A couple of weeks ago I was asked to take part of breakthruradio.com’s “Anatomy of a Blogger” program. This program runs every Thursday on their online radio website.
The hour long program I put together was made up of songs I chose from their list of approved labels and answers to five questions.
It was put together quite well. My only issue was some of the songs I selected were presented in a live format versus the studio version. The quality of the live recording were not great, especially for the Apostle of Hustle song, “Cheap Like Sebastian”. They also decided to use the Fuck Buttons song that I had thrown on the list as a last resort. It’s not a great song for radio in my opinion. I basically added it to the list just in case the other songs weren’t cleared for playing on their station. Overall, I was happy with the way it turned out.
One other problem was the actual site. Many of my friends and family who went to listen had trouble viewing the website because of all the FLASH activity on the home page. Many computers were freezing up. Even fast computers such as the CTO at my company. Apparently this is a subject that’s come up before at the breakthruradio office. I hope they come up with a solution for their sake.
Those that did hear the program may not be aware but I wrote five posts for them as well. The posts were pretty buried in their news section so I’m going to share them with you here.
The Next SoCal Hyped Band – “Delta Spirit”
The L.A. and NYC music scenes are similar in that they create extremely hyped up bands very quickly and us bloggers have a tendency to speed that process up. However, from this east coasters opinion, those hyped from places like Greenpoint in Brooklyn usually live up to their hype (i.e. TV on the Radio). Unlike in SoCal where we get bands that have a tendency to implode upon further listen (i.e. We are Scientists or Cold War Kids).
So when a band like Delta Spirit leaves you feeling, “jeez, these guys are really good”, you immediately have to put those feelings into check. Are those beach guitar vibes just creating temporary feelings of bliss and actual exposure over time dulls the senses? Are those lyrics as creative as they sound or is that overpowering voice creating an illusion?
It’s been a few months since the Dr. Dog show here in Boston and the experience of Delta Spirit’s opening dominance. We strolled in after putting a few back in the upper part of Middle East Downstairs so our senses were ripe for picking. The energy coming from the stage immediately impacted our group. We got as close as we could to what was happening and couldn’t help but be swept up in the moment. Their final song brought Dr. Dog out on stage to join in on the action. My one friend turned to me and said, “it’s like an indie Last Waltz”. It was a special night for the two bands as it represented the final night they would be touring together. But usually this kind of jam session happens at the final moments of the headliner.
Looking back at the show and listening to their album, my verdict is that the lyrics are clever. The lead singer, Matt Vasquez, has a very powerful, and an exceptional voice. But the music itself leaves you with something to be desired. There’s a lot of clamoring about but in the end the melodies get lost among the powerful singing.
Don’t take my word for it. Watch their full live set, opening for Dr. Dog at The Parish on 9/13/2008 here: http://www.baeblemusic.com/Concerts/TheParish/DeltaSpirit.html.
Medeski, Martin & Wood – Rewriting the rules of record making
Dipping into my jam band grab bag, MMW (Medeski, Marting and Wood) bring us a new way of recording an album. Instead of writing music, recording it, introducing it to the masses through an official album release, then touring off of the album, they’ve decided to write some songs, introduce them by touring then immediately heading into the studio to record the songs and include the new variations that evolved to each song from the live show. They’re planning to release three albums in this fashion calling them The Radiolarian Series. Radiolarian is a single cell organism that has a very intricate exoskeleton (read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiolarian).
The first single off of the first series is called “Free Go Lily”:
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It’s a funky jam. But the song that I keep going back to is “Muchas Gracias”. It starts out with a slow and dark piano line and rumbling drums. MMW loves using the mini-wind piano called a melodica and they use it to start out the melody. This slow groove continues for the first two and half minutes till it breaks apart and for roughly a minute the song climbs out from the depths into a faster, harder groove that makes your head rock back and forth. Then, the first major chord is hit, releasing us into the oncoming jam. We eventually die back to its original dark pace and are left prepared to rock out to the next tune, “Professor Nohair”.
Buy from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GMP4H0?ie=UTF8&tag=hip2-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001GMP4H0
Andrew Bird – New album and jamming with Yo Yo Ma
Andrew Bird is by far one of our generation’s most talented musicians. Period. His craft to build a song around what can only be described as deeply disjointed lyrics, is one of a kind. Read more about his song writing process over at his New York Times article: http://measureformeasure.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/words-will-tell/. It all starts with a whistle.
His new album, “Noble Beasts”, is due out on Fat Possum on 1/20/09. You can listen to the opening track, “Oh No”, over at this website (http://www.andrewbird.net/news.htm). Per usual, he starts off with a whistle and discusses the life of a sociopath. If the first track is any sign of things to come, I think we’re in for yet another masterpiece from the birdman.
If anyone had any doubt about Andrew’s abilities, just check out the Chicago native jamming with the Grammy award winning Cellist, Yo Yo Ma, over at MTV Iggy: http://www.mtviggy.com/content/3552.
Stream entire album at NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98649962
Brighton MA – “Sunblinded”
Fans of The Walkmen will fall in love with Brighton, Ma, a four piece from Chicago. They represent the next generation of nostalgic indie pop. The lead man, Matt Kerstein, was a co-founder of Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, which was a band I first heard about during the 2005 CMJ festival. The hype around the band sounded as if they were well positioned to take off. They landed opening gigs for Spoon, Arcade Fire and The Walkmen. We’re not exactly sure what drove Matt to leave the band. Perhaps the band was stuck creatively. Either way, Matt and other SYGC members, Sam Koentopp (drums) and Devon Bryant (guitar,bass,vocals and production) have added Jim Tuerk (guitar, keys and arrangements) and are making waves with Brighton, MA.
“Sunblinded”, is in my opinion one of their best tracks off of their debut album, “Amateur Lovers”, which was released this past October on Loose Tooth Records. Based on their Daytrotter session, this song was recorded just after their tour with Elvis Perkins in the winter of 2007. The song was inspired by Elvis’s songwriting and helped drive the direction of the album.
Listen and download “Sunblinded” and others over at their Daytrotter session: http://daytrotter.com/article/1517/the-flawed-men-that-become
Watch them perform their songs live over at the Rolling Stone Tanqueray site: http://www.rollingstoneextras.com/tanqueray/.
All Smiles – Jim Fairchild of Grandaddy comes back for round two
Jim Faichild was the guitar player behind the California indie band, Grandaddy, which broke up back in 2007 after a ten-year career. Jason Lytle had always been the main songwriter for the band with Jim acting as his second in command. But it was becoming more and more clear to Jim towards the end that Jason didn’t want a collaborative band anymore. So, he decided to test his own skills by playing a few tunes he had written while still with Grandaddy. A few encouraging friends helped to bring about his 2007 debut, “Ten Readings of A Warning”. It was released with mediocre reviews but showed promise.
Now, Jim is gearing up to release a full LP, “Oh For The Getting And Not Letting Go”, and a six song EP that will be available worldwide digitally and physically at his shows. You can listen to two tracks from the full length over at their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/allsmilesmusic.
Album is scheduled for a self-release in April. According to a recent press release, we’re expected to hear “themes of entropy, inequity, strong love, and hope.”
Before their release, the band will be heading out on the road in support of Modest Mouse.
