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I’ve always argued when it comes to CDs that they’re impersonal and physically just 25% of the artistic aesthetic I’ve long appreciated with vinyl records. But your bleary eyes aren’t confusing you this morning—TVD’s got a CD giveaway.
For the past year Ash have been holed up in their New York HQ, Atomic Heart Studios, writing and recording a series of songs that will form what the band is calling the A-Z series. Starting in October, every two weeks for the next twelve months, Ash will release one single on limited 7” vinyl and digital download...Starting with ‘A’ and ending at 'Z', all 26 songs will be released on Ash’s own Atomic Heart Records and will be available through shops and by subscription through the band’s website.
Ash kick of this series with a bonus track (not one of the forthcoming 26 songs)—the Mark Hamilton penned song "Return of White Rabbit."
TVD’s got our mitts on a set of limited edition promo CDs for "Return of White Rabbit" which have been handmade and signed personally by members of the band; Rick’s pack of playing cards, Tim’s apocalyptic bunny rabbits and Mark’s day-glo stencils. So, yes—they’re CDs, but they can’t get any MORE unique than this set.
The drill is the same: grab our attention in the comments (with contact info!) and the entire set of three CD’s will land on your doorstep no matter where you’re reading us. We’ll choose our winner next Friday (6/26) for the set.
It’s a cool gimmick to give your new record away for a dollar. Better still when that release is simply STELLAR. (Note: caps.)
Fanfarlo's 'Reservoir' is on heavy rotation this week here at TVD HQ and as such, we tracked down the band’s drummer Amos for a chat:
"I came to record buying late on, mainly through being content watching my mix-video tapes of bands performing on long lost British TV shows such as Snub TV, Club X, Night Network, Rapido and an imported Canadian show called The New Music which warranted setting the video player's timer for a ridiculous time in the morning.
Somewhere along the line, under the guidance of John Peel's ears, who was my other source of new music, I purchased my first 7" from the Our Price record shop on Wembley High Road. Released in the summer 1991, whilst I was still at school, Heavenly's "So Little Deserve" on Sarah Records would be the start of my record collection, and two years later, my graduation to live music, sending me across London to watch a slew of experimental (Rollerskate Skinny), instrumental (C.B. Beaumont), surf-punk (The Mummies) or Riotgrrl-affiliated groups (Lois, Heavenly and Delicate Vomit is one gig that sticks in my mind as inspiring).
By the time I'd reached art college, I was attending more gigs than galleries, as I had to explain to my tutor. This was after he'd requested I compile a tape of Dick Dale for him, who was now in vogue due to the inclusion of "Miserlou" in the opening credits of Pulp Fiction. When I moved into my new space at college and tacked some striking 50's B-movie posters above my desk which I'd found discarded in my locker, Jamie, a kid from the year above me threateningly asked, "Why have you put my posters up?" Realising that we shared the same pop-culture aesthetics, we bonded over a love of Pavement and Dischord records, whilst his girlfriend, who was my classmate, was a fan of The Sea Urchins - Sarah Records's first ever release.
After college, another defining moment was the Bowlie Weekender in 1999, a one-off festival which was the brainwave of Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch. The venue was a holiday camp in Camber, on the South-East coast of England. I was having a bad day at the office when a friend phoned up and persuaded me to re-think my decision of not wanting to go. He was right. Under one roof you could witness Godspeed You Black Emperor!, The Pastels, Sleater-Kinney, The Flaming Lips and the headliners Belle and Sebastian amongst others. Labels brought their back catalogue to sell on makeshift stalls, and bands welcomed newly made friends into their chalets. Such was the influence of the event, that club nights, festivals, indie labels and bands formed mere months later. At Bowlie, I was reunited with Jamie and by the end of the year, we had a band that, before we'd even played live, had released a 7" of our own.
I had seen Fanfarlo play as a duo in the winter of 2005 and immediately fell under their spell. I bought their first 7" on the same day I decided to join the band, and within two months we were performing those songs and others that would be released on a variety of London based labels (all on vinyl too). Our album "Reservoir" will be pressed onto vinyl for the first time this year, which is a format that excites us - from the enlarged cover art and design to the new dynamic of having a pause after track five, which is when you'll have to flip to Side B."
TVD covers week marches on. A few weeks ago I introduced myself to this blog as a child of the 80s. Today's post showcases covers of some great 80s songs. You remain free to post your favorite covers in the comments!
I’d tell you how much I listened to “Don’t I Hold You” over and over again a while back but that’d defeat the purpose in announcing that Wheat is back with a new record “White Ink/Black Ink” and in advance of its July 21st release, the boys play DC9 this Thursday night AND as the title to the post says: we’ve got a pair of tickets to give away!
