This is pretty much the reasoning to why I haven’t been posting much!
This past month has been crazy good! We’ve been writing some incredible material which I will soon have for you here.  Well anyway, we’re playing our first official show, as a full band, in Toronto on New Year’s Eve that Queensway Cathedral is hosting at a place called Spin Dessert Cafe.  I think we may be playing two sets, in which one will be going into the new year (which is something I’ve always wanted to do). So if you don’t have any plans or anything of that sort, you should definitely come by to check us out! Its always good to see some familiar faces, so get to me if you’re coming out! There’s going to be several different musical acts including our drummers solo act, The Panda Attack, which you can check below. We will also be setting up a table where you can grab some Stand Out tees as well as some Panda Attack demos.

The Panda Attack  - An Original Song

The Rainy Day Women Ep, features a motel theme, with a subtle dose of rock cliche, blended with more contemporary and chilled imagery. The band released their ep in September 2009, and have been receiving radio play on triple j and RTR FM. Check their myspace and music at www.myspace.com/rainydaywomenband

Apologies readers for my last 4 or 5 days of inactivity. I’ve been dreadfully sick, but last week, before the sickness hit me, I had the unique pleasure of strolling into town, at around 7pm. I walked into a bar, and this bar had so much energy, fuelled by the customers; the atmosphere, the band. A band who’s known as Porcelain Coins, consisting of four, laid back, energetic and hilarious men who look as if they’re in their early twenties. As lady luck had it, I got a front row seat reserved to be able to see Porcelain Coins, who have previously supported major indie rock band, Bloc Party. Not only was I able to enjoy the musical genius that radiated from them, but I was blessed enough to get to interview Pablo, Sam, Ben and Gypo (Matt to his friends), throughout the evening!

M: What are your personal influences?
S: “‘In my opinion, my personal influences are Pearljam, Eleven and Led Zeppelin. Especially Led Zeppelin, the greatest band since someone said ‘hm, that sounds good, I’ll call it music’.“ Sam, who is a fan of the classic old-school rock legends, is the band’s bassist, and a killer one at that.

P: “Bernard Fanning, Powderfinger, I mean I like him in Powderfinger, but I love some of his solo stuff. Counting Crows, Cold War Kids, Simon and Garfunkle, Cat Stevens, and you can’t beat a bit of Bare Naked Ladies.” What sounds like a collection of obscurities from a teenagers life (apart from the Bare Naked Ladies!), actually proves to be a unique insight into what fuels vocalist and acoustic guitarist Pablo in his quest, which we’ll delve into later.

B: “The Pixies, Rage Against The Machine, Be Your Own Pet, Cold War Kids.” After talking to Ben in-depth about his influences and what it means to the band, he agreed that it’s generally about experiences, it’s a band where everyone brings something to the table. The electric guitar enthusiast’s tastes, along with Gypo’s (the drummer!) are slightly on the heavier side of things.

G: “It’s a tricky question, I mostly love things like Metallica, Chilli Peppers, and Rage Against The Machine.” Short and sweet, much like Gypo himself! But height related jokes aside, he had this to say, “Enjoyment comes through playing your instrument, but teamed with other people, it’s amazing.” It seems Gypo is full of words of wisdom, despite his crazy headache that evening, he ended with “Your creative side… It’s gotta get out somehow!” Hm, I never asked him if he was a Buddhist.

After a few drinks, and a couple of songs, the atmosphere was far chilled than it was since I had entered. And whilst we sat and enjoyed the performances of the stunning Jenny Reid (with an equally as stunning voice), who was performing solo that evening, despite her commitment to ‘The Penny Rogers Incident‘, we had discussed what they see themselves doing in five years time.

M: Where would you like to be in 5 years time?
G: “Still playing music, hopefully with bigger crowds! It’d be nice to reach more people, and it’d be great to experience some travelling” Big aspirations for a little man, who would’ve known. (Alright, it’s too tempting, sorry Gypo!), they may be big aspirations, but they’re certainly respectable.

B: “I see myself spending 6 months in a temple with my wife and kids, and spending 6 months touring with the band.” Ah, a family man, it’s nice to see someone who’s certain about their priorities, but being unsure isn’t always a bad thing!

S: “At The Rose Bowl! Playing to hundreds of thousands, that’s where I wanna be!” Well, there’s always one who truly appreciates their time in the limelight, Sam will be no exception. The rocking enthusiast has written previously for websites such as ultimate-guitar.com and has a pretty amazing taste in films!

P: “I’d love for us to get signed, it’d be a relief to have a good record deal. I’d essentially like to take the money from that and go to South America. I’ve always wanted to establish a community project, where everyone can benefit. Cafés, art galleries, that sort of thing, where people can get their work out and have a good time doing it. A self-sufficient system where everyone can escape the pressures which you and me do today.” I have to say, I loved Pablo’s answer, it’s one of those things which makes you stop and think about what you’re really doing. He’s a truly dedicated man, which was easily seen whilst he was on stage. His beautiful girlfriend, Zoe, seemed to agree  ”He’s one of the most driven and determined people I’ve ever met.” Watch out Zoe, his charms are pulling even me in!

It was by this point that the evening was drawing closer and closer to an end, with not only performances by the talented Jenny Reid, but also by another rising local band; At Last, who has an awesome vocalist. Porcelain Coins got up and stage and wowed the audience with one of their better (in my opinion!) songs, The Redemption of John Doe! If you’re a lover of Counting Crows, you’re bound to appreciate the edgy, unique flair which is personified by Porcelain Coins themselves. A group of aspiring, talented, young men who are truly dedicated to music and even through the ups and downs, still remain concrete on the idea of making it big. A well deserved idea, at that.

