Author Archives: Laura Irene

“Point to the ceiling and bend your knee. Point to that FEAR…” The physical process to point to your fear and squat down to the ground, slowly getting away from it, is what almost every person at the 9:30 Club last Saturday happily obliged.

For those that didn’t enter Dan Deacon’s trance/ritual, they were pointed at, casted out as those who had no fear (supposedly). From that, the experience known as Dan Deacon began, but before the adventure that cast a smile on my face for days to come, we took Dan Deacon away to Som Records in DC, exposing Dan to a city he rarely gets a chance to visit, but which we all hope he comes back to visit more often in the future.

Social media has created a new level of fan-musician interaction. It hasn’t gone unnoticed as to how gracious Dan is with his fans via Twitter. This makes sense, as his audiences are such an integral part of his show. Yet, it’s still a pleasant surprise when Dan favorites a Tweet or kindly responds. 

I like to use it, it’s fun and it’s a nice way to interface with people. I tend to use it more on tour; I’m in the bus all day so it gives me something to do. I have a hard time writing music on the bus, so Twitter is a nice way of not letting your mind explore itself.

You talk about your discovery of a newfound positivity toward the USA, yet you still expose us to some of the darker moments of thought. You do a beautiful job of mixing the two together, creating a hopeful future for life’s realities. 

Thank you, I want the music to be uplifting and euphoric but I don’t want to come across like “everything is great,” so that’s what I aim for.

You’re originally from Long Island. When you went overseas and came back to the US did that affect how you viewed your hometown specifically?

I was already living in Baltimore at the time. I grew up in Long Island and moved when I was 18 up to Westchester County where I went to school. I moved to Baltimore in 2004 and have been there ever since. Yeah, it definitely changed, but not on a micro level, more on a macro cultural level. I started looking at the traits that make me American or make Americans American. Obviously it’s impossible to see until you are taken out of it. You start noticing things that are different, missing or gone or that were there and you didn’t see before.

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A snow mine is a mine full of snow—if you fell in you might not make it out—which is why I would rather fall into the songs of Snowmine, the Brooklyn-based five-piece. The very kind band mates, Grayson, Alex, Jay, Calvin, and Austin, gave us some time to take over a corner of the Red Palace before their show on November 8th.

Four of the five band members attended NYU as music majors, and DC native Austin majored in music technology and sound design. Together they are Snowmine. Their latest album, Laminate Pet Animal, is a mix of musical intelligence and curiosity as captivating as their live show, and an experience in color and smart arrangements. I didn’t know much about the band before last Thursday, but I left completely immersed in Snowmine.

Where are you guys originally from?

Grayson: Originally, everyone is from a different part of the country: Calvin is from Connecticut, Jay from New York, Alex from Philadelphia, Grayson from the South, California, and the East coast, and Austin is from DC. The four of us [Grayson, Alex, Jay, and Calvin] attended NYU and stayed after college, while Austin made the move from DC to Brooklyn.

DC endures many musicians who leave for Brooklyn—Austin pointed out leaving for Brooklyn is what he felt needed to happen for his career. How do you see yourselves in the Brooklyn music scene?

Grayson: I think things have started to take a turn in New York. Three or four years ago, there was a really strong sense of family in the Brooklyn scene, and it definitely started come to the forefront of musical experimentation in the US. Recently, I think we’ve all sensed some sort of stigma attached to the idea of Brooklyn when we travel. Mostly, we are kinda doing our own thing now. The sound there was definitely pretty homogenized for a while, and everything started to blur together, but now people are stepping out and challenging what became the norm.

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I fell in love with Ai Weiwei’s show at the Hirshhorn this past weekend. Sure it’s not a real person or even something I can take home at night, but I’m in love with it. Which made me realize that I think I’m actually in love with lights, which brings me to this weekend and my excitement for DAN DEACON! I downloaded my DD app and am ready to partake in the experience. Fortunately for all of you, love surrounds all of us, so hit up the streets and check out what’s in store for you this weekend.