As is the rule oh so often here, the most effervescent commenter to this post (who leaves contact info – important!) gets the pair of tickets and a dose of good karma for playing along. Make ‘em good – we’re pulling the winner Thursday morning.
So continues our cover theme week. I think that the natural, but misguided, instinct when covering a great song is to try and be faithful to the original. But even bar bands can do faithful covers. So today's post is a nod to originality, even in mimicry. Some of these covers merely employ different melody or instrumentation, while others are not even identifiable with the original song. But they're all different. Again, feel free to post your favorite covers in the comments!
We've been promoting this show allthisweek and it seems only fitting that we give you guys a chance to see it, right?
TVD's got a pair of tickets for Tuesday night's Black Cat, back stage 3-fer and a copy of We Were Pirates’ debut release “Cutting Ties” for one lucky commenter who stands heads and shoulders above the rest.
Make 'em good — we'll choose our winner Tuesday morning...
Following up on Lemmonex's guest post on Friday, we decided to do a TVD theme week around cover songs. We'll try to run the gamut as best we can, but today I'll start off with some old reliables—more obscure takes on my favorite rock classics of the 60s and 70s. Feel free to recommend your favorite covers for future posts in the comments!
This morning we’ve a Pop-Over with Jeff over at AM, Then FM...and an announcement into the bargain:
"AM, Then FM has been loitering on the Internet for more than two years now. I dig out some tunes from my collection and I tell a few stories. Which is more interesting? That’s your call.
AM, Then FM comes to you from Wisconsin, where I started listening to AM Top 40 radio out of Chicago and Milwaukee in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, then moved on to free-form FM radio in the ‘70s and ’80s. Thus the name.
Radio was more diverse then than now. That’s why the posts at AM, Then FM careen from rock to R&B to soul to funk to pop to country to jazz. I heard it all back then, and I still listen to it all. What I should have bought then, I’m crate digging for now.
Which might explain why TVD has tapped me to be your guide to the ‘70s. We’ll be mining my old vinyl albums for familiar and less-heard cuts from that decade.
And what year preceded that decade? Enjoy five faves from AM, Then FM, all from 1969:"
Tuesday night I arrived at The Red and The Black in the Atlas District to see Girl in a Coma. It was about a quarter to nine and I figured I’d catch the end of the opener, Miss Derringer’s set. Fortunately for me they were running behind due to some problems with the sound system. I was able to wait in their newly redone patio in the back, definitely worth checking out the next time you’re that way.
At about a quarter after nine Miss Derringer took the stage. They are a band from Los Angeles and it shows. With a very distinct west coast sound that draws from the early years of Rock and Roll and Do-wop bands of the early sixties, they were able to keep the audience hooked despite the technical difficulties. There were many points where had they had a larger following would have been great opportunities for chorus sing-alongs.
While the rest of the audience bobbed their heads in time, I was transfixed on Liz’s outfit. While they were all done up in would be sad clown make-up, she was sporting men’s briefs as hot pants over tights. I asked their manager if I was seeing things and he said “No, she has plenty more (outfits) where that one came from.” Though her explanation came between songs when she said, “I love musicals and he (Slade, her husband and guitarist) loves mob stories.” This was also relevant to their stage presence overall, each song had movements and there were typically two sides being represented in each song, Liz was often the mediator. Tracks “Better Run Away From Me” and “Black Tears” were highlights of the evening despite her vocals often being slightly flat.
Girl In a Coma took the stage at ten. They quickly broke into their signature post-punk influenced pop. While the Smiths comparison is impossible to ignore, it comes across better on the album, though it could have been the sound system, yet again, that contributed to their sounding off. The majority of the set was played in earnest but kept missing the mark. At one point Nina and Jenn had to trade mikes because Nina’s kept going out.
It was apparent that the small audience there was there just for them (the maximum capacity is only 100) as there was more movement and words being mouthed across the room. They kept things relaxed with friendly banter between songs at one point saying “they’re just so sweet I want to sop them up with a biscuit” of opener Miss Derringer.
Both of Girl in a Coma’s albums have come out on Blackheart Records, Joan Jett’s famed label. Jett’s influence is also apparent and comes through in their sound and aesthetic. “Say” reached for more post-punk roots while “Road to Home” was relevant and relatable.
The Friday ‘Parting Shots’ feature, our last dance for the week usually, has been a forum for you, the attuned TVD reader to guest DJ your playlist of choice over at our place. That held true for well over a year but fell by the wayside for some reason that I simply don’t recall.