M: Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians out there? Any regrets?
G: “Listen to drum, I mean really listen to it, focus on nothing but the drum, listen to different styles, and be confident to try new things, don’t be afraid.” Grand, solid advice from Gypo in regards to drumming, he then told me about regrets “I’ve been playing drums for 7 years, I taught myself. My only regret would probably be not starting earlier, I love it!“

B: “Feel it.” Was all that Ben could muster after his amazing performance on electric guitar that evening, but it’s true, you can’t be a good musician unless you feel the music inside of you. “I have no regrets, because life is too short.“

S: “Perseverance is the key, keep at it and you’ll get there“ sound advice which is only surpassed by the sounds this crazy murdock was making all night with his insane bass and harmonica skills. “I haven’t got any regrets man, whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, right?“

P: “Never give up, one of the most important things as a musician, or as a band is to talk to your crowd, involve them. Do it because you love it, a job is something you can give up, this is a lifestyle. Keep at it, because the hardest thing to do is usually the right thing.” The ever wise Pablo shed some of his philosophies to newcomers, and there are some crackers in there, believe me. “My only regret is taking it so head on, it’s pretty physically draining, but it’s a learning curve, approaching it slightly slower would’ve made a little less pressure.”

And so concludes my interview with Porcelain Coins, an upcoming local band who I predict will be rising to stardom pretty darn soon. If you’d like to know more about them, or hear some of their music, you can join their facebook group here, myspace here and bebo here. I recommend Panama Guitars and He’s Got a Gun (loving that harmonica!)

Hello there,

I have this amazing friend who presented me to an amazing blog.

“A blog about Montreal music, arts, film, events, people, places and other happenings.”

www.midnightpoutine.ca 

I totally love this website . You should give a look.  Des heures et des heures de plaisir mon ami .

I just keep on learning about fashion and music when i hang with that dude and i just love it Thank you !

Since this is my first post, i’m just gonna put whatever i feel like.

I’m currently listening to COTTTON MOUTH -Hive of Bees and i kind of like what i hear. I never heard of that group but made some research . It’s actually a small local group and they had they’re first show last march. 

They’re having 3 upcoming shows and actually, i think i’m gonna be heading to one of it. I just have to find myself some friends >=) .

- 1 DEC 2009  > GREEN ROOM - WITH THE LOVELY FEATHERS

- 9 DEC 2009 > CASA – WITH F IN FRESH

-19 DEC 2009 > GREEN ROOM – WITH DIAMON RINGS AND GUTSTRINGS

Go give a look to their myspace : http://www.myspace.com/cottonmouthmontreal

Sleigh Bells played yet another fantastic set last night, this time I caught them at Le Poisson Rouge. Derek mentioned LPR having a great sound system in our interview (Sleigh Bells: CMJ, The Hype and Beyond) especially for my favorite song Beach Girls, and I couldn’t agree more for those epic beat drops! It was a late night but worth the lack of sleep this morning. Check them out next time they’re around kids! Spotted at the show: Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

To listen to Sleigh Bells, check them out on MySpace or download one of our tracks from their demo HERE. Learn more about what’s in store for Sleigh Bells from our insightful interview last month HERE.

More pictures from the show HERE.

Serious hot stuff!
I danced my ass through their whole timeslot!

And we are done with shooting
now we’re digitizing and editing. Bleh

btnits a great experience doing this! ]]> http://tasteslikecaramel.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/tlc-vs-sleigh-bells-cmj-the-hype-and-beyond/ Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:10:05 +0000 anthoNYC http://tasteslikecaramel.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/tlc-vs-sleigh-bells-cmj-the-hype-and-beyond/

Sleigh Bells photographed 10.30.09 by anthoNYC

Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss have managed to cause quite a bit of noise on the internet, having gone from amateurly recorded obscurity to booking sought after gigs and rolling with the likes of M.I.A. and Spike Jonze.

Sleigh Bells: What is the method to their mayhem? Who are they? What kind of music is this? These were all questions that plagued us and we decided to get to the bottom of this two weeks ago, the day before Halloween. We met up with the duo at Derek’s Brooklyn apartment and left no question unanswered.

Alexis and Derek are two really cool kids who make kick ass music and know how to rock any stage, just read on to find out for yourself! Make sure you check out Sleigh Bells this Saturday night at Webster Hall with Kap Bambino and again on November 19th at Le Poisson Rouge [tix]!

Pictures I took at their CMJ shows can be seen here: Hype Machine/Babelgum at Santos AND Quiet Color’s Anti-CMJ Showcase at The Market Hotel.

MP3: Sleigh Bells – Beach Girls [EP Version] or zShare

> Where are you both from?
AK: I’m from NJ, the Jersey Shore.
DM: I’m from Southern Florida.

> How long have you been in New York?
AK: I’ve been here for about 7 years.
DM: I’ve been here since March of 2008, pretty new.

> How did you meet each other?
DM: My restaurant where I worked up until 2-3 weeks ago.
AK: He was my waiter, I was out to dinner with my mom. He was talking about why he was here and mentioned that he was looking for a vocalist and my mom nominated me. Sent him an email then we met up. So yeah..that’s the short version.  [all laugh]
DM: I just started talking to her mom who also grew up in South Florida, and she was like ‘So what are you doing in New York?‘ I told her that I was looking for a female vocalist or a girl to work on music with.

[ Audio: How they met and the reason behind having a female vocalist on Sleigh Bells. ]

> Did you always have it in your mind that you wanted a female vocalist?
DM: Yes, for like almost 5 years.

> Any particular reason?
DM: I just prefer female vocalists, it’s just more interesting for me.  A lot of times I’m just less interested in what guys are singing about for some reason. I’m much pickier with guys, I guess it just depends on the genre. In hip-hop they’re usually less vulnerable sounding, but if it’s something rock oriented then feelings get involved. I just get a little weird like…guys talking about their feelings. [all laugh] I don’t wanna sound like an asshole but it’s just harder to get into it.

> I read that you’re a teacher is that that true?
AK: No I’m not teaching anymore, I did a program called Teach for America for 2 years.