Friday, 11/16: Helio Sequence with Ramona Falls at Black Cat

The Helio Sequence recently released their fifth full length album, Negotiations, amidst having to deal with a studio flood, which ended up changing the way the band approached their sound. Summers and Weikel started playing together in 1996 but only recently let go of their modern digital studio equipment and instruments they’d always relied on pre-flood.

Today they embrace vintage gear that “creates a warmer, deeper sound: tape and analog delays, spring and plate reverbs, tube preamps, ribbon microphones, and analog synths.” Whatever that means for us non musicians, translation: it’s good!

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I discovered Adam Arcuragi in a small backyard tent in Silver Spring, MD years ago, and while his sound was initially a bit of an acquired taste, it was one worthy of one’s attention. Fast forward six years later and that modest skepticism, has turned a manifested love.

In that time, Arcuragi has grown from a kind Southerner in a small tent to an all-out live attraction, bearing a wealthy discography to boot. His untainted epiphany has been a joy to watch from the beginning, but it’s not too late to get in on the action. Catch him live tonight at IOTA.

Adam’s most recent album, Like A FireThat Consumes All Before It, is titled after a Cy Tombly painting, but aptly named to all it embodies, as it is fire in the heart of Arcuragi’s music that will consume you whole. The originator and sole purveyor of the genre known as “Death Gospel,” Arcuragi makes music that celebrates the inevitable; our common doom played out, oh so blissfully. It’s a style of music that ensues rapture, described by Adam as “singing love songs to love.”

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Baltimore-based artist Dan Deacon plays at the 9:30 Club this Saturday, November 17, supporting his recent album, America, and we are giving you a chance to win a pair of tickets to experience his America.

A beautiful part of life is growth. We experience new cultures, new ideas, and come back to life realizing and accepting new beauty in something that has been there all along. Maybe that beauty is a new appreciation for your birth country. That is exactly what happened to Dan Deacon, creating America by exposing us to his pondering thoughts and relaying his new-found positive perspective to create a space where it mingles together happily.

While Deacon has awakened a new part of himself, his live show is still as crazy and exciting as ever! Attending a Dan Deacon show is an experience. He has been known to gather sporadic dancing in crowds of hundreds, interacting with the audience and having them interact with each other, creating a new level of show-going.

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A revival is defined as the moment of returning to life or consciousness; a return of one’s energy. It can often be associated with one’s faith or a new awakening of sorts. The New Orleans band, The Revivalists, sing true to their name, exuding the spirit of revival to the masses—and tonight for your own revival at the The Hamilton.

TVD Pro Tip: Prior to tonight’s show, The Revivalists are playing a last minute live set at noon today at DC’s Som Records. Grab lunch early and hit up Neal’s shop at 14th and T, NW!

The seven piece band come fully prepared to shake your soul. David Shaw, Ed Williams, Zack Feinberg, Rob Ingraham, George Gekas, Andrew Campanelli and Michael Girardot, create a choir of southern charm and soulful funk.

The Revivalists have been compared to the likes of Kings of Leon and Alabama Shakes, yet unique in their own right. Recently playing at CMJ ay TVD’s own showcase and supporting their Spring release, City of Sound, a record touted as an “energetic, down and dirty,” they are sure to make you stand up and lift your hands in a triumphant celebration.

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It is said that when a night moves slow, the slow keep moving. Okay, by it I mean me, I said it, but wouldn’t it be brilliant if we all enjoyed one long slow dance… together? Yes, so let’s run all over DC this long weekend to find someone to slow dance with, starting tonight!

Friday, 11/9: Mexican Summer’s The Fresh and Onlys with Quilt and DC’s Shark Week at the Red Palace.

Having toured in good company over the years, The Fresh and Onlys, Tim Cohen, Shayde Sartin, Wymond Miles, and Kyle Gibson describe themselves as garage rock. Recently releasing their latest album Long Slow Dance, an album filled with starry-eyed love songs, creates a different version of what most people think of when they hear the words, garage rock. Yes, put that picture of four dudes hanging out in their mom’s garage away, this isn’t that.

