The Capgun Coup story starts three years ago in suburban Omaha, Nebraska. Mutual boredom coupled with an interest in avant noise would fuel the duo’s early collaborations, but after a move downtown and after the addition of two members, Capgun Coup became less interested in white noise, and completely enamored with pop. The result is Nebraskafish, an album that is as much an homage to basement shows and house parties as it is to the indie pop tradition.
Sea Wolf Tour Dates: October
13 Chicago, IL Schubas Tavern 15 Columbus, OH – Basement + 16 Cincinnati, OH – 20th Century + 17 Louisville, KY – Jim Porters + 18 Indianapolis, IN – Birdy’s + 20 Chicago, IL – Schubas + 22 St. Louis, MO – Gargoyle Club + 23 Nashville, TN – Exit In + 24 Birmingham, AL – Bottle Tree + 26 Tampa, FL – State Theatre + 27 St. Augustine, FL – Cafe Eleven + 29 Athens, GA – 40 Watt Club + 30 Asheville, NC – Orange Peel + 31 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle +
November 01 Charlottesville, VA – Satellite Ballroom UVA + 02 Baltimore, MD – 8 x 10 + 03 Philadelphia, PA – North Star 05 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge 06 Boston, MA – Middle East Upstairs 07 Montreal, QC – La Sala Rossa 09 Toronto, ON – El Mocamo 10 Cleveland, OH – Grop Shop 13 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge 14 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge 18 San Diego, CA – Belly Up Tavern 29 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour 30 Santa Barbara, CA – Velvet Jones
+ = w/ Nada Surf http://www.seawolfmusic.com http://myspace.com/seawolf
Slumberland Records, which is responsible for releasing many of my favorite nineties indie bands like Lorelei, The Ropers, Small Factory, and Henry’s Dress, rewoke earlier in the year to release The Lodger’sGrown-Ups. Now the Leeds, UK-based band will be launching its first string of US dates on the east coast later this month on the heels of the release of its debut stateside album.
“If you met a girl and took her back to her room and there were some Nick Drake records, then you were probably going to want to marry her.” This is a statement from the beginning of A Skin Too Few, the documentary included with Drake’s three albums in the Fruit Tree Box Set. The sentiment is clear to any of us who have been touched by the rare fragile beauty of Nick Drake’s music. In fact, if I ever found Nick Drake albums at a girls’ placeI would have a heart attack, because I usually find a rag tag collection of bad hip-hop, Bob Marley’s Legend, faux punk, and other typical trash.
At this point it has been many years since I discovered Nick Drake, and I can categorically state that I doubt i’ll ever find another hidden gem filled with so much brilliance. “Things Behind The Sun” from Pink Moon was the first song that caught my attention and I soon began a full fledged love affair with his music. That hot summer long ago, Nick Drake became my little secret that I shared with just a couple of friends, and his music became not just something I enjoyed, but moreso a place I could go when I wanted to get away. I’ve always resented that Volkswagen commercial with the teenagers in a Jetta heading to a party, and then “Pink Moon” comes on and they all of a sudden decide not to go. The whole scene was such a farce, because if those kids were really listening to Nick Drake they would have never been planning to go to the party in the first place.
The Fruit Tree Box Set will be released on November 20th, and includes all three of Nick Drake’s studio albums – Five Leaves Left, Pink Moon, and Bryter Layter. In addition to the his albums, this limited edition pressing (10,000 copies) of “Fruit Tree” includes, on DVD for the first time, the Nick Drake biographical film “A Skin Too Few” and a new 108-page book featuring song by song analysis by producer Joe Boyd, engineer John Wood, arranger Robert Kirby and songwriter/music journalist and friend Robin Frederick. The sleeves feature replicas of the original “Fruit Tree” artwork.