A lot of times I’m just less interested in what guys are singing about for some reason… I just get a little weird like…guys talking about their feelings. – Derek Miller

> What did you teach?
AK: I taught fourth grade bilingual [Spanish.]  Most of my kids were new arrivals to the country so I was in the Bronx. I did that right after I graduated, then met Derek in the summer between my two years. I kinda made the decision in January of this year that I was not going to go back, but instead pursue other things and just work on Sleigh Bells full time.  And here I am.

Sleigh Bells at Market Hotel 10.23.09

> That’s awesome! I actually learned about you from a friend who put on the Hype Machine showcase at Santos…
DM: Abbey?

> Yeah, do you guys know her?
DM: Yeah we just met Abbey through Sasha Frere-Jones (Music writer for The New Yorker) who is friends with her. He was pretty much our very first interview, first dude we talked to, first guy who contacted us and was into the band. So yeah we met up with him and he asked if we had any reference photos for the New Yorker. We were like “We don’t have anything, we just have an  illustration of Alexis with a bandana that wont help.” He was like “Maybe my friend Abbey can come,” so she came to a show and that’s how we met.
AK: She’s been amazing, she’s been there like every step along the way…
DM: She’s super-cool.

> So we’re among friends! When she first told me about Sleigh Bells, I was like “is it S-L-A-Y Bells or…?” [all laugh]
AK: That’s a popular question!
DM: That’s the first thing people ask and they’re kinda let down when I’m like “Sorry it’s S-L-E-I-G-H.” The joke is when  you say it, phonetically it sounds like S-L-A-Y. That woulda been too much.

> How many shows have you played together so far?
AK & DM: 6 or 7…
AK: We didn’t start playing until I finished teaching until…we started practicing all through the summer. Our first show was September 2nd at Union Pool. It was nice, a benefit show with the Midnight Masses.

[ Audio: Sleigh Bells on CMJ ]

> Having just started in September, were you a little overwhelmed about being a buzz band at CMJ?
DM: Honestly I wasn’t thinking it in terms of…I know with CMJ that’s the purpose, we just randomly booked these shows. Abbey offered us to play the Santos thing–
AK: A week before.
DM: I was just like “Oh I guess all these bands are playing CMJ. We’ll play a show or 2 shows.” I didn’t think it’d be significant, it sounds like bullshit..if that was the case I’d tell you but it really seemed like it’d come and go. Our friend Kristen put on the ABC Amplified thing. It’s not like we were there playing the Fader Fort, they were just smaller, off to the side showcases not the big time showcases.
AK: I definitely did not go in thinking “buzz band.” We literally got those shows a week before and we were shocked like “what!”

> Did you see any shows at CMJ or did you just play and that was it?
AK to DM: You went to some shows…
DM: My friends from Florida are in Surfer Blood, so I saw them a couple of times.

> They played a million times!
AK: I think 2.5 was like the average shows per day. But yeah, just the bands we really played with, I didnt really go out. I was simultaneously planning this teaching workshop so I was a bit stressed out. It’s kind of the last thing you wanna do after being in a venue all day.

> I was curious after hearing your songs, are those mastered tracks or rough cuts?
DM: No, we actually just put up a thing on our MySpace. There have been so many people asking if they could buy them somewhere or if they’ll be on iTunes. They’re not now and will never be for sale because they’re just demos, they’re not mixed properly. I mixed everything on headphones which is rule #1: You never mix on headphones. I don’t even own monitors. So yeah we’re gonna definitely re-record everything plus a bunch of new songs for a full-length. Either late this year or early next year.

> We saw M.I.A. and Spike Jonze at your show. How did you get noticed by such renowned creative luminaries?
DM: Our friend Molly wrote for Spike Jonze’s blog for Where the Wild Things Are, and wrote about the music there. So that’s how Sasha got it and then Spike Jonze got it as well from her and played it for Maya. And then Maya wrote us and then since we’ve just…

> You just got an email from her? Was it all in CAPS like her blog? [all laugh]
DM: Yeah! [laughs] She’s a friend now, she’s just cool. It’s just very odd because it was not expected and I’m just a huge fan.
AK: It’s crazy. She’s so likable and you get this comfortable feeling around her, she’s a friend.

> Yeah she’s very friendly. Before we talked to you at Market Hotel I told her I was going to interview you guys.
AK: Yeah that’s who she is consistently.
DM: She’s definitely a very real person.

…Every time I’m singing on a track or anytime I do something I’m no longer me. I’m more of a character of myself. – Alexis Krauss

> So what kind of music did you listen to before pairing for Sleigh Bells?
DM: We definitely don’t have a reference genre, whatever I can dig up from whatever decade that sounds good…that’s the only criteria.
AK: It’s pretty diverse. I was on a whole soul, 60’s kick.
DM: I listen to a lot of Motown, current stuff, hip hop. Probably the same thing a lot of people are listening to now, people are no longer restricted to regions because of the internet.

> Ring Ring has a lot of soul elements, but then Beach Girls …I just love that song! –
AK: We’ll play it next show! [all laugh -- I previously bugged them for not playing it at Market Hotel.]
DM: There’s going to be a new version. It’s definitely going to have all of those same elements but I have all these other ideas…it’s just going to be so heavy and so great. I’m putting these horns on it, it’s still going to have those lazer annoying [white noise] but I’m really stoked to do that one.

> How true to the current sound do you plan to be?
DM: We’re going to retain a lot of the blown out aspects of the sounds for sure. Musically or instrumentally and vocally it’s going to be a lot cleaner, I don’t want the vocals to be quite as distorted.
AK: Because that was done out of necessity, we really want that sort of shiny clean feeling.
DM: I had trouble mixing it. With Crown to the Ground for example, the music is so distorted and the vocals were so clean that it wasn’t sitting in the mix. A quick solution was to put some distortion on the vocals so it would gel, but that’s just sort of a cheap fix. The answer is just mixing it correctly.

> Did you have any formal training in production/recording?
DM: None whatsoever, I don’t and still don’t know what I’m doing. The vocals for Infinity Guitars [were recorded with Alexis] yelling into the internal mic [points at his laptop.]
AK: Very bare bones. [laughs]
DM: With a lot of bands the method is supposed to be a statement but not for us, those were just the resources we had available to us. I just can’t wait to get into the studio and see the songs through.

