Typically for our ticket giveaway contests, we make you guys do something…y’know…pen an ode, jump through a hoop, an oragami likeness of yours truly—something that takes a bit of effort.
But for Velvet Lounge’s Friday night bill with Mittenfields,Bellflur,Mariage Blanc, and Malin Nilsson,we’re putting in the effort all week to set you up for one grand time indeed, so we’re going to go easy this time out.
Just get at us in the comments to this post or to any one of our Four Way posts this week and simply toss your name into the ring along with some contact info(important!) and that will suffice as an entry.
That’s it. No fanfare needed, no origami Jons. ( I have a roomful of ’em.)
We’ll choose one winner this Friday (6/18) at noon for a pair of tickets.
trans·fix
Pronunciation: \tran(t)s-ˈfiks\
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Latin transfixus, past participle of transfigere, from trans- + figere to fasten, pierce Date: 1590
1 : to pierce through with or as if with a pointed weapon : impale
2 : to hold motionless by or as if by piercing
— trans·fix·ion \-ˈfik-shən\ noun
D is for Demon.
Buena Park, CA – so there I was in parochial grade school and here’s mainly what I recollect of it (besides “Hail Mary, full of…”) – the girls bathroom. I knew this was a big deal, but I didn’t know it had a name. Acoustics! Hollering back Atlas ceramics tiles, bolting high ceilings and a slick slippery floor… The great creator had endorsed me with all the essential and natural reverb for my early (and mostly non attended) a cappella wailings.
The first dead body I ever saw was in Salinas, KS. One of the school priests had died. There he was, basking in an open casket in the school church. No one was “made” to go – I was genuinely curious. Nothing cataclysmic came from it though, which did crush my ever so wild expectations. Anyway, in my continued efforts to replace my grade school “concerto hall” (um yeah, the church would have been awesome, but, er, uh, no dice, as you probably guessed), it was in Kansas that I (during a drill) discovered the tornado shelter.
San Fernando Valley, CA. Now, who am I kidding – the best wailings to be had are in the school gymnasium. Here, I was temporarily acquainted with my now, long lost friends, who were bussed in from a good 30 (or more) miles away. Not only did I learn to clap on 2 and 4, I was introduced to the world of gospel. They would tape record their families precious vinyl and I would go home and memorize the songs that we were all to sing together during gym. I couldn’t harmonize all that well at first, but could sing a perfect 5th without any guidance whatsoever. They say money knows no color, well neither does vinyl (to tape)…
Highland Park, CA – my home is my gymnasium and my neighborhood is it’s own orchestra. I wake to the ice cream truck “theme song” or the onslaught of “tamale, tamale” from clear on down the road (…if I can hear him, I gotta be cutting through to out there too – or, you’d think.)
Homegirl’s knocking at my door letting me know her “company”, “buys”, “gold”, there’s a bright yellow finch braving some heat from my very own feline hunter, I pop on over to my neighbor’s (he’s got this VHS of The Cramps performing at a mental hospital back in ’78) and finally, on my way home, I hit the taco truck for fresh grilled corn on the cob (touch of lime and paprika) and wonder – is the neighboring building going to turn their parking area into a discoteca tonight?
After touring the US extensively over the last 12 months with bands including School Of Seven Bells, Serena Maneesh, and Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, The Depreciation Guild have unleashed their sophomore record “Spirit Youth” on Kanine Records for which the band embarks on a new string of dates in support of the release.
So, in a week when it seems we’ve gone a bit ticketgiveawaycrazy, we’ve got a pair to see the band live this coming Sunday night (6/20) at DC9. (And you thought you’d have a night to yourself on the couch. Not a chance.)
But you have to act fast! We’re choosing one winner for a pair tomorrow (6/18) at noon, so get at us in the comments to this post—with contact info!—and you’re in. On us. So, go!
Hello, Vinyl District! Sam of Mittenfields here, hoping you’ll take a brief jaunt down record store memory lane with us. Thanks again to Jon for letting us chime in on the blog this week. We hope some of you readers can make it out to the show Friday at Velvet. Come for the threeamazingacts going on before us, stay for the wash of pop and noise we call Mittenfields.
