So everyone knows one of my favorite bands on Earth is The Rosebuds.

In Ivan’s 2009 Year End List of highlights, number one is the show from the Middle East I was at last January.

“When we played the Middle East Club in Boston this year I introduced our bass player Brad Cook (from Megafaun and Gayngs) to the crowd and they actually clapped for about five minutes straight without stopping. They realized what they were all doing half way into it and just kept getting louder and louder and louder till the place basically erupted and we had to almost stop the show early.”

What Ivan doesn’t realize is that we were clapping so enthusiastically because it was just so damn good to see a big, hairy Irish looking guy profusely sweating and rocking out so profoundly on bass like that. The guy was into it, working it and every damn one of us knew it and appreciated it.

We here in Boston know about hard work and partying and Brad Cook looks like he can hang.

Come back anytime, folks, and we’ll treat you the same.

Meanwhile, if you missed it, Ivan’s song about the time he and Brad were pulled over and detained by the police on a case of mistaken identity was released earlier this year on Hear Here!, a compilation featuring Raleigh, NC area artists. Full story and streaming version of “Brad Cook Is Not Your Man” right here.

Alright, I got no money from you bros and broettes last time, and I really need it.  Seriously, I will die from laziness unless you help.  I’m like the cat who will starve himself to death because it’s brand of food was changed.

• Ninjas: Butterfingers of the East are Drunker Than You’d Believe…
• You Will Never (Un)see It Coming!
• A photo of Elisha Cuthbert, because I adore her (and her visible nipples)!
• Fight Club: Peru, or Project Mayhem: Peru.  Not really sure which.
• I once met Ludacris at a Waffle House.  I cried for two days after.
• WT Snacks is an 88lb idiot lol
• Anybody care to join me on a holiday filled with R&R?
• It’s a trailer for a film from Ireland.  Obviously.
• Alternate realities used to be more fun than this, don’t you think?
• Midichlorians are the easiest way to spin on your head.

And to put you in a giving mood, a fantastic song by an amazing band, The Rosebuds.

Hook me up with enough for the Wendy’s drive-thru, at least!  Stop being so greedy!

it might only be October, but i’ve perfected a good start for my winter playlist. all tracks remind me of the cold months, without being cliche. mostly memories, slow tempo, snowy nights, and sad piano inspired the track selection. enjoy.

1. Black Moth Super Rainbow “Smog in Cities”
2. Band of Horses  ”Snow Song (acoustic)”
3. The Bees “The Sky Holds The Sun”
4. Metric “London Half Life”
5. VHS or Beta “Dynamize”
6. Sage Francis “Broken Wings”
7. Cold War Kids “Hospital Beds”
8. Modest Mouse “Heart Cooks Brain”
9. Jay Z “Dead Presidents”
10. Tapes n’ Tapes “Omaha”
11. The Arcade Fire “Cars and Telephones”
12. The Rosebuds “Make Out Song”
13. Okkervil River “Get Big”
14. The Rosebuds “Silja Line (On Settling For a Normal Life)”
15. Stars “The Big Fight”
16. Why? “Yo Yo Bye Bye”
17. Wolf Parade “Dinner Bells”
18. Yo La Tengo “You Can Have It All”
19. Kanye West “Home”
20. Lil Wayne “Shoot Me Down”

Thank God It's #Mixday, by @LT

After having read this Web site for months now and putting up with its sporadic updates and dubious content, you deserve something in return, don’t you? Of course you do!

That’s what we’re giving away some free music. It’s our first contribution to a mixtape series some of the fine folks at Arkansas Business Publishing Group are doing. “Thank God It’s #Mixday” is being curated at ABPG by Ryan Byrd, and you can download my compilation here and Ryan’s compilation here. Full track listing for mine is after the jump.

Other companies, like CJRW, do this as well. And we hope to make a new Friday tradition here at ABPG.

So go download some decent music, sit back and relax. It’s a small token of thanks to those who’ve so far managed to endure this blog.

1. Entertain / Sleater-Kinney
2. Marrow / St. Vincent
3. Life Like / The Rosebuds
4. Angeles / Crosstide
5. This Must Be the Place / Miles Fisher
6. Dead Sound / The Ravonettes
7. Unfinished Sympathy / Massive Attack
8. Certamente / Madreblu
9. Streets of New York / Cerys Matthews
10. People Got a Lotta Nerve / Neko Case
11. 4 M.B. / Lloyd Cole
12. Trains to Brazil / Guillemots
13. Bonnie Brae / The Twilight Singers
14. Here Comes the Flood / Peter Gabriel

Download the .zip file here

Although this blog is events-based, there are certain building blocks of Triangle music that anyone looking to learn more about it just needs to know, like the history of a little Chapel Hill record label called  Merge Records and its impact on the local scene. However it isn’t just important for the Triangle, it’s a staple in talking about indie rock in general, from Neutral Milk Hotel to The Magnetic Fields to Spoon.

Listen to an interview with founders Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance by Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal about the label’s impact and success.

