Monthly Archives: June 2015

TVD Live Shots: Chris Stapleton and Aubrie Sellers at the Jefferson Theater, 6/20

By Jon Pacella | Published: June 30, 2015

If you are a fan of country music and you aren’t familiar with Chris Stapleton, there is a void in your life that you may not have even realized was there. The Lexington, Kentucky native has written songs for some of the biggest names in country and beyond including Sheryl Crow and Adele. Having previously fronted the Grammy-nominated bluegrass band The SteelDrivers, Stapleton has broken out on his own and is making huge waves with his debut solo album, Traveller. In the midst of a string of sold-out dates, I was a traveller myself, venturing from DC, down to the Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville, VA on Saturday to see him first-hand.

This is not your typical FM-country radio or CMT Awards fare. You won’t find songs of cold beer and hot women, and driving through the mud to get to the lake party or other standard bro-country themes. Stapleton is honest, real, and pure, and there is no pretension to what he does. It may have been a hot, rainy night in Charlottesville, but the warm glow of good music inside the venue made everything all right.

The venue packed quickly, fans lining both floors of the theater seeking out a vantage point. The crowd was buzzing by the time Aubrie Sellers took the stage to open the show. Having paid her dues as a country music background singer, Aubrie seems poised to break out on her own in a big way. The daughter of country stars Lee Ann Womack and Jason Sellers, the twenty-four-year-old Sellers won over the audience in no time flat. Her commanding voice was damn near a dead ringer for her mother’s, with an extra tablespoon of attitude thrown into the mix.

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Tipitina’s and Galactic partner for inaugural Landing Festival, September 26-27

By Jay Mazza | Published: June 30, 2015

Ever since the closing of the World’s Fair back in the 1980s, music lovers in New Orleans have longed for a new venue on the water which would provide concertgoers with cool breezes and hot jams. This fall, our dreams come true with the first Landing Festival located on the south shore of Lake Ponchatrain.

Tipitina’s and Galactic are curating the two-day festival’s offerings and it looks to be a who’s who of local and national jam-oriented bands.

Of course, Galactic will perform. Expect to see Grace Potter, Cake, Dr. Dog, Trampled by Turtles, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, the North Mississippi Allstars, Anders Osborne present N.M.O., the Soul Rebels, and Rayland Baxter. More bands are expected to be announced.

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The Jaguar Club,
The TVD First Date

By Special to TVD | Published: June 30, 2015

“I have always bought vinyl and I’m embarrassed for my bandmates when I say that I am the only one of us (5 adults!) who has the passion. Growing up I was introduced to the format, as many kids my age were, by Disney and Sesame Street records. My sister is older than me by enough that we still had these around the house when most people had moved on to cassettes. I was also strongly influenced at a tender age by an Alf flexidisc I received with my kid’s meal from Burger King.”

“Eventually we no longer had a turntable in the house and the stash of family records was moved to a shelf in the basement where they sat for roughly a decade until I did what every late ’90s teenager worth his piercings did and decided to become a DJ. Inspired by Beck lyrics, that first actually-really-good Fatboy Slim album (you know, with Santa Cruz on it?), and DJ Shadow’s Entroducing, I obtained some turntables and a grossly-underpowered little DJ sampler. The pile of mildewed vinyl was rescued from my brother’s friends’ frisbee games and I started exploring.

In addition to kids albums there was a lot of show tune stuff and classical albums, as well as my personal favorite at the time—the soundtrack to the TV show Mission Impossible. I tried, in vain, to make my terrible 8 second Gemini sampler do the impossible while drooling over MPCs in the Musicians Friend catalog. I never got to the point of making songs from samples like Mr. Cook or DJ Shadow (I don’t think I even really knew how they did it then) but I did develop some basic DJing ability and could eventually match beats and was mixing bits of my parents’ old collection in with current 12”s I was buying.

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TVD Premiere: Scott Krokoff, “Sparrows”

By Mike Olinger | Published: June 30, 2015

NYC singer-songwriter Scott Krokoff delivers refined bittersweet folk lullaby.