So, it’s with some fanfare that we announce that the forum for you guys is back in play and ushering in the era of the Parting Shots—Mach Two—is none other than one of my favorite bloggers, Lemmonex.
Ms. Lemmonex is the author of the very excellent Culinary Couture which “consists largely of recipes, but also includes culinary-related musings and thoughts on DC restaurants from time to time” as she writes. But that description only scratches the surface. Her writing is personal, candid, courageous, and very often out and out hilarious and is a bit of a rarity in the blogosphere: a true gem.
Now, normally I assume that when she’s discussing ‘covers’ it’s usually something on the stove-top, but today at TVD it’ll mean something else entirely:
"There is just something about a cover song, hearing an old favorite as if it is the first time. It is like running in to an old love; they are familiar, yet somehow experiencing them through a new filter sets your head spinning.
This is by no means a comprehensive list and I left out some favorites. The Door's version of "Alabama Song/Whiskey Bar" and Faith No More's "Easy" nearly made the cut, but Bowie bests them both with his complete re-envisioning of a punk tune. And "Jealous Guy"? Perfection in every form. This list has a bit of everything; the sickeningly saccharine song reveals itself as sweet lover's lament, an ode to masturbation suddenly becomes even dirtier at the hands of a rock God, and a pitiful croon transforms itself into a desperate plea.
I am sure I left some of your favorites out, but for me me? These are perfect reunions with old loves."
If you're a fan of live music, your life encompasses rare but regular performances that validate all the time and effort you put in to find worthwhile artists in the hardscrabble itunes landscape of Linkin Park and Beyonce. For me, the list is short but oh so sweet - The White Stripes, 1999, Recher Theatre, Baltimore. Lucero, 2007, Ottobar, Baltimore. The National, 2008, 930 Club, DC. An Horse, 2009, The Black Cat, DC. Yes, there is a tough 8 year stretch of living in upstate NY, where good music goes to die. There is also the fact that I didn't really discover music until young adulthood. That's not really the point is it?
The headlining act last night was Telekinesis, and they were really quite good, but with all due respect to them, last night's show and this review are about An Horse.
From the opening chord Kate Cooper and Damon Cox captured every eye and mind in the dingy backstage at The Black Cat. Their energy wasn't the punch in the gut of most rock bands, more an arm around your waist and a tender but insistent kiss. They didn't demand your undivided attention, but they sure as hell took it.
Damon's drumming is perfect for a two-piece. Strong, insistent, busy without being aurally monopolizing. Kate is a star. Sprite-ish but kick ass in her boyish slim jeans, flannel shirt and close cropped blond hair I spent the whole hour wishing she was my little sister. Her guitar playing is lush and full as power pop demands and her vocals are perfectly affected, just rough enough to convey the reality that she's lived them.
An Horse steamed through almost every song from their debut LP, "Rearrange Beds," the punchy rock of songs like "Postcard" and "Camp Out" interspersed with the ethereal 4 am perfection of "Listen" which saw Damon momentarily abandon his sticks for a more appropriate (and perfectly rendered) melodica to accompany Kate's emotive performance, her fingers audibly sliding up and down the neck creating a sound that in the context of such a song eerily evokes gentle weeping.
As they left the stage I tried to text my best friend, to sum up everything I had seen, to capture the first thoughts on a band I am sure to like for a long long time. All I could muster was "Wow fucking wow," and wow fucking wow was appropriate.
We’ve got a bit of an atypical week here at TVD in advance of a show we’ve been looking forward to for some time. On June 23rd, the Black Cat hosts a stellar triple bill with We Were Pirates,Voxpop, and Mittenfields and in lieu of our normal First Date feature this week, we’re just gonna date ‘em all. One a day, three-way style.
Our glorious three-way finishes (!) this week with next Tuesday’s headliners Mittenfields who’ve steadily grown on me and continue to impress with their development as a ‘newer’ band. It’s been a real joy to hear this project morph into an outfit that’s growing leaps and bounds beyond their peers.
We chatted with Dave Mann, Mittenfield’s bassist (and a guy who’s been a real supporter of this blog for some time now) to get the skinny on the comings and goings within the group leading up to Tuesday’s last show before the band takes a break to write new material.
"Mittenfields are all about [well, its debatable as to whether we are "all about it"] switching up their line-up. In fact, Emily (violin/vox) played her last show with MF at Black Cat back in December of 2008. She then moved to Chicago and has just recently moved back to the area. So it is only fitting that she returns to Black Cat with MF. A match made in heaven...perhaps.
