July 2nd, 2009 / Comments Off / by mtedder
Q&A With Phenomenal Handclap Band
Phenomenal Handclap Band are a New York-based soul seduction, influenced by the vintage sounds the 70’s wrought; they claim an affinity for crooked jam oriented hooks, and take an independent effort to create a live scenery, play-writs would zeal over. Their self-titled release dropped June 23, and will be keeping these guys hand-clapping a bit more internationally.
So both you guys, (Daniel Collas and Sean Marquand) both produce?
Sean: Yup. Yup.
How long have you both been working together?
Daniel: Since 2004, is that right?
Sean: Yeah.
How did you guys meet up?
Daniel: (laughs) I always get to tell this story. So, I used to DJ this club, a little further downtown, and this club was kind of a big affair, a popular club at the time. We used to hire Go-Go dancers, and it was a whole production. Sean’s sister was one of the Go-Go dancer and she became friends with my partner at the time. So to cut the story short I met him through his sister.
What I noticed about your record is that your tracks run a little bit longer than normally radio friendly songs. How do you feel about that?
Sean: Actually, it wasn’t a conscious decision at all. I think the only conscious thing about it, was we just decided to do everything the way that sounded right at the time. We just kinda valued every little element that we put into it, and it was just something that we were excited about. If a song needed to be six minutes long, it was six minutes long, and there are a few that are four.
Daniel: I think also we had done a couple of productions, and there seemed to be this mania about shortening songs to make them radio friendly, and you know radio doesn’t seem to exist. Ironically it does, because as soon as we stopped thinking that way is when we got radio play. We would try and write songs that were three and a half minutes long, and it just seems really arbitrary to cut a song like that.
At your biggest moment at South by Southwest, how many people did you have watching?
Sean: Maybe 600 at that pizza place.
Daniel: Were there that many people there?
Sean: Maybe not.
Daniel: It was like a whirlwind. We played eight shows in three days.
Sean: But we’re going from these really small shows, to these festival shows in Europe, which is gonna be complete night and day for us. But it’ll be great.
What’s kind of audience do you guys attract to your shows?
Daniel: I’ve never really thought about that. Just people. It’s funny too, because we have a lot of our friends that come out to every show, and we just end up hanging out with them.
Sean: I can say though, that I really look forward to playing for a younger audience, because I remember how important music was more me when I was in my teens. Obviously the ideal audience.
How do you guys describe your music?
Daniel: I prefer to think of our music as progressive, in the rock n’ roll sense of the term, as opposed to progressive dance music, and progressive house.
You have a very old warm feel, and that’s something difficult for a record coming out now.
Daniel: Yeah, we want it to feel live, because it is live. And I think that there are plenty of records that get made that are polished in the studio and come out sounding too clean or too shiny. It feel like it’s tooo uhhhhh!
Sean: I feel like these guys …have a separate take on it.
Daniel: You can hear that too, the more you get in production, you can really hear certain things. Like this is obviously done this way, or they’re so perfect, and they’re so tight.
Are you guys excited to see which songs sell the most on the iTunes charts?
Daniel: Well it’s interesting because one of our songs has been getting a lot of press right now, getting talked about, blogged a lot. But it’s interesting to see which songs are going to come after that, and we have the songs that are chosen to be the singles.
Which did you choose as your single?
Daniel: Right now, “15-20” is a single. And then “You’ll Disappear”.
Sean: The soul song, “Baby”, is doing really well on the iTunes charts right now. The interesting thing about iTunes culture, you don’t really have as much connection to image, like with a vinyl, but at the same time, it’s kinda nice that just a song is completely on it’s own. Videos are still important and all that, but we kinda prefer a song download. And this is different culture as of three years, two years.
http://www.myspace.com/embassyproductions
-Jomel Silverio
Posted in: Interns, Interviews
July 2nd, 2009 / Comments Off / by mtedder
Five Thoughts on Explosions In The Sky @ Central Park Summerstage
1) For an act that is at least nominally a rock band, there sure is a lot of sitting onstage with these guys.
2) Speaking of stage presence, it doesn’t get much more animated than the guitarists spinning their bodies in a circular motion during the buildups.
3) The theme song from Friday Night Lights gets a big applause. I’m glad people watch that show.
4) Explosions songs don’t really stray to far from the pretty, twinkling beginning/slow build/thunderous sheets of sound release. Which is fine. No one wants a dance song or punk song from these guys.
