What do you get when you send San Diego natives who have cited Nick Cave as one of their biggest influences out on a co-headlining tour with a group known back home in New Jersey for their folk rock style that includes finger picking banjos and fiddles? A little bit of something for everyone and a show that’s not likely to be forgotten any time soon.
When it came time for River City Extension to take the stage, those of us unfamiliar with the band watched in amazement as the performers filed in. One, two, three, four, five…six…seven…eight… Eight? Eight band members? I have to admit, my initial reaction to seeing that many people cram themselves on stage was an eyeroll and a sigh. Sure, the Wu Tang Clan can pull off eight people on stage, or maybe a band who has recently added a full horn section, but we were looking at… Well what were we looking at? Guitars, drums, trumpets, mandolins, melophones, banjos, piano, and a violin.
They opened their set quietly, band leader Joe Michelini’s crooning in a manner reminiscent of Springsteen, and I began to worry. We were going to have to endure a chaotic set, riddled with too many instruments and Jersey clichés? Plain and simple: no.
Chicago’s string of killer releases moves right along with a double vinyl release show to start next week off right. Electronic art-rockers, Chandeliers, and experimental pop outfit, Golden Birthday, will be taking on the Empty Bottle this Monday, 6/25, to celebrate their newest records.
Grab all of the details about the two releases and Monday’s free show, below.
Chicago experimental quartet, Chandeliers, blends analog synths and live percussion into summer inspired electronic art-rock. The danceable tracks ooze with an appreciation for the vintage synthetic styles before them, while moving forward crafting their own sound.
Some bands beat around the bush in communicating what makes them hypothetically so special, offering a slow smoldering come on ala the archetypal filmic femme fatale. Not Pianosaurus. On the back cover of their 1987 LP Groovy Neighborhood the trio’s boldest attribute is specifically and succinctly stated: “All sounds produced on real toys.”
And New York City’s Pianosaurus was a band as a concept with no need for gradual unpacking. If rock ‘n’ roll is kid’s stuff, or at least was once upon a time, then it makes a certain kind of warped sense to approach it with the imaginative tools of children, those playthings intended to be cast aside long before the final stages en route to full-blown adulthood.
To play willfully with toys as an adult is a potentially subversive and even transgressive activity, but paradoxically playing rock ‘n’ roll on toy instruments produces just the opposite effect, perhaps because the rock impulse is so easily absorbed as a statement of nonconformity or at least of stunted growth or arrested development.
Pianosaurus consisted of Alex Garvin, Bianca “Flystrip” Miller, and Stephen Dansiger; Garvin handled toy guitar, lead vocals and songwriting, Miller lent the music crucial spice via half-pint piano and organ, and Dansiger manned the mini drum sets. The group released a pair of persistently elusive live tapes (that is, I’ve never heard ‘em) recorded in NYC clubs Folk City and The Speakeasy before logging some fruitful studio time with Peter Holsapple from The DB’s in the producers seat. Groovy Neighborhood was the result.
In tandem with the release of The Mynabirds’ brand new LP Generals, front woman Laura Burhenn has embarked on an ambitious portrait project entitled “The New Revolutionists,” the purpose of which is to “pay tribute to the vast web of women who do various types of important work: artists, community organizers, doctors, mothers, women who embrace their lives and work to help and empower those around them. It is an awareness campaign for non-profits, women and works of art that empower.”
The week we’re turning TVD over to Laura to delve a bit deeper into the lives and inspirations of five of the many revolutionary American women the project serves to spotlight who are making a difference in their own communities across America. —Ed.
“I spent last year on the road touring as part of Bright Eyes. And when we met up with Titus Andronicus in Minneapolis for a short tour together, I was immediately taken with their guitarist, Amy Klein. It could’ve been that we were the only two women in a band and crew comprised entirely of men. It could’ve been that she played guitar like she was breathing life into it, and beamed in ecstasy with every full-fisted strum — you get as much joy watching her play as you can see she’s getting from playing.
It could’ve been that after only a few sentences into our first conversation I could tell that she was a deeply caring person and genuinely interested in getting to know the people and world around her, and in changing things for the better. I’m sure it was all of those things together that made me develop an immediate girl crush on Amy.