To begin with, I have a confession to make, which is that I just acquired a record player about 2 years ago after living a vinyl-free life for many years. I picked it up on freecycle from a guy who had decided that after packing up his record collection to move for the third time without having listened to any of them since moving in it was time to let it go. Unfortunately all of the actual records had been snagged by the time I got there for the player, except for a copy of CSNY’s Deja Vu that had been forgotten since it was still sitting on the turntable. For a first (and free) record I could’ve done a lot worse.
Since then I’ve become a big fan of Som Records, largely because it’s down the street from my apartment and next door to a bar and a pizza place and therefore handy for a quick drop-by. It’s good to have at least one record store you go to often enough that you can stick to the “Just In” bin. I picked up a first pressing of ‘Blonde on Blonde’ there a few months back, and while the jacket has seen better days the full-length shot of Dylan on the cover still looks awesome, in all its weathered glory. And to think that if I’d only had the album in iTunes I would never have known there was a bottom half to that photo.
Current records in heavy rotation in our house: James Brown – Hell Bruce Springsteen – Darkness on the Edge of Town Islands – Return to the Sea (the white vinyl looks so nice spinning round and round)
And yes, Deja Vu is still getting plenty of use.
Dan credits his dad for his musical foundations. “The large hall closet of my boyhood home contained not coats but his massive record collection, an extensive catalog of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Sunday mornings were spent picking out records and blasting them at or near full volume – Floyd, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Zeppelin, Velvet Underground, some early Tom Waits that had to grow on me, among many others. Though not everything stuck, I still hate Phil Collins. While in high school in North Philadelphia, I frequented the now defunct SpaceBoy Music on South Street in South Philly. It was there that I started to build a music arsenal of my own that today includes some gems like mint condition, still sealed Thriller and Purple Rain albums sprinkled among a lot of blues, rock, folk and punk.”
Sadie grew up in Tampa Florida, and holds a special place in her heart for local record store Vinyl Fever. “The indie rock boys working at the counter were so adorable and unwashed. And they all wore tee-shirts that said, ‘I like being cheap and used.'”
Dave’s favorite record store memories dates back to when he lived in San Antonio, TX in 1995. “There was one record store in particular that I enjoyed going to and sadly it wasn’t because of the records exclusively. I’m not sure how many musicians out there are familiar with trying to recruit others to start a band if it’s not via Craigslist but Hogwild Records was home to many fliers I made for this very reason. If I remember right, all of the want ads were posted up above all of the local bands 7″‘s so I was pretty familiar with what was being released from all of the local bands from San Antonio and Austin. I picked up quite a few 7″‘s but the one’s that stand out are The Big Drag, Magneto U.S.A. (now known as Fastball) and The Doozers. My favorite flier/want ad that I posted was a picture of Pee Wee Herman on his bike with verbage (“guitarist and bassist looking to start a band in the vein of Weezer, Superchunk, Pavement, etc.”) all over the piece of paper. To be honest, it’s a lot like the ads I have posted on Craigslist since, but without the Pee Wee Herman image.”
Erik could not be reached for comment. We suspect that he’s currently soundproofing his basement or modding effects pedals.
So… record stores: home of commodity art objects, adorably dirty indie folk, and band recruiting posters. What more could you possibly want?
PS – I wouldn’t feel right not giving a shout-out to P-Rex. Their selection is ludicrous, and while the level of studied detachment/barely disguised animosity from the employees is pretty high even for an independent record store, I can’t really blame them considering that they have to deal with a bunch of Princeton undergrads looking for Dave Matthews bootlegs every day.
Mittenfields – Natural Disasters (Mp3) Mittenfields – Fog (Mp3) Authorized for download! (That voice you’re hearing on ‘Fog’ belongs to Andy Ayers, who had to leave Mittenfields behind in a move last year. He’s currently writing, recording and performing in Seattle with Maps on Fire and is mastering his new record as we speak. In the meantime, you can download an EP of some earlier MoF material for free.)
It’s been an odd week around here with all of the tickets to shows we’ve been handed to give away to you guys. I mean, this is a vinyl blog and while records and going to see bands live have always gone hand in hand for me, the pendulum has swung clearly into the live arena this week.
So, I was chatting with Nate from Detox Retox about their CD release show this Saturday night at the Black Cat and I said you gotta gimme something to make this show stand out—y’know, sell it.
