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To announce the release of Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros'"Up From Below - Deluxe Edition" we're slipping you the Turbotito remix of "Desert Song" by Filip Nicolic this morning.
"Up From Below - Deluxe Edition"features live versions of "Up From Below" and "Carries On" plus the videos for "Home" and "Desert Song" and also a demo recording of "Home."
Yesterday we introduced our new 'Press Play' feature which will run each Monday here at TVD as a solid regurgitation of the tracks being flogged to the blogs.
To get you used to the right-clicking, we'll be offering what's come in to us recently all this week in advance of it's forthcoming regular Monday blog spot.
(And, uh...we won't be Blogspot all that much longer either...)
JULY 3 | Minneapolis, JULY 4 | Home I always like going to Minneapolis. Fascinating city. Nice people. I fell in love for the first time there. A cool part of town called Dinkytown. Where else? But getting there from Madison had its own rewards. Last year, we went to a giant cheese chalet. This year, we stopped in Osseo, Wisconsin = Norwegian Central. Had to stop at the Norsky Nook so we could stock up on HONK IF YOU'RE NORWEGIAN bumper stickers and Ole & Lena Joke Books. Also found a great antique store with bargains galore, including an old Pluto Water bottle. Kwality stuff. The cashier there was possibly the only surly person I met on this tour. I chalked it up to bad timing on my part. Or maybe she was really counting on that bottle for her own collection. Well tough, that baby's gonna look sweet in our kitchen picture window. OK—enough bargain hunting, back onto 94W to the Minneapple.
Kitty Cat Klub, Minneapolis
Until last August, I'd never had a good show in the Twin Cities (regardless of group), but, out of respect for the area, vowed that I would never stop trying. Last year, we played there with All Tiny Creatures and Ryan Olcott's (ex-12 Rods) terrific new band Mystery Palace and it was a ripping, end-of-tour night. It poured and poured outside and we didn't care; just a memorable night. A tour highlight. This year, the weather was downright Washingtonian and, again, we played with ATC. Ryan was also there, but only in his soundman and friend capacity. He did smoke cigarettes like a hipster, though. Aquarelle opened and provided mesmerizing, stereo soundscapes. The late-added Minneapolitans Wizards are Real finished things off with moody noir-like instrumentals featuring pedal steel and tenor sax. Very nice and unexpected.
Dave pre-set
Jeff, ATC's replacement drummer, took advantage in full of the cheap Bell's Two-Hearted Ales and wept openly at our performance of "Populations." It made him feel, he said, like we'd never see each other again. Of course, a man of Jeff's insane musical ability, lightning-quick sense of humor, and encylopedia-like knowledge of the UK Office will never be a stranger to The Caribbean's shores for long, but we all understood the end-of-tour bittersweetness. As ATC was to us last year, Jeff was a revelation to us this summer.
I had long thought—during one song in particular—that ATC's usual drummer, Ben, was irreplaceable—to the point of it being inconceivable that they would or could play this one song without him. But its a crowd-pleasing set ender; you can't not play it. Night 1 in Chicago, I couldn't help being amazed by Jeff's drumming all night, but noticed his hesitance during that one song (as if he felt the same way I did). Milwaukee, I was so drunk and blissed out by our own performance and reception, I wasn't interpreting details (except that ATC were great). By Madison—and I was almost entirely sober—I noticed that he'd taken absolute ownership of the song, playing off of Ben's cues but adding his own power and energy. In short, he did the impossible and, all the while, never stopped smiling. When I told him this, he (like Ben) was gracious and aw-shucks about being brilliant. If our rather simple-minded east coast notion that midwesterners are sooooo fucking genuine and nice is a stereotype, this tour—with people like Jeff, but also the hordes of strangers we met—only made us more insufferable in this regard.
