The Vinyl District

TVD Washington, DC

TVD Ticket Giveaway: Futurebirds at the 9:30 Club, 5/23

By Luanne Lim | Published: May 20, 2013

Athens, Greece is a city known for its great history and culture. Across the Atlantic in Athens, Georgia, emerges an American, indie brand of rock with a hint of psychedelia known as Futurebirds.

The five-piece band is composed of Thomas Johnson, Carter King, Dennis Love, Brannen Miles, and Daniel Womack. Formed in 2008, Futurebirds gained a fan following and a record deal through their first, self-titled EP released the following year. The next couple of years saw a few more releases for the up-and-coming quartet, ultimately leading to the release of their full-length album, Baba Yaga.

Futurebirds has constantly been on tour, expanding their fan base and earning the cache to create and release albums. It’s 2013, and they just kicked off a new tour to promote the long-awaited, second full-length album, the aforementioned Baba Yaga. As part of their cross-country tour, the psychedelic five-piece is making a stop at the 9:30 Club on May 23, and we’ve got a pair of tickets to give away!

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The TVD Storefront

Dear Georgiana:
The TVD First Date

By Special to TVD | Published: May 20, 2013

“Tucked away in a cupboard was where all the dusty vinyl lived in the house where I grew up. Being a child of the ’80s, record players were not something I remember. They were slowly being pushed out of style with the new and beholden on the shoulder boombox and compact discs making their way into homes.”

“Mix tapes were what was happening and that was way more work than just flipping a record! I do remember that stack of vinyl hidden away in the cabinet though. I think it went something like Van Morrison, Bread, and maybe CSNY. I’m not known for my sharp memory, but now, if you come to my house you’ll see a turntable and a pretty sizable collection of vinyl. So when did that happen?

In college, my boyfriend had come into a huge collection of vinyl that belonged to a DJ, but whose angry girlfriend threw out on the street when they broke up. Somehow that DJ didn’t come and claim it and we got to keep it. It must have been hundreds of 12”s and even more 45s with stuff like Linda Rondstadt and Billy Joel, a lot of hip hop, and more music than I ever got to listen to.

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TVD Cleveland

Passion Pit:
The TVD Interview

By Amber Patrick | Published: May 20, 2013

Electro-pop act Passion Pit has been gaining speed since its beginnings in 2007 as people across the country latch onto their clever beats, juxtaposed with frontman Michael Angelakos’ distinctive falsetto.

This band, however, is more than just a smart orchestration of keyboards, synths, and drums. Upon closer inspection, it becomes evident that Angelakos’ music and lyrics map a cathartic pathway through his personal challenges. In a generation where honesty in music is rare, it’s refreshing to find a musician who can be open with his audience about a battle with mental health, while still filling dance floors.

Though Angelakos is the mastermind behind the Passion Pit moniker, it takes a small army of talented men to flesh out the live band and bring his musical musings to life. We had the opportunity to talk to Ian Hultquist, keyboardist/ guitarist with the band.

How did you meet Michael?

I met Michael in 2006. We had a mutual friend, and we were putting together a band just for fun—it wasn’t Passion Pit. Our mutual friend said I know a guy who could play bass and keyboards, and he called Michael. I met him at the first rehearsal.

What was your first impression?

(Laughs) He seemed very young, but super creative and very musical. I felt like he was someone who was capable of doing some great things in music.

And now you guys are in a band together that is Passion Pit. When you’re writing, do you all collaborate together or does one person usually serve as the catalyst?

The writing works with Michael basically doing everything. Even on records, he played everything. The three of us outside of Michael were not part of Gossamer. The way it works is Michael finished the record and then brought it to us, and we kind of create the live show altogether. It’s a matter of learning songs, rewriting songs, kind of changing things around here and there and that’s where it becomes a collaboration of what we’ll bring to the stage.

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TVD Washington, DC

TVD Live: Titus Andronicus at the
Black Cat, 5/19

By Michael H. Little | Published: May 20, 2013

Ah, New Jersey. How I loathe it. For giving us the likes of Bon Jovi (that’s not a steel horse you’re riding, amigo, it’s the dildo of mediocrity); Patti Smith (poet-priestess my ass—try the bard of babble and blather); and Bruce Springsteen, who calls himself the Boss and as everybody knows all bosses are assholes, except mine of course. And let’s not forget my first ex-wife’s sphinx of a grandmother, who had the nauseating habit of sucking on her food then spitting the pulp into a napkin, and who never spoke a single word to me (and I’m talking years) until the fateful Thanksgiving dinner she turned to me and croaked, “Do you know how they kill chickens? They slit their throats!!”

In short, I harbored about as much love for The Garden State as I did for accidental penis amputation, that is until Glen Rock’s Titus Andronicus came along. “From Jersey I come,” sings vocalist/songwriter/lyricist Patrick Stickles in the wonderful “In a Big City,” and his defiant pride in hailing from Mall Hell is enough to make me give the “the swamps of Jersey” a second chance. As Stickles sings, “And if I come in on a donkey, let me go out on a gurney/I want to realize too late/I never should have left New Jersey.”