Consider me sold:
Five Reasons to Come to Detox Retox’s CD Release Show this Saturday at the Black Cat By Detox Retox
1. The new record is awesome, if we do say so ourselves. It has five new songs plus a reworked version of “Too Late” which also appeared on our previous EP. Andrew Maury (Ra Ra Riot) produced it, and it sounds fantastic.
2. Sick of standing still at DC rock shows? Good news: dancing is mandatory at all Detox Retox shows.
3. Co-headliners Loose Lips are also releasing their second EP, “Lower Your Expectations and Be Happy.” Catchy!
4. Openers The State Department feature members of past and present DC mainstays Black and White Jacksons, Ra Ra Rasputin, and The Spiritual Machine.
My roommates and I recently moved into a new house and we decided to get a record player, as we all had small stacks of vinyl lying around. It did not take long at all for us to become much more enraptured with records. Tom, in particular has gone into overdrive on his quest to build a fantastic collection. In addition to that, he purchased two turntables and a mixer for both.
While I used to be the type who became happier each time technology fixed aspects of life, from not having to fast forward tapes anymore (thank you CD’s), not having to fast forward VHS tapes (thank you DVD’s) and so on up to Mp3’s and my Ipod, I have now gone just the opposite way. I enjoy sitting down and listening to albums, one side at a time, without the ADHD necessity of having to have my entire music catalogue randomized for my listening pleasure.
Records make this possible. I choose what I want to hear, and with the knowledge that I will have to get up in about 25 minutes or so and flip sides or change albums, it makes the listening much more important. I guess that is the biggest difference between the medium of record players and everything else. Small windows of finite music listening are created, and each becomes more intimate, important, and in doing so creates more atmosphere for the music being played. Each side you decide to listen to becomes a small commitment you are entering into with yourself and the artist. This has the tendency to bring the world to a slower pace and wilts time’s overbearing pressure.
I wish more artists would commit to a return to the vinyl format. Both for my enjoyment and for a return to putting together well constructed series of songs. Where the tracks themselves would undulate and melodies would move from one to the next gracefully as they naturally would, rather than pack as many changes into one song as possible so that the pushed single can have as many fans as possible.
There is nothing like putting an album on a turntable and lowering the needle and hearing the slight scratches begin as the first track is approaching. Those few seconds of limbo. They make you excited every time you head back to put on another album. —Carlos Gonzalez-Fernandez
See, the beauty of this blog gig is that I’m tuned into new music on the regular. But I’ll also admit it can be a bit overwhelming, yet with the right mindset and finesse, one can rummage through the emails to uncover a catchy thing of beauty.
Which brings me to Atlanta’s Constellations,the band behind my favorite song of the minute and one seriously hot and sweaty NSFW-y video.
It turns out we have a pair of tickets you can win so that my band of the moment can be your band of the evening—specifially,this Friday evening (6/18)—when they join Eli “Paperboy” Reed over at the Rock and Roll Hotel for one psychedelic soul-rock explosion.
The Constellations are also offering their latest ‘Southern Gothic’ on vinyl to continue those hot and sweaty moments deep into the night (or morning) in the privacy of your own home.
Since we’re going easy on you guys this week in regard to the giveaways, just tell us you want the vinyl and to be front and center Friday night in the comments to this post—along with a contact email address!—and we’ll consider you sufficiently entered into the giveaway.
We’ll choose one winner for both on Friday at noon!
If you’ve been lucky enough to experience the ear-drum blowing, arm-hair-raising, and just truly phenomenal sound-system at U-Street Music Hallhere in DC, you know that this club and the immensely-talented DJ’s from around the globe that play there have every crowd walking out the door semi-delirious and blissfully dripping in sweat.
This Saturday (6/19) will be no exception when Holy Ghost!the talented DJ duo from NYC, will be taking over the soon-to-be-(if not already)-legendary club, spinning some seriously serious indie-dance/neu-disco/pop-radness [or insert alt-genre of choice here] to ensure that everyone in the room is grooving.
