(Upcoming Show) The Sway Machinery at Landfall Music Festival- Cedar Rapids, IA, 9/25

Posted on September 19, 2010 by mike

The Landfall Music Festival starts this week. The Landfall Music Festival is the Legion Arts’ World Music festival that has taken place since 2008. Like last year, the festival will take place at Greene Square Park in downtown Cedar Rapids. There will not be any performances at CSPS as it is under construction due to remodeling.

Legion Arts announced via their CSPS Facebook Page that The Sway Machinery was going to be added to the Saturday lineup. Although I hadn’t heard of The Sway Machinery before, the connections to Balkan Beat Box, The Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Antibalas was enough for me to take a closer look at the band.

The Sway Machinery is the cross-cultural music project of Jeremiah Lockwood who has been the guitarist for the touring version of Balkan Beat Box. Lockwood saw a synergy between American folk-blues, African folk rhythms and his own Ashkenazic Jewish Cantoral heritage. Lockwood is the grandson of the legendary Cantor Jacob Konigsberg as well as the son of composer Larry Lockwood.

Jeremiah Lockwood appeared in the 2000 documentary “Hasidic Blues” directed by BBC veteran filmmaker Robert Mullan. In the documentary clip below Lockwood discusses how he arrived at the fusion of the seemingly disparate musical styles, “I was intentionally trying to do something new with [the Cantoral] music– trying to create a way of listening to the melody and the vocal style that would give it more context. I guess the emotional experience I’ve had listening to Cantoral music, other people can have that also, so it is important for me to find a way to communicate that.”

Lockwood started The Sway Machinery in 2006 as a collaboration with Israeli percussionist Tomer Tzur who stayed with the band until 2007. The band released its debut full length album on JDub Records (also the home of Balkan Beat Box) in 2009. Titled Hidden Melodies Revealed, it was based on a concert performed on Rosh HaShana (the Jewish new year) at Angel Orensanz Foundation in New York City in September of 2007. From the JDub website: “Hidden Melodies Revealed showcases pieces based on mystical texts taken directly from the Jewish High Holiday prayers and reconfigures them in a startlingly new musical landscape.”

In January of 2010, The Sway Machinery traveled to Mali to perform at the legendary Festival of the Desert. While in Africa, the group recorded a new album featuring collaborations with Malian artists, including Vieux Farka Toure and Khaira Arby. The resulting album is called The House of Friendly Ghosts, and will be coming out on JDub in 2011.

For me, The Sway Machinery is a compelling intersection of music between the recent insurgence of music influenced by African rhythms– The Budos Band, Antibalas, Extra Golden are all bands I listen to that claim these as their basis– and music from Jewish culture and tradition I am not familiar with. The Sway Machinery will make for a strong wrap up for the four-day festival, and is the show I’m most interested in seeing.

Click Here to visit The Sway Machinery’s MySpace Page.

Click Here to visit The Sway Machinery’s website.

The Landfall Music Festival Schedule is: (borrowed from the Legion Arts Website)

Wed Sep 22	Dragon Knights, various times
	Barbara Furtuna (France), 6-7:15 pm *
	Mahala Rai Banda (Romania), 7:15-8:45 pm
Thu Sep 23	Dragon Knights, various times
	Red Baraat (India / USA), 6-7:15 pm
	Barbara Furtuna (France), 6:45-8 pm *
	Cimmarón (Colombia), 7:30-8:45 pm
Fri Sept 24	Kenge Kenge (Kenya), 6-7:15 pm
	Portico Quartet (England), 6:45-8 pm *
	Cordero (Mexico / USA), 7:30-8:45 pm
Sat Sept 25	Turkana (Turkey / USA), 1:35-2:45 pm
	Salaam (Iraq / USA), 2-3:15 pm *
	Calle Sur (Colombia / Panama / USA), 4-5:15 pm
	Zedashe Ensemble (Georgia), 5:30-6:45 pm
	Salaam (Iraq / USA), 6:30-7:45 pm *
	Nation Beat (Brazil / USA), 7-8:15 pm
	The Sway Machinery (USA), 8:30-9:45 pm

	Performances marked take place in First Presbyterian Church. Artists and schedule subject to change. For the latest updates visit this Website.*

(Upcoming Show) Cory Chisel Duo at The Lift in Dubuque – 9/16

Posted on September 13, 2010 by mike

I had the opportunity to see Appleton, Wisconsin native Cory Chisel with his touring band the Wandering Sons back in February at RIBCO in Rock Island opening for Dawes along with Jason Boesel. I wasn’t familiar with Cory before I heard of that show, but quickly his track “Born Again” from his latest full length Death Won’t Send A Letter became a favorite with it’s urgent Animals-esque organ lead and his slightly hoarse delivery.