Curious? Well, come on out tonight and find out and I dare you to ask a stranger to slow dance with you.

Quilt isn’t your grandmother’s best sewing project—they’re actually a lovely band out of Boston (one of my favorites). Their self titled album released a year ago is a gorgeous listen from start to finish, releasing unexpected snippets of sound you’ll want sewn into your brain. A loud quietness of what freedom might sound like if it were a band. You like freedom, yes?

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Over lunch where we feasted on German food, I chatted with DC’s Gordon Withers who has in his 5 years in DC made a name for himself as a highly respected solo cellist. He is also the cellist and guitarist for Baltimore band, Office of Future Plans signed to Dischord Records, and headed by J Robbins. We talked of his band efforts, his cello projects including his current Kickstarter campaign, social media, and of course, vinyl.

I asked Gordon how he ended up playing with Office of Future Plans and what playing with them is like.

When I was living in Florida I heard about Cal Robbins (J’s son who was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy), so I made a cello cover album Jawbox On Cello and gave the proceeds to Cal’s fund, which helped to pay for the cost of alternative therapies not covered by insurance.

I didn’t know J Robbins at that point, I was just a big fan of his and felt compelled to help his family. Later on I moved to DC where we connected. In 2009 he accidentally started to form Office of Future Plans and asked me to join. Of course I said yes, ever since then I’ve been playing with them. Sometimes at rehearsals, I look around the room and still can’t believe I’m playing with musicians I have long respected and admired. It’s still surreal.

I was really impressed with The Office of Future Plans recording for the AV Club. It seemed like a ton of fun, was it as much fun as it looked? And what a perfect addition Damon Locks added, do you think we will see more collaborations like that in the future? Any future plans?

The AV Club experience was a total blast. They bring in bands to do holiday covers, and the organizer Kyle apparently had always wanted someone to do the Dead Kennedy’s “Holiday In Cambodia,” but we were the only ones to actually take him up on it. Damon Locks (from The Eternals) added the perfect element by doing guest vocals.

As for the near-future, we are working on a spilt 7” record with the French band Daria for Lovitt Records. The 7” will have a new song from each band, and it will come with downloads of bonus cover songs, two from each band.

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I can’t believe it’s already November, the month of elections, football, turkey, and an insane lineup of shows at the 9:30 Club… So let’s get to it!

Here’s your chance to win tickets to each show previewed, and don’t forget to comment below for an extra entry to the show of your choice.

The Tragically Hip, Mon 11/12

After 29 years, 13 studio albums, and no change in lineup Canadian band The Tragically Hip is still going strong with their recently released Now for Plan A. If there were ever a band that didn’t have to worry about going stale after so long together, this is it—the band goes full intensity when they perform.

The Tragically Hip is offering their fans a free download of their new single “At Transformation” with every ticket purchased online. Don’t miss these legends as they take over DC.

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This past weekend was a hurricane. Between beating deadlines and buying non-perishables for the (zombie) apocalypse, not much live music happened. This must change this weekend, so get your Halloween costume off and run wild in the streets of DC to make 1, 2 or 3 shows a night—it’ll be good for you.

Friday, 11/2: 9:30 Club Presents The Caribbean with More Humans and Harness Flux at U Street Music Hall. Get there early—doors at 6pm.

DC is wealthy in the good music spread, but what’s different about The Caribbean is the island they have created for themselves. It isn’t easy to google them and find a ton of youtube videos or bandcamps. It’s a special gift offered to you in cupped hands brought up to your ears, and you’ll hold them dear.

It may be because they aren’t the skinny-jeaned, young folks you’d catch on a Brooklyn corner. They’re a mature trio, heavy in spirit, and while it’s frustrating for some not to get an instant feed on a band, it’s also quite lovely. Go ahead and dip into The Caribbean.

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On October 31st the DC based band, Protect-U, duo Mike Petillo and Aaron Leitko, had the entirely of their gear stolen from a supposedly secure room in the Paris, France nightclub, Le Pompon.