5) During those moments where the build-up swells too large to continue and the song just opens up like a supernova, you will feel like you have the strength of a thousand suns. Triumphant is too small a word.
http://www.explosionsinthesky.com/
-Michael Tedder
Posted in: Concert Reviews & Photos, Michael Tedder
June 26th, 2009 / Comments Off / by Lisa Hresko
Grizzly Bear holds the no. 1 positionand Mos Def’s The Ecstatic, the no. 4 Hip-Hop, climbs over 80 places. Notable debuts include the baby-faced Tiny Masters Of Today (no. 26), Brit mainstays Placebo (no. 62) and Oklahoma City rockers Stardeath And White Dwarfs (no. 64).
In just it’s second week at radio, Devildriver’s Pray For Villains comfortable steers into the top slot at Loud Rock while Montreal producer Tiga lands at the summit of RPM with his second long player, Ciao!
Subscribers click here to download the new CMJ New Music Report.
Posted in: CMJ New Music Report, Posts
June 22nd, 2009 / Comments Off / by Kristen Cesiro
Download The Song Here: “Tall Towers”
From the album The Scorpion in the Story
Courtesy of Glass Mountain Records
Posted in: DOWNLOAD THIS!
June 21st, 2009 / Comments Off / by Kristen Cesiro
Download The Song Here: “Bionic”
From the album How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb
Courtesy of QN5 Music
Posted in: DOWNLOAD THIS!
June 20th, 2009 / Comments Off / by Kristen Cesiro
Download The Song Here: “Tell You Something”
From the album Witness To Connection
Courtesy of Stratking Records LLC
Posted in: DOWNLOAD THIS!
June 19th, 2009 / Comments Off / by mtedder
Five (Or So) Questions with Vivian Girls
Earlier this month, CMJ ran an article about the fabulous Brooklyn indie band the Vivian Girls to announce the release date of their sophomore album Everything Goes Wrong. At the time, we sent the Girls a few interview questions hoping to get some behind-the-scenes info. Busy rock stars that they are, unfortunately no one in the band had time to respond then. Now that they’ve officially landed in NYC following a world tour, Cassie, the Vivian Girls resident blonde, graciously found a moment to answer a few questions about the new LP due out September 8 via In the Red. The Vivian Girls won’t be resting to answer questions for long, though—their North American tour starts July 4th at the Captured Tracks & Woodsist Fest in Brooklyn.
The new album was recorded in six days, and most of the songs were done in single takes—how much rehearsal time goes into being able to do that?
We practiced at least three times a week in all the time we had off in
early 2009. Right before we went to record the album we practiced
every day. A bunch of the songs we recorded had false starts though -
like we’d get through a minute of the song and mess up and start over.
Was there a goal for this album? What was the sound you were trying to achieve?
We wanted it to capture the live show more than the last album, and I
think we succeeded. We also messed around more with different tones
and effects than last time.
Explain the Happy Birthday Michael cake.
It’s an inside joke that came from nowhere. Well, Katy loves dessert
so we were joking about putting birthday cake on our rider, and then
Ali said that we should ask for “Happy 30th Birthday Michael” to be
written on it, we all thought that was really funny. We’ve gotten the
cake on our rider twice!
What’s the advantage to being a girl band?
I don’t know. Is there one?
www.myspace.com/viviangirlsnyc
-Emily Parliman
Posted in: Interns, Interviews
June 19th, 2009 / Comments Off / by mtedder
Bonnaroo Music And Arts Festival/ Great Stage Park/Manchester, TN/June 11-14
Day One, Thursday June 11
-Let’s get the main bitching out of the way now. Though there’s no shortage of port-a-potties on the festival grounds, there’s no soap dispensers near any of them. Believe me, I checked. Now, I realize in recessionary times we all have to make cutbacks, and I’m often accused of being an excessive germaphobe, but this is unconsciousable, Bonnaroo organizers. Also, $7 showers? Are you encouraging hippies not to bathe? That’s just evil.
-Remember that time you thought “man, if only someone would combine Andre 3000, a young Diana Ross and Debbie Harry, with just a touch of Gary Numan and Blade Runner,” well, meet Janelle Monae. Dressed like a combination of Elvis and the world’s most glam catering waitress, Janelle bounded across the stage, struck a series of over-the-top glam diva poses, effortlessly mixed deep funk with cyborg new wave, and even painted during one song. Considering that Thursday is supposed to be a warm-up-everybody-get-their-bearings-night, it was both surprising and gratifying that one of the first sets I saw was also one of the best.
