Leigh Marble

Introducing: Leigh & the Lollipops!

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 PST

We have for you a tasty treat: a single from a new group! Last month's Laurelthirst show included a collaboration between Leigh and the Ascetic Junkies on Leigh's song "On Your Way", and for that one song, the entire ensemble was christened Leigh & the Lollipops.

From that show, we bring you the live recording of "On Your Way". The Lollipops' take on this song is poppier and even more upbeat than the two-step stomp of the album version.

For the b-side of the single, we're including "Lucky Bastards", performed at the same show, also with members of the Ascetic Junkies (but not the full group). Viva el funky banjo!

Listen now or download it for free.

Epic New Interview Up!

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:00 PST

PensEyeView.com has published an epic new interview with Leigh Marble. Sweeping in scope, abyssal in depth, and impossible to find on their site (um, hello, site navigation?), we would advise you hop over there using this handy link.

Here's just a taste of their laser-sharp interrogation:

PEV: What can fans expect from your recent album "Twister", a collection of songs remixed from his [sic] critically-lauded sophomore full-length, "Red Tornado"?

LM: They better wrap a wet towel around their heads, so it doesn't mess up the drapes when I blow their minds. I guess the towel doesn't have to be wet.

Read the whole piece at http://www.penseyeview.com/content/leigh-marble

Pandora Radio

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 PST

Leigh's album "Red Tornado" is now part of the Pandora music library - which means you can listen to Leigh Marble Radio 24/7 to your heart's content! Thus far we've heard selections from Todd Rundgren, Rhett Miller, and Chris Whitley, among others. It's fun to hear how Pandora connects the dots between cuts off "Red Tornado" and the thousands of other songs in its library, and it'll even list why it thinks there's a similarity (like "a subtle use of vocal harmony", "mild rhythmic syncopation", and even *gasp* "a prominent accordion part").

If you're new to Pandora, here it is in a nutshell: Pandora is a free internet radio service that "helps you find new music based on your old and current favorites." Tell it an artist or a song that you like, and it makes up a playlist on the fly that it thinks will match your tastes. And, as you listen, you can give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to the songs, and it will adapt its choices. (There's some complex techno-magic behind the whole system - if you'd like to know more about how it works, read here.)

Listen now from your computer, or from any of these mobile devices.

Twister News & Reviews

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 00:00:00 PST

Twister is now the featured album on Leigh's music site, where you can hear all those glorious twisted remixes any time of day or night. You'll see there's also some new shots up there of the EP's custom handcrafted package (recyled paper folder with foam dot to hold CD), printed by Stumptown Printers, so you know what you're getting when you decide to order the beautiful, magical, physical object. (Although, if you prefer the ephemeral, intangible download, we've got you covered there as well.)

A couple new reviews of Twister have rolled in since last time we spoke. Zaptown Magazine claims that "Leigh Marble's forte is the studio with the itch to set some dynamite to his own songs," and draws comparisons to Throbbing Gristle and Meat Beat Manifesto. Not what you expected from a "folk rock" artist's remix record, was it! Meanwhile, the Orange County Music Examiner opines that the vocals on Twister "seem like they could be on the soundtrack for a Halloween movie". We're not sure exactly what that means, but if you understand how much we love Halloween around these parts, you know we take it as a compliment!

New Live Video

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Here are two live cuts from Leigh and his band, from their September show at Kelly's Olympian.

First up, Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song", complete with accordion and pedal steel.

Next, Leigh's own "Long Overdue". This song has evolved quite a bit from the album version on Peep, so if you haven't made it out to one of Leigh's shows in a while, you might be surprised.

Filmed by Autumn Andel - thanks Autumn!

Twister Video & Digital Relaunch!

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 PDT

We are proud to announce the digital relaunch of the Twister remix EP on our music site. Explore the full album there now, with complete streaming versions of all the songs.

Twister features six dubby & dirty remixes of Red Tornado songs, by four different guest producers. The relaunched version adds a bonus remix, the "On Your Way (Stoner Ace Breakdown)".

And now, ladies and gents, stand witness to the world premiere of the "Lucky Bastards" remix video! This heady, psychedelic epic was shot and produced by Jeremy Wilson (Dharma Bums, Pilot, MastanMusic):

"Lucky Bastards (King County Jail Dub)" video

Using footage culled from Leigh's live collaborative remix performance with the Teledubgnosis Sound System, and painted with the video projection art of Abstract Machines (House of Badger), the nightmarish vision of the "Lucky Bastards (King County Jail Dub)" remix is brought to the screen in vivid Swirly-Vision.

Reviewers called Twister "darkly hypnotic" (Portland Mercury) and "FOLK'DUB" (Willamette Week) upon its release. More ears are catching on now - have a listen and see what you think!

New Band Members

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Leigh's shows at the LaurelThirst and Kelly's Olympian mark the debut of two new band members: bassist Peter David and pedal steel player Scott Hay. Peter comes to us via Seattle, where he held down the low end for spacerock-tinged alt-country rockers Prosser. He currently also plays in The Caps, and he can eat fifty eggs.