Hundreds and hundreds of people streamed through the doors of the Fillmore Silver Spring on Sunday, June 17th for the Father’s Day Edition of the DC Record Fair.Photographer Erica Bruce was there to capture the day.
The first part of look back at the DC Record Fair can be found right here.
Did you go to Wakarusa or Bonnaroo? Are you going to make it out to Outside Lands or Hopscotch?
Recent scientific studies done in super-official science laboratories have concluded that there are now something like 38,479 festivals a year in America alone. Running from one giganto music event to the next to catch a new obsession or an old favorite is a great way to snag a quick convo with artists from all over the map. Recently, we were able to grab such chats with The Infamous Stringdusters, EOTO, and The Flavor Savers, adding up to this edition of Festival Fast Talk!
Bluegrass band The Infamous Stringdusters have been kicking up dust since their 2007 debut Fork in the Road. Lauded for their traditional stylings with modern frills, the five-some have released five full lengths in six short years, landing them critical acclaim and award nominations, such as the 2011 Grammy award for Best Country Instrumental and the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Entertainer(s) of the Year. They released an album in March of this year titled Silver Sky. In between their sets at both Wakarusa and Bonnaroo, I got the chance to chat with Travis Book (Bass/Vocals).
C’mon now. Everyone’s guilty of it. Waiting until there’s no one around, cranking the music up, and playing some mean air guitar. For those of us with the courage to show off our skills outside of the comforts of our own homes, there’s the 10th Annual US Air Guitar Championships.
Want to channel your inner guitar hero? Well, you’re in luck. The Washington, DC Regional portion of the competition will be taking place at the 9:30 Club this coming Saturday, on June 23rd.
Saturday night will consist of two rounds. During Round 1, each competitor (the competition is open to all DC residents) will perform to a song of their own choosing. The top competitors from this round will then proceed to Round 2, where they will be required to perform a surprise compulsory song. Competitors will be judged based on a combination of technical merit, stage presence, and “airness.”
While it might be tempting to think of The Mynabirds’ show at the Black Cat this Saturday as just another stop on the Spring/Summer tour, make no mistake—this is a homecoming.
As The Mynabirds’ Laura Burhenn put it yesterday in her introduction to Jamia Wilson as part of our weeklong spotlight on Laura’s unique portrait project, The New Revolutionists, “Living in DC is electric if you’re an activist. It’s incredible to be right in the middle of history as it’s happening.”
“I remember marching on the Mall in the protests leading up to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; the 2000 inauguration protests; election night 2008 (drinking champagne in the street behind the White House with Joan Baez!); and of course inauguration day 2009. Anyway — this trip down memory lane is making me miss DC like crazy!”
I was just turned on to the very cool subscription based record club, Grapefruit Records and thought I’d turn you on in return.
I found out about Grapefruit because I’m a big fan of Meg Baird and Espers. Knowing this, someone at Grapefruit emailed to let me know that their most recent release was from the Baird Sisters, which is Meg and her sister Laura.
Until You Find Your Green is a beautifully quiet folk album with magical intertwining of wooden instruments and golden voices. One that sounds perfect on vinyl. And even though Grapefruit Records is a subscription-based record club, you can still purchase albums a la carte.
“Grapefruit’s mission is to expose fans to exclusive, challenging new music on vinyl while ensuring that the musicians actually get paid for creating their art.”
Collective Soul got a bad rap right out of the box in the mid nineties when their debut single became a radio staple that no one could escape.
Anyone who paid attention to the band afterward were rewarded with an absolutely brilliant record called Dosage. Produced by Anthony J. Resta, known for using vintage gear to create sonic atmospheres for such artists as Duran Duran, Perry Farrell, and now Collective Soul, the band was at their creative peak and singer Ed Roland’s songwriting was pure pop rock genius.
Dosage is the type of record that a band can only make once in its career. If you didn’t appreciate the brilliance behind this record, it’s simply because you wrote the band off long ago and failed to give them another chance. Meanwhile, the rest of us got it and we celebrated the band’s 2012 sold out return to The Fillmore in San Francisco last week where they performed the album in its entirety to a sold out crowd.