Holy Ghost! are Alex Frankel and Nick Millhiser, a DJ duo since 2003 who have long worked together as musicians, having grown up in the Empire State and still residing in the never-sleeping city of Brooklyn, NYC. Meeting in Elementary School, the two played in a rock band together (they still keep it real on tracks and record all of their instruments into pro-tools) and subsequently a hip-hop group by the name of Automato where they met Mr. James Murphy, the electronic-mastermind behind LCD Soundsystem and co-founder of DFA Records. Holy! released their first single (and my fave original track) ‘Hold On’ on DFA in ’04 and have since remixed a number of notable artists, including Moby, Cut Copy, MGMT and recently the track “Drunks Girls” from the new LCD Soundsystem album.
Alex! of Holy Ghost! was kind enough to answer a few questions for us via email, a few questions that I know we were all dying to find out . . . thoughts on U-hall, the Big-V, quantification’s of cool, and other very, very important thangs.
TVD: Have you guys ever played in DC before? Have you heard about the radness of the U-Street Music Hall Sound System?? Not specifically, but have only heard AMAZING things about U-Hall in general. It’s rare that a clubs’ name is passed between artists as frequently as I’ve heard that name the last few months…very excited to play there.
TVD: You guys have been killing it with the ‘neu-disco’… what do you think about the genre and what other artists out there are you guys diggin’ at the moment? Something about that genre name – not the genre, just the name – just doesn’t sit well with me – I think it’s almost an aesthetic thing, it’s just ugly and temporary looking. It’s like a really shit new condo versus a pre-war. “Hi, we’ve revamped the classic sounds of yesteryear!” Eh…I like the term pop music for our music. But yeah, I know what it means and roughly who it refers to. People I like that would fit under the roof of the genre: Jacques Renault, Still Going, Shit Robot, Classixx, Todd Terje, Aeroplane, Mike Simonetti…
TVD: Anyone you would really like to collab with? (Dead or alive- lets get crazy here…) Andre 3000, Stevie Nicks or Bernie Worell (Talking Heads’ keyboardist). Or Tony Thompson, the drummer for Chic.
TVD: At the end of the night, how do you know you really put on a good show? It’s interesting. With DJ’ing you know how you’re doing because people are either dancing or they’re not, it’s that simple. Playing live is more complicated because the audience may be standing still, but that could just be that TYPE of crowd or that VENUE or that CITY, etc. Also, I could feel like I played awfully, but Nick might feel like he played his best, so we don’t know until we walk off stage and ask each other “How’d you feel?” and most of the time the answer is “Fine, it was a show, let’s load out quick so we can have a few beers.”
TVD: Any plans on ever moving outta NYC? Do you think any other cities compare? I love LA and Austin, no offense to anyone else, but those places just resonate with me. Probably because of the friends. But yeah, after 27 years in NYC, I think I owe myself 6 months in LA at some point.
TVD: As you know, this interview is for The Vinyl District…. any thoughts on the big V? Do you spin vinyl or are you mostly Serato dudes? We play a mix of Vinyl and CD’s. Vinyl sounds better than anything, end of story, but I could care less what someone is using if they sound good. We both still buy a lot of new and old Vinyl.
TVD: Which of you two is cooler and why? Nick. Always has, always will be. I’m too talkative, a lot more room for error.
TVD: Who’s the better dancer? We both need lessons.
TVD: Celebrity crush? Go. John C Reilly.
Holy Ghost! have just released a discolicious EP, Static on the Wire, which you can DL on Amazon.
The sound system at U-hall (as many U-streeters call it) is quickly becoming well-known by party-goers and professionals alike. If you are not already aware, the bass at U-hall can quite literally vibrate a full beer-can off of a table. The club, which opened in March of this year, boasts a ‘no-frills’ policy with no bottle service or pretension and just an amazing dance/music experience to be had. “It’s been built from the ground up to be a world class venue hosting both DJs and live acts,” states long-time DJ and DC resident Will Eastman. Eastman is co-owner of U-Street Music Hall along with fellow renowned DJ, Jesse Tittsworth.
So, come! Show off your fancy footwork this Saturday at 1115 U Street in NW DC (next to the 7-11) . . . I guarantee you, you will dance like an asshole (I mean, you will dance like Micheal Jackson), sweat your balls off (or other unmentionables) and really just have the time of your life.
WIN 2 TICKETS to Saturday’s show courtesy of U-Street Music Hall, by telling us (in the comments section) a little bit about your favorite/signature dance move. The raddest answer shall win (winners contacted FRIDAY at noon), and PLEASE, include your email address in the post!
