Monthly Archives: March 2008

Any comics geek over say 30, will tell you there’s something to the smell of the comic’s pages themselves–the ink on the paper that takes you right back to the proverbial simpler time and place. We all do it–crack open a comic and with one whiff you’re twelve and it’s 7am some Saturday morning and before there’s any stirring in the house, you’ve already been to the Negative Zone with the Fantastic Four or fighting the Hellfire Club alongside the X-Men. It’s pretty amazing stuff the memory bookmarks in seemingly innocuous ways.

As a kid I collected not only records but comics too and poured over every page. The records stayed forever hip…but the comics? Well, not so much. By about 16 or 17 they had run their course with me (and honestly themselves!) but records were ever present. Scratch that – MUSIC was ever present and the medium was vinyl. So, I was about 16 or 17 when my dad gave me a lift to some comics store (I truly forget where) and I traded all of my comics in for about…75 bucks, I’m thinking. Not much–but I had moved on, casting my lot with the teen years that certainly wouldn’t include any more trips to the Negative Zone or what have you. In the meantime though, I lugged my records around with me for YEARS–to college and maybe about ten residences thereafter.

But a funny thing happened around 2000 or so…ebay. Why, all of these comics I came to truly miss over the years could be had for a song, along with some of those records that were “borrowed” and went missing forever. I started to recollect everything I owned as a kid…it became an addiction and one that’s certainly in its advanced Winehouse-like stages to this day WITH a rather nice ebay score, thank you. But I have a confession…I can’t honestly say whether this addiction is fueled by the comics themselves or the memories that reignite. These really are placeholders and bookmarks of some very wonderful times I’d have forgotten if it wasn’t for their (re)purchase.

And the same is true with the vinyl–placeholders and bookmarks. Little triggers set off the synapses and there I am, recalling the place and time of their arrival in my consciousness, be them gifts or personal purchases. And as some long-time readers might recall, my dad–that wonderful guy–spent more time than any other, giving me lifts to the record store most every week–at first for 45’s (which are LONG gone) and then later LP’s. And when I flip through the stacks, pull them out of their sleeves, drop the needle…I’m almost there again with my dad, riding shotgun, and tearing off the plastic on a new purchase right there in the car.

My dad would have been 78 this Friday and to remember him ever so fondly, this week we’ll ride shotgun with some of my memories of hitting the record stores in Neptune, NJ with him. And of course, they’ll be some fine music along the way.

This Beatles ‘White Album’ was purchased with KISS’ ‘Hotter than Hell’ — a coup it seemed, cuz well, the back of the KISS LP actually had a bit of nudity. But where WAS my brain that I’d want to purchase the ‘White Album’ along with ‘Hotter Than Hell?’ Well, I guess it was in the head of a 10 year old, downstairs in his play room–dad’s in the garage tinkering, mom’s up in the kitchen drinking coffee and screaming for me to lower the volume, on a sunny, early summer afternoon I fucking miss like you have no idea.

The Beatles – Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey (Mp3)
The Beatles – Happiness Is A Warm Gun (Mp3)
The Beatles – I’m So Tired (Mp3)
The Beatles – While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Mp3)
The Beatles – Yer Blues (Mp3)

……hello? Is this thing on…? *check…check* Ok….wow – well, I’m not used to having to actually WRITE this blog any longer after the atypical week just passed here at TVD. There’ve been new artists, news, and even some SXSW coverage from Kieran of Delorentos – who I’d like to thank immensely for reporting from Austin. Between pints, broken guitars, and getting tossed from Coyote Ugly, it’s been quite a ride and I’m indebted to them for having taken us along. (Pints on me boys if you ever get to DC!) I’d also like to thank all of the artists who were featured last week for just saying hello and sending their stuff along. It’s been a pleasure and I’m sorry we couldn’t get to everybody. And for those of you who have missed the normal goings-on here at TVD–don’t worry–next week things get back to normal and get back to the personal. (Very personal.) ‘Til then your Friday randomness awaits:

Marshall Crenshaw – Mary Anne.mp3
T-Rex – Metal Guru.mp3
Suede – My Dark Star.mp3
Real Life – Catch Me I’m Falling.mp3
The Babys – Sweet 17.mp3

After a few beers in Stubbs, where we bumped into our driver Cathal, we headed back to the venue and watched the band before us play and set up the gear. I scanned the crowd trying to work out who was here from who. When AM Syndicate finished their punky set Cathal gave us a hand moving Nashville band November’s gear onto the stage. They’d very kindly leant us their gear for the gig, and we manouvered the massive Marshall stacks onstage and set up our pedals. We had 15 mins change-over and a 35 minute set. With 5 minutes to go, I realised the guitar amp wasn’t working. The guitarist from November came over to help out, and it became apparent that the amp was broken. Of course! Come midnight, the rest of the band were scratching their heads and I was down the street begging AM Syndicate to unpack their guitar amp and allow me to use it. They relented, and very kindly allowed me to use it. I plugged it in, made sure it worked and the sound was fine, and ran backstage to change my clothes and get myself ready. If I was nervous before, it was twice as much now.

Ten minutes late, we got onstage and started. Within a song or two I’d adjusted the amps and it began to click. Excitingly, we played a great set. It all seemed to work out, and despite all the messing that went before, we got a great reaction and played every song perfectly. The venue was full by the time we were finished, and when we got off stage we handed out all the cd’s we had and got very cool compliments of lots of nice people. We packed up and went outside and had a smoke, delighted with ourselves. Then we got the news, no-one we’d asked down showed up. It was tough to hear. We consoled ourselves that it felt good and people had enjoyed it, and resolved to do the same tomorrow. I couldn’t help wishing someone that we’d asked had arrived, but no matter. I was shattered and hoarse so I went home straight away, leaving the lads to go out and have another night on the beer.

All through this tour I’ve been missing nights out, only imagining the debauchery that is probably going on. When they came back in I was still awake so I asked them what they did. The amazing night out? They had a beer and went to Wendy’s…

When we got up at around 11 we booked a taxi to get us into the venue for the Music from Ireland showcase for 1. At half one the taxi hadn’t arrived so our host Amber dropped us in and we got there late. The venue was packed and Cathy Davey was in the middle of a great set. We watched her for a while and then brought the gear in the back and set ourselves up for the gig, tuning guitars and drums and checking all the various equipment. There’s a lot of bands on at this showcase so when the band finished we quickly arranged ourselves and started into the first song, which thankfully sounded good. i began to settle, and then, at the worst time (during a first song) i broke a string. Pulling the string off in frustration caused a whale of feedback and i felt like just throwing the guitar out the window and going for a lie down. When the song finished i picked my spare, which I’d forgot to tune. The next song started and i tried to tune and sing to no avail, so I couldn’t play guitar at all. In line with the rest of this tour, this gig had to be a rollercoaster, so after i tuned up, things started clicking again, and it began to feel good, and i relaxed. Phew. After the gig, it was clear that the people that didn’t come last night were here today, and i spent a bit of time chatting to various people all the while trying to sneak a glance at their laminate to see who they were. They were friendly anyway, so it was ok.

We hung around afterwards and watched great sets by the other bands and then went back and got burgers in the same place as yesterday. We split up and I went off to watch some bands. Popup from Glasgow were really good, but couldn’t understand them as the singer talked so fast. I saw another band called Pete & the Pirates but they weren’t great. The venue was packed though, so lots of others seemed to like them. The streets were packed and all manner of folks were wandering around, some selling, some singing, and lots just looking. Tomorrow is our last gig in Austin and it only feels like we’re getting used to it now…

I hear The Shins…others have said Cat Power or Decemberists. Whatever. DC’s Thao with The Get Down Stay Down are making some fine, fine music.