> Going back to Beach Girls, when I listen to it I can barely understand anything you’re saying. Was that intentional or was that too done out of necessity?
DM: The delay just added an eerie quality to it that worked, but yeah I wish that people could could hear the lyrics
AK: There’s a story to it..
DM: There’s a narrative and it sounds vapid like “Did I forget my sunglasses? Got ‘em!” But the story is this: She’s at the beach and it’s horrible. There’s like kids drowning and getting nosebleeds. I keep using David Lynch as a reference for that because it’s slick and shiny like Blue Velvet or something. Thinking of the opening sequence. But it’s just…something’s really –
AK: OFF! [all laugh]
DM: This is a weird reference but like the Soundgarden video Black Hole Sun. The smiles are really fucking big.
AK: Yeah I totally pictured that with Beach Girls.
DM: You can’t hear the fucking lyrics so it’s our fault, I like that one live when the bass drops I’m like “YEAH!”

[ Audio: Sleigh Bells' Alexis discusses her singing background ]

> It comes back like four times in that song! Alexis, what is your experience like being onstage?
AK: I spent a lot of time doing session singing so I used to think of myself as an actress when I would sing. I almost like thinking of singing as being that, every time I’m singing on a track or anytime I do something I’m no longer me. I’m more of a character of myself. I feel like I could turn it on *snaps* whenever.
DM: As opposed to it being deeply –
AK: Some people are like “Oh but you should [take it deeply]“ but that’s just my experience with being a singer. My dad is a full-time musician so I started doing theatre at a young age. I had tons of vocal lessons but because my father is such a good pop and R&B soul singer, it was important to me that I didn’t become a Broadway-singing voice. I’ve been singing pop since I was 13 and for me it’s just been my sound and what I like singing. This neighborhood breeds so many projects and you just get too many people who have no idea how to use their voice –
DM: Having to switch from shouting to singing falsetto, it wouldn’t work without someone who knew what they’re doing.
AK: That’s another thing I love about his ideas because it’s incredibly versatile, as a singer I get to explore different options.
DM: Blushing.

The only other band I was in was this girl teen pop group, it was my 13-16 year old life! – Alexis Krauss

> Do you plan on touring more, or are you gonna focus on making new music?
DM: The next month or 2, we’ll just play around here a bunch and write new songs. We’ve talked to some people about touring next year already but nothing’s confirmed. It’s great to have people come [to our shows] because they want to hear the music as opposed to just our friends.
AK: We feel like we got that at The Market Hotel, it was really exciting.

[ Audio: Sleigh Bells discussing performance styles and the necessity to be versatile ]

> The Santos show was really different than The Market Hotel one.
AK: [The Santos show] was super fast and it was 3:15 PM, it was mostly industry people. I mean you have to be able to do both be able to give a good show either way, but when you have that interaction and energy we had on Friday night it brings it to a whole new level.

> Your performance was so different, you were like going crazy!
AK: You just get this like [flails around]
DM: We kept saying it felt like a hardcore show. She grew up going to hardcore shows and I played in a hardcore band forever. It felt like very natural, kind of like what I imagined it to be. With the first show we were so stiff and it was just terrifying really.
AK: We’ve come along way! [laughs]

> Were you in other bands before this, Alexis?
AK: The only other band I was in was this girl teen pop group, it was my 13-16 year old life! [all laugh]
DM: Awesome actually, for real.
AK: From there I went onto college and started doing session singing, but I really built my performance chops doing weddings. I worked for a big wedding company as cliche and funny as it sounds, with a big band. I sang everything from standards to Beyonce to AC/DC. A huge range and I’d just get out there and have fun. I also used to perform with my dad and his bands.

> Last question, do you plan on touring Europe?
AK: We’d love to!!
DM: We’re talking to booking agents but I’m not sure what we’ll end up doing.

> London will love you guys!
DM: Oh really? I can’t wait to go back to the UK.

> Have you ever been?
AK: No I haven’t unfortunately, can’t wait.

> Well I think that’s all we have for you. Is there anything you’d like to add…put out there?
DM: Just the thanks for coming, thanks for talking to us.

Mad Decent’s latest signee, New York’s reggaeton phenom Maluca will be performing with DJ Rupture, Matt Shadetek and Jahdah Blakkamore next week on Friday the 13th!

The event takes place at The Museum of Natural History on November 13th for Fader’s One Step Beyond…and we’ve got your FREE tickets to all of the fun! Last month Amanda Blank put on a kick-ass show for the event, you’re not going to wanna miss next week’s!

Make sure you’re following @tlcblog, then Re-Tweet the following to win tickets:
@tlcblog Enter to win tickets for Maluca at the Museum http://wp.me/prU45-YK!

Winners will be picked at random and notified by Thursday November 12th. More info for the event can be found HERE.

MP3: Maluca – El Tigraso or zShare

Delorean at Le Poisson Rouge, 10.23.09

As you know last week was a whirlwind of shows in NYC for CMJ! Some days we hit about 4 different showcases, as was the case on Friday.

My Friday CMJ-age started at Rockwood for Au Revoir Simone’s set for SPIN Magazine, Dolorean at Le Poisson Rouge for self-titled Magazine, followed by Via Tania and Fall On Your Sword at Norwood  for The Hours & High-Rise Showcase, topped off with Sleigh Bells at Market Hotel for the Anti-CMJ showcase by Quiet Color (to be discussed in a separate post.)

In this post I’ll discuss each act and share a few of my favorite shots of the day. More pictures can be seen HERE.

MP3: Delorean – Seasun or zShare
MP3: Fall On Your Sword – Powerless Man or zShare
MP3: Au Revoir Simone- Sad Song (RAC Remix) or zShare
MP3: Via Tania – On Sawyer (Agrape Dope Remix) or zShare
MP3: Lemonade – Big Weekend (Dolorean Remix) or zShare

_______________________________

Au Revoir Simone at Rockwood >>

After seeing Au Revoir Simone for the first time at The Music Hall of Williamsburg a few months ago, I fell in love!