His performance at the show was fantastic– full of energy and passion and for me an unexpected match for Dawes equally powerful set! Certainly a band I’d recommend anyone go see if presented a chance.

Cory is taking a short break from touring with a full band and performing some shows in the region as a duo including three shows in support of Mark Olson of the Jayhawks. This Thursday night Cory will be doing a headlining show at The Lift in Dubuque with Miles Nielsen in support. Show starts at 10PM.

Click Here for the Facebook Event Invite for Cory Chisel Duo at The Lift

Click Here to check out Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons Daytrotter Session.

Click Here to visit Cory Chisel’s Website.

Click Here to visit Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons MySpace Page

Click Here to visit Cory Chisel’s Facebook Fan Page

Click Here to listen to/download “Born Again” by Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons.

Click Here to visit Miles Nielsen’s Website

Click Here to visit Miles Nielsen’s MySpace Page

Click Here to visit Miles Nielsen’s Facebook Page

Click Here to listen to Miles Nielsen’s Daytrotter Session

(Upcoming Show) Pezzettino at The Blue Moose Tap House 9/15

Posted on September 11, 2010 by mike

The last time Margaret Stutt who performs as Pezzettino was in Eastern Iowa was back in January as part of a quick jump through the Midwest on her way to some shows on the East Coast. Since then she’s effectively adopted Brooklyn as one of her homes (Milwaukee being the other).

Freshly energized from an over-achieved Kickstarter fund raiser for her new record LubDub which is going through the process to create candy-yellow vinyl (in addition to CD and download)– Ms. Pezz has decided to embody the fuller sound of the record (via production by Milwaukee beatsmith and producer LMNtylist) by bringing some additional musicians along with her– a percussionist and a guitarist! This isn’t the first time she’s performed with a band– she used to for local shows, but most of her touring to date has been a solo affair.

I’m really excited to hear the new songs and the old done with a full band! Pezzettino will be opening for Chicago act Mike Mangione & The Union at the Blue Moose Tap House in Iowa City on Wednesday, September 15th. It is an all-ages show that starts at 7PM. I don’t know what the cover will be.

Pezzettino’s guitarist for this tour is Wolfgang Schaefer and he will be doing a solo set as well.

And if that wasn’t enough, before the show at the Blue Moose, Pezzettino will be the in-studio guest for Little Village Live on KRUI in the 5-6PM slot Wednesday night!

Here is the Facebook Event for the show— RSVP!

Listen to LubDub Here:
PEZZETTINO prod. LMNtlyst LubDub by Pezzettino

Visit Pezzettino’s website
Visit Pezzettino’s MySpace Page
Visit Wolfgang Schaefer’s MySpace Page
Visit Mike Mangione’s Website

Death Ships – Maybe Arkansas EP Released – Upcoming Show at The Mill 9/17

Posted on September 11, 2010 by mike

Last February I reported about former Iowa City band Death Ships– a show at the Mill and a new EP that he was going to release on iTunes. Titled Maybe Arkansas, it was a 4-track EP of some really great guitar rock. I said that it was, “a flat-out charmer– hook-filled and standing out in my mind as a testament to the great music that comes from the Midwest. These guitar pop songs draw easy and complimentary comparisons to other Midwest greats like The Jayhawks, The Honeydogs and, yes, Wilco. Each of these songs stick in my head with earworm intensity.”

Over half-year later, I still feel this same way about the EP. Since Dan sent me the songs in order for me to review it, I was one of the fortunate few to get to hear it. Well, except for some tracks he gave to some blogs to post and all of the people to which I excitedly played it.