Andy Ayers (cello/vox) joined MF back in January and had to leave the band unexpectedly (not voluntarily) in April of 2009. So we weren't looking forward to having a 3rd line-up change but with Emily being back....it's almost as though we are back at square 1, which is a 4 sided friendly shape for us to be at.
Now if the stars align and Andy is able to return to the band....well, this will make us all feel like gathering around a campfire with some smores because it will be good times indeed."
Last Wednesday we sung the praises of Elizabeth & the Catapult in our weekly First Date feature—and this week you can sing right along with us as the band pull into The Red and The Black this Friday night (6/19).
TVD’s got a pair of tickets to the show for one effervescent commenter who wishes to be catapulted front and center. State your case in the comments below with some contact info and we’ll hook you up for Friday night. We’ll choose our winner Friday morning...
We’ve got a bit of an atypical week here at TVD in advance of a show we’ve been looking forward to for some time. On June 23rd, the Black Cat hosts a stellar triple bill with We Were Pirates,Voxpop, and Mittenfields and in lieu of our normal First Date feature this week, we’re just gonna date ‘em all. One a day, three-way style.
Next up: Vox Pop who ALSO happen to be appearing this Friday night along with Elizabeth & the Catapult at The Red and The Black...a show for which STILL have some FREE tickets. We chatted with VP's Jess Because earlier in the week:
"I still remember when my grandma sold her old record player at a garage sale. I must have been 4 or 5 but even then I was sad to see it go. I have been collecting vinyl for years and my living room reflects this hobby. Between Patrick (vox and guitar for Vox Pop/boyfriend/roomie) and I, we probably couldn't listen to all of our records one time through even if we were snowed in for a month. Although we sure would love to try.
Most of my best purchases were based on aesthetics and design. For almost a year I have had a specific piano melody stuck in my head. I've tried digging through and finding it by sight since I couldn't remember the name of the composer anymore, but just wasn't having any luck. A week ago I rented ‘Man on a Wire.’ Halfway through the film you'll never guess what beautiful piano solo played while Philippe Petit danced on a high wire. I spent the next day buried in boxes determined to find this album. And I did. Éric Alfred Leslie Satie has been spinning on my record player ever since.
Vinyl is art. It's a tangible thing you can hold and admire. Vinyl has the power to possess memories and trigger emotions. And my favorite thing about vinyl is the fact it is makes listening to music an activity. With the advancement of technology music is everywhere, it's like wallpaper. With records, when I put one on, it's to listen to it. Not to do a million other things while it is on. I like to cuddle up, beverage in hand, alone or with friends and just enjoy a great album. I feel like "listening to music" has gone the way of the Dodo bird, but I refuse to give it up."
We’re planning a bit of an atypical week here at TVD in advance of a show we’ve been looking forward to for some time. On June 23rd, the Black Cat hosts a stellar triple bill with We Were Pirates,Voxpop, and Mittenfields and in lieu of our normal First Date feature this week, we’re just gonna date ‘em all. One a day, three-way style.
We Were Pirates is DC-area native, Mike Boggs. In 2007 Boggs set out to record a few songs that had been playing in his head for quite some time. Armed with an electric guitar, a casio keyboard, a sparse drum kit, and his trusty old iBook, he crafted a five-song EP, entitled, 'The Wolf.'
Some people liked the EP very much. So he kept making music and started playing shows here and there with good friends sitting in as the backing band. Since the release of 'The Wolf,' Boggs has been hard at work building a new home studio and recording a whole bunch of new songs for a full-length record.
Nearly two years later, on June 23rd 2009, Boggs will be releasing We Were Pirates' debut LP, 'Cutting Ties' at a CD release show at the Black Cat in DC.
So, we asked, "Hey Mike - how'd you become part of this stellar triple bill?"
"I've spent the past year building a home studio and then recording We Were Pirates' debut full-length. I record everything on all of the recordings in my studio and then my good friends Gabe Fry (bass/guitar) and Ben Skinner (drums) play music with me. I wanted to choose the right setting to release the CD and when our good friend Dave from Mittenfields asked us to join the bill, we were quite excited to combine our first time playing with Mittenfields with the release of the new record, "Cutting Ties." All of that, and the fact that we all love the Black Cat and are really happy to be playing there for the first time, pretty much guarantees a good show.
Oh and my favorite record on vinyl is "Bridge Over Troubled Water." "Baby Driver" sounds like heaven spinning on a turntable."
I’ve recently begun to consider the possibility that my DNA contains ethnic and racial inputs beyond the Eastern European and Nordic ancestry that my appearance suggests. One such possibility that has always manifested itself in my musical preferences is the possibility that some fraction of Latin blood courses through my veins.