Their musical chemistry blends together seamlessly as they swap instruments, lead vocals and jokes that create a warm concert experience whether it be in a music hall or a tiny tiny space such as Rockwood.

The highlight of their short set came in the form of the “alternate version” of Sad Song from their latest album Still Night, Still Light.

_______________________________

<< Delorean at Le Poisson Rouge

I’ve been familiar with Barcelona’s Delorean for quite some time, their remixes of Lemonade, The Big Pink and The Teenagers having been some of my favorites over the past year. However, I’m embarrassed to admit that it wasn’t until seeing them live that I’d familiarized myself with the new material! The shame!

With this said, Dolorean was one of my surprise stand-out acts from CMJ 2009. It’s hard not to enjoy their punkish-electro sound and not thrive off of the energy projected from their live set.

The foursome are following up their Ayrton Senna EP (2009) with a full-length album slated for 2010. I eagerly await the release and the chance to catch their full set!

_______________________________

Fall On Your Sword at Norwood >>

Brooklyn’s Fall On Your Sword, whom I’d been unfamiliar with previous to their gig at Norwood, played a 30 minute set as a part of The Hours and High-Rise CMJ showcase.

FOYS’ backdrop provided a great visual guide, featuring footage of New York, a drunken David Hasselhoff and everything in between. I thought it was a great set from an unfamiliar band and definitely have them on my radar now.

The absolute greatest and most unexpected moments came when the band played some excellent covers including David Bowie and one of my absolute favorite New Order songs Ceremony. Major +++ points for that one!

_______________________________

<< Via Tania at Norwood

Chicago’s Via Tania was another new discovery during CMJ for me. VT’s voice and music are very dreary, almost like being stuck at the in-between state of consciousness.

Via Tania’s sophomore album Moon Sweet Moon was released a few weeks ago, don’t miss out on this truly unique musical experience.

La Roux at Highline Ballroom, 10.26.09

La Roux made their highly anticipated return to the states on Monday night at Highline Ballroom with Brooklyn’s Body Language as the supporting act. Since interviewing Elly Jackson last month, we’ve been anticipating the North American tour, but along the road Elly’s been struggling through a viral infection that’s gone after her voice. The illness has forced cancellations of the Chicago and Boston tour dates, but luckily she was able to gather up enough strength to perform Monday in New York.

We also previously interviewed Body Language and regarded them as a band bound for big things this year, and under 5 months landed the supporting gig for Mercury Prize-nominated La Roux! They did a great job rousing the crowd with their funky dance tunes, which at times are pleasantly reminiscent of 90’s after hours house music in NY.

La Roux’s frontwoman Elly took the stage in a colorfully striped pantsuit after 10PM and kicked off the 35 minute set with Tigerlily. The shortened 9-song set included the UK bonus track Saviour but unfortunately left off Fascination. Luckily my favorite song Colourless Colour was smack in the middle of the dance set as my favorite moment of the night along with the crowd sing-a-long/assistance for the closer Bulletproof.

The states haven’t been kindest to La Roux with having to overcome sickness and extreme weather conditions (see All Points West Day 3: La Roux) but through it all we’ve seen 2 memorable sets from Elly & Co this year. Looking forward to the 2nd leg of the tour dubbed The Gold Tour in 2010 including rescheduled dates for Boston and Chicago. Get well Elly!

Check out our pictures and tunes below, including one of the most genius mashups: La Roux vs. The Killers – Smile Like You’re Bulletproof by SugaMotor!

More pictures from La Roux’s show on Monday HERE.

MP3: La Roux – Saviour or zShare

MP3: La Roux – Smile Like You’re Bulletproof (The Killers Mash) or zShare

MP3: Body Language -  Sandwiches (Body Language Mix) or zShare

MP3: Marina & The Diamonds – Obsessions (Body Language Remix) or zShare

Body Language (more pictures)

Friday October the 30th sees the Curragh Sons bring their unique brand of high-octane Irish music to the Moon and Sixpence in Glossop. The ever shifting lineup sees the return of Steve Massey on drums, joined onstage by Paul Higham, Sean Wood, Paul Newland and Dave Molynuex.

There are a couple of new tunes in the pipe, Sean has pledged to have learned the words to Steve Earles Copperhead Road and apparently young Higham is planning to have a crack at Pancho and Lefty.

Anyway get down there early if you’re planning on coming, it promises to be nothing short of a blinder. And remember this, in the words of Sean himself “the more you drink, the better we sound”. Hur!

Breaking Reign, an up and coming local band coming from Towson, just announced their first show

Breaking Reign Live

in a while on Facebook, featured with DJ Jermain Squeez. They will be playing with a bunch of local bands, some names you may have heard and some you haven’t…The New Eleven, Forumla, and the Brian Farley Band. Tickets are $10, contact Breaking Reign’s lead vocalist, Joey Aikins, for ticket information.

Padonia Station is a 21 and up venue just so you know, and you need a pretty good fake ID otherwise.

The Facebook guest list seems to be getting some response, 47 confirmed guests and 144 maybes, and in my experience, the band puts on a pretty good show. It is kind of a rock/rap hybrid, I’d recommend it.

Spero vi sia piaciuto il nostro programma radio.

The show went very well. Although this is our second time discussing Italy, we got a more in depth look at the culture and the music. Our guest Stephan was eager to speak a little bit of Italian for us as well as give us a brief summary to the lyrics to the songs we played. We got requests for other Italian songs from a few of our listeners as well. We enjoyed playing our favorites by Andrew Bird and St. Vincent and if you enjoyed those as well let us know so that we can play more of your favorites as well.