Last week the EP made it to iTunes and you can download it for $3.96 or Amazon for $3.56. On a post frontman Dan Maloney made to his MySpace page, he announced the EP going to iTunes and also said that there will be a limited CD run of the EP. He also announced that they were going to start recording a new album next month.

Dan is bringing his Death Ships back to the Mill on Friday, September 17th opening for Ha Ha Tonka. In an e-mail to me this week, Dan said that they had a bunch of new jams he was excited to try out at this show.

I saw Ha Ha Tonka back in September of 2008 opening for Backyard Tire Fire and the then-Picador in Iowa City. They put on a really great show. You can see the pictures here. Since I saw Ha Ha Tonka, they have been signed to Bloodshot Records and released a new album in 2009 called Novel Sounds of the Nouveau South.

Also opening is Iowa City musician Brian Johannesen who performs as Grand Tetons.

Click to buy Maybe Arkansas by Death Ships on iTunes

Click Here to download “I Like It A Lot” from Maybe Arkansas.

Click Here for the Death Ships MySpace Page which has some of the tracks from Maybe Arkansas streaming.

Click Here for the Death Ships Daytrotter Session

Click Here for the Jay Bennett Daytrotter Session with Death Ships as his band

Click Here for the Splice interview with Dan Maloney from 2009 that has some unreleased tracks and a couple from the upcoming EP

(Upcoming Show) Get Back to the Barn – Codfish Hollow Sessions : The Roadside Graves, Dinosaur Feathers & Many More on 8/22/2010

Posted on August 15, 2010 by mike

I came upon a child of God
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, “Where are you going?”
And this he told me…

I’m going on down to Yasgur’s Farm,
I’m gonna join in a rock and roll band.
I’m gonna camp out on the land.
I’m gonna get my soul free.

We are stardust.
We are golden.
And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden.

— “Woodstock” by Joni Mitchell © Crazy Crow Music, 1969

This week marks the 41st anniversary of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, which took place August 15th – 18th, 1969 in Bethel, New York. The stories and myths of Woodstock continue as that generation looks back on their history. A festival planned with idea of a gathering of music, camping and art grows to epic proportions as over twice the expected crowd shows up. The idea of a music festival changed forever and subsequent festivals in history would always be judged in the light of that event.

Last year saw the beginning of the Daytrotter.com Barnstormer shows– coincidentally on the year of the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. These shows were and are the brainchild of Sean Moeller– the Master of Ceremonies for everything Daytrotter. The idea started simply enough– pick a handful of Daytrotter favorite bands, load them in a bus and tour the Midwest countryside playing in barns. Daytrotter fans will show up and hear these bands, generating interest in Daytrotter and in these bands and hopefully the bands will be able to make some money selling merch. After learning some logistical lessons in touring and playing non-standard venues a good time was had by all!

I draw the comparison between Woodstock and the Barnstormer shows not to suggest that the Barnstormer shows are or will make their place in music history like Woodstock did, but to show that the original idea of Woodstock is the same– bring good music talent to a rustic setting, provide camping and art to mutual benefit of everyone involved. Based on the buzz of last year’s small Barnstormer runs, and the first one from this year the formula works and people who aren’t from this part of the country are interested in being part of it.

Frankly speaking, some of my favorite bands of 2009 and 2010 came from these shows and most of the headliners have gone on to perform to larger audiences and have become regulars on the festival circuit– notably Dawes and Local Natives— but other acts like Suckers, Ra Ra Riot and Delta Spirit are also gaining in national recognition. Seeing bands that can play the big stages of Coachella, Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo in a small intimate setting like Mooney Hollow in Bellevue, IA, Codfish Hollow Barn, Seacrest Octagonal Barn and others locations in the Midwest is nothing, if not pure magic. The bands and crowds feed from each other for what the bands generally say are their best performances.