My love of Latin music arose from another love of mine - Music documentaries. About 3 years ago, a friend turned me on to Buena Vista Social Club, the Academy Award nominated documentary which follows iconic American guitarist Ry Cooder to Havana, Cuba to record an album with a procession of Cuban artists including legends like Ibrahim Ferrer and Compay Segundo. I was enchanted by the wonder of the traditional Latin music, how it was played on every street corner and in every household, the Cubans unafraid to lay their raw emotions at the feet of any chance passer-by.
It doesn't matter if you like rock and roll, soul and Motown, country, hip hop, R&B, or any other kind of American music, I guarantee all of your favorite artists have Latin peers, and I also guarantee that you can find something those peers actually do better than your favorite American artists. I am not yet blessed with Spanish fluency, some of the beauty of this romance language is lost on me. But, all the things that make friendships with Latins wonderful and exciting also infuse their music with an unparallelled energy. The stereotypical Latin is emotional, fiery, even crazy. And their music follows suit. It uses instrumentation to convey more feeling that even the most perfectly written verse could ever hope to. My favorite example of this is the Spanish guitar style, the hasty strumming interspersed with beautifully lilting finger-picking is most emotive. Similarly they expertly use horns, drums, and other strings to supplement the direct conveyances of the lyrics.
I urge you to give Latin music a chance, whether or not you speak the language. I promise you will find something to love in these beautiful compositions, even if it is the simple pleasure of giving your own meaning to the unintelligible stanzas such that they mimic your own personal thoughts. A friend of mine uses this technique when listening to Shakira, imagining her lyrics are expressions of a most base and primal desire which she holds for him!
Better Than Ezra and I go quite a way back which might seem very odd for a guy with decidedly UK-centric tastes. One time a number of years ago, they were the very best thing to come out of a difficult relationship. (Indeed, I got custody of the BTE CDs.)
They were even there for me one humid, soggy night during Jazz Fest in 2000 when I learned a good friend had taken her own life. The band uncharacteristically took the stage that evening with an odd, twisty, and elongated ‘Live Again’ while I wept into my pint glass. (Which is a good memory if you can believe it.)
Yet, most Better Than Ezra shows actually have me laughing to tears. They’re funny guys frankly, armed with a zillion right up the center tunes which linger in your head long after the first listen. Or the second. Or the 30th. And while I’d characterize my musical tastes as very, very atypical and narrow, BTE’s the guilty pleasure I feel no guilt enjoying. Whatsoevah.
And you? Louisiana’s finest play DC this coming Tuesday night (6/16) and we’ve got a pair of tickets to join TVD at the show. Hell, I may even buy a round or seven.
So, see that little ‘comments’ button down there. Yea, that one. OK – now click it. See that window that pops up? Yea – that one right there to the left. Let us know how much you’d like to join us Tuesday night in that lil’ comments box and the one that shines the brightest gets the pair of tickets. (Please remember to include some contact info!) We’ll choose our winner Monday afternoon.
(Ed. Note: Remember our 'TVD Writers Telethon' we held a few weeks back? Well, this morning we welcome the first of a few new voices here at the blog...)
Since this is my first post at TVD, an introduction is probably in order - Hi, I’m Dave. I grew up in the 80s listening to bands like Metallica and Guns ‘N Roses (it was a sheltered childhood ok?). I also grew up in the middle of nowhere in a hardworking but poor and undereducated family of hillbillies listening to my grandfather’s Conway Twitty and Johnny Cash records at barbeques.
You’re probably thinking these are unreconcilable influences, and for a long time they were (unless I was listening to a Rolling Stones record). But the last 15-20 years have seen a proliferation of bands made up of people my age who grew up in similar circumstances - listening to their grandparents’ country records and their friends’ punk and metal records - and have married the two tastes into a gritty, dirty, rollicking sound that appeals to almost anyone with a modicum of country music sensibility and realizes that you don’t have to be a dirty redneck to appreciate the melody of a good country song and the wonderful and evocative quality of instrumentation such as lap and pedal steel, dobro, banjo, harmonica and accordion.
The following bands all use certain of these instruments on a regular basis, but this post is about marrying country and rock sensibilities. Therefore, I’m only posting songs that manage to rock, but still implement unmistakable country awareness.
I’ve always argued when it comes to CDs that they’re impersonal and physically just 25% of the artistic aesthetic I’ve long appreciated with vinyl records. But your bleary eyes aren’t confusing you this morning—TVD’s got a CD giveaway.
Ash kick of this series with a bonus track (not one of the forthcoming 26 songs)—the Mark Hamilton penned song "Return of White Rabbit." 