-It’s too bad the record industry doesn’t know how to market left-of-center hip-hop all that well, because Murs is one of the most likeable performers in any genre, as well as one of the most hard-working. Struck between wanting a girlfriend and just wanting lots of girls, Murs’songs are hilarious, and he allows his beats to have more boom than the average back-pack rapper.
-Rhode Island’s The Low Anthem has no shortage of gorgeous, quavering ballads, and their debut album Oh My God, Charles Darwin uses an impressive amount of instruments for a trio (27 in all, but there was much less on stage.) But was it really a good idea for them to include the name of the group everyone will compare them to right there in their own name?
-New Orleans by way of LA rap duo The Knux are some talented guys. They fuse alt-rock and hip-hop far better than most of their “hipster rap” peers. Why did they feel the need to play “Jump Around?” Not cover, they just played it while people danced onstage. Huh?
Day Two, Friday June 12
-And the award for Most Inconsistent Big-Name Live Act In Indie Goes To…Animal Collective! For the fifth year in a row! Congrats! But in all seriousness, though the group has reportedly been trying to tighten up the live show this year, the group’s world-beating songs from Merriweather Post Pavilion sounded thin and watery at times, though things did manage to coalesce for the joyful, seasonally appropriate “Summertime Clothes.”
-Sign That You’ve Arrived: At the end of their remarkable set, which saw them smash art-rock, dance-pop and world-music grooves into the weirdest pop shapes possible (seriously, when was the last time you head-banged to Salsa music?) Dirty Projectors announced “and now we’d like to sing a song with our friend David.” Cue, David Bryne, who reprised his cameo from the band’s Dark Was The Night contribution “Knotty Pine.”
-Perhaps due to the intense 5pm heat, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at times sounded (though certainly never looked) muddy and leaden, but Karen O., ever the trooper, never gave less than 100%. When Nick Zinner’s guitar blurtzed out during the intro to “Maps,” Karen demanded they start over and do it acoustically, thus temporarily turning Bonnaroo into a camp-ground sing-a-long for three minutes.
-So how do you like your New York-based alternative rock veterans? While the Beastie Boys reportedly brought out Nas during their mainstage performance, David Byrne had to make due with three back-up dancers, who were unafraid to move Byrne around like an-onstage prop. For his part, Byrne was unafraid to get down and get silly with the dancers (at one point he even wore a tutu!), even if most of his moves look like an arty version of the robot. It was clear Byrne and his crew were having fun, which helped transform the nervous tension of his Talking Heads classics and the spiritual longing of superb new songs from Everything That Happens Will Happen Today into joyful, cathartic experiences.
-Public Enemy, a.k.a the group that gave the world VHI reality show star Flavor Flav, performed “She Watch Channel Zero?!” At the end of the song, Flav informed us that that shit will rot our brain. This was all done without irony.
Day Three, Saturday June 13
-While the onsite camping and rockin’ until all hours certainly makes for a unique experience, it is difficult to get a good night’s sleep when Paul Oakenfeld is blaring until 5 in the morning. Also, having to listen to a surprise Jimmy Buffett performance while blearily waiting to take a shower in a flooded stall must surely count as hipster human rights violation.
-Saturday afternoon had the worst simultaneously-playing-gotta-make-hard-decisions-lineup of the festival, with Wilco, acoustic Elvis Costello and The Decemberists all bowing around the same time. It is a point of professional pride that I managed to catch part of all three. Wilco (or at least the beginning of their set) toned down the experimentation and showcased their breezy, folksy side, but picked up the energy with a spirited run through of “Shot In The Arm.” Costello covered The Beatles and channeled his angry young man days for acoustic readings of “Radio, Radio” and “Veronica.” Starting a bit late, The Decemberists attacked their recent rock opera The Hazards Of Love (complete with four drummers and guest spots from the singers of My Brightest/ Lavender/ Diamond and Chris Funk’s Zep-esq guitar) and back catalogue with classic rock swagger that seemed to imply that one would be wise to quit referring to them as precious, lest one’s teeth gets kicked in.
-If should be mentioned that of all the major American festivals I’ve attended, which is quite a bit, Bonnaroo has the best food. Generous, spicy pizza, mouth-watering bbq, far-too-spicy Cajun, and snob-arrific hand-crafted brews abount. There’s also plenty of coffee to help your rock until 4. These things are important when you’re more or less stuck in one space for four days.