Osseo, WI
Dave, a New Jerseyite and one not easily impressed by many things, was particularly effusive. Any cynicism he might have once had over the notion that midwesterners are sweethearts was sandblasted away by the sun-drenched goodness of the kind people we met. That we played shows with one band we love, some new bands we really dug, and delivered searing performances in Milwaukee and Madison made the week truly memorable. Throw in the monumentally awesome At Random and it's a week for the ages. And one could tell how special the week was in how the two Hometapes groups hung out drinking outside of the Kit Cat Klub until 2—just not wanting things to end. The Caribbean rolled into its digs at the Airport Comfort Inn at 3:15 am and I took the 4:30 am shuttle to MSP for my 6 am flight home so I could work today and, of course, finish this tour diary. Dozed on the plane and, then, dazed on my couch at home. Actually felt pretty good. Today (July 5) I feel like I was hit by a Martz Americruiser carrying Indianans to DC for the Independence Day festivities, but I don't care. Good tours make you feel just plain alive. Happy Birthday United States of Ameritel!
Gig + Hotel + Flight = Zero Sleep
Next weekend, the State of Georgia gets the treatment. Athens on 7/9, Atlanta on 7/10.
Which is not a knock on any of the bands that comprise Rock & Roll Hotel's Saturday night bill. Upon introduction to all four of them last week, they're all up to something unique and totally worthwhile and easily come from diverse schools of thought.
So, it's one cool bill indeed and it's our job to let you know about it. And as such, it's our job to get you out of the house, away from your turntables, and over to the Hotel for a night of music—whether you're a fan of one or all of the bands already, or if they're as new to you as they were to me last week.
We've got a pair of tickets to give away to Saturday night's foursome at R&R in exchange for your comment in the comments portion of this post. Whether you're an old fan or a new one after snagging all the downloads below, let us hear it, and the most convincing of the bunch gets the pair.
We'll choose a winner by 9AM on Friday morning so get to it—and remember to leave us a contact email address!
"When my brother and I were little kids, we had surprisingly limited exposure to the magical world of rock. That’s probably because our folks had waited for years to have kids so their tastes were a little out of step with the times. In fact, they were raised on Big Band music — Glen Miller, Stan Kenton, Artie Shaw, Tommy Dorsey — and they passed this on to us. It’s what they knew; along with a bunch of genuinely weird kitschy comedy stuff that is so obscure I won’t even name-drop it here, this is what we were raised on.
My mom had worked for a radio station while my dad was on grad school. Like any good employee, she scored plenty of free swag. Mostly, though, she took home random oddities ranging from the sweet jazz of the Ray Bryant Trio to the proto “Hee-Haw” yucks of Homer & Jethro and the more refined Stan Freberg. Okay, so maybe I reneged on the name dropping moratorium. It’s all for a good cause, though, I promise.
All of this was on vinyl, LPs and singles. In fact, my parents even had a treasure trove of primo 78rpm discs; I think about slipping a few into my suitcase every time I go home — I mean, it’s not like anyone else in my family will ever want to listen to these things. The only problem is that I don’t even have a turntable capable of spinning a 78 — I don’t even know whether I know anyone who does.
But I do have a turntable — two, in fact. One is an ancient analog device and the other is one of those neat vinyl-to-digital thingies. I need the latter because I overcompensated for my lack of rock by going off the rails in music consumption when I was in high school. I’d already been massively into The Beatles starting in grade school, but everything shifted into high gear when a new music store opened near my neighborhood. Among the other media, the store stocked used vinyl — lots and lots of used vinyl. The sweet deal about this was that the store was about as big as a Brooklyn apartment (translation: not). They couldn’t store all of the stuff they bought from people, so they had a box of free records by the door.
Free. Records. And they refilled it almost daily. They had to, because I and my brother would clean it out every time we went in to buy stuff; thanks to our lame teenage jobs, this was a regular thing. The amazing part is what they dumped: first pressings of the Stooges and the MC5 on Elektra; original red label Decca early Stones albums in mono; The Kinks entire Warner/Reprise catalog, again in mono. Don’t get me wrong, we brought home plenty of junk along with the jewels. Still, finding that stuff totally changed my musical life for the better — in my hometown, nobody would have turned me on to that kind of music in a thousand years. Pathetically, I still have the majority of the stuff we picked up back then, both good and bad — almost 40 crates full of some of the greatest sounds ever produced, along with some of the worst. Those crates are one of the prime reasons I try to relocate as seldom as is humanly possible." —Joe Caparo, Bass
JULY 1, Part 2 The Caribbean & Milwaukee have a little thing, see. We love Milwaukee and Milwaukee is still in the process of sizing up our prospects viz a long-term relationship. How are we doing? I'll let you be the judge, eh? We meet Milwaukee's mom and step-dad (Milwaukee calls him Kenny) next month.