We have the pleasure of premiering Scott’s soothing single “Sparrows” from his second LP installment, Realizations & Declarations Vol. 2, which finds the practicing lawyer tapping his love for ’70s era Petty and James Taylor. While most of the album is filled with orchestrated country pop, “Sparrows” is a decidedly stripped down affair—adorned with adroit fingerpicking and clean delivery.

“Many of my songs are about not giving up and pursuing what you love for obvious reasons,” Scott reflects. The songwriter is adamant that one should never put a shelf life on their dreams and these principles are reflected in his graceful tales of morality and perseverance.

Krokoff’s Realizations & Declarations Vol. 2 is scheduled for a September 4th release.

Scott Krokoff Official | Facebook | Twitter

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UK Artist of the Week: Brendan Dalton

By Zara Hoffman | Published: June 30, 2015

There is a lot of folk music coming from the UK at the moment, and while we’d usually eye it suspiciously, there’s just something about a Scottish voice that breaks down our barriers and let’s us embrace it. This week, we’re shining a light on Brendan Dalton and his latest single “Medium.”

The man hasn’t been writing long (around a year), but if this is what he’s producing, then it bodes well for his long-term career. There are no bells and whistles to the single, just a lone voice and a steady guitar melody carrying it along on a bed of handclaps, there’s an underlying and haunting reverence to it. It takes guts to lay out something this stripped back, and we think it might just have paid off.

Of course, no single would be complete without its accompanying video, and free track “Beachcomber’s Holler” (which I guess would be the digital equivalent of a b-side—what an age we live in!)

“Medium” is out now on via Meraki Records. You can follow Brendan Dalton on Twitter.

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Graded on a Curve: Sonny Knight and the Lakers, Do It Live

By Joseph Neff | Published: June 30, 2015

2014’s I’m Still Here advanced Sonny Knight to the venerable ranks of rejuvenated soul belters. He was backed on the LP by the Lakers, a young and energetic gang of Minneapolis-based R&B acolytes, and the pairing has reemerged with a four-sided performance bonanza. Captured during a two-night stand last December in front of a hometown crowd, it provides ample evidence of Knight’s aptitude for vocalizing and showmanship; behind him the Lakers are a tight and relentless sonic machine. Do It Live is currently available from Secret Stash, and the first 300 copies of the 2LP are on orange vinyl.

Sonny Knight’s career began in the mid-‘60s; as a teenager he fronted and cut a 45 as leader of the Cymbols, though his musical pursuits were curbed by subsequent US military service in Korea and Vietnam. Upon returning, he spent time in California before moving back to Minneapolis and hooking up with funk/R&B outfit Haze. Disco’s commercial crash reportedly spelled the end of that act; thereafter Knight took up truck-driving as a vocation.

His reemergence is directly related to a budding relationship with the Minneapolis-based Secret Stash label. Devoted to soul, funk, African, and Latin recordings predominantly of ‘60s and ‘70s vintage, Secret Stash is run by Eric Foss, who also plays in the enterprise’s house band the Lakers. Amongst the imprint’s worthy reissues is 2012’s Twin Cities Funk & Soul: Lost R&B Grooves From Minneapolis/St. Paul 1964-1979, a dilly of a geographical comp offering selections from The Valdons, Wanda Davis, the Prophets of Peace, Morris Wilson, Willie Walker, and more.

Secret Stash additionally booked studio-time for Wanda Davis and The Valdons as assorted gigs were scheduled; amidst the activity the call was made for Knight’s abilities. As the frequency of these assists increased, little time was wasted in devising a scheme to combine vocalist and band, an entity comprised of Foss on drums, Sam Harvey-Carlson on organ, Blair Krivanek on guitar, Casey O’Brien on bass, Bryan Highhill on trumpet, Cole Pulice on sax, and Tony Beaderstadt on trombone.

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In rotation: 6/30/15

By TVD HQ | Published: June 30, 2015

Vinyl Revolution: The fall and rise of sound retromania, “…Simon Reynolds, one of the greatest music writers of his generation, underlines one reason as “Retromani”: pop culture’s insatiable desire and addiction for embracing its own past.”