-Though he’s pushing 60, Bruce Springsteen worked the stage with an energy that shamed most of the younger groups on the bill. The Boss And The E Streets played for three hours, though things didn’t get seriously cooking until an hour in, when Bruce ran through audience favorites like “Badlands” and “The Promised Land” as well as new classics like “The Rising.” Towards the end of the set drummer Max Weinberg’s 19 year old son Jay guested on skins. The guy has the passion and dexterity of his father, but so uncannily resembles another famous drummer that Max might want to have words with Dave Grohl.
-Though I refuse to believe for even a second that Nine Inch Nails is retiring (maybe they can co-headline a bill with Ozzy and Jay-Z when Trent finally comes out of retirement), Trent Reznor and his able backing group ended this era with a ferocious performance that touched on all eras of Reznor’s catalog, from the 20-year-old Pretty Hate Machine through last year’s The Slip, with generous helping from The Downward Spiral, and even threw his collaborations with Saul Williams and David Bowie into the set. Almost as impressive as Reznor’s aggressive stage presence was the epilepsy bating light show, which impressively timed the strobe flashes down to the beat on songs like “The Good Soldier.”
Day Four, Sunday June 14
-After joining Nine Inch Nails the night prior for an unholy (in a good way) tear through “Wish,” The Dillinger Escape Plan woke up everyone within earshot with their overly-complex thrash anthems, and claimed every inch of the stage as their own, including the high-rising speakers and the concertgoers’ heads, which were surfed across repeatedly.
-Strangest choice of the bill: avant soul-diva Erykah Badu or skull-crushers High On Fire? The metal trio blanketed most of the campgroup with their head-in-vice riffs, while Badu, starting 45 minutes late, led her band through a chilled out set of modern soul.
-Okkervil River perform what most be the most ragged, angstful take on “Sloop John B” ever. Also, the rising notes on “Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe” flat out kill everything in their path.
-Strangest duet of the festival: Neko Case and Triumph The Insult Comic Dog running through “Sweet Chariot.” Yes, this actually happened, right after the singer cheerfully put up with a number of lecherous advances from the acerbic puppet. Recovering from the “am I hallucinating” cognitive dissonance, Case soothed the frazzled, thoroughly rocked-out crowd with her warm, reverby country-noir lullabies.
-I’m sure Phish were phine if you’re into that sort of thing, but the lure of beating traffic, a shower and an actual bed proved too tempting to resist.
www.bonnaroo.com
-Michael Tedder
Posted in: Concert Reviews & Photos, Michael Tedder
June 15th, 2009 / Comments Off / by Kristen Cesiro
Download The Song Here: “Beer For Breakfast”
From the album Beyond Therapy
Courtesy of Wig City Records
Posted in: DOWNLOAD THIS!, Gift Guide
June 15th, 2009 / Comments Off / by Kristen Cesiro
Download The Song Here: “Issues Are Like Tissues”
From the album Beyond Therapy
Courtesy of Wig City Records
Posted in: DOWNLOAD THIS!
June 12th, 2009 / Comments Off / by Lisa Hresko
Noisemaking buzz-band Grizzly Bear mauls Iron And Wine, last week’s No. 1, crowning itself king at Radio 200 and Triple A. In another clean sweep this week, the co-ed Brooklyn collective Dirty Projectors are this week’s top debut (No. 38) as well as coming in as the most added record at college and non-comm radio.
Radio 200’s No. 38 album, the Field’s Yesterday And Today, seizes the day and bumps Norway’s Röyksopp out of the top spot at RPM.
Subscribers click here to download the new CMJ New Music Report.
Posted in: CMJ New Music Report, Posts
June 11th, 2009 / Comments Off / by Lisa Hresko
The Decemberists’ sell-out show at Radio City Music Hall on June 10 is proof of how far the band has come. They took the stage at the historical hall after a charismatic performance by heavily-accented British singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock and his supporting accompaniment the Venus 3. Hitchcock’s half-hour opening set included the ground-shaking song “Up to Our Nex” from the soundtrack to Rachel Getting Married, and the title song from his latest album Goodnight Oslo. Colin Meloy, lead Decemberist, joined Hitchcock on stage to shake the tambourine during the ‘70s rock-era tune “Saturday Groovers” and the beautifully melancholic track “Hurry for the Sky.” By the end of the set, Hitchcock And The Venus 3 may very well have been the sole cause of the smoke emanating from behind them.