The three Barnstormer tours (plus one Fourth of July show) have been in a changing list of towns with two notable exceptions– the Seacrest Octagonal Barn in West Liberty, IA and Codfish Hollow in Maquoketa, IA. Both locations draw very good crowds. In the case of Seacrest it seems to be related to the relative closeness to the Quad Cities and Iowa City/Cedar Rapids (and it is a really interesting barn!). In the case of Codfish Hollow it seems to be partially due to the proximity of these same cities, but also because of the efforts of Shawn and Tiffany Biehl who seem to have enough friends and relatives to damn near fill their barn– but also because they have really made the location part of the attraction. Literally located in a hollow– there isn’t enough parking near the barn for the growing crowds– nor is the winding gravel path down there wide enough for passing traffic. The solution? Have a shuttle to take campers and people parking down to the event. Not just any shuttle though– it’s an open-air hayride pulled by an honest-to-goodness International Harvester tractor! This year they opened a rustic art gallery on site making use of the unoccupied farmhouse, too. Adding to the charm of it all is an open field where fans and bands play horseshoes, fire rings scattered around to provide heat and light and the amazing food sold onsite by The Lunchbox which includes their famous “walking tacos” and chili.

Next Sunday brings a staggering number of bands back to Codfish Hollow— the headliner is Daytrotter and playbsides.com favorite Roadside Graves from New Jersey. I had the opportunity to see Roadside Graves last year in Bellevue at Mooney Hollow. They were in the area in between stops on their tour because they were taping their first Daytrotter session. Sean Moeller hooked them up with Mooney Hollow to play in trade for a place to sleep. It was a Tuesday night, so that didn’t bode well for a workweek crowd, but the few that showed up got an amazing and energetic show. People I’ve talked to that did make the show, still talk about that show– in fact, Tiffany Biehl says that show made her an instant fan of Roadside Graves and she is really excited to bring them to her barn!

This show on 8/22 was already an idea at the Barnstormer III show in April and has taken form and gained acts continually since the announcement of the show following the July 4th “Barn on the Fourth of July” show and the lineup is made up of some notable bands– most of whom are up-and-comers, but some are buzzworthy. When I talked to Tiffany at the Dawes show at Gabe’s last week she said that there might be a couple of other acts added to the eight (!!!) bands on the bill. Here’s the breakdown with a few words on each band with their essential links to help you learn more:

Roadside Graves from New Jersey : Anthemic Springsteen-influenced Americana
Website Daytrotter Session Facebook MySpace

Dinosaur Feathers from Brooklyn : Sunny Tropicalia like Talking Heads Swilling Pina Coladas
Website Facebook MySpace

Lonnie Walker from Raleigh : Fractured Psych Freak Folk-grass
Website Facebook MySpace Blog

Gold Motel from Chicago: Debbie Harry started a 60’s girl band.
Website Facebook MySpace Blog

The 4onthefloor from Minneapolis : Four stomping kickdrums drive bluesy riffs over originals and mutated covers.
Website Facebook MySpace

The Treats from Mount Pleasant, IA : Jammy garage– kind of Blues Traveler without the harmonica.
Facebook MySpace

What Happened Japan? : ? No Internet presence we can find…

Danger Ronnie and the Spins from Maquoketa, IA : Local band… Facebook but no samples of their music.
Facebook

Tickets are $9.00 in advance and $10 at the door. Starts at 3PM. It is recommended that you bring your own lawnchair if you want to sit down and cooler as it it BYOB. This is an ALL AGES show.

Come out, camp on the land and set yourself free!

Click Here to purchase tickets for Roadside Graves at Codfish Hollow.

Click Here to see the Facebook Event for Roadside Graves at Codfish Hollow

(Upcoming Show) Kopecky Family Band at The Mill Restaurant in Iowa City 8/12

Posted on August 12, 2010 by mike

Growing up in Bellevue, IA there was a local family band with generations of members called the Sieverding Band. This band– as you might expect– was made up of a bunch of guys with the last name Sieverding. They played the Catholic parish barbeque every year– and still do– and performed the polka mass as well. They are an institution, really.

The Kopecky Family Band is a band I hadn’t heard of before this week when their PR folks reached out to me. A group of seven from Nashville, they aren’t actually all related, but the idea of a tight-knit group of musicians being a family– sharing space and the closeness of working together– is one that clearly ties the members of the Kopecky Family Band together. In an interview with spinner.com from March of this year before they played SXSW, they talk about how Kelsey (the one member who is actually a “Kopecky”) gives the band members their per diem money in a hand-decorated envelope with an encouraging message before the tour. She’s also the person responsible for morning wakeup text messages with an inspirational quote or joke. Clearly, she has taken her role as the “mom” of this family band!