A former music executive is seeking funding for a vinyl restoration plant in Brooklyn: “’Functioning presses are especially scarce,’ says Socolov in a Kickstarter video seeking funding for the Brooklyn Vinyl Works plant. ‘More presses in operation will help us better serve the independent artists and small labels that frequently have to wait size months to get their finished product,’ he says…”

Penelope Spheeris Reissues ‘Decline of Western Civilization’ Films: “The arrival of “The Decline of Western Civilization Collection” as a pristine extras-filled box set from Shout Factory this week is to budding punks what a new “Star Wars” movie is to, well, all the other kids: something they never thought they’d get to experience in their lifetimes…”

Floating Record Vertical Turntable Shows Off Your Favorite Vinyl Records: “The vertical turntable shows off a premium and stylish housing made from natural walnut or maple wood, but most importantly, Floating Record features an innovative vertical playback system formed by its fully-adjustable, carbon-fiber tone-arm, Audio Technica AT95E cartridge, belt drive system with a silicone belt (33-1/3 & 45 RPM) and etc in order to deliver you an unprecedented vertical vinyl experience…”

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TVD Vinyl Giveaway: Brian Wilson, No Pier Pressure, Autographed

By TVD HQ | Published: June 29, 2015

As our own Tim Hibbs noted last April prior to a chat with the man himself, “…Brian Wilson is a musical genius. The depth he brought to the Beach Boys recordings through his vocal and instrumental arrangements is still the benchmark so many strive to reach. Wilson’s personal struggles have been well documented but he has never stopped creating arresting and vital music.

On April 7th, Capitol Records releases Wilson’s eleventh solo studio album, No Pier Pressure. Originally intended as a Beach Boys release, those plans were scrapped when the band fell apart after their 50th anniversary tour. Instead, Wilson assembled an all-star lineup of guest vocalists including Kacey Musgraves, fun.’s Nate Ruess, and She & Him’s Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, along with Beach Boy alumni Al Jardine, David Marks, and Blondie Chaplin.

Likewise, he recruited A-list session players like Don Was, drummers Jim Keltner and Kenny Aronoff, Dean Parks, and Jeffrey Foskett. The good news for vinyl fans is that it will be released as a two-LP set pressed on 180-gram vinyl in addition to CD and digital formats.”

Posted in The TVD Storefront | 48 Comments

Garden State Sound
with Evan Toth

By Evan Toth | Published: June 29, 2015

All jokes aside, New Jersey is a pretty great place. While it has a lot to offer as a state, it also has a rich musical history of which many people remain unaware. Everyone knows Sinatra and The Boss, but there’s much more.

Tune in to Garden State Sound with Evan Toth to explore the diverse music with connections to New Jersey. You’ll hear in-depth interviews with some of Jersey’s best music makers and have the opportunity win tickets to some of the best concerts in the state.

“Even though Shaun McGann—my good compadre and TVD colleague—thinks that the legendary White House Sub Shop in Atlantic City goes a little heavy on the hot peppers, the Beatles seemed to disagree. In honor of the upcoming 51st anniversary of their performance at the Convention Hall in August of 1964, we enjoy a block of Beatles tunes by some of New Jersey’s finest performers.

But, wait; there’s more! We’ll also check out Spiraling, Deal Casino, the Porchistas, and Andrew Cedarmark. Tune in and order some hot peppers on that six-foot sub; you only live once!” —EZT

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Zac Nelson,
The TVD First Date

By Special to TVD | Published: June 29, 2015

“I always loved going to my Gammy and Papa’s (my father’s parents) 75 acres with a beautiful lake and hills out in Carbondale, Illinois. There is a college there (SIU) and it was a big deal to go in this rad place called Plaza Wuxtry and get CDs and patchouli oil, but I didn’t actually start collecting vinyl until later in my life.”

“Growing up, I was influenced by a lot of albums, including the first and second Blind Melon albums, Rap Beginnings Volume One, a Yes Fragile tape with no cover that my mom had for some reason, a Metallica Black Album with no cover that my mom had for some reason, a whole bunch of classic ’90s alternative stuff, folk style music like John Denver, Weezer, Beck—my sister listened to a bunch of awesome ’90s singing groups like Boyz II Men, Shai, Color Me Bad, etc.

