It’s a fucking great album. Then April 30^th my power ambient band Chord are releasing our third full length GMaj7 on MIEMusic; it’s essentially two side-long compositions focusing on different expressions of one chord. Let’s Pet is my motorik goth pop band, or something – I don’t really know what we are. Anyhow, we’re halfway through recording a full length, though we have no label or anything worked out. I’m also self-releasing the Teith LP; which was basically a former incarnation of Let’s Pet. I’m really proud of that one and we sat on it for a little bit, but I want to get it out there; it’s a noisy experimental pop record and I’m stoked on it. On top of these I’ve also started playing solo shows. Pretty busy these days…”

 What are some of the bands that you’re looking forward to playing with on Pelican’s upcoming tours?

Trevor: “We’re, of course, really excited to be hooking up with Tombs on our current tour. We love that band and we’re good buddies so it’s going to be fun sharing time with them. We’re playing Roadburn with Sleep this weekend, which we expect will be a blast. Also we’re playing with Om and Barn Owl in Paris, both amazing bands that I’m thrilled to see.”

The full “Ataraxia/Taraxis” EP is streaming via AV Club:

Tour Dates:

4/06/2012 Dunk! Festival – Zottegem, BE
4/07/2012 The Garage – London, UK w/ Chelsea Wolfe
4/08/2012 Vudu Club – Birmingham, UK w/ Chelsea Wolfe
4/09/2012 Brudenell Social Club – Leeds, UK
4/10/2012 Stereo – Glasgow, UK
4/11/2012 The Ruby Lounge – Manchester, UK
4/12/2012 The Haunt – Brighton, UK
4/13/2012 The Cooler – Bristol, UK
4/14/2012 Roadburn Festival – Tilburg, Netherlands
4/15/2012 La Maronquinerie – Paris, France 
4/16/2012 Jubez – Karlsruhe, Germany w/ Tombs
4/17/2012 Bad Bonn – Dudingen, Switzerland
4/18/2012 Magnolia – Milan, Italy
4/19/2012 Feierwerk – Munich, Germany w/ Tombs
4/20/2012 Cassiopeia – Berlin, Germany w/ Tombs
4/21/2012 Nosturi – Helsinki, Finland

Continue reading INTERVIEW: Pelican at Backseat Sandbar.