Dan Bejar is not happy, or at least that is the impression that he gives to a couple standing next to me, who had a detailed discussion of how much he appears to hate all of us. And I don’t necessarily disagree with the overall perception, but I don’t think he owes us anything, either.
He’s singing in that always surprising voice of his at an almost sold-out Destroyer show at the 9:30 Club with seven very talented musicians backing him up, and if he wants to close his eyes for the entire song and exhaustively kneel down in between every song then so be it. The crowd still cheered them on, not so much in that rabid, overwhelmed super fan way, but in the way the way that implies “We like you, we support you, this won’t take too long, and then we can all go home.”
They were very measured and certainly played fine, with Bejar accentuating certain lines by, well, opening his eyes. “Don’t be ashamed and disgusted with yourselves,” is certainly much more meaningful when the man singing it takes that exact moment to peer out to the crowd. “Bay of Pigs” was certainly the best (and the last) song of the evening, in a setlist that was heavy on songs from the bands most recent release, 2011’s Kaputt. Destroyer’s albums have been quite varied in terms of influence, but the lite jazz by way of shimmering prog is where they seem most comfortable.
Check out more shots of Destroyer at the 9:30 Club last Saturday.
The perpetually youthful leader of the seminal indie band the Modern Lovers performs this evening at One Eyed Jack’s. The show starts at 10 PM.
How did I know he was performing? I read it in the Times-Picayune’s music listings.
Yet, today is one of the days of the week scheduled to no longer have a printed edition of the paper (along with Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays) this fall. Somewhat lost in the larger discussion of what effect the new print schedule will have on readership and advertising is the impact on musicians, clubs and music lovers.
In tandem with the release of The Mynabirds’ brand new LP Generals, front woman Laura Burhenn has embarked on an ambitious portrait project entitled “The New Revolutionists,” the purpose of which is to “pay tribute to the vast web of women who do various types of important work: artists, community organizers, doctors, mothers, women who embrace their lives and work to help and empower those around them. It is an awareness campaign for non-profits, women and works of art that empower.”
The week we’re turning TVD over to Laura to delve a bit deeper into the lives and inspirations of five of the many revolutionary American women the project serves to spotlight who are making a difference in their own communities across America. —Ed.
“I first met Jamia Wilson through a mutual friend when we were both living in DC and they were working together either at Planned Parenthood or working together for — was it the historic March for Women’s Lives way back in 2004? My memory is a little hazy on the exact details, but I can tell you this: we were three women met through activism and in love with a good electroclash dance party. We might’ve even drunk Sparks together (remember that stuff??) on the dance floor celebrating the incredible turnout for that march.
Living in DC is electric if you’re an activist. It’s incredible to be right in the middle of history as it’s happening. I remember marching on the Mall in the protests leading up to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; the 2000 inauguration protests; election night 2008 (drinking champagne in the street behind the White House with Joan Baez!); and of course inauguration day 2009. Anyway — this trip down memory lane is making me miss DC like crazy! — both Jamia and I took our DC activist experiences and moved into the next chapter of our lives.
She’s now located in NYC, working as the Vice President of Programs at the Women’s Media Center where she works on amplifying women’s voices and changing the discourse about women in the media. She’s done an impressive amount of work as a feminist activist, organizer, and storyteller. She continues to be my own personal connection into what’s happening in the feminist movement at the top level. She’s not only intensely tied into the news of the movement, she’s one of the movers and shakers. And I, for one, am extremely glad that she’s out there fighting the good fight on my behalf.
It seems to be a sort of unofficial release week here in Chicago, and the surge of fresh wax coming through the city isn’t showing any signs of letting up — and we couldn’t be happier about it. Today brings us the killer debut LP from chamber pop outfit, The Marble Vanity.
The self-titled effort, released on Chicago’s Slow Fizz Records, would have no issue fitting in alongside the UK and US baroque rock of the 1960’s. With a few well-placed hand claps, The Marble Vanity manage to tap into the vibe of greats like the Mamas & the Papas. For all the proof you’ll need, take a listen to the LP’s lead track, “Autumn Woods”.
Grab the details of the release as well as where you can pick up your vinyl copy of The Marble Vanity, below.