Door of the Cactus Club In spite of the shocking lack of vintage porn at the great Cactus Club (last August we were there on Dude Night), we still love performing there. Another blast of an evening at the white house w/the menacing red light at the entrance. Down the street, by the way, happens to be one of the coolest places I've ever seen—a specialty drinks lounge called At Random. Walking in during the daytime literally feels like re-entering the womb. A very plush, groovy womb. Unchanged since 1964 (like me), but in perfect condition (again, like ...), devoid of irony (oh well), and owned by the same couple who opened it in '64. Great bartender, Randy, great music, and, of course, great drinks.
Milwaukee Dave (late)
We hung there for a while, had to be removed surgically, and rocked a killer liquor buzz going by the time we hit the stage. Drunk performance can work one of two ways. Last night: glorious -- makes a performer want to perform drunk every night. Of course, that's a dreadful idea for a variety of reasons, but we did slay. No prisoners taken. Casualty count: unimaginable. Great night. Thanks, Milwaukee. Next: Madison. State capital. Fab college town. Strange badger mascot. Good granola vibes.
Michael + Matt Amazed in Milwaukee
Jeff of ATC in Milwaukee
JULY 2 Madison. It's starting to get warm in Wisconsin, which only serves to remind us that we cannot escape our Mother Washington. After the set at the super fab Project Lodge, Dave confessed, "I was sweating my balls off up there!" — the verb: to sweat one's balls off; to perspire to a state of disdaining your masculinity; to experience male hot flashing. I concurred with Dave and make that same confession here. But it was a dynamite set, wildly received, voraciously consumed. Not the spirit-fuelled glee ride of the night previous in Milwaukee, but a different kind of intensity. Good bands find different ways of revealing the fire.
Burrito Drive
We took our time getting out of Milwaukee, checked into our Madison digs early and kicked back. Matt slept while Dave and I took in the World Cup quarters: Uruguay-Ghana. I'd planned on napping, but how could I with that game on? Answer: I couldn't. After that, went to ATC Tom's cool house in Middleton, which, Tom insists (without a smile), is not a suburb of Madison—in fact, not a suburb at all, but a thriving megacity. Do I trust Tom or do I trust my eyes, ears, touch, smell? Well, Tom has an impressive beard and glasses. Then again, his adoration of The Beach Boys Love You concerns me.
The Project Lodge
I was tired; I didn't know what to believe and still don't. Could have used the sleep that afternoon, but it was a chill night (weather notwithstanding): an art space venue (often my favorite kind), two-band bill, mellow but attentive crowd, BYOB. All Tiny Creatures followed us with possibly their best set of the tour. Like us, they're growing into new material w/the added challenge of incorporating a substitute drummer at the same time. With records coming out on Hometapes at similar times and a building performance capacity, All Tiny Creatures and The Caribbean are very much kindred spirits. Brother bands. Also, they're very funny. That's highly important.
Where would this little mom and pop blog be without the PR folks who come knocking each day? Well, we'd be without music to drop on all of your internet doorsteps, actually.
Like the stork bearing newborns daily, we're happily inundated with music...some fantastic, some downright awful, and the majority of music we simply don't have the time to address to rave or rant about.
'Til now.
We're introducing a new feature today that will run each Monday morning: TVD's Press Play - recapping the previous week in PR and the bands the promo folks are flogging to the blogging community.
We'll be simply compiling them and offering them up to you for your downloading pleasures with scant little commentary if any. They won't be run through the TVD grinder for our seal of approval - just the tracks, ma'am.
And we've got a bunch in the queue we'll be offering up all week to give you time to make some space on your harddrives to collect 'em all. So, without any additional rambling on my part, we're off:
Reeling back to life after July 4, we're quite pleased to kick off a new week with Gang of Fourand a brand new track from their forthcoming release.