The stolen gear is valued at an estimated $5,000. With only 4 shows left on their European tour and no instruments, the band may have to cancel the rest of the tour.

The slightly good news is that the duo did not lose any personal items to keep them from returning home safely (wallets and passports). However, for creating synthesized funk beats, it can’t get any more personal than the very instruments needed to make their music.

To help the band recover their loss and get Protect-U back on their feet musically, friends of the band started a campaign.

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Oh, the weekend, it comes once a week. My past weekend was full. It included catching 3 great shows, the viewing of a real live stalker, scoring a sweet parking spot on H St., NE and then again on U Street, need I say more? Luck happens when you get out and catch live music, so now it’s your turn!

Friday, 10/26 | Hume and Cigarette play FREE at Hole in the Sky (2110 5th St., NE, enter behind the building through the alley way.) According to a Facebook invite, costumes are required and there will be DJs (just as DC likes it). Did I mention, it’s FREE/GRATIS and it starts at 9pm?

This is one of the last shows on Hume’s Fall tour, a hardworking Baltimore (originally from DC) band. Britton Powell tells TVD, “I thought it would be really special to make our DC date free because I feel like we owe a lot to the city and it’s kind of our way of opening the doors and giving back to the city.” Sweet, right?! I want to give them a big ole hug already.

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A myna bird is also known as a starling—a gregarious bird with the ability to reproduce sounds, or a song bird. And it’s true, a bird is the one animal I wish I could be sometimes. The ruckus I’d cause is much too exciting to think about—so instead, let’s talk about the Mynabirds, the band.

As you should well know, the The Mynabirds flew into existence in 2009, fronted by a captivating Laura Burhenn, following the end of her previous DC band, Georgie James. It should also be known that Laura served as a touring member with Bright Eyes in 2011, before the release of her latest album, Generals in 2012 via Saddle Creek. That’s one busy bird, but only the best never stop flying.

The Mynabirds will be migrating to the East Coast to appear at the Black Cat, this Friday, 10/26 supporting AC Newman, so get there early! (This Black Cat likes this Mynabird.) In honor of Laura’s return to DC, we’re giving away a limited edition, colored 7” single!

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Marsupial, Marsupial, Marsupial! One night I came home to an opossum walking in front of my place, I didn’t want to get out of the car in fear of my life! Little did I know that they like to play dead. If I had known I would have played with it instead of fearing it, but instead I’d much rather play Opossom on my record player. 

Opossom (the band) hails from New Zealand. The main mate is Kody Nielson, the former frontman of The Mint Chicks and whose brother is Ruben Nielson of Unknown Mortal Orchestra. Ah, family musical indie champions…let’s all revel in that for a bit.

Kody abandoned the serious musings of Mint Chicks for a more free and futuristic sound on his latest album, Electric Hawaii via Fire Records. The album’s 60s poppy sound will set you free, in a good shoulder shrugging time (which I call dancing). Don’t shrug, no problem, it’s the kind of music where you’ll just start moving, and may even crave bouncy balls… true story!

Don’t believe me, listen here or even better, head over to DC9 TONIGHT (10/23) for their show, it’s sure to be a trippy good time.

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If someone asked me what I did last weekend I’d say, what day is it again? As weekends come and go, it’s always a good idea to remember what you did so that you have plenty to chat about around the water cooler come Monday… even if that water cooler is your own private coffee table. Make it memorable with some local and non-local bands mixed in with a cat’s meow this weekend.

Friday, 10/19, The Do Likes play at the Red Palace starting promptly at 9pm. Not the headliner but a return cast of the former, Five Maseratis. You may recognize one Jorge Pezzimenti from the 80s tribute band, The Legwarmers (also a former Pietaster). Catch him without his sunshades & skinny jeans in his beatles-y band the Do Likes and be sure to keep an eye out for Pezzimenti, he’s been known to steal your girl scout cookies and eat them whole.

Also DO stay for the Argentine band, The Kavanaghs and of course the lovely headliner, Olivia Mancini—a sweet ending to your Friday night and impressive beginning to your weekend.

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