A Sunny Day In Glasgow
One of my fav Philly acts has created a really awesome video for their single So Bloody So Tight. They're currently on the road for a bit of epic touring so do your best to check them out, that is if they don't disappear into the surroundings.
I received a delightful email from Rosie & Me last week with their new EP Bird & The Whale enclosed. As I expected the 5 tracks contained therein were fantastic. Their playfulness is intact as are the simple twee leaning lyrics. Heres a taste but I strongly recommend you go get the rest and stock up on their older stuff too.
Following on the tails of Sharon Van Etten's session Weathervane, in partnership with WXPN, announced the second artist to be included in the Shaking Through series. Sonoi,a rock trio from Chicago, was selected by Daniel Smith (Danielson) who is curating the first season. You can check out their studio session as well as their single (below).
Finally, the second issue of Vinyl & Vodka has been released. Continuing with the quality content and also with the accompanying Vodcast. This time dedicating their work to Alexander McQueen, the fashion designer who took his life earlier this month. It is a great read so give it a perusal.
So many bits of news have crossed my path in the last few days regarding items, people and projects I feel need a little of your attention.
To bring season 2 to a close the folks behind LMM relaunched their website. Now, to keep yourself busy while they take a hiatus from bringing you some very fresh material, you can easily sort through the archives and sample tracks from the various monthly themes. This is a project dedicated to reconsidering the many facets of music from album art to instruments. Well worth the price of subscription for season 3 which will kick off May 1.
Loosing no steam from last week's announcement of their partnership with WXPN on the Shaking Through music series Weathervane Music released the first track from ST's debut series. Each series will feature the work of an assortment of artists. Documenting the process involved in creating, recording, refining and releasing their work. First up for 2010 is Sharon Van Etten and today they dropped her first track "Love More." Swing on over to Weathervane's site to find out more about the project.
Finally, FINALLY after months of waiting news has arrived about the first album to come from of Philly's own Free Energy. After months of slowly leaking out nibbles of their work they let it be known today that Stuck On Nothing will be released to the masses on March 9th. They also offered up a new track. "Hope Child" can be found over at Pitchfork.
Last week brought Animal Tropical & Freelance Whales, two very fresh groups, to Kungfu Necktie for a rollicking good time. Going in I knew very little about Animal Tropical - for example, that it's Ah-nee-Mal Tro-pee-Kal - so I was unprepared for the frenzied punkish energy this Miami quartet unleashes during their set. The abstract psych vibe of the music was punctuated by the most fabulous hand gestures by any performer I've seen, quite possibly ever. Despite a broken keyboard the lead singer kept the show going; delivering a unique vocal style I can only describe as a mix of scat and slam poetry. While that description denotes a degree of chaos Animal Tropical's brilliance lies is in their ability to put it out there and still maintain a sense of control. The full package melds a lot of influences and techniques together to create a very distinct sound and an incredibly pleasing live show. I'm eager for them to return so I can get another Tropical fix.
Freelance Whales, one of the rapidly trending bands on the east coast indie scene, brought their plucky troupe to the stage next. Playing pretty much anything they can get their hands on to create a hodgepodge symphony that, when layered under their dexterous lyrical stylings puts forth on hell of a mesmerizing show. As the groups members float around the numerous instruments on stage - changing location with every song - they maintained a consistant thread of tautly harmonized vocals. Hearing Freelance Whales perform live really brought a new weight to their stellar lyrics. While the music doddles between sweet and romantic to playful they manage to steer clear of the precious "twee" territory by keeping things simple and grounded. All five group members were having a good time with each other, which quickly spread into the crowd loosening a few hip shakes from the packed house. Working through most of the tracks on the new album Weathervane during their set Freelance Whales proved they are worth every bit of their buzz. They will be back on March 5th with Cymbals Eat Guitars and Bear In Heaven, get your tickets now. Hannah
Weathervane released this trailer for Sharon Van Etten's session recorded in December. Pairing such a fantastic artist with this incredible project can lead to nothing but brilliance.
In addition, Weathervane announced a partnership with WXPN on Shaking Through an extension of the Project Series bringing independent artists from around the world in to the Weathervane studios and recording the magic that happens. This is a great new phase for the ambitious Weathervane crew, and I couldn't be more excited to see what is yet to come.
Yarn @ Tin Angel Yarn is one of those bands that fires on all cylinders at every turn. Their recorded material is stellar but their live show, man, their live show is something to behold. I first heard them when they were slinking about the east coast playing teeny tiny back road venues; so, it was fitting that I saw them at the Tin Angel. (an excellent Philly venue at the smaller end of the spectrum). The entire crew filled the stage and proceeded to rock out. The bluegrass roots of their recorded material was recognizable but in the live format they carried a decidedly more southern rock edge. What really made this concert stand out however was its length and degree of sincere audience engagement. They played for two hours straight, taking requests and riffing off of feedback. Never once during the show was I bored or not blown away by the talent the gentlemen of Yarn possess. I am really looking forward to my next opportunity to see Brooklyn’s finest bluegrass band again. Lies I've Told
Monolith Music Festival was hit by some unfortunate rains this year diluting the potential for greatness from a stellar line up of acts –including: Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs Rahzel, The Grates, Frightened Rabbit, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros etc.- in the beautiful Red Rocks ampitheater. The first full day of the festival was chilly and very very damp. Leaving indoor stages incredibly crowded, outdoor stages unbearably cold and putting folks in maj curmudgeon mode. Not surprisingly though there were some spectacular performances that kept it from being a total wash.