I feel slightly embarrassed to admit that I never really discovered or, at least, learned to appreciate vinyl records until within the last year or two. I was born in 1984 – by the time I was interested in listening to anything besides the Fragglerock soundtrack, vinyl was already on its way out.
Tapes and even CDs were very much the norm by the time I hit adolescence, but even still, I actually was not allowed to listen to much music until later into my teen years. I can remember wandering into record stores with my friends – jealously watching them flip through record after record, deciding which new audible adventure they would embark on that day. They would make their picks; Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, REM…even a Sarah McLachlan record here or there; but nothing made me more envious than when my friends mother would drive us home and someone would pop in a Counting Crows record. I had developed a love for their ‘August and Everything After’ record merely by visits to my friends house or by sneaking listens to the radio in my bedroom here and there.
But owning it was never an option. My father felt very strongly about me not being exposed to secular music at such a young age – and rightfully so. I was young and very impressionable – probably not capable of handling a lot of the adult content and subject matter laced into pop music. But honestly, the fact that I wasn’t allowed to listen to certain music is probably what intrigued and tantalized me about music from the beginning. Music had become a mysterious, dangerous, exotic commodity in my head and that may be the reason why I chose to perform it for a living in my adulthood.
I can remember making mix tapes off of the hip Chicago station during the day—while my dad was at work—and then listening to them on my Walkman at night when I was supposed to be asleep. Sure, I was interested in typical things as well…video games, rated R movies, girls….but for some reason, music has become more mysterious and taboo than any of those things – almost to a point of obsession.
So, it was finally at the age of 16 that the ban on secular music was slightly lifted (not completely though; I still remember my dad breaking my first Bush record in half after I came home with it haha) – probably because I now had a car and thus was given my own private, mobile, listening box.
I’ll never forget walking into that record store I had left empty handed so many times before, filled with a confidence and excitement like I’d never felt. I walked straight to the rack marked ‘C’ grabbed both Counting Crows records and Pearl Jam’s ‘Vitalogy’ record, checked out as fast as possible, and drove around for hours listening to them.
As I grew older, the taboo slowly faded but my love for a new record didn’t. I now own more music than I know what to do with – but I always try to remember that time in my life when I treasured and found mystery in every note and lyric. After all, that’s where my love for music was born.
We’ve got a pair of tickets to catch Andrew Belle this Saturday (6/19) at Iota. Door opens at 5PM for this early show. Simply get at us in the comments to this post with your plea for the tickets—with contact info!—and we’ll choose one winner by noon on Friday, (6/18.)
Day two of TVD’s Four Way conversation continues with Pittsburgh’s Mariage Blanc appearing Friday night (6/18) along with Malin Nilsson, Bellflur, and Mittenfields at Velvet Lounge.
“Like most, my first exposure to vinyl was through my parents. We had an old hi-fi and turntable in our living room. My parents have a great record collection, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, etc… all the classics. I learned my first “real” song fumbling along to an America record. I still remember how my Dad would meticulously wipe each record with an anti-static dust brush before playing it.
At some point in elementary school, home sick (but possibly faking it), I decided to listen to Let It Be. I pulled the record out of the jacket, placed it on turntable, and pressed play. It spun up, the needle dropped, and then… nothing. I could not for the life of me figure out which combination of buttons I had to press on the receiver to get the music to come out of the speakers. Right before giving up, I noticed that if I held my ear very close to the needle I could just barely hear “I, Me, Mine”. Laying on the living room floor, head held just over the record player, I listened to the rest of the album like this.” —Josh Kretzmer, guitar, vocals
“Like Josh, my first exposure to vinyl was through my parents. I grew up with many of the artists he mentioned, as my father was an avid music fan. However, it is only recently (within the last year or so) that I decided to buy a turntable and start a record collection of my own. Having all of my music in an iTunes library always left me a bit unfulfilled, and I became more drawn to owning bigger, physical copies of my favorite music. Bigger artwork and having a large copy of something that I could hold in my hands seemed much more appealing than a bunch of mp3s.
