TVD First Date | ...with The Moderate

TVD sat down with Drew Marks, drummer for DC's The Moderate, to get his take on all things vinyl:

"I was reintroduced to vinyl records by my friend Dan, a roommate at the time. It had been years since I had listened to my parent's albums growing up. I had almost forgotten how crisp the sound of a record is and that crackle when the needle is finding the groove. I immediately fell for that sound and started to build my own collection.

There are so many things to love about records. The thrill of finding a great record shop and taking your time flipping through albums to find your personal needle in a haystack. Every collector has a few albums in their collection that they treasure. My beloved album was a birthday present from a loved one, Luna's classic 'Penthouse'. I also love listening to albums the way they were intended to be heard; hearing the notes and subtleties that highly compressed digital formats miss. Records are now pressed for music lovers and audiophiles that are willing to spend as much time as it takes to find the music they love the way they want to hear it; clean and clear and as pure you can get it. Collecting and listening to records is something I will always enjoy doing. There's nothing like coming home to a couple great records to spend your evening with."

The Moderate is a DC three-piece that has found its niche as a self-styled alt-country power trio. They will headline Velvet Lounge on Thursday, November 20. The show starts at 9:15pm with John Bustine opening.

The Moderate - Rock and Roll (Mp3)
The Moderate - Blue Eyes and Barflies (Mp3)
The Moderate - Lost, Boy (Mp3)

TVD Recommends | Old Rare New - The Independent Record Shop

There is nothing quite like the feeling of thumbing through LP after LP in a dusty old record shop, only to stumble upon some hidden treasure, new obsession or forgotten love. Old Rare New: The Independent Record Shop is a homage to the holy places of music collecting, complete with their particular anecdotes, peculiar characters, and unique environments.

Emma Pettit, formerly of the Institute of Contemporary Arts, has travelled across the UK and America into these eclectic spaces of musical exchange, interviewing record shop owners, collectors and musicians to provide a rich account of the increasingly rare independent record shop. Featured shops include Rough Trade East (London), Sister Ray (London), Vinyl Exchange (Manchester), Other Music (New York), Aquarius Records (San Francisco), Amoeba Records (California) and Jazz Record Mart (Chicago). The first comprehensive look at these important institutions, Old Rare New: The Independent Record Shop is an essential read for the musically inclined.

Featuring contributions by James Dean Bradfield (Manic Street Preachers), Simon Reynolds, Devendra Banhart, Billy Childish, Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne), Sean Bidder (Vinyl Factory), Byron Coley (Ecstatic Yod), Rob Da Bank (Bestival) and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy.

For more info and to order, visit Black Dog Publishing.

TVD's Daily Wax | The Reposts | The Bathers "Pandemonia"

If I was a little surprised as to the number of requests for yesterday's reposting of the Fossil release, I'm not so taken aback by the frequent emails received requesting a reappearance of the The Bathers' 'Pandemonia'. The Scottish band led by former Friends Again front man Chris Thomson invites comparisons to David Bowie, Tom Waits, The Blue Nile, or Tindersticks.

Lower the lights, pour yourself a glass of wine, and indulge your melancholic moodswings...

The Bathers - Twenty-Two (Mp3)
The Bathers - Dreamless (Mp3)
The Bathers - The Belle Sisters (Mp3)
The Bathers - Sundown And Longing (Mp3)
The Bathers - Trocadero Girls (Mp3)