We ended the show with a song that Stephan actually wrote. It was really awesome! We are going to try to not only put a link up so you can here the song again but we are working on getting a demo made of his tunes. He is really interested in starting a band. If you wanna make tunes that will most likely be on our show please contact Stephan. His contact info is directly below;

Stephan’s Contact info:

Band page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alpine-Sonata/182396240173

Email Address: grundysc@muohio.edu

Playlist Playlist Playlist:

Jovanotti- “Mani Libere”
Jovanotti- “Un Buco Nella Tasca”
Verdena-”Valvonauta”
St. Vincent- “Now Now”
Andrew Bird- “Tenuousness”
Andrew Bird- “Heretics”
Alpine Sonata (Stephan Grundy’s Band) – “

We hope you all enjoyed that show, as we certainly did! We hope to have Stephan back on the show soon with some new tunes for us. Next week might possibly be our rescheduling of our Japanese week.

See ya next week

P.S. Here is todays show recording for anyone who is interested

http://www.mediafire.com/?imgxvymxokw

I was giving out flyers today for my upcoming show with my main band which I’ll refer to as WUSN from here on. Doing this reminded me that I had said I was going to do a post about getting your friends/coworkers/lovers/pets out to shows. Here are some examples of what most people say when they are told about a show:

1. “I’ll definitely be there!” This generally means that this person will not be at your show. What they mean to say is “I’m somewhat interested in going but I’ll probably decide that night that I’d rather play Othello online with a stranger from Nevada.” I have no problem with someone playing games online at home (while naked of course) with lonely accountants in Nevada. The problem is that for some reason you chose to use the word “definitely” when you should have said “possibly” or “might” or even “possibly maybe” and we could have laughed at the reference. Oh silly Bjork references. I think this happens because people are afraid to say no to shows and drugs. They probably also don’t want to let a friend/teacher/banker down. When people tell me that they’ll definitely come to a show I really don’t expect to see them there and it doesn’t affect me anymore. I would certainly rather hear the truth at the beginning but I forget that most people are liars.

2. “I’ll try to make it out.” This person will most likely be at the show. They’re expressing that they will make an effort. They’re not making up excuses or giving you a definitive answer. This person is realistic and someone you should hang out with more.

3. “I’m not sure if I’m working/showering/already have plans.” This person probably isn’t going to be at the show. They don’t want to say yes or no generally because they don’t want to go unless they know for sure that other people they know are going. If you’re dealing with an honest person they might actually be unsure of what their plans are but it’s hard to believe in this world of phone calendars and those tiny computers installed in our elbows. Don’t count this person out just yet though.

4. “Where is it? What time is at? How much does it cost?” This person really doesn’t want to go to your show. If you’ve just handed them a flyer that answers all these questions and they’re still asking about it they’re not going to your show. They’re looking for an excuse not to go. “Oh that’s far away from where I live and that’s kind of late because I’ve got work early the next day and also I don’t get paid until next year so I can’t afford that.” This is the kind of person that you should just walk away from. These are the liars and insecure people of the world.

5. “I can’t make it.” This is a good answer. It should probably be “I won’t/don’t want to make it.” This is a fairly honest answer most likely. If they tell you why they can’t make it there’s a 50/50 chance they’re telling the honest to dog truth. They’re trying to keep it real and be polite. Kudos.

6. “I’m not going.” Cool dude. I’ve got mad respect for you playa. Seriously though, this is a good person even if they are sort of on the jerky detached side. They’re not making some crap up or being vague. This person is not going to be there. There’s nothing wrong with honesty…99.99% of the time…it works 87.56% of the time. Make this person you’re new BFFQ.

Obviously, there are countless other responses and facial expressions that can occur but this should cover most of what you’re going to hear. At the end of day it all comes down to how you deal with people coming or not coming to your show. Remember that for the most part no one is obligated to be at your show. Either they genuinely want to see you play or they want to be supportive. Nobody has to go to your show so don’t be mad at the people who don’t make it out. Good luck!

The Drums at Mercury Lounge, 9.22.09

I’ve been dancing around my apartment to The Drums all summer, especially after catching their gig with Ebony Bones at Bowery Ballroom. Since that show in July, the duo has since expanded their live band and released a brand new EP called Summertime!

After seeing Jennifer’s Body (a must!!) we jetted downtown to Mercury Lounge to catch the band’s 10PM set on Tuesday night. The short and sweet set included current single I Felt So Stupid, Let’s Go Surfing, Me and the Moon and others from the new EP.

Next up the band flies across the Atlantic to play some important gigs including Reykjavik’s Iceland Airwaves, 2 Manchester gigs and 2 London gigs including Koko for Club NME. Be sure to catch the band when they’re in town if you’re up for a night of great catchy pop music  delivered most enthusiastically.

MP3: The Drums – The Drums  -  Don’t Be a Jerk, Jonny or zShare

As I promised my buddy Andrew who runs the Artists House twitter, I wanna educate up and coming bands to beauty of the gig swap.

First off, what is a gig swap?

A gig swap is essentially an agreement with an out of town band where you go to their city to open a show and you reciprocate in your hometown.

Generally speaking, the key is to find a band in another city who:

• sounds similar, but not too overlapping in style (ie would their fans like you)
• has a similar draw to you in your respective hometowns. Lopsided swaps are unfair.
• has a light draw (at least 10) in your hometown that can expand your local fanbase.
• is responsible, accountable, and reliable (more on that later)

So now the question is how do I find local bands:

• Contact a venue for suggestions
• Contact friends you may have in that city for suggestions
• Contact bands in your city who have played the live market you’re interested in playing for suggestions
• Search a concert database such as Jambase or Pollstar for bands who frequently play in a given city and send them a MySpace message or email.

As I mentioned earlier, I need to emphasize the reliability of the band you plan to swap with.  Before you confirm the booking of both gigs, make sure each band knows their responsibilities, what each of your compensation’s will be, and what the expectations are in regard each others’ turnouts.  In most cases, “surprises” are for people who aren’t prepared or didn’t do their job, so proceed with caution.  To save yourself a lot of disappointment, pay close attention to your initial correspondence because it’s usually telling of their character on whole.