Listening to albums on vinyl is a process that requires you to pay attention to the music. Putting the record on the turntable, turning it over when the side is done, and listening to the entire album the whole way through are all important parts of experiencing it. It’s a process that prevents an album from becoming something that you throw on and ignore, which is something that I hope music never becomes.” —Matt Ceraso, guitar, vocals
“My earliest memories of vinyl are listening to Thriller and The White Album out of my parent’s record collection. I thought the George Harrison song “Piggies” was so funny because it talked about little piggies playing in the dirt.
My favorite record store in Pittsburgh is Attic Records, which is actually located in Millvale, PA, a stone’s throw across the Allegheny River. There are few other good ones around here, including Paul’s and Jerry’s.
I go through different binge-record-buying phases, although my only real vinyl obsession is David Bowie, albeit with an early-80’s cutoff.
I have an old Magnavox record player/radio in my living room—I got it for free—and it still has more presence and warmth than any stereo I’ve ever had.” —Sam McUmber, keyboards, vocals
“Vinyl? What’s that? A new iPod model?” —Chris Williams, drums
“The very first record I remember playing was the McDonald’s promo record for the Big Mac jingle. Something tells me it wasn’t really vinyl but, nonetheless, it left me hungry…for more records. Now I collect records because I miss that sense of discovery that I had when I would dig through my parents records. You listened to music in a different way back then. You didn’t skip around if the first 10 seconds of a song didn’t immediately catch you – you gave it a chance.
Plus, what am I going to pass along to my children (other than my killer good looks?) A hard drive full of MP3s?” —Josh Dotson, bass
Mariage Blanc – Whatever You Say I Am (Mp3) Authorized for download! (“Whatever You Say I Am” is the first song we wrote after releasing our debut EP, Broken Record. Appropriately enough, it’s the first song from our new album that we’re letting out into world, albeit as a rough mix. Although the record will be properly mastered before release, we just couldn’t wait any longer to share a new song. We hope you enjoy it.)
Oh fine. I’ve had a #musicmonday column for all of one week, and already it’s time to write about Amanda Palmer. Because of this:
@amandapalmer RT! @amandapalmer unveils “idioteque” from her upcoming radiohead ukulele covers album http://bit.ly/AFPidio #MusicMonday
Twitter stops counting at 100 retweets. More than 100 people retweeted this on Monday, trust.
If you don’t already know who Amanda Palmer is, I’m not going to tell you because I’m bound to get something wrong and her rabid fanbase will obliterate me, burlesque-style, and possibly by beating me about the head with ukuleles. That actually sounds hilarious and I’d like to know more, but I bruise easily, so just look her up yourself, why dontcha? You can start with the Dresden Dolls, and Evelyn and Evelyn, and look into some of the more contentious moments of her solo career, like when she got into a fight with her record label or walked the Oscar red carpet practically naked.
Here are some things I have to say about Amanda Palmer: – Whenever I hear her name, I get thirsty for some refreshing lemonade mixed with iced tea. Then I decide that, if my name were so similar to that of an iconic professional golfer with a signature non-alcoholic drink, I would at least change it to sound more fizzy. And then I realize that she’s also called Amanda Fucking Palmer, which I guess makes everything ok. (That is entirely too many thoughts for just one bullet point.) – She’s engaged to Neil Gaiman. Even more than her fanbase, I don’t want to make him mad. He could come after me with beautifully whimsical stories—one never knows. – I like (liked?) the Dresden Dolls. For a few years in college, her angsty vocals really spoke to me. It’s been a while, though. (I know, yawn, sorry.) – Ukuleles? Really?
I guess I should say something about the song, huh? Eh. Let me direct you to my last bullet point. I really like the piano part of this cover. The ukulele sounds plingy and oddly metallic, and on first listen I thought that, other than the plings, it sounded too much like the original. Then I listened to the original and, yeah, it doesn’t. But I still don’t like the way the uke sounds. STAND DOWN, AFP FANS.
I’m not a music critic. “Plingy” is not a technical term. Amanda Palmer is enough of an Internet force that her appearance on #musicmonday dominated the Twitterverse, and she’s a fascinating person to write silly things about. The end.
Role #mmodel: This is the second-best tweet I’ve seen all day. It’s the first-best that does not involve vuvezelas. And it somehow got into the #musicmonday transcript without having the actual #musicmonday hashtag. Hearts! “LeatherNight: RT @TW1TT3Rart: @KarlDetkenProDJ #DJ #MUSIC #TwitterArt ??????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ????”