The now Durham-based label kicked off its 20th anniversary celebration this summer with the XX Merge festival at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro and Memorial Hall at UNC-CH. Tickets for the July 22-26 festival sold out immediately and sad ticket-less locals (like me) were forced to constantly refresh a Twitter search for #xxmerge instead. But now other kindred  spirits can find solace in this performance and interview video archive on Babelgum.

Performances included 33 bands from Merge’s two decades, including The Rosebuds, Conor Oberst & the Mystic Valley Band (Oberst’s otherwise known for his work in Bright Eyes), Telekinesis, Polvo, Arcade Fire, She & Him (M. Ward and actress/as of recently Mrs. Death Cab Zooey Deschanel) and Superchunk, which kicked off the festival and includes McCaughan and Ballance.

The founders recently teamed up with journalist/Superchunk fan John Cook (of Gawker and formerly Radar) to pen the history of Merge in “Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label That Got Big and Stayed Small.” The 320-page book is packed with plenty of text in an oral history from the founders and others integral to the label’s birth, and is balanced out with coffee table-worthy images of concert posters, its first company invoice and enough behind-the-scenes pictures to fill several photo albums. The forward’s even written by long-time Merge fan/N.C. native/musician Ryan Adams. It’s available in stores and Merge’s Web store now.

But the  celebration doesn’t end there, “The Merge Records Companion,” a limited-edition picture book discography of the label’s first two decades is available for pre-order now and set to ship on Nov. 3.

Check out this UNC TV special on the anniversary

For more info on Merge’s anniversary, check out this Indy article by Grayson Currin, the accompanying links on the same page, and an interview with Cook and favorable book review, both by Marc Masters.

If you just happen to be in New York on Friday, Oct. 23, Mac and Laura will  read from “Our Noise” and perform some songs at Housing Works starting at 7 p.m. Check here for more info.

There will surely be many more great things coming from the folks at Merge, but not just musically. It seems that they have a knack for innovation as the label was the first ever to sell “LP3s” in 2005, which means that when a customer buys one of its releases on vinyl, he or she also gets a digital version at no extra cost.

For more general info on Merge, check out its blog and Twitter.

Expect future installments on other locally based labels.

• Embarrassing Fruits
• Royal Bangs
• Deltron 3030
• The Proclivities
• The Rosebuds
• The Big Pink
• Mumford and Sons
• Thao with the Get Down Stay Down
• A Place To Bury Strangers

feeling slightly eclectic this morning… so a mix as such.

-ILIBIB

Harlem Shakes-Strictly Game

The Rosebuds-Get Up Get Out (Justin Vernon Remix)

Alaska in Winter-Berlin

The Grouch-Simple Man

In chronological order:

Kevin Tor and Chris Sifflet and a pooch at Comix

The Rosebuds at Bowery Ballroom – Christmas lights…..

Cock Lorge at Mercury Lounge – from my best set of CL photos

Santiago, Lady Lamb and the Bee Keeper and Dilly Dilly singing their rendition of “Say My Name” – Bryan and Jess’ birthday party at Space Gallery

Feel It Robot – Bryan and Jess’ birthday party at Space Gallery

Marie Stella at The Door Yard (I shot this while waiting out a snowstorm)

Holly Miranda at Mercury Lounge

Pela at Mercury Lounge (my all time faves)

Isabella – St. Rose of Lima – Brooklyn, NY (she didn’t even flinch when the flash went off)

Brye and friends in her hallway somewhere in the vicinity of 4:00 am during her birthday party

Langhorne Slim at The Bell House (no comment – photo says it all)

The Wrens at The Bell House (I am so glad that I did not blow this shot)

Easter eggs (shot in my kitchen)

North Folk, LI (shot while visiting wineries for Leonor’s 40th birthday bash)

Blackpool at Mercury Lounge ( it was so dark in there that night – it’s amazing that I got anything – I may have turned on the flash)

mini burgers by Elon – they look delicious but I would not know… vegetarian…

The Dears at The Bell House

Le Switch at Castle Ivar (I really liked Aaron, he’s a great musician and fun to hang out with)

Afternoons at Castle Ivar (KiDROCKERS). This woman has the most amazing voice I’ve ever heard. I’m glad I photographed her because if I had not seen her with my own eyes I would not have believed the voice actually came out of her.

Hollywood Blvd. (shot while walking with my friend Chris)

Change The Station at Public Assembly

Change The Station at Public Assembly – This is almost the shot that I have been trying to get of Ian for quite sometime.

James – undisclosed location in NYC

Drink Up Buttercup at Santos House Party – Michael never fails to impress me.

Passion Pit at Bowery Ballroom

To see the set as a slide show click here

Det ryktes at det skal skje noe spesielt og spennende når Big Bang avslutter konserten sin på Norwegian Wood. What could it be, what could it be? Arrrg.. nysgjerrig. (edit 14.06.09. Det var vist sølvgutta som dukka opp og tok en trall med bandet. De sang Isabel.)