After the opener, the Decemberists played two sets. The first earned them an A+ on the musical endurance test, seeing as how they went through the entire Hazards Of Love album with nary a pause or break. Though the first set offered the audience very few personalized touches, the tight tones and sensational melodies made it obvious why the Portland indie rockers have come so far. The set declared that the Decemberists are not an underground sensation any longer and have transitioned gracefully into the mainstream.
Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark, clad in a flowing white maxi dress, added an operatic edge to the Decemberists’ trademark indie sound when she joined the band for the first and some of the second part of the set. And another jem, pixie-haired Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond, guest-starred as well, complimented Meloy’s warble with her sultry-sweet tones. The ladies danced, crooned and accompanied the five-piece instrumentally in front of a kaleidoscopic background that gave the viewer the feeling of watching a group of fanciful elves play at the fairytale forest bonfire.
After a short break, the Decemberists came back on stage to play some of their greatest hits. Though the audience had stayed sitting for the theatrical first set, a dance party ensued once the first few chords of “Billy Liar” were strummed. Meloy divided the theatre into a vocal harmony by crowd section, which thrilled the balcony to no end, and created an audience-driven a cappella version of the song.
Because of Radio City Music Hall’s curfew, the Decemberists chose to keep the banter to a minimum and the music to a maximum, hitting crowd favorites like “The Crane Wife 3,” “Sleepless” and “Dracula’s Daughter,” which Meloy declared his “worst song ever” because of its “douche-y chord progression.” The concert’s last segment had a more intimate feel and rawer sound than either of the first two sets, giving the audience the feeling that they were witnessing something that wouldn’t (or couldn’t) be recreated. And the lone encore, during which the audience sang along with “Sons and Daughters,” left the evening on a poignant, memorable note.
–Emily Parliman
Posted in: Concert Reviews & Photos, Industry Profiles, Interns, Posts
June 9th, 2009 / Comments Off / by Kristen Cesiro
Download The Song Here: “My Mind’s Melting”
From the album Beyond Therapy
Courtesy of Wig City Records
Posted in: DOWNLOAD THIS!
June 8th, 2009 / Comments Off / by mtedder
OurStage Pick: Happiest Lion
Happiest Lion
“Image Of Chicago”
Electronic pop
This cutesy indie pop takes good direction from their electronic influences, making them sound like they traded their acoustic guitars in for synths. Simple lyrics and a tinge of emotionality brings more versatility yet stays within the indie spectrum.
RIYL: Postal Service, Moldy Peaches, Casual Women
WEB: www.ourstage.com/fanclub/happiestlion
Upload your own material at http://www.ourstage.com for a chance to be featured in CMJ.
Posted in: Interns, OurStage
June 8th, 2009 / Comments Off / by Kristen Cesiro
Download The Song Here: “Mad Man”
From the album Are We There Yet
Courtesy of Wig City Records
Posted in: DOWNLOAD THIS!
June 5th, 2009 / Comments Off / by mtedder
Soundctrl Launch Event @ Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Annex NYC – 06/04/09
Nerds, take heed. This is your time to shine. Or said Chuck D in his own commanding way at Soundctrl’s buzzing, free booze-flowing event in their monthly series. The emphasis was on the convergence of music and digital media with a panel of three (Chuck D – no explanation needed, Albert Wenger – Union Square Ventures and Lisa Grey - Green Label Sound) talking to the crowd about the ways in which the music industry is changing, thanks to technology.
After the serious came the music, with young whippersnapper DJ Webstar flexing his flexibility and stepping up to rap through an abridged medley of songs. He demonstrated that you can in fact wear sunglasses at night (and inside), posturing around a small but dynamite backing dancer. Next was Santiago, Chile vocalist Valentina Fel, who threw stony-faced capoeira-meets-Madonna-in-the-’80s shapes with mic in hand, her world-infused music bouncing off the psychedelic shapes on the screen behind her. And where was Philadelphia underground star Wale? He was running late, apparently, doing a couple of gigs that night.