My #musicmonday pick: Cover music edition! The Detroit Cobras are forever great to wake up to on a Monday (or Tuesday) morning. Check out Hey Sailor.
I often think DC’s Dave Mann might be the hardest working guy in the District. (Well, aside from that fellow in the White House, I guess.) From his myriad of gigging projects, The Spelling for Bees Collective to Twins of a Gazelle to Mittenfields, he’s filling up our email in-box with invite upon invite, to show upon show, for this or that project, at such and such venue. We’d be impressed if we weren’t worried that he’d collapse from exhaustion.
But still standing he is, and as such, Mittenfields plays the Velvet Lounge this coming Friday night (6/18) with a rather solid and impressive line up which includes Swedish songstress Malin Nilsson, Pittsburgh PA’s Mariage Blanc, DC’s Bellflur, with Mittenfields at the top of the roster.
So impressed with Dave’s fortitude and the line-up he’s assembled, we’ve decided to spend the week with all four acts, shooting the breeze about our favorite topics and of course, giving you guys a chance to win some tickets for the evening on us.
We’re calling it a ‘Four Way’ because we embrace sexual innuendo. And all four bands. —Ed.
When I was younger, growing up in Uppsala, Sweden, there were two different record stores where I used to go all the time. One was for window shopping, learning about what was new and longing for expensive CD’s. The other one was the cheap “buy and sell” store where I’d find all the indie albums I loved so much, pretend that I knew every word Morrissey ever wrote just because it felt like that was their “test of approval” and secretly cast glances at the cute, tall and very thin rocker with skunk styled hair who worked behind the counter.
This was the time when CD’s were still the shit, what I spent all my money on, obviously before I knew about things such as MP3’s, illegal downloading and torrent files. I’d go to the record store to escape the everyday hassle and dream about the day when I`d find my very own CD right there, next to the artists I looked up to so much.
I remember the day I found my first Elliot Smith album, right before Christmas and snow was falling outside the window where the rocker stood smoking his fifth cigarette for the day and I thought to myself that this Christmas wasn’t gonna turn out too bad after all. Or when I bought my third Sigur Ròs album, I couldn’t stop telling the seller how much I loved this band and that they knew how to truly take advantage of the format of a CD, giving the listener a great experience.
I often miss those moments at the record store; one of them is closed today and the other one had to move away form downtown because people stopped buying CD’s; it was there my love for music could thrive and I discovered many of my favorite artists at the time, some still with me to this day. I’ll be forever grateful for all that time spent at my two favorite record stores, because there is nothing that beats flipping through the stands with CD’s arranged after genre, get a glimpse of a cool cover and decide on the spot that this, this is the album I wanna take with me home today.
One of the unfortunate legacies of MTV is casting the J. Geils Band as an ’80s band, thanks to the memorable videos for “Freeze Frame” and “Centerfold” in the early part of that decade.
Truth be told, there are few bands that define the ’70s like J. Geils. Once called the J. Geils Blues Band, it stormed out of the Boston bar scene as that decade began, an Atlantic Records contract in hand.
The J. Geils records of the early and mid-’70s are full of furious, faithfully rendered covers of old R&B and blues tunes, sizzling originals inspired by those old R&B and blues tunes … and the occasional Top 40 single.
Most of those early records are instant party starters, particularly the live albums, 1972’s “Live: Full House” and 1976’s “Blow Your Face Out.”
Another party starter is “Nightmares … And Other Tales From the Vinyl Jungle,” a 1974 studio album on which J. Geils regained its mojo after two disappointing studio LPs that followed “Full House.”
“Nightmares” was J. Geils’ sixth album for Atlantic. The group was trying to forge its own identity, trying to go beyond being a cover band. Its previous release, 1973’s “Ladies Invited,” was the first with no covers. It had a batch of sensitive originals that probably baffled hardcore, party hound J. Geils fans.
The band got its groove back on “Nightmares,” channeling vintage R&B on most of the eight scorching originals by lead singer Peter Wolf and keyboard player Seth Justman. The only cover is “Funky Judge,” the old Bull and the Matadors tune, pitting a jive-speaking Wolf against veteran actor George Jessel as the judge.