At the time, I acted like I didn’t like it but now when I reflect on it, I think it had a positive effect for helping me be comfortable to make emotional songs. My parents don’t really listen to jazz at all and one day I found a Chick Corea live acoustic band tape with Dave Weckl on drums and I had never really heard someone play drums like that.

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Graded on a Curve: Earth, Wind & Fire, The Best of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol. 1

By Michael H. Little | Published: June 29, 2015

Of all the things I’ve loved during my tenure on this planet, it’s hard to beat Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White. And not because he’s a musical genius and head honcho of one of the Seventies’ best soul/funk outfits. No, I love him because he’s the guy who sings, “Yowl!” on several occasions on the great “That’s the Way of the World.” They never fail to thrill me, those yowls, not since I was a young sprog and loved the hell out of MFSB’s “T.S.O.P.”

EWF’s songs dominated Top 40 radio when I was young, because unlike Sly and the Family Stone and Parliament/Funkadelic they were unapologetically middle of the road. But that doesn’t mean that their songs weren’t great, just that they were more like the black equivalent of Elton John than, say, Randy Newman. As the critic Robert Christgau noted about one of their prime LPs, “Most of these songs are fun to listen to. But they’re still MOR–the only risk they take is running headlong into somebody coming down the middle of the road in the opposite direction. Like The Carpenters.”

But so what? Earth, Wind & Fire have produced their fair share of timeless songs, and if they’re slick, the slickness works. Under the direction of White, EWF’s drummer, songwriter, and vocalist, the band’s sound was—and still is—an eclectic brew of funk, jazz, gospel, rock, smooth soul, blues, folk, African music, and disco, and what made them particularly remarkable were their group vocals, and especially the vocals of Maurice White and Philip Bailey. Unrelentingly positive, their songs were a balm for the soul, and I for one think “That’s the Way of the World” is a slice of mystical brilliance and a song for the ages. All of those vocalists throwing in; it’s a sound so soulful I sprout an Afro every time I listen to it. And their horn section, the four-member Phenix Horns, also merits special attention; one listen to the opening of “Shining Star” and you know you’re in the presence of genius.

Which is not to say I like all their songs. The ones on which Bailey handles lead vocals in particular tend to be too slick for my tastes, what with his high-pitched vocals and their tendency to wander into romantic schlock. But hey, he can hardly be blamed for crooning; people love a good crooner. They’re good songs, just not my cup of soul.

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TVD’s Press Play

By TVD HQ | Published: June 29, 2015

Press Play is our Monday recap of the new—and FREE—tracks received last week, provided here to inform your next trip to your local indie record store. Click, preview, download, purchase.

Tiny Rhymes – Arrows
Milo McMahon – Caveman
The Legal Immigrants – Fork In The Road
Oki’s Wagon – Horror Chord
Twin Within – Bernie
Joe Hertler & the Rainbow Seekers – Future Talk
Shades. – Time Back
Monks of Mellonwah – Even When It Burns
Muse – Uprising (Disco Fries Edit)
Sentinel – Counting Stars

TVD SINGLE OF THE WEEK:
The Phantom Sound – Get To Me

Pearl Charles – You Can Change
Buku – Might Be
Ron Flieger – All I Want
Zapéd – Prague (ft.Groszek)
Weakling – Pullup
My Dead Air – Holding On
Telegraph Canyon – Why Let it Go
Future Love Hangover – Moving Mountains
BECOME X Elohim – She Talks Too Much
Donatachi – Neo (ft. Blair De Milo)

8 more FREE TRACKS on side B!