Thao with The Get Down Stay Down – Beat (Mp3)
Thao with The Get Down Stay Down – Bag of Hammers (Mp3)

Website: www.thaomusic.com/
Myspace: www.myspace.com/thaomusic

We’ve long felt that preserving the vinyl medium depends on a strong marriage of the traditional format with new media, so we were happy to see this press release from DC’s DJ Hut in our mailbox this morning with the header “Preserving While Progressing”. (And after two fires that forced the brick-and-mortar store to close for periods of time, this move makes clear sense.) TVD wishes Sina and the rest of the crew at DJ Hut (where we bought our Stanton turntable!) all the best as they promote the sale of fresh vinyl along with their new on-line media presence.

DJ HUT DIGITAL MUSIC SHOP NOW OPEN
“Preserving While Progressing”
For several years now DJ Hut has been Washington DC’s primary outlet for vinyl records. And now after two years of research and creation of a digital business model, DJ Hut has brought to fruition one of its major goals by pushing forward in the new music industry. DJ Hut will no longer be known just for vinyl, as they have now launched an online digital music shop. The website is extremely user-friendly with an impressive search engine and browsing features which allow users to find and sort music by genre, label, artist, song title or release date. The new online shop is fully functional and currently offers MP3 downloads in 320-bit rate. However, expect improved features and a substantially larger catalog to be available in the immediate future as major deals are underway with digital distributors and labels.

DJ Hut is in the first phase of launching the site and wants to interact with its customers and the industry at large to get feedback. DJ Hut wants to hear suggestions and comments on how to improve the site. They know there are always more ways to tailor the digital shop to the specific needs of digital DJs and music lovers. So please send them an email at info@djhut.com after your visit. DJ Hut is committed to “preserving while progressing” and will always stay on top of new developments in technology and the music industry. The vision of DJ Hut, independently owned and operated since 2002, is to provide DJs with cutting edge music and support to make their careers thrive.

DJ Hut Digital Music Shop is online at http://mp3.djhut.com

DC based roots reggae rockers SEE-I follow up their “Dinner of Herb” EP with a solid release on Brooklyn’s Bastard Jazz Recordings. “The King” was released earlier this month on limited edition 10″ vinyl and features the original and dub versions produced by DC’s own Thomas Blondet. On the flip side is a funky remix done by The Magic Fly from the UK. Featured throughout are the conscious vocal stylings of SEE-I bredren Rootz and Zeebo. You may have heard Rootz and Zeebo on countless Thievery Corporation tracks or performing live with the band as well. The entire SEE-I team is hard at work on a new album to be released later this year on Fort Knox Recordings.

See-I – The King.mp3
See-I – The King (Dub).mp3
SEE I – The King (Magic Fly Remix).mp3

From the ‘Dinner of Herb’ EP:
See-I – Dinner of Herb.mp3
See-I – Why Not Tonight.mp3

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/seei

After a lie down we decided, despite our tiredness, to head into town and have a few beers. The streets were pretty quiet as its kinda the changeover period between the film festival and the music festival, but we had a nice dinner and went to a place we had a few good nights in last year, Coyote Ugly. Unfortunately the bargirls were pretty drunk, and their efforts at being sexy were pretty depressing. One girl kept calling everyone fuckers and shouting abuse at people, so everyone kinda slowly left. Inevitably It ended with her having an arguement with a friend of ours and when he argued back she hit the panic button and cops descended on the place and he had to get out of there. Pretty unpleasant unfortunately. We decided not to return again.

In the morning we got up and went into the centre of Austin to register. Hundreds of people were queueing, and we got our listings and the listings of everyone else. We would be playing at 12 midnight tonight, at the same time as one of the biggest bands in the world, R.E.M. Great! We can have a nice quiet practice instead of a gig… We checked out a few mentoring sessions – apparently the “Internet” is good for “Music”. Sounds crazy to me.