Disaster is the name of the new EP from the Kopecky Family Band and it was released on August 3rd. The band helpfully provides a streaming version of the album from their bandcamp page (below).

Some comparisons have been made to Arcade Fire by reviewers, and I think that is a pretty good place to start with Kopecky Family Band. I think that the anthemic style as well as their classical bent– strings and horns helps with that. My wife also said that the harmonies also reminded her a bit of Local Natives. But, you can listen for yourself:

The band has also made their previous EP Embraces available as a free download through bandcamp:

While the Kopecky Family Band won’t playing parish picnics or performing polka services at your local church, the will be playing at The Mill Restaurant in Iowa City on Thursday Night at 9PM. This is a 21+ show and the cover is $6. Evan P. Donahue will open.

Click Here for the Kopecky Family Band website

Click Here for the Kopecky Family Band MySpace Page

Click Here for the Kopecky Family Band Facebook Page

(Upcoming Release) Pezzettino – LubDub Kickstarter for Vinyl EP

Posted on August 7, 2010 by mike

Margaret Stutt who goes by the nom d’cordion Pezzettino has collaborated with Milwaukee-based producer LMNtylist on her follow up to her 2009 release Lion. Titled LubDub, it is a 10-track EP of, well– I guess they are love songs. Well, maybe not all of them are love songs, but certainly they are related to love and appear to be roughly arranged in a timeline of a love affair that is having some fits and starts getting off the ground.

Originally the follow up to the moody, serrated toothiness of Lion was supposed to be a kinder, gentler album to be titled Lamb. In December of 2008 she posted the track listing for both releases on Facebook. When Miss Pezz blew through the Midwest last Fall it would appear that she had already moved into the mental space of Lamb in preparation for recording that album. By that time she had recorded the lead track for Lamb– the insanely catchy “You Never Know” which kind of took on a life of its own with its joyous video and vinyl 7″ release– each with a custom cover done by Milwaukee artist Dwellephant. For that Fall tour she’d already been performing “You Never Know,” “Hunting Season,” and “Falling Down” all songs that seemed fully formed and ready for the album. She also played a new song that was a quick favorite for me– “Where’d Ya Go.”

Anyone who knows Margaret well knows that she is constantly catering to her muse– typically recording inspired fragments of song anywhere and anytime they show up– many songs were written behind the wheel of her now-departed Civic on the long drives between the gigs on tour. It was a collection of these fragments that she gave to Milwaukee HipHop producer LMNTylist who was interested in trying his hand producing some pop songs. When she stopped through Cedar Rapids in January she played me the rough mixes that she had just received. I was at once shocked and excited at what I’d heard– the lead off track for LubDub “Replay” was pretty much cemented at that point as was “Cold Hard Chick.” This was a dramatically different direction for Pezzettino– she had given over to the production and the resulting songs still showed the fun and humor typically found in her music, but now had rhythm and were… funky!

The album pulls from a number of different influences ranging from the Reggae/Dub of the title track, to more the Jazzy “Only One” and “She Deserves” to the DooWop spin of “Replay” to a more “classic” Pezz piano track in “For You and Your Headaches.” Here is a video Margaret shot of a street mural painter that uses “Only One” as its soundtrack:

So, maybe it is fitting that the more mild-mannered Lamb would be quickly replaced by a more determined and immediate electronic release in LubDub. I guess the chops of Lamb will get to spend some more time slow cooking.

LubDub will be available for download on September 7th and on 12″ colored vinyl later this fall. Pezzettino has a Kickstarter drive going to attempt to raise the $1000 needed to press the vinyl. After an impressive week, she has raised over half of the funds and, at the time of this writing, still has over 30 days to go! Donations range from $1 to $1000 and have varying levels of perks at each level. Any donation over $15 gets you some copy of LubDub with pledges over $20 getting you the vinyl and the CD version of it along with four bonus tracks. Other levels get you things like cookies, her dress from the “You Never Know” video, private performance, or the ability to determine the next cover songs in her popular cover series. Click on the kickstarter widget below to see what your options are to help get this great release out.