Soundctrl – it’s an inventive initiative and events like this have the potential to be great – they just might need some extra fine tuning, before (as founder Jesse Kirshbaum hopefully expressed) they “go on to infinity.”
www.soundctrl.com
-Marisa Aveling
Posted in: Concert Reviews & Photos, Interns
June 5th, 2009 / Comments Off / by mtedder
Five (Or So) Questions With White Rabbits
When CMJ gets a hold of White Rabbits’ lead vocalist and keyboardist, Stephen Patterson, the Brooklyn-based (by way of Columbia, MO) six-piece were in a town somewhere outside of Boston. Although the band is only one week deep into a hefty US tour to promote their new album, It’s Frightening, Patterson has admittedly already begun to forget what day it is and what city they’re in. Considering the buzz that Frightening, their debut for ATO Records, is generating, the group will likely be on the road for quite some time, so hopefully Patterson will get used to the disorientation.
It’s quite intense to spend so much time in such confined spaces with the same people like you guys have been doing [until fairly recently, all band members lived together in a loft in the Brooklyn neighborhood Bushwick]. How have you managed to live, work and play in a band so successfully over these years without killing each other?
Well, we don’t live there anymore. We moved out, I think it was a year and a half ago or so. A few of us are living on our own now. It’s not as close, but I suppose we still always work as a group, writing and all that kind of thing. It makes touring a lot easier because you just know everybody’s weird little quirks before you go out. That was the first plus that I noticed.
What was the catalyst of you moving out of that loft?
Uh, bed bugs.
So it wasn’t that you weren’t getting along and finding it too intense to work and live together?
It was absolutely intense. We lived together in New York, maybe a year and a half just writing and then rehearsing and all that, and then we did the record and then we were on the road for the next two years – no time by yourself, ever.
Since you worked with Britt Daniel, there has been mention of a few Spoon-isms that can be found on It’s Frightening. Have you had any problems trying to distinguish yourself as more than just a band that sounds like Spoon?
You know what, it’s a silly thing for us to be concerned about. We just had, like, a really great time working with Britt and we were all excited to be working together, Britt included. And that was the main thing. It’s really up to other people and how they want to listen to the record and if they want to get so hung up on being comparative, then they’re not going to have a very enjoyable experience. I just don’t feel that’s the way that we should be listening to music. I think it should be understood that we are working together and if you’re listening to the record and waiting for moments that sound like Spoon, that seems really lame to me.
It’s hard because people are always trying to grab at reference points.
They always are and that’s more frustrating than anything, that you get one little snippet of your press release and that controls the dialogue of the record for the next six months, do you know what I mean? I can understand why people would say there’s moments that sound like Spoon I suppose, but I don’t think the songs sound like Spoon at all.
It’s not a bad reference point at all.
No, it’s not a bad reference point, that’s what I mean. I don’t like that - ‘Are we having trouble distinguishing ourselves’. It’s kinda like, ‘I don’t know, I don’t really care’. All we wanted to do was record a good record and I think we did that. And we recorded it with a good friend of ours who we respect and that’s the main point. And it’s like [pauses] I don’t know. If you can’t keep White Rabbits and Spoon straight, that’s not my problem.
What exactly is a ‘Percussion Gun’?
What is it?
Uh huh.
It’s a fitting title [laughs]. I think it was just, we have books filled with potential titles and that was one of ‘em. And –
It doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that you guys have two drummers?
Well, I think we saw the title and we listened to the song and realized it was a really fitting title.
Can you make up a really exciting story so I can put it on the website?
[laughs] Ohhh [pause].
Something outlandish.
Oh goddammit, I’m so bad at thinking on the spot.
Think on your feet Steve, think on your feet.
I know, I know. It’s not my strong suit. I dunno – Britt wanted to call it ‘The Great Burundi’.
What is that?
That was my joke, my sort of temporary song title for that one, but then we all thought that ‘Percussion Gun’ sounded better and looked cooler.
What’s a ‘Burundi’?
It’s that beat. It’s a burundi beat.
Alright, I won’t ask any more questions.
[laughs] I’m sorry, I wish I was better at things like this.
Maybe by the third record you’ll be good at it.