Anti- has signed living legend Bob Mould. Mould’s vital new studio album, District Line – the latest in his twenty year solo career will be released on February 5, 2008. With a musical canon that has inspired everyone from the Foo Fighters Dave Grohl to Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangaltar, Mould plays to his strengths on District Line, drawing on two-plus decades of groundbreaking work with underground heroes Hüsker Dü, the beloved modern rock troupe Sugar, and with a solo career that first took flight with 1989’s landmark Workbook. As a matter of fact, District Line’s last song, “Walls of Time” is an outtake from that very album.
tour: 10/12, Chop Suey, Seattle , WA
10/14, Doug Fir Lounge, Portland , OR
10/16, Herbst Theatre, San Francisco , CA
10/17, The Roxy, Los Angeles , CA
11/2, Highline Ballroom , New York , NY
11/5, Paradise Lounge, Boston , MA
11/8, Gravity Lounge, Charlottesville , VA
11/10, John & Peter’s, New Hope , PA
11/11, World Café Live, Philadelphia , PA
Why? will be releasing a new EP The Hollows a 12″ in the US on Anticon on November 19 and will be released in Europe via Tomlab with different B-sides. The Hollows is the leadoff single from their forthcoming album, Alopecia (set for March 2008 release on Anticon in the US and on Tomlab in Europe). Both US and European editions of The Hollows include three exclusive b-sides. Why? will also be playing a one dollar show this Sunday at 10:00 p.m., at the Knitting Factory Main Stage in NYC. You can reserve yourself a spot by RSVP at whyrsvp@gmail.com.
tracks:US:
A1. The Hollows
A2. By Torpedo Or Crohn’s (a remix by Dntel)
B1. Yoyo Bye Bye (a cover by Xiu Xiu)
B2. Pre-teen Apocalyptic Film Acting (Medley) (a cover by Half-handed Cloud)
EU:
A1. The Hollows
A2. Good Friday (a remix by Boards of Canada)
B1. Yoyo Bye Bye (a cover by Dump)
B2. Broken Crow (a cover by Islands)
Irelands’ The Thrills have a record that i’ve been turning to for a while when I’m trying to soak up the proverbial sun. In fact their third record Teenager doesn’t stray too far away from the sunny California pop formula they started back with their stellar So Much For The City. I swear that record really restored my long lost faith in straight forward pop. It really gave me that feeling back again, and to such an extent that I really tried hard to like what I now look at as uninspired second album Let’s Bottle Bohemia. I think the catchiest track by far on Teenager is the acoustic centered “Restaurant,” but there our other standouts like “This Year” and “Long Forgotten Song.” While there may be no references to Big Sur or Santa Cruz on Teenager, The Thrills have used a familiar template to create still some of the most colorful pop out there. Teenager will be released in the states by Virgin Records on October 23rd.
I know that it would take nothing short of a cattle prod to pry most of you away from watching your latest episode of “Lost,” “The Office,” or whatever current fare is floating around your office or social group. So, I take that into account and try to sift through the loads of stuff out there and try to offer you the best in live shows around. No, they don’t come from me. I’m far too irresponsible and frankly uninterested, for carrying around a recording device or holding up a camera at a show. Thank the good Lord for those guys who set up their expensive stuff and capture these events. There are a bunch of you folks out there, and I salute you, because you are the unknown heroes who capture these moments of varying displays of brilliance, or lack there of, for eternity. Time has a way of filtering out the crap, and if trends prevail the best shows eventually will surface. Moreover, I want to thanks the guys like Ryan Adams who allow patches directly into the board. A lot of bands will not let you record them at all. I guess they don’t want the world to know they sound like stale bread live.