The fantastically appropriate album art (shown above) was done by LittleTinyFish.

There are two release shows– one in each of her hometowns:

Milwaukee: September 11th at Turner Hall with Mondo Lucha, 8PM
Brooklyn: October 14th at Cameo Gallery, 9PM

In the middle of these shows is a quick run of the Midwest that includes stops in DeKalb (9/12), Iowa City (9/15 at The Blue Moose Tap Room), Omaha (9/16), Des Moines (9/18 at Vaudeville Mews) and Boulder, CO (9/23). Visit her MySpace Page to keep up to date on this tour. This tour is going to be the first time in a while she has toured with a small band– so I’m looking forward to these shows!

Track Listing for LubDub:

1. Replay
2. She Deserves
3. Cold Hard Chick
4. Only One
5. Intermezzo I
6. Lub Dub
7. Where’d Ya Go
8. Intermezzo II
9. For You and Your Headaches
10. I Did Not Use Those Words Yesterday

Click Here to download “Replay” from LubDub

Click Here to visit the Pezzettino Web Site

Click Here for Pezzettino’s Facebook Fan Page

Click Here for Pezzettino’s MySpace Page

Click Here for Pezzettino on Twitter

Click Here for LMNTylist’s MySpace Page.

Upcoming Show: Cheyenne Marie Mize at The Mill Restaurant in Iowa City 7/29

Posted on July 23, 2010 by mike

If you haven’t heard of Cheyenne Mize before it is probably because her work tended not to be in the forefront of the bands she was in– at least not until recently. Hailing from Louisville, Cheyenne has been firmly entrenched in the folkie scene there. Supporting bands and artists like Arnett Hollow, Maiden Radio, Ben Sollee, Saredren Wells, Thomas A. Minor and the Picket Line, Joe Manning, The Health & Happiness Family Gospel Band, Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore touring band for Dear Companion. (Thanks to Question the Pop interview with Cheyenne for that list).

Last year Cheyenne partnered with Louisville’s reknowned son, Bonnie “Prince” Billy aka Will Oldham on an EP of duets titled Among the Gold. Among the Gold is a collection of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century standards like “Beautiful Dreamer” and “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.” Louisville indie label Karate Body pressed an insanely-limited edition (250 copies) 10″ colored vinyl pressing of it and only made it available at shows and at their online store. It is available for digital download from Cheyenne’s Bandcamp Page. The EP certainly demonstrated Cheyenne’s talents and beautiful soprano but really didn’t show her songwriting abilities. Cheyenne will be releasing her first solo record titled Before Lately on September 28th and it will be on another Louisville label sonaBLAST! Records.

Where Among the Gold was steeped in the old-time standards it was made of, Before Lately is more contemporary mix of ingredients. The album is drifting and dreamy– introspective, really. The album is a very stripped-down affair with very little percussion and utilizes all of Cheyenne’s talents: vocals, violin, guitar and piano. The songs move between ethereal shoegazer-ish production on tracks like “Path” and “Lull” and more direct singer-songwriter style tracks like on “Doctor” and “Not.” Before Lately made an impression on me right away and tugs my disappointment that it isn’t available right now!

Cheyenne is currently on tour and will be making a stop in Iowa City on Thursday 7/29 at The Mill Restaurant opening for Portland, OR band Archeology. This will be the late show, which starts at 10PM and is a 21+ show. Tickets are $6. I’ll be interested to hear how these songs translate to the stage. You can listen to the whole album via this nifty player:

Here is “With(out)” from Before Lately.
With(out) by CrashAvenue

Cheyenne Marie Mize on Tour:
Sat Jul 24 – The Denver Post Underground Music Showcase – Denver, CO
Sun Jul 25 – The Denver Post Underground Music Showcase – Denver, CO
Tue Jul 27 – Czar Bar – Kansas City, MO
Wed Jul 28 – Vaudeville Mews – Des Moines, IA
Thu Jul 29 – The Mill – Iowa City, IA
Fri Jul 30 – Uncommon Ground on Clark – Chicago, IL
Sat Jul 31 – White Rabbit Cabaret – Indianapolis, IN

Click Here for Cheyenne Marie Mize’s website

Click Here for Cheyenne Marie Mize’s MySpace Page

Click Here for Cheyenne Marie Mize’s Facebook Fanpage

Click Here for Cheyenne Marie Mize’s page at sonaBLAST!