Adding a new facet to the band's sound is Scott Hay on pedal steel. Scott cut his (steel) teeth during a tenure with Bay Area country favs the Plain High Drifters. Fear not, though - Leigh Marble is not goin' country! Scott's pedal steel speaks with a measured and mournful tone that melds with Leigh's new darker electric guitar sound.

Bandcamp News: The End of Free Downloads

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:00:00 PDT

After all the chatter in the last couple newsletters about Bandcamp, you think we'd have exhausted the subject. Almost... except they go and surprise us earlier this week with the announcement that they're discontinuing 128k MP3 as a download format. Meh, who cares, right?

Normally, we'd shrug too. However, 128k downloads were what we had set up as free downloads. Those were free, and all the high quality formats had a minimum price. For more details on the issue, see Leigh's blog entry about it.

But the bottom line is, this is your last week to grab a free 128K download of Leigh's albums from Bandcamp. They haven't given us an exact shut-off date, but it will be some time next week.

More About Bandcamp

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:00:00 PDT

In our last communique, we mentioned the brave new world of Bandcamp that Leigh had just entered. Bandcamp is an swell place for bands to showcase their music. There's none of the clutter of Myspace, and nothing you have to join to listen - just a clean music player that makes it easy to check out any of the songs, with album art and lyrics all right there.

If you like what you hear from Bandcamp's streaming jukebox, you can download individual songs or full albums, for free. Basic mp3's (128kbps) are yours for the asking (we do ask you to join the mailing list in exchange - but you can unsubscribe right away if you like).

If you really like what you hear, you can buy high-quality downloads of songs or albums, in eight different formats (including two lossless ones). This alone is why Bandcamp is better than iTunes. Add to that completely DRM-free downloads, no middlemen taking a cut of the price (well, besides Paypal), and a variable-pricing model, and you can see why we're so gung-ho about Bandcamp!

http://leighmarble.bandcamp.com/

We are currently offering Red Tornado and Peep through Bandcamp. These will soon be joined by the remix EP Twister, and thereafter by live albums, rarities, and, of course, future new releases!

Spankin' New Deluxe Online Music Wizbang: Bandcamp!

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:00 PDT

We are delighted to announce a new era in our music distribution. For the first time ever, you can now purchase full quality downloads of Leigh Marble albums and songs. You want mp3's at 320K? We got that. You prefer slightly smaller AAC files? No problem. Can't rest until you get the full-bandwidth, no-compression listening experience of FLAC or Apple Lossless? All these options and more are available now at:

http://leighmarble.bandcamp.com/

But wait, there's more! Downloads at Bandcamp:

are free if all you want is a lowly 128K mp3 of a song (we do ask you to join the mailing list in exchange - but you can unsubscribe right away if you wish)
allow you to set your own pricing on the high quality song and album downloads ($1/song, $7/album minimum)
are free of DRM (digital-rights-management) restrictions

Plus, full songs are available for streaming at any time, so you can check out the goods to your heart's content before buying anything.

We love Bandcamp so much, in fact, that we are replacing the whole "Albums" section of the Leigh Marble website with it. Please note that we are currently offering Red Tornado and Peep through Bandcamp. These will soon be joined by Twister as well.

New Mailing List

Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT

As those of you signed up on Leigh's mailing list have no doubt already noticed, we have switched out plain ol' text emails for something a little easier on the eye. And thanks to the brilliant crew at MailChimp, this has been an easy change to make. From now on, their system will also make it a lot easier to manage your subscription (change your email address, unsubscribe, etc).

You can join the new Leigh Marble Mailing List using this signup form. We still only send about one email a month, so we promise this won't be a strain on your inbox!

New interview in This Heart Will Burn Right Out

Wed, 13 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Leigh answers questions about the wonderful world of folk remixes, his changing lineup, and which Portland bands he's been listening to these days...

http://thisheartwillburnrightout.com/

Two Portlands Playlist on CD Baby

Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 PDT

We're proud to announce that the CD Baby editorial staff has picked Leigh to help represent Portland (Oregon) in their new "Two Portlands" playlist. As they put it, "In a battle royal, these bands will decide which Portland is better: Left Coast, or the other one." Yikes! Don't let that giant lobster clip the top off Mt. Hood!

Request Leigh for the PDX Pop Now Festival!

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:00:00 PDT

Please take 2 seconds to pop over to the PDX Pop Now site, and request that Leigh Marble play their 2009 summer festival:

www.pdxpopnow.com/requests
They are only taking requests through March, so please act now!

Up Now: Live at the High Dive

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 00:00:00 PST

Live at the High Dive

Eight songs in one rockin' bundle, showcasing the evolving sound of the full band lineup. Plenty of mighty bass, some newer songs, and one very special cover...

Greener Pastures
Lucky Bastards
Get Yours
Baby Ruth
Immigrant Song
Fast & Loose
Inebriate Waltz
Long Overdue