Moving on…I’ve talked endlessly about Ryan Adams in the past as so many others have done the same. Ryan has long been known as one of the best contemporary songwriters, but in the last few years he has put together what is becoming a badass band! I think his time with Phil Lesh really inspired Ryan and if you have seen any of his shows in the past few years his live sound is incredible. Nobody was more obsessed with making their sound perfect than the Grateful Dead, and this carries over to both Phil and Bobby’s current bands. I know recently Ryan cut a show early in Minneapolis after becoming frustrated with the sound on a particular night. Well, if your band sounded like his does, you might get pissed off if a particular venue made you sound like ass. Another thing that has happened is that Ryan’s voice has gotten even better. Finally, I think Ryan has long risen above those tired Whiskeytown references that make it seem like that period was the hallmark to validate his potential. Ryan Adams has been selling out shows left and right on his Easy Tiger tour. Last month, he stopped in my old town of Charlottesville, Va., and played a two night stint at the Paramount Theater. The band brought out a lot of songs from the back catalogue, some great harmonies and guitar work, and all the emotion that comes packaged in a Ryan Adams’ tune. I think Neal Casal’s “Freeway to the Canyon” sounds like a song Neil Finn might have written if he were American. stream the first night from archive.orgstream the second night from archive.org
13th September 2007 setlist: 01 Goodnight Rose 02 Please Do Not Let Me Go 03 Beautiful Sorta 04 The End 05 Dear John 06 Cold Roses 07 What Sin 08 Elizabeth, You Were Born To Play That Part 09 A Kiss Before I Go 10 Nightbirds 11 Wildflowers 12 Sun Also Sets* 13 Off Broadway Encore: 01 Easy Plateau 02 Two 03 Rescue Blues04 To Be Young
14 Sept 2007 setlist: 01 Intro/tuning 02 Magnolia Mountain 03 I Taught Myself How to Grow Old 04 Peaceful Valley 05 Damn Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains) 06 Games 07 Call Me On Your Way Back Home 08 How Do You Keep Love Alive 09 Let It Ride 10 My Winding Wheel* 11 Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd. 12 Mockingbird 13 Goodnight Rose 14 Rip Off 15 Rescue Blues 16 Dear Chicago 17 Freeway to the Canyon 18 Wildflowers 19 Beautiful Sorta 20 Tears of Gold 21 I See Monsters http://www.ryan-adams.com/ http://www.myspace.com/ryanadams http://www.ryanadams.org/
Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand, The Baltimore duo otherwise known as Beach House, have completed their second album, Devotion. It will be released on Feb. 26, 2008 via Carpark Records, which also released the band’s self-titled and critically acclaimed debut album way back in Oct. 2006. The band has spent most of 2007 on tour, with pals like Grizzly Bear, The Papercuts and The Clientele. The band is currently wrapping up its last US tour of 2007 and then will be heading to Europe (where they recently signed to Bella Union) from Oct. 18 to Nov. 16.
BEACH HOUSE TOUR DATES 10-09 Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater $ 10-10 Chicago, IL – Park West $ 10-11 Columbus, OH – Wexner Center for the Arts (Ohio State University) $ 10-12 Pittsburgh, PA – Andy Warhol Museum $ 10-13 Baltimore, MD – 2640 Space at St. John’s Church $ 10-14 Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church Sanctuary $
$ = w/ Grizzly Bear
Swedish-based Argentinian Jose Gonzalez has a great new record out – In Our Nature, recently released on Mute Records. The album captures Jose’s beautifully dark melodies and classical guitar style and solidifies them in some fairly icey cold production that just adds a rare intensity to the music. Much of the magic of Jose Gonzalez is bottled up in his subtle and powerful changes, and the way he transfers power from one movement to the next with regard to his music. This is especially evident on my favorite In Our Nature song “Fold,” where Jose says to “keep both feet on the ground while I change the wings.” I don’t know what he means by that, but when I’m listening I feel like I should.
Tune in to KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic hosted by Nic Harcourt today at 2:15pm EST / 11:15am PST to catch Jose Gonzalez perform songs from his new album In Our Nature. Listen to the performance online here. Later tonight, you can catch Jose performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC at 12:05am EST/PST.
video: down the line
Jose Gonzalez on tour
October
12 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theatre^
13 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Café^
November
24 – Vancouver, BC @ Richards On Richards
26 – Solana Beach, CA (San Deigo, CA) @ Belly Up Tavern *
29 – Austin, TX @ The Parish *
30 – Columbus, OH @ The Wexner Center+
December
01 – Louisville, KY @ 930 Listening Room *
02 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge *
03 – Bloomington, IN @ Buskirk-Chumley Theater *
04 – Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop *
06 – Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod Beeblebrox *
07 – Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club *
08 – Montreal, QC @ Le National *
^James Blackshaw supports
Canadians are a band that came to realization in Verona, Italy in 2005. Their music is “indie pop” with the accent on “pop” that sometimes verges on Weezer and perhaps some Undertones too. In 2006, the band entered the Heineken Jammin’ Contest, won and became the first Italian band ever to get a review in NME’s Breaking Band column. Canadians released their self-produced debut EP The North Side Of Summer in 2005, and their debut album A Sky With No Stars will be released by the Varese-based indie label Ghost Records in October 2007. Oh yeah, and back in Italy, bassist Massimo Fiorio is a best selling author of a book of satirical facts and jokes on Chuck Norris, and a blog star with dietnam.blogspot.com.