Make sure you head on over to the band’s website as there is a free digital bundle of band artifacts currently available there. As well as making a great read, this bundle also contains some original artwork that makes for some really cool and completely exclusive desktop backgrounds. Jon and Andy fill us in: "We’re emerging blinking into the light after many months locked in Andy’s studio, clutching Gang of Four’s new album: Content. Later this summer you’ll be able to buy it on download or CD. But we’re offering weirder and more wonderful options to a limited number of GO4 aficionados. You might enjoy a listen to our first ever gig (recorded in Leeds in May 1977), provided to you on a cassette inside a Walkman individually decorated by Andy and Jon. A private view of an exhibition of GO4 art combined with a gig in London’s ICA this June are just some of the other possibilities... Jon & Andy"
Greetings from Laurel Canyon! | We’re having a BBQ and we’re busy with key decisions to make; potatoes salad vs. cole slaw, tofu dog vs. bratwurst, Germany vs. Argentina and many more.
Music is always an essential element to a proper BBQ and this week’s playlist is my distinct “Idelic” blend of tunes to flip burgers and chase kids to. Key ingredients are twelve bar blues chords, heavy metal licks, and a pinch of soul.
If you have a cool chick like me, feel free to take a request or two from your wife. I for one will remember it's Independence Day not Bob Marley Day! No offense to those who will spend their BBQ listening to Marley-like muzac but it’s a great opportunity to drop a few “odd ball” records into mix to let them know who in control of the grill!
JULY 1 Is Rock Island a town or a city? Some people call this one of the Quad CITIES (Latin for 4 cities); I call these people Illinois & Iowa. Do they have a cathedral? According to a man I met in London, that's the measure (which is why Liverpool is a city not a town).
The Daytrotter Gang
Either way, what are the hippest people in town/city like? Turns out they (collectively Daytrotter) are very nice & run a pro restaurant- quality ship.
The session went nicely. 2 songs from the upcoming Discontinued Perfume record, 1 unreleased song that might've been on Discon/Fume if I hadn't had a nervous breakdown in February (Pitchfork headline: mental collapse of singer yields sweet B-side), and our "hit" (The Go From Tactical).
At Random - Specialty Drinks Since 1964
Things were fun; they had a bathroom that locked and cool equipment; tears were at a minimum; and we made some good art w/these lovely people.
On to our Milwaukee show tonight and (one hopes) some vintage porn.
Unlike yesterday's "Bad for Good" - Jim Steinman's solo LP which was planned as the follow up to Meatloaf's outrageously successful "Bat Out of Hell" (until something happened) ...I love this record. Somehow it still works for me even with all the over the top contrivances that might have doomed "Bad for Good."
Hell, it's got Todd Rundgren behind the board and the E Street Band and Utopia as the backing ensemble. Pedigree galore.
And it's a very summer, Fourth of July, Budweiser in a can, keep it low, in the back seat of a Camaro kind of record. Or it was for me way back when in steamy Jersey summers.
It's sort of a pretty record too and it's never thought of in those terms. "Heaven Can Wait" and "For Crying Out Lord" are both quite gorgeous in a way. The opening keyboard notes of "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad" ring with sadness and regret. Which I know nothing about.
A little while back I found the whole LP on line, condensed into one Mp3 but reordered for some reason, as if shuffling the tracks around would breathe something new into the dusty grooves. (And it does.)
"Growing up in Portland, OR, I have to admit I was oblivious to the rich muddy history of the Memphis Music scene with the exception of a vague awareness of Sun Studios and Elvis Presley, given to me by my father and his college degree from UC Santa Cruz in the history of Country and Western Music. So when I came to Ardent, referred to the lovely Rachel by my best friend and occasional tour partner, John Elliott, I had to admit I was incredibly taken aback by the eponymous albums hanging on the brick walls of the hallway down which I was stumbling, sleep deprived.
It was February of 2009 and the International Folk Alliance was exploding in the Memphis Marriott overlooking the deep and hungry Mississippi. I am in turns either a tornado, or a responsible and clean cut grown-up... while participating in this conference I tend towards the former, often staying up til 8am, drunk and barefoot in the hotel lobby with my dear brothers and sisters in arms; comrades who understand and also subject themselves to a meager living, the world through a windshield, small stages with (hopefully) quiet eager audiences, stranger's sofas, and gas station coffee... all to play songs.