Thunderheist, The Twilight Sad, The Answering Machine, Love Language all put on great shows. But by far the greatest one of the entire weekend was Phoenix’s unanticipated main stage set. They were supposed to play a smaller stage but when MSTRKRFT canceled at the last minute Phoenix rose to the challenge. Without all the right equipment (they didn’t bother to bring everything to CO because the stage was supposed to be small) they went on and played a fantastic mix of new and old tunes. There wasn’t a person in that crowd that wasn’t dancing and a fair bit of folks were singing too. The prevalent vibe when they were done was widespread satisfaction.
When it comes to lyrics there are few bands that are capable of wrapping words around emotions that in their moment of origin are ethereal and difficult to describe, yet no less visceral. The Weakerthans are masters of doing just that; and, they do so in a way that avoids saccharine cliché. When I heard they were going to be playing NY this fall I immediately bought tickets. Hands down one of the best uses of my dollah bills this year.
The show at Bowery Ballroom was like a gathering of friends. Not enough people know about The Weakerthans but when you meet a fellow fan you just know they are “good people.” So, you can imagine, a concert is a whole mess of good people blissing out on the quirk and talent of one of Canada’s best musical acts. They don’t play very much these days so you could tell there was a higher than normal sense of fun on stage as they played a set that scratched pretty much every Weakerthans itch I went in with.
Weathervane Music Weathervane Music is the kind of project that gives me hope about the future of the music industry. It is a Philly based effort dedicated to building a community of music makers to support each other as well as the greater indie music scene. Each year there a few more established music heads curate a season. Each chooses a couple of acts who are then given time in the awesome Miner Street Studios. What goes on there is recorded both video and audio to share on line with other burgeoning acts wanting to see how a proper studio recording is done. This year saw the likes of BC Camplight & Danielson coming through the door and next year’s line up is equally exciting, Sharon Van Etten just spent some time in the studio recently.
The Weathervane fundraiser this fall was another night of truly likeminded music fans coming together to support a refreshing approach to fostering the future of the indie music recording. It is difficult to convey the quality of skill and passion behind this project and I am honored to be able to watch it grow the its inevitable greatness.
Free Energy Music Video
Last spring I got invited to a little get together by a college friend. A couple of the guys from Hockey Night (a great Minneapolis act that had begun at our school) were in a new band called Free Energy and a few other Carls were going to be recording them for their first music video. I went I saw a whole bunch of great and familiar faces and crammed myself into one of the hottest Northern Liberties basements for a fun set delivered amongst clouds of silver white balloons. It was a beautiful night all around that also included a fantastic bike ride and my friend’s rando kitten stalking.
In the weeks that followed Free Energy kept popping up on my radar and I fully enjoyed seeing the band start getting some much deserved rumblings. Then mid summer the video was dropped and it perfectly captured the essence of the band and that first superb night of summer. I'm expecting big things when their album is released next year.
Its been a productive, albeit ADD, day for me today. In all the hubub a few notions, news bits & links have risen to the top of my consciousness and I wanted to share'em with you.
Weathervane Music Project, a fantastic Philly venture aimed at building and supporting the local music community is having a fund raiser on Nov. 12 at Johnny Brenda's. BC Camplight, Danielson, East Hundred and Sunset will all be performing. Get your ticket here or simply donate to Weathervane's Kickstarter campaign.
Learning Music Series October edition is quite possibly my favorite to date. The Johnny Pride Story has a great backstory and includes rerecordings of his work as well as new conceptualizations. Its most definitely worth your ears and effort. Famous is the single but the full download is amazing!
Also, I would like to use TWIAPC platform to encourage you all to support your local or preferred public radio station. I have been lucky enough to live in cities with incredible public radion, both news and music and membership was one of my first post college "grown up" investments. Thanks to web streaming even if you're local station isn't your fav you can listen to broadcasts from other markets. They really need whatever you can offer to continue to bring you quality content without the influence of commercial investors. The public radio media model has long inspired me to seek (and create) out real news and music coverage. These are the stations I currently support
But there are many many other fantastic stations out there. Find your local broadcast here.
Hey look I have a new logo (which will be fully incorporated in the new layout debuting soon) thanks to the marvelous Daniel Gauthier and...
I finally got around to creating a facebook page for TWIAPC where I'll be sneaking in lazy lady posts every once in a while as well as some other random surprises. Check it out and become a fan... Facebook page
The links posted on TWIAPC are intended for your aural sampling pleasure. If you like what you hear please go to your record store or preferred industry friendly webstore and throw down your hard earned bills for their hard work. Or, better yet, go see them live. Many MANY of these acts are scattering themselves all over the country to bring their music to you and rarely cost more that $15.
If you're an artist (or represent an artist) whose work I have featured and you would like it removed please contact me TWIAPC gmail and it will be done so immediately.
I received a delightful email from Rosie & Me last week with their new EP Bird & The Whale enclosed. As I expected the 5 tracks contained therein were fantastic. Their playfulness is intact as are the simple twee leaning lyrics. Heres a taste but I strongly recommend you go get the rest and stock up on their older stuff too.