“Riot On Sunset Strip – Rock ‘n’ Roll’s last stand in Hollywood”
Domenic Priore
Jawbone Press, Published 2007
Imagine what it must have been like to be hanging out in Los Angeles – The Sunset Strip during the mid 1960’s. Forget about the movie stars, the glitz and glamour of Hollywood – L.A. was a hot bed for pop music, art, and culture. The scene appeared in an almost over night fashion. The landing of The Beatles, The Stones and the British Invasion certainly made all of this a reality. But as quickly as it appeared it soon vanished with the riots of 1966 and the gravitating of the scene to San Francisco and the “Summer of Love.”
Author, Domenic Priore – (who also wrote “Look! Listen! Vibrate! Smile!”) takes a detailed look at the quick rise of an influential period in Rock history. “Riot On Sunset Strip – Rock ‘n’ Roll’s last stand in Hollywood” is the essential encyclopedia for LA MUSIC from 1965-1966 and it’s influence beyond. The book features all the familiar names: The Byrds, The Doors, The Beach Boys, Love, The Monkees, The Mamas And Papas, The Mothers Of Invention, The Turtles, The Buffalo Springfield along with slew of some of the more underground garage punk bands that suddenly found fame – The Leaves, The Seeds, The Standells, The Music Machine, and a surplus of others that even time may have forgotten.
The nightlife on the strip was just as important as the bands that graced its’ stages. The book not only details some of the legendary bands of the period, but also it’s now legendary venues. The Whisky a Go Go, The Troubadour, Ciro’s (Where the Byrds & Dylan brought it all together), Ben Franks (the hip happening place to be), The Trip (where even The Velvets made a rare West Coast appearance), Pandora’s Box, and more! Even folks like Jerry Lewis (Jerry Lewis Club) and Dean Martin (Dino’s Lodge) had clubs on the strip.
In between the book spotlights chapters on Pop Art in LA during this period – and it’s widespread influence which could be found from diverse media as gig posters, t-shirts, restaurant menus – even the 1965 World Series programs – between the Minnesota Twins &. The Los Angeles Dodgers. As you would also expect, a chapter is also dedicated to the Folk-Rock movement and all it’s important players. The last chapters also include a nice listing of the periods clubs (most of which are long gone) and the author’s growing collection of live LP’s recorded in Los Angeles by the likes of Rick Nelson, Neil Diamond, The Dillards, The Standells and lots more.
If you’re a fan of mid 60’s pop music “Riot On Sunset Strip – Rock ‘n’ Roll’s last stand in Hollywood” is clearly an essential add to your library of rock music books…lots of new stories to read and discover – ace indeed!
Videos::
The Byrds “Mr. Tambourine Man” (Live 1965, “The Big TNT Show”)
The Capgun Coup story starts three years ago in suburban Omaha, Nebraska. Mutual boredom coupled with an interest in avant noise would fuel the duo’s early collaborations, but after a move downtown and after the addition of two members, Capgun Coup became less interested in white noise, and completely enamored with pop. The result is Nebraskafish, an album that is as much an homage to basement shows and house parties as it is to the indie pop tradition.
Swedish-based Argentinian Jose Gonzalez has a great new record out – In Our Nature, recently released on Mute Records. The album captures Jose’s beautifully dark melodies and classical guitar style and solidifies them in some fairly icey cold production that just adds a rare intensity to the music. Much of the magic of Jose Gonzalez is bottled up in his subtle and powerful changes, and the way he transfers power from one movement to the next with regard to his music. This is especially evident on my favorite In Our Nature song “Fold,” where Jose says to “keep both feet on the ground while I change the wings.” I don’t know what he means by that, but when I’m listening I feel like I should.