Each of these tunes showcases the band’s remarkable musicianship. They were tight, anchored by bass player Daniel Klein, who put down the groove but rarely soloed. Magic Dick Salwitz’s harmonica sets up “Stoop Down #39.” J. Geils’ mandolin and Justman’s slinky organ drive the Latin-tinged “I’ll Be Coming Home.” Justman’s keyboards and Stephen Jo Bladd’s drums put the urgency into “Gettin’ Out.” J. Geils Band – Stoop Down #39 (Mp3) J. Geils Band – I’ll Be Coming Home (Mp3) J. Geils Band – Gettin’ Out (Mp3) “Nightmares” is out of print but is available digitally.
Washington, DC’s greatly anticipated Digital Capital Week (DCWEEK) will be supporting the local music scene with a host of events encouraging collaboration and creativity in the nation’s capital. DCWEEK is a 10 day festival focusing on technology, innovation and all things digital.
Three key music events are dominating the DCWEEK schedule. Firstly, the Metro Music Source music industry networking party on June 15th co-hosted by Dave Mallen (owner/producer of Innovation Station Music)and Jem Bahaijoub (owner of imaginePR.)
The Metro Music Source aims to provide a focal point for the thriving and diverse DC area music scene. The June 15th event will feature several special guests from across the industry, including Brad McCormick from WEA (Warner Elektra Atlantic) and ADA Distribution, and Derrick Ewan, aka DJ Furious Styles. Derrick is a former XM Radio DJ and mix show host known for putting the spotlight on unsigned artists. The event will be covered by DC Life magazine and will feature a free raffle to win a box of 30 new CDs from artists such as The Gaslight Anthem, Blitzen Trapper, Against Me!, All Time Low, The Black Keys, and the new Twilight Eclipse Soundtrack. Register for the event here.
Another key event is in the #DCWEEK calendar is the Performing Artists Clinic – How To Use The Web To Your Advantage on June 19th from 3:30pm – 4:30pm. This panel presentation and Q&A discussion will feature key industry speakers such as Sean Glover, Manager of Artist Relations at SoundExchange,Dave Sherbow, author of “One Fan At A Time” and Keith Center, frontman of DC folk-rock group The Dreamscapes Project.
The event will be hosted by Jem Bahaijoub, owner of imaginePR, a DC based music PR and marketing company. The panel discussion will focus on how performing artists can maximize their online experience. Register here for this event.
#DCWEEK will end in spectacular style with techARTS closing party at the 9:30 Club on the evening of June 19th. In just three weeks 34,000 votes were cast by 10,000+ people across the city for their favorite bands to perform at the legendary venue. techARTS are happy to announce that Amber Dutton, The Very Small, McWorm, 16 Large, Vedet, Stout Cortez, Blankus Larry, Little Big Heart, and East Coast Caravan have all been invited to play.
Time was when alongside, say…Prefab Sprout, The Blue Nile, Danny Wilson, even Aztec Camera, the Trashcan Sinatras formed part of a blissful playlist with their debut ‘Cake’ whose cassette copy was worn down to a wobbly, stringy mess with constant overplaying.
The difference between the Sinatras and the other aforementioned bands is that they’re quite happily still at it…both recording and touring with a tour stop this coming Monday, June 14th at the Rock and Roll Hotel right here in our backyard in support of their latest release, the wonderful “In The Music.”
And yes, we have a pair of tickets to join us front and center on Monday night—but that ain’t all as they say. In a nod to our over-the-top vinyl leanings, the band’s pulled two mega-rare 7″s from their own archives to offer on the blog in tandem with the ticket giveaway. (And they sent scans!)
They are:
…a three-track acoustic sessions 7″ from 2001,
…and a promo copy of their 7″ single, “Snow.”
And of course we’re tossing in a copy of the latest release (which has yet to see a vinyl pressing, but we’re really hoping it happens over here.)
One winner will receive all of the above mega-rare swag and the pair of tickets to the show and we’ll have three runners up for copies of the new release on CD.
How do you win? Plead your case in the comments to this post and the most compelling of you wins the grand prize. We’re choosing our winners by noon on Monday—and remember to leave us contact info!