Yeah.
www.myspace.com/whiterabbits
-Marisa Aveling
Posted in: Interns, Interviews
June 4th, 2009 / Comments Off / by mtedder
Sonicbids Spotlight: Jordan
This French trio play energetic odd-rock, with plenty of post punk screech-singing, and no bassist. Hailing from Paris and playing art rock with a twinge of charmingly broken English, Jordan makes pop culture references across the board, to things like Melville’s whale, to Mexican legends and something called ‘DIY voodoo.’ The trio grew up together in a small French city, listening to European post punk and noisy American rock of the late 80’s and 90’s, and their sound emulates a fondue of multiple genres, melted together and simmered into loud, energetic rock
Jordan’s first release came in 2006, recorded by Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire) and Brian Paulson (Mates Of State) in Montreal. Their debut record, Oh No We Are Dominos! was recorded and produced in 2007 by Jay Pelliccci (Deerhoof, Erase Errata). Jordan also takes pride in frequent radio and net airplay, and only through indie channels.<br>
http://www.sonicbids.com/jordan4
- Joe Puglisi
Posted in: Interns
June 4th, 2009 / Comments Off / by Lisa Hresko
Iron And Wine ousts Camera Obscura from the no. 1 spot as the Glasgow outfit falls to no. 4. Iggy Pop returns to college radio with Préliminaires, the most added record of the week, and Portland’s Viva Voce make a run for the top, debuting at no. 31.
Röyksopp returns to its cozy perch atop RPM after breifly falling to no. 2 and Abstract Rude claims the peak at Hip-Hop. Heaven And Hell, Amadou And Mariam and Allen Toussaint all hold their ground at Loud Rock, New World and Jazz, respectivley.
Subscribers click here to download the new CMJ New Music Report.
Posted in: CMJ New Music Report
June 2nd, 2009 / Comments Off / by mtedder
The Everyday Visuals @ Piano’s—June 1, 2009
Florence Foster Jenkins—the American soprano muse behind The Everyday Visuals aptly titled track—had the opposite problem of the five-piece that I went to see play at Piano’s (156 Ludlow St) yesterday. She, according to lead singer Christopher Pappas, famously couldn’t sing a note in tune, but had enough stage presence and determination to sell out Carnegie Hall weeks in advance of her final show. The Everyday Visuals, on the other hand, gave a solid performance that, musically speaking, was reminiscent of The Beatles or The Beach Boys (whom these good-natured boys with an edge and some floppy hair seem to be taking a cue from) but, in terms of earning crowd participation, the band was down there with…well…some band you’ve never heard of.
The pre-show combination of an unlocked door with a clearly practicing band only minutes before start-time was a bit of a mood-killer, and sparked an awkward “are we allowed to be here?” conversation amongst fans. This is probably why the crowd wound up forming a horse-shoe shape around the stage at 7:20 when, with no introduction, The Everyday Visuals launched into their first officially-part-of-the-show song, “Morning Star,” which we had seen them practicing pre-show. They stopped to introduce themselves only because of “an agreement” between Pappas and Eli Scheer before they start their third tune, “Florence Foster Jenkins.” Due to the agreement, Pappas gave a brief bio of Jenkins in a demeanor that betrayed his in-between song stage-fright, which is likely what prompted the show’s format: a few songs, a lot of jerky dance, a sentence or two of talk, a closing power anthem, a hop off the stage.
The Everyday Visuals might consider re-arranging the stage set-up (granted there was very little room to begin with) so that seemingly more confident Joe Seiders, the band’s drummer (and occasional accordion–yes, I said accordion–player), could do the talking. That set-up might be awkward, but a nerdy awkwardness is what keeps the band swoon-worthy. Pappas, to his credit, did the best he could at introductions, and just sort of “let the awkwardness flow through the room” when the crowd didn’t react to his stories.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” is clearly the band’s hit single to-be, with its bouncy rhythm and slightly sappy lyrics, but—uh oh!—Pappas forgot some of the words about half-way through the tune. After missing a few lines, Pappas pointed towards Kyle Fredrickson in an “ahh gots-it” type of way, cracking a quick joke and a sly smile before expertly picking up where he left off. The oopsie wasn’t a big deal for me at all. And, hey, they weren’t getting much crowd support, which may have rattled Pappas’s fragile-seeming nerves. Quite frankly, I was too enraptured in the panache with which Fredrickson shook his tambourine to give a damn what the words to “Boom! Boom! Boom!” were anyways.
The Everyday Visuals are huge in Boston, where their spot-on cover of “God Only Knows” is known to spark up a sing-a-long. Boston, or even just a larger sold-out venue, would be a great place to see their concert—and God only knows they’ll probably be playing larger, sold out venues soon. The guys have the goods after-all, they just don’t have the salesmanship yet—at least not from what I saw at Piano’s.
http://theeverydayvisuals.com
- Emily Parliman
Posted in: Concert Reviews & Photos, Interns