After some massive steak burgers – we’d better watch eating them – we returned to the house and got ready for the gig. We were hoping for a short soundcheck from 6 – 6.30, and we needed it because we weren’t using our amps. We called a taxi, and waited. Then we called it again and waited, eventually arriving at the cool little venue at seven and soundcheck missed. We also heard that some people were coming down to see it later, and we were pretty pissed off. All the showcases are run like clockwork, so there was nothing we could do. I fiddled about with the onstage amp to see how it worked and had a free beer.

We split up and headed off to see bands and check out all the venues, all individually trying to get into the right frame of mind for the gig. I popped up here to the convention centre and use the free internet, watching the steady stream of bands signing in and registering. Its a pretty daunting task to rise to the top with the thousands of bands here.. I guess our application starts in the Ninety Proof Lounge in two hours…

TVD received an email from Rhydian, bass player for London indie noise-poppers The Joy Formidable about two weeks ago and we’re damn glad he wrote. These former ‘demo of the week winners’, as declared by Steve Lamacq back in mid-December, hit me with “Austere” which has an energy and vibe I haven’t heard in quite a long time. Think a noisy Ultra Vivid Scene fronted by Karen O, and maybe you’re in the ballpark.

The Joy Formidable – Austere (Mp3)
The Joy Formidable – Cradle (Mp3)

MySpace: www.myspace.com/thejoyformidable

On April 19, 2008, hundreds of independently owned music stores across the country will celebrate “Record Store Day.”

The gig last night ok, my voice was at about 90% and we felt rushed and hurried throughout. No matter, we were delighted to play and have a chance to go through the set, but it didn’t feel like it quite clicked. After the gig we chatted to some local A&R, had some beers and packed up while a Spanish bossa-nova band finished off the night. We talked about the set – we tend to obsess over stuff, which is why our album is called “In love with detail”, I think it was ok, but we may drop a song to give us more time. We headed back to the hostel, had three hours sleep and got the taxi through the melting snow to the airport. We were a bit worried about US immigration, our last visit wasn’t very enjoyable, but we got through and onto the flight without problems. I was a little worried about the plane journey too – I’ve never been a nervous flyer, but flying through a storm from New York to Chicago was the scariest rollercoaster ever – but that turned out fine too. I tried to sleep onboard but kept jumping awake in that annoying way that makes you look stupid and makes every else jump too.

When landed in Austin I saw a TV crew wandering around looking for people to talk to, so I waved my guitar about til they came over and interviewed us. We said how excited we were to be playing, and how much we were looking forward to standing in Stubb’s with a beer. We’re part of the housing scheme, where a host family puts up a band in exchange for concert tickets and stuff, and our lovely host mammy Ame and her sister picks us up at the Airport and brings us to her cool home/office in east Austin. She runs Austin Star Maps, and brings people around stars homes in the Austin area. Sandra Bullock and Mathew McConaughey might expect some delo stalking pretty soon… At the moment we’re sitting on the balcony writing up set lists for our official showcase gig tomorrow night in the Ninety Proof Lounge, and looking at trying to get to see all the bands we want to see over the next few days. It’s already pretty exciting…

Metallica will reissue its classic early albums on vinyl this spring, according to a new post at the band’s official Web site.

Its first two discs, 1983’s Kill ‘Em All and 1984’s Ride the Lightning, are due first. The post read, “While we’re finishing up the new album, we told the dudes at the record company we thought it might be cool to dust off the old tapes and get all retro with some vinyl re-releases. First up are the first two albums…coming out on April 15 in North America and pretty f***ing close to that in the rest of the world.” There will be two versions: a single platter than spins at 33 1/3 rpm, and a two-disc, heavyweight vinyl set that spins at 45 rpm. Both editions have been remastered from the original tapes for “audiophile quality.” The reissues will be available at the Metallica online store and through its fan club.