I would recommend having the gigs booked around 3 months in advance.  That way, it gives you time to book a follow up gig in that city within a month after you do the swap.  This way, you can mention it on stage and also you will stay in people’s minds.  However, please please please please please bring a fucking clipboard with you to gather people’s info.  It’s your job to remind them, not their job to remember that you’re playing again.

If things go as planned, you should have at least 100 people playing in front of you and you should be happy if 20 of them come to see you the next time you’re in town.  It is essential to change it up and play with different bands of your caliber in other cities in order to get as many fans-to-be in front of you.  However, you best follow through with your end of the bargain and pack the house when they come to your neck of the woods.  It all comes back to accountability!!!  Execution and accountability are how you make a positive reputation for yourself.

Here it is! The first of many, if all goes well. I used a Flip cam for the concert footage, which is why the quality isn’t the best, and it seems to have dropped frames all over the place too. Maybe I won’t invest in one for myself after all. Anyway, yes I am well aware that the interview and show footage are different sizes. I made the decision to leave it that way, rather than crop down the 16:9 parts and chop off Al and Rock’s arms. I don’t find it distracting at all, and actually kind of think it creates a nice framing. Let me know what you think.

Right now the video is up on IKnowCoMo just like it is here — as an embedded YouTube video. I don’t want this to be the norm. We bought a ton of hosting space so that we could host our own videos, but for some reason WordPress still has a 10mb size limit for uploaded videos. 10mb is not very big at all, as videos are concerned. The version you see above is 50mb, and even that isn’t great quality. We are working on finding a way around this. If you have any suggestions, please do share.

Overall, I had a grand time learning Final Cut to make this video, and I definitely think it is what I will use for my video editing from now on. It took me two semesters with Avid to get to the same level of comfort that I reached in two evenings with Final Cut.

free live local acoustic music… can it get better? ♫http://minify.me/?fgeq4w
Thanks fellas (http://twitter.com/seanhayzband), MyFavs-CapoOn3:CuddleSong:Aut♫

chicosci2, originally uploaded by yenyentees.

another shirt designed for rc.

chicosci, originally uploaded by yenyentees.

shirt designed for rc.

Local band, Cactus Peach is playing at Headhunters [21+] (Red River & 8th St.) on Friday, July 31st @ 9:45.

Check them out on Myspace!

The area in where i live, my neck of the woods if you will, is starved for creative activity.


Dearly.

So when something, hell, damn near anything comes along that has a different tune, my ears perk up. Many bands have come and gone but only a few have left their mark. From .thedecember drive, the well known flagship of the valley scene a few years ago,
that’s them.
to Gallows Holier Than The Cross, a perfect example of abrasivity and passion through music,that’s them.
The valley has certainly had their share of excitement. But those bands are no more.

“Where has our scene gone?” I asked myself. Metal bands were popping up and calling themselves ‘hardcore’. (spelled hXc. thanks Jamey Jasta, you insolent f[uckhole]ool.)

You would think there was a metal band factory somewhere in the area.

Show-going kids were no longer caring about the actual music but more about who could choreograph the most t0tally br00tal d4nce m0ves on da d4nce fl00r.

It’s pathetic.

Of course, even I have my share of ignorance. And this was proven when a few years ago I began hearing a lot of buzz about some band called Dignan.

(I hadn’t seen Bottle Rocket yet so my reaction to the name was somewhere along the lines of ‘WTF?’)

But anyway, a good friend of mine brought a copy of the band’s 2007 EP, The Guest,

that’s it.
to class one day and showed it to me. At the time, I wasn’t impressed. I thought they sounded like a lot like generic light-weight bands that I wasn’t very interested in at the time.

(Keep in mind that this was two ENTIRE years ago.)

Now, due to a busy summer(thinking about the girl of my dreams and all), I haven’t had the chance to learn much about local bands, specifically, Dignan. I was out of the loop.

But, through wonderful conversation with someone I was ‘re-introduced’ to Dignan. A band containing a few friends of mine, And Venus,
that’s them

were going to be playing a show with the ever-illustrious Dignan. As a means of research, I borrowed my brother’s copy of The Guest and began listening to it. If I was going to see them play, I at least wanted to have some prior knowledge of them.

Needless to say, I was floored. It is six songs of pure amazement. I went to their show, had a hell of a time, and haven’t turned back since.

(I’ve been listening to it as I write this massive post.)

So, now that THAT is over, let me get to the point.

Dignan is a band from my neck of the woods, the Rio Grande Valley. Specifically, the city of McAllen, Texas. wait.

Actually, they’re not a band. Fuck that, they are a celestial entity.

Comprised of members Andy, Devin, Trey, Heidi, and Davy, Dignan has taken the valley by storm and is quickly gaining momentum towards the rest of the world.

that’s them…now.

They have a new album. It’s called Cheaters & Theives,


that’s it.

It was released almost a month ago on June 26th.

It is an absolutely amazing album. This band hasn’t ceased to impress me. The vocal harmonies and overall recordings sound superb, and if I do say so myself, it’s reminiscent of a little ol’ band by the name of Brand New.

The album, like The Guest EP, is available for purchase on the iTunes Store

Today’s selection is the fourth track on the album, Two Steps.

Download, listen, & enjoy.

Dignan – Two Steps

MySpace
Twitter
Purchase

So yesterday I posted about the first live music event I attended this weekend where I went along to support my mates and their band. And then the next day I had a gig of my own, which turned out to be the most fun I’ve had playing a show in a long time, possibly ever.

So we arrived without any real hiccups, set up and sound-checked while Roger Federer and Andy Roddick were battling out in the Wimbledon final on TV which we ended up missing the end of because we went to subway. Never mind, subway was good. But anyway there’s not really a great deal to say about anything that happened before or after we played, but the other bands were alright. I’m not entirely sure what the first band was called, possibly Seethe, but I’m not sure, and they were distinctly alright I think. They were pretty much generic metal with some cool guitar bits in there but they could easily have been any other local heavy metal band on the scene, with heavy, pounding and shredding guitars and a massive guy at the front roaring down the mic, as I’ve said, they were alright, the lead singer would make a good front man on a bigger stage I reckon, but on the whole they were pretty much the same as most of the bands that we play with, relentlessly heavy tracks which you can’t really distinguish between because they’re all kind of the same.