Formed in 2005, Titus Andronicus has released three albums full of big, bombastic indie anthems that are as urgent and rebellious as they are irresistible. Being from Jersey, Titus Andronicus has Bruce Springsteen, who has also been known to write the occasional big, bombastic anthem, in its collective DNA. And Titus Andronicus doesn’t only pay homage to His Bossiness’ operatic Born to Run-era sound; “Joset of Nazareth’s Blues” boasts a harmonica opening that has Nebraska stamped all over it, while “Titus Andronicus” also features an opening the Boss will probably filch and win a Grammy. Nor can Titus Andronicus resist paraphrasing Buhrooooce! in “A More Perfect Union”: “No, I never wanted to change the world/But I’m looking for a new New Jersey/Because tramps like us/Baby, we were born to die.” Or name-checking him in “The Battle of Hampton Roads”: “And I’m destroying everything that wouldn’t make me/More like Bruce Springsteen.” And they’ve been known to cover “Hungry Heart” at their live shows.

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The TVD Storefront

TVD Video Premiere: Casey Shea, “I Don’t Wanna Wait”

By TVD HQ | Published: May 20, 2013

“I was definitely part of the compact disc generation, but in my early teens, I began receiving Beatles albums on vinyl as birthday presents and gifts from family and friends of my parents.”

“I had become a bit of a Beatles freak, and everyone knew that anything that had to do with the Fab Four was going to be a big hit with me. It was the mid-90s, and people had pretty much accepted that vinyl was a thing of the past, so I ended up the lucky recipient of some cherished musical hand me downs.

Now I had a lot of catching up to do, and it was amazing. After years of ipod playlists, skipping tracks on CDs, and only hearing things I thought I wanted to hear, I was forced to listen to a side of a record at a time. And then, when that was finished, I’d have to stand up, walk over to the player, and drop the needle on the other side. It’s a great and amazingly interactive experience. On top of that, there is the sound. No sample rates for your mind to fill in the gaps, just infinite sound waves – it is real music. The crackles and pops are an added bonus.”
—Casey Shea

That’s Casey from our First Date in November of 2011 waxing nostalgic for our favorite medium around these parts. We’re delighted to welcome Casey back to TVD with the premiere of his new video, “I Don’t Wanna Wait” which was self-created utilizing Powtoon, a D.I.Y. animation program. Look for new music from Casey soon, but for now, let’s not keep you waiting.

Casey Shea Official | Facebook | Twitter

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The TVD Storefront

TVD’s Press Play

By TVD HQ | Published: May 20, 2013

Press Play is our Monday morning recap of the new tracks received last week—provided here to inform your vinyl purchasing power. We post, you right-click.

Hani Zahra – Cannibal Crime Wait Wait Wait
Columboid – Juicy Mode
Chateau Marmont – Wind Blows (Edit)
People of the North – Drama Class
Coke Weed – Sunseekers
Kyle Andrews – The Way To Wonder (Single Version)
PleasePlease – Viva La Piano
Building Pictures – Come Of Age
Cosmic Suckerpunch – Glad You’re Here Now
Tarmac Adam – Bygones

TVD SINGLE OF THE WEEK:
July Days – Should Have Told Me

Linda Draper – Hollow
Candace Bellamy – Johnny
Anamanaguchi – Planet
A Grave With No Name – Aurora
Big Deal – Teradactol
Black Rose Mansion – Poster Child
Little Boots – Broken Record (Cosmic Kids Remix)
Field Mouse – Tomorrow Is Yesterday
Futurecop – Superheroes (Shields Remix)
Howth – Superfreak

15 more FREE TRACKS after the jump!

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The TVD Storefront

TVD’s The Idelic Hour with Jon Sidel

By Jon Sidel | Published: May 17, 2013

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

Night before last, I came home tired from a long week of shuffling from meetings to gigs, gigs to studios, and back to more meetings. Although I thought about “hitting the hay,” this week’s Idelic Hour weighed heavily on my mind.

The truth is I have my issues with the show. The obligation to continue week after week with a fresh and interesting take on “this here hour” certainly can take its toll. It’s not an obligation to the hip and laid back Jon Meyers and the TVD family that keeps me up late Thursday nights. No, in fact my commitment is weirder. Well, I should say deeper.

One thing I’ve learned over the past few years is to dig through the crates as early in the week as possible. Once I have an idea or “muse” for the show, I’m transported to a creative mode that is not only exhilarating, but quenches my thirst to be creative. Most of this expression here is my journey. In weird way, the Idelic Hour—the actual mix, mini column, song (aka, the Idelic Hit of the Week), and album cover—are a postcard from my week.

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TVD Philadelphia

Savages map brief
US tour for July

By Matt Kelchner | Published: May 17, 2013

The female four-piece look to carry the torch as the next great post-punk revival band for a new generation.

“Savages’ intention is to create a sound, indestructible, musically solid, written for the stage and designed with enough nuances to provide a wide range of emotions,” reads the first line to the fmanifesto posted by the group. The UK band has been making waves since their double A-side single released last year. Now with the debut of their full length LP, Silence Yourself, the band is set to introduce themselves to the United States and Canada in July.

Since 2011, the band has released an impressive amount of work, including a pair of singles, an EP, and now a full length album—all of which, especially the latter, manage to capture the energy and emotion of their live show surprisingly well.

With a busy Spring and Summer already mapped out through Europe, Savages embark on just nine dates through North America. From July 11th through July 23rd they make their way from New York to Los Angeles.

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