Alice in Chains kommer med nytt albumet. Black Gives Way to Blues vil den hete og kommer i butikkene 29. september.

Arcade Fires musikk blir en del av en ballett. En gjeng profesjonelle dansere har satt sammen en ballett med musikken til Arcade Fire, Spoon og The Rosebuds. Balletten vil bli vist på Merge records 20 år jubileum.  

Ooooo.. Husker du The Gossip? Heavy Cross? Nå har den en musikkvideo og. Jippi!

Current favorite late night dance song. Brilliant cover of the Cure’s The Walk by The Rosebuds who, though their melodic indie stylings can often sound a lot more organic, can also do “darkly danceable” with the best of them.

Absolutely sublime and it reminds you well of all those nights you spent all dressed in black and wasted, frolicking through the haze of the 80’s post-punk scene.

I think I’ll get wasted and listen again. Maybe turn it up loud and invite some friends over.

The night is young.

Nothing feeds the soul – my soul – like the City.  Not just any city, but The City, as in New York, New York.  The energy, the lights, the pace and the endless options including eggs at 4:30, a movie at midnight, coffee carts that serve HOT coffee, $10 manicures that last, and public transportation you can count on.  Love it.

I just spent three days there dashing in-and-out of meetings and now feel re-energized and inspired.  Ready to face the day, the economy (OK, almost), the red wall in my office and the false sense of cuteness I’m bound to suffer at some point today.

Thank you New York.  

View from Gansevoort. 
Listening to The Rosebuds, The Lover’s Rights.

with The Rosebuds, Kiss Kiss, Craig Baldo and Bobby Tisdale at the 92 St Y Tribeca

The Rosebuds

Kiss Kiss

Bobby Tisdale an Craig Baldo

To see complete gallery click here

Special Earth Day edition of KiDROCKERS at 92St Y Tribeca.

The Rosebuds

Kiss Kiss

Hosted by Craig Baldo and Bobby Tisdale.

To see complete gallery click here

Enjoy

J

After a bite to eat just down the street at Mel’s Delicatessan, we headed to the show hoping that we don’t hit a huge line-up and have to wait outside the venue for a while before the show starts.  As we approached the venue, it was deserted.  We have the right night right?  We aren’t completely absent minded are we? I check the tickets and the show is indeed tonight.  We wander towards the entrance and there’s a lone security guard waiting inside. Robyn and I casually head through the checkpoints and make it inside the venue, only to confirm our suspicions.  We are the only ones there.  So what do we do? We sit along the benches for a while, kind of examining the place.  It’s Lee’s, it has kind of an interesting mystique to it.  It’s a small venue in the city but it has a good character.  The few times I’ve seen shows there it’s always been memorable somehow.

But there’s no one walking around at all?  Where is everyone? Who booked this show anyways? I thought these guys were a great band? How come no one is coming to see them? Baffling.  Nick calls.  We let him know of the situation and decide a better course of action will be to head around the corner and kill off an hour or so over some rounds.  Green room.  At 10 to 10, we’re back at Lee’s.

The place has filled a little more since we first arrived, but still only contains maybe 30 people.  The mood is relaxed as we walk in, and the opening band is finishing their set.  We learn later that the bassist/programmer is also a performing member of the Rosebuds.  Unfortunately the band name escapes me, but the openers had a distinct ambient quality to their sound.  Very down tempo.  The moment I caught from them was quite beautiful.  Very precise in execution, and they harnessed every nuance of the sounds they were making, going from soundscape improvisation into a down-tempo, lyrical, folk-like crescendo to finish their set.  That’s all we saw, but it certainly excited the senses.

The Rosebuds hit the stage about 25 minutes later.  At first I was appehensive to see how they would handle such a small group, but they seemed comfortable.  They immediately came in with strong numbers, and engaging the crowd in between songs.  With a crowd this small it’s almost as if you need to talk to people one on one, and sometimes it seemed like that.  But it helped brighten the mood for everyone even more, and it seemed to translate to the band as well. They continued through their setlist well, their sounds were quite polished and well-rehearsed, and they continued candidly speaking with the crowd more and more throughout the set, which did great things for the atmosphere in the venue.  Towards the end of the set, members of the opening band began to participate and Kelly started to bring her instruments into the crowd to interact with the audience. This eventually broke down into an acoustic jam circle on the floor of the venue.  This brought everyone’s mood up.  Everyone in the venue got involved on the floor, and everyone sang along with the instructions from the band and danced in sequence together.  They played 3 songs like this to close the set and left everyone going home happy.   There are very few times that I get to experience such a candid performance from a band, and this was great fun.  It only helped me gain more interest in their music and I loved their attitude towards the show.  Entertaining people really is what live music is about and it was great to see a band interact with their fans on such an intimate level.  This was a show I wont forget.

The Rosebuds – Life Like

Look out for a live video from the gig coming very soon.

Jon

i have so much to say until i try to write it down.

: \