Although they did stick in my mind more than either of the other bands, neither of whom do I know the names of but if I remember correctly they were both again, alright. When it came time for us to play I wasn’t expecting it to be anything special. Just another gig in a pub like we’ve done hundreds of before. But while we were setting up Dan (vocalist) turned round to all of us and said, “Right, I wouldn’t worry too much about being super-tight tonight, lets just give it energy up the ass crack” so when we started playing we all immediately began jumping around as usual trying to look energetic and impulsive without looking like I’m trying to look energetic and impulsive. I don’t feel like I ever look completely natural onstage, I feel like I’m just kind of moving around because everyone else is, but on Sunday night while playing that gig, in a small pub in front of about 15 people I suddenly just got lost in the music and full on went for it. I don’t think I’ve ever exuded that much energy before during a live show, but I felt like I was completely at ease and knew what I was doing.

It was the first time I’ve ever played a gig in shorts as well, and I’m not a big believer in co-incidences so I reckon it was the shorts freeing my legs that allowed me to move around so freely and naturally. Now that I’ve done that, I cannot wait for our next gig because it’s a battle of the bands final which is being headlined by Exit Avenue, one of the biggest bands still gigging locally, and it’s in a professional theatre with a stage that’s bigger than the whole pub we played in on Sunday and so now I’ve properly got my groove on, I think that gig is gonna be insane, and it’ll be nice if we win but I’ve heard all the other bands are pretty good so we’ll have to pull something special out of the bag if we want to have a good chance.

So that’s pretty much it, I had an eventful weekend and found my form while playing live onstage, we have two more band practices, then I’m away for a week and Dan is away for two weeks, then when we get back, we’ve got the final, so let’s hope that sun, sea and general merriment doesn’t erase all of our performance skill and make us forget how to play our songs lol. Although given the amount I’m planning on drinking and the overall amount of the holiday that will probably be gone from my memory by the time I get back, I wouldn’t be surprised if some other stuff went with it!

Either way, I’ll keep you up to date about who, when, why, where and what shizz goes down. X

So this weekend was pretty musically eventful for me. Two shows in total. I only played at one of them myself but a few of my good mates are in a band and they were playing a gig in a little village called Blunham. I’d never heard of it either but it’s just outside bedford. So yeah, having been at the cinema in Bedford watching Ice Age 3 (pretty good, nothing all that special though) I decided to go straight there, which turned out to be a bad idea because we got there before the band!

It was an all day “village fete” style affair with a lorry with a side-panel missing as the stage. Given that it was a day time sort of event we all sort of guessed that my friends band (Kicking Kays) would be on at some point during the day like, six or maybe sevenish, but no, they were told when we got there that they would be on at 9 – 9:30, and considering we got there at around half past four, we had a lot of time to kill.

So we began lying on the grass in the sun watching people fly their model aeroplanes in the field next to us, which appeared to be part of the whole event. One of the model planes flew right into the power-lines and the music cut out and the bouncy castle started deflating (full of children) – hilarious. The power was only out for a short time, around 20 seconds or so, but even so, we started to think it wasn’t coming back on and I don’t actually know who it was that flew the plane into the power lines, but I bet he/she was panicking.

The power did of course come back on, and that incident with the model plane was pretty much the last eventful thing that happened while we were there, after that, the six of us decided to go for a leisurely stroll round the village of Blunham. We started wandering down some back alleys behind houses, just generally trying to pass the time, and we came across a river. We’d been walking through some woodlandish area and then we saw a river with a weir stretching out in front of us. It was pretty wide as far as little back-water village rivers go, and pretty deep, and so of course the question was, who is going to get in?

We should have all known the answer to this question as if anyone was going to get in, it was only ever going to be one person and sure enough, with the offer of £12 on the table, Danny Barton, the lead singer and guitarist in Kicking Kays was in the water and swimming about. Sam, the bassist got down into his underwear and almost went fully in, but I think decided against it as Danny looked pretty damn cold when he got out!

So, Danny was of course dripping wet having been in the river (and not seen a penny from any of us I might add) and Sam was wandering around in nothing but his boxer shorts, it was fairly obvious to passers by that they’d been in the river, but what were they going to do? There wasn’t a “no swimming” sign anywhere. Or so we thought.

On wandering to the other side of the river (there was a bridge) we saw, clear as day, a big sign with the name of the river on it (I can’t remember what it was called) and “No Fishing” and “No Swimming” in big red writing. So, given that Danny was STILL wet and Sam (for some reason) was STILL in his boxers, we thought someone was probably going to say or do something less than friendly any minute as there was pretty much a steady stream of people walking past, so we decided to head back to the field.

Upon arriving back we were still only around halfway through the wait, but nothing more of note happened, so after a LONG wait, Kicking Kays were finally on the stage, and despite a slightly dodgy guitar sound on one of the guitars, they were absolutley brilliant. They kind of have their own brand of rock, I don’t really know what to call it other than Kay Rock, but it’s almost a cross between the Foo Fighters and Kings Of Leon, although when you imagine that match it doesn’t really sound like the Kays, I don’t know, you’ll have to listen to them (myspace.com/kickingkays) they really are very good. When onstage they combine their music with their natural ability to make people laugh and all in all I’d say Kicking Kays are one of my all time favourite bands to watch live, and they’re getting lazy with their gigging and general self promotion so anyone reading this blog needs to go to their myspace and comment the hell out of it saying that they should keep at it ‘cos they’re good.

So yeah, that’s one half of my music weekend, I’ve rambled a bit more than I intended to so I’ll post about the Sunday tomorrow.

Much Love x