The band’s third and fourth albums, 1986’s Master of Puppets and 1988’s …And Justice For All, are tentatively scheduled for the vinyl treatment in June. Metallica’s ninth studio album is tentatively slated to arrive sometime later this year.
(Via The Rock Radio)

“Enchanting debut… equal parts Stina Nordenstam and Nina Simone. Fans of CocoRosie take note.” **** (four stars) – Uncut

Hanne Hukkelberg’s (pronounced Hanna Who-kel-burg) sophomore album Rykestrasse 68, her first since signing to Canadian label Nettwerk, is a tribute to the six months she recently spent living in Berlin. Like her debut, it was produced by Kåre Vestrheim at Propeller Studios in Oslo and features contributions from the cream of the Norwegian music scene, including members of Jaga Jazzist, Dinosau and Shining.

From her bio, “Hukkelberg started singing and playing instruments in her home town of Kongsberg, Norway at the age of 3 and later played in various jazz, rock and free jazz bands including a high school heavy metal act called Funeral. A graduate of the Norwegian Academy of Music, she has also gained a reputation as a powerful live performer, her shows full of typically Scandinavian absurdist humour. An extensive European tour with a full band has been arranged for the spring with English dates set for May 24th – June 6th.”

Hanne Hukkelberg – A Cheater’s Armoury (Mp3)

Website: http://hanne.hukkelberg.net/
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/hannehukkelberg

…DC does Texas!

One word has been keeping me going since last Thursday when I woke up in Dublin at 6am in the middle of the fever symptoms of a chest infection. This word got me through dry retching nausea from the antibiotics, hassle at US immigration, and having no food, drinks or cigarettes for two days. It also meant when I had to play a gig and not sing I got through it. That word is Austin, home of the brilliant South by Southwest Festival which myself and our band Delorentos will be playing in two days. Our trip to Oceania hasn’t been ideal so far, I’ve been sick as a dog the last four days (I’m feeling ok today thank you very much), we missed out playing at Canadian Music Week due to blizzards in Toronto and spent Saturday in the airport, and on Friday we had to play a gig in New York where, for the first time I didn’t sing at least half the songs. Luckily we are a two frontman band, so we could do a set of songs that Ro sang and we got through it.

Later tonight we’ll be doing our first proper gig, in the Neutral Bar in Toronto. My voice seems ok, and it looks like we can play the set we’ve practiced religiously for the three SXSW gigs we’ll play on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. We’ve a flight at 7am, so we might decide to sleep, we might play through…

We were lucky enough to have played the festival last year as well, so knowing what’s in store we can’t wait to get down there and begin soaking up the atmosphere, beer and music.

Over the next five or so days I’ll be sending an update of our adventures, thoughts and witness statements that can be used to incriminate us later.

If you’d like to find out more about the band please check out our websites and have a listen, we’re good, and proper people with those massive headphones often say they listen to us to make themselves look cool. Who’s to argue with that?

Your SXSW correspondent,
Kieran
Delorentos
http://www.delorentos.net/
http://www.myspace.com/delorentos

If the old adage is true that “opportunity knocks”, than it’s incumbent on one to, well …open the door. And this week we’ll open up TVD to some of the new faces who have sent demos and promos and Mp3s to TVD HQ — all to coincide with the SXSW Music Festival being held in Austin, Texas this week.

(A note to the non-DC residents about this week’s “SX(NW)” moniker. DC is divided into four sections: NW, NE, SW, and SE. I live in NW, so —> SXSW + NW = SX(NW). Made that one up, we did.)

First up this week is the Dublin-based 4-piece Delorentos who, in a unique twist here at TVD, will be offering their own SXSW Tour Diary as they wind their way through the States, culminating with their live dates in Austin at SXSW. Delorentos have opened for The Futureheads, Gang of Four, and Tapes n Tapes among their blistering performances at both the Oxegen and Electric Picnic Festivals. From their bio, ” … obvious reference points are Pixies, The Cure, The Clash and Arcade Fire; more oblique influences slide in from most genres of music and virtually every decade from the 50s onwards.”

Delorentos – Any Other Way (Mp3)
Delorentos – Basis Of Everything (Mp3)
Delorentos – Neon (Acoustic Session) (Mp3)