Click Here for Cheyenne Marie Mize’s Bandcamp Page where you can listen to Among the Gold and Before Lately.

Gayngs Fall Tour Dates

Posted on July 21, 2010 by mike

In early April, Sherry and I were in the Twin Cities visiting relatives and I managed to get a trip to the Mecca of Records known as the Electric Fetus. While I was flipping through their used vinyl and discount bins an unfamiliar soundtrack was playing overhead. Sherry asked me what it was, and I wasn’t sure but I was as enthralled as she was with the very mellow and groovy music. At one point I found myself singing along with one of the tracks, “You don’t know how to ease my pain, you don’t know…” I asked the guy behind the counter, “Is this a cover of Godley & Creme’s ‘Cry’?” He replied that the thought it was and said, “we’ve been playing this all day and I never noticed that!” He went on to tell me that it was a kind of “Minneapolis Supergroup” called Gayngs (I had to look at the “upcoming releases” board to see how it was spelled). Well, I promptly scoured the file sharing repositories for a leak of Gayngs album titled Relayted and found one. The album quickly entered my regular rotation until it’s release date on May 11th when I purchased the gorgeous 2 LP vinyl in a white gatefold sleeve.

Gayngs is a 23-member (or should I say “participant?”) band/project assembled by Ryan Olson who had an epiphany of sorts waking up one morning to the strains of 10CC’s softrock mega hit “I’m Not In Love.” It was then and there that he decided he wanted to record an album of a similarly-inspired sound. One that would allow them to use all of those cheesy synth patches any self-respecting musician should stay away from. The beginnings of the album started with Ryan and Solid Gold members Adam Hurlburt and Zach Coulter. Over time Ryan added other members to the band drawing from friends and girlfriends until the assembled cast grew to 23. All 23 members don’t play together on any one song on the album. Other notable groups who donated members include Bon Iver (Justin Vernon, Mike Noyce), Megafaun (Brad Cook, Phil Cook, Joe Westerlund), P.O.S., Leisure Birds (Jake Luck, Nick Ryan) and Roma di Luna(Channy Moon Casselle). The album delivered by this large union of musicians is surprisingly singular in vision given all of the participants– which can only be a testament to how Olson managed the proceedings.

A couple of weeks ago we had a family get-together and my relatives from Eau Claire, WI showed up with a present for me– a copy of Relayted on CD and a copy of the May Vita.mn magazine with an article on Gayngs with a focus on the band leader/arranger Ryan Olson. Apparently my aunt is good friends with Ryan’s mom! It turns out that my aunt and uncle went to The Last Prom on Earth show at First Avenue in May and had a great time! Of course, this was a show that Sherry and I had debated on going to, but couldn’t make it and had been kicking ourselves about. Well, thankfully the band will be bringing their 69-beats-per-minute antics to a quick run of dates at the end of September and beginning of October cumulating in a visit to the Austin City Limits Festival on 10/10. While the Last Prom on Earth shows had all of the members of Gayngs, the touring version will only have 10 members— notably without the women but showcasing new arrangements and new material!

TOUR DATES
09/29/10 Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall
09/30/10 Chicago, IL – Metro
10/01/10 Toronto, ONT – Phoenix Theatre
10/02/10 Boston, MA – Paradise
10/03/10 New York, NY – Webster Hall
10/04/10 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
10/05/10 Washington, DC – Black Cat
10/07/10 Nashville, TN – Mercy Lounge
10/10/10 Austin, TX – Austin City Limits Festival

Click Here for Gayngs website

Click Here for Gayngs MySpace

Click Here for Gayngs Facebook Fanpage

Click Here for Gayngs Vimeo Videos (a must-see, frankly)

Click Here to download “The Gaudy Side of Town” (