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In rotation: 6/29/15

By TVD HQ | Published: June 29, 2015

The tragic & mysterious story of Official, Cash Money’s lost R&B group: “There’s no Hip-Hop Hall of Fame, no archive of hip-hop history in Washington, D.C., but there are record stores. They may be few and far between these days, but they exist, and you don’t have to be a crate-digging producer or a hipster to hop into a record store and find something dope…”

Step inside: The Jacaranda launches its new vinyl record shop and speciality coffee bar: Iconic Liverpool venue that hosted The Beatles gets back to its record-selling roots

Vinyl collector to sell 5000 records to buy a set of new teeth: “…Mr Murray owns nothing in the way of assets, just a few clothes and basic personal items, all his wealth tied up in his records and he is selling his music to have some spending money for the rest of his life…”

And it comes with a custom tote at select indie record retailers: ABKCO Records is celebrating the golden anniversary of “Satisfaction” achieving #1 status by releasing a limited edition, numbered 12-inch version of the single on 180-gram vinyl…The record is housed in a sleeve featuring award-winning photographer David Bailey’s shot of the group, recreating the original 7-inch single artwork. Mastered by Carl Rowatti at Trutone Mastering Labs and cut from the original mono master tapes, the 45-rpm 12-inch format makes this a true audiophile pressing, allowing for wider grooves that yield louder levels, broader range, deeper bass and better high frequency response.

Flat, Black, Circular Lansing’s favorite music store: “In 1977 Dave Bernath and Dick Rosemont opened up Flat Black & Circular, 541 E. Grand River in East Lansing, as a used record store. They are so passionate about music that it “didn’t seem like a job at the time,” said Bernath…”

Vinyl record artwork proving popular: “A Timaru entrepreneur’s novel idea is flying out the door at a record pace. Josh Cowan started creating his Cowan Creative vinyl record art eight weeks ago and has now reached peak interest, not only in Timaru and New Zealand but as far away as America and Canada…”

Posted in A morning mix of news for the vinyl inclined | Leave a comment

TVD’s The Idelic Hour with Jon Sidel

By Jon Sidel | Published: June 26, 2015

Greetings from Laurel Canyon!

River gonna take me / Sing me sweet and sleepy / Sing me sweet and sleepy / All the way back back home / It’s a far gone lullaby / Sung many years ago / Mama, mama, many worlds I’ve come / Since I first left home / Going home, going home / By the waterside I will rest my bones / Listen to the river sing sweet songs / To rock my soul

Came home from Europe Monday evening to a bad sight. Our beloved old kitty Lu Lu was in horrible shape. When Susan took poor Lu to the vet the next morning, the news was devastating. Sadly our Lu Lu didn’t make it back home. OMFG! We lost our kitty?! I mean, my wife lost her fucking cat! Fuck me. BUMMER!

Over many years I’ve learned about chicks and their pets. Loosing a pet is no laughing matter. Our life here in the canyon has (for now) been turned upside down. Needless to say, this hour of music and in fact everything the Sidels do this week has Lu Lu Sidel in mind.

Lu was a special kind of cool cat. It took me many years to gain her trust. On a first encounter she was truly one of the most unfriendly creatures I have ever met. Some called her a “weird cat,” but lil’ miss Lu was part of us, she was our cat. She greeted me late nights with her “stare” while I roamed our pad. I’m taken by how much I’ll miss our nighttime encounters.

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TVD Ticket Giveaway: HONEYHONEY at the
El Rey Theatre, 7/1

By TVD HQ | Published: June 26, 2015

“I believe that the better you take care of music, the better it will take care of you. I see the sacrifices that a lot of people make in the music “business” and the value that is created only when people express what they are truly passionate about…”

That’s HONEYHONEY’s Ben Jaffe from Wednesday’s First Date feature with the duo. We’re delighted to be co-sponsoring the band’s homecoming Los Angeles date with promoters Goldenvoice (they of Coachella, Firefly, FYF, Hangout and a host of other festivals you’ve most likely attended) at the El Rey Theatre this coming Wednesday, July 1. And in the spirit of taking care of the music and taking care of you—we’ve got 5 pairs of tickets to give away to join us and of course HONEYHONEY for a very special night of music, indeed. First however, some official-type background:

“The third full-length effort from L.A.-based duo HONEYHONEY, 3 is an album born from fascination with the sweet and the sleazy, light and dark, danger and magic. Working with Dave Cobb (the producer behind Jason Isbell’s Southeastern and Sturgill Simpson’s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music), lead singer/banjo player/violinist Suzanne Santo and vocalist/guitarist Ben Jaffe twist their gritty, harmony-driven brand of Southern-flavored rock & roll through tales of lost souls, broken boys, girls with gold in their spit.