I found myself driven to Ardent by one of my heroes, Cory Branan, Memphis's prodigal son and painfully brilliant songwriter. Cory gave me the quick run-down of who had wrung the very blood from their hearts into the red brick and blonde walls of Ardent Studios... I obviously had no idea what I was getting into. The faces of famous musicians watched me pass by as I walked to a room that has the warmth of countless voices embedded in it's walls.
Weary, I played my heart out (a heart which had been recently broken and also just been stunned by the walls of Jerusalem two weeks prior) to an incredible sound engineer, Alan Burcham, the beautiful Rachel Hurley, and a few others. You can hear my voice crack like ice in a few tracks. It felt only natural to let it all go in that room. I am so grateful I got the chance to sing under the branches of that amazing family tree. Maybe it's a good thing I didn't know anything about it before I set foot there, I probably would've been a bit more nervous.
I left feeling entirely more full than when I arrived. My deep appreciation to Ardent for capturing me in this moment... It is a true honor to be included in Ardent Presents. May it continue to bring the sweat and the blood and the spit out of people, in song form, that is.
I am writing this from the shot-gun seat of the 15 passenger van I am traveling in all summer with my band—Andrew Pressman on bass, Trevor Smith on banjo and Anthony da Costa (a fantastic songwriter in his own right) on lead guitar and harmonies. We are pushing my new album When May Came which includes many of the songs I recorded in my first Ardent Session.
Driving through the luscious hills of southern California, we just finished listening to Cory's Ardent Session which was recorded in the hour after mine that same day. I sweet talked the engineer into mailing me a copy of Cory's sesh in addition to mine. His recording has become a favorite among our friends. Shhhh!" —Raina Rose
Enter to win Raina Rose's CD "When May Came" by simply leaving a comment, your name, and a contact email address in the comments to this post. We'll choose one winner each Friday for that week's giveaway which ALSO includes the entire Ardent Music catalog. (That's just 2 artists at this point, but hey, who's counting?)
To hear more great Ardent Sessions please visit Ardent Presents.
Our friends The Caribbean are on the road in support of their upcoming Hometapes release "Discontinued Perfume" and with nary an arm twist, they've agreed to fire off missives from the road.
And we've agreed to only publish HALF the photos they send...because...well, y'know. —Ed.
Michael & Dave in Cleveland
JUNE 29 Road hit hard. Heading for Cleveland to escape the furnace of DC in late June. Unnecessary as furnace is traded for a lovely vornado fan. Thanks hometown. My hipstamatic & I find high art wherever we aim out gaze. Why do I need Matt & Dave. Oh shit: Matt's driving. Dave: jury's out. Good 'stache.
Green room at Empty Bottle
JUNE 30 A beautiful Chicago day greeted us. Quick trip to Dusty Groove. Hideously early load-in, but the Empty Bottle is such a fucking pro establishment. Always organized. Great sound. A spacey lighting guy who asks, "How do you want your lights." Wow: that really makes you think.
Matt in Chicago
Meeting up with Bill & Hometapes label mates, Nick Butcher & All Tiny Creatures is fabulous. Each have subtly altered elements of their live presentation that work really well. ATC have added disembodied harmony vocals that blended in perfectly. I miss their usual drummer Ben (in Europe), but Jeff, Ben's replacement, is terrific and a pretty aggressively funny guy. He's also a linguist, so that spells hijinx.
Blue housein PA
Decent-sized audience for a summer Wednesday night and a very underground group from Washington, DC. We played some new stuff from Discontinued Perfume (out 10/19) and it went over well. A little rough around the edges and some audience is video-taping us, but a good night all around. My cousin Steve showed, Tom of ATC made me drink whiskey, my beard got some love. Did discover that my friend Radley, the club cat, passed away last year, but 19 years is a nice run.
Off to Daytrotter session in Rock Island, IL and then gig in Milwaukee w/ATC. More later.
Matt of The Caribbean catches up w/the talented & dainty Nick Butcher
Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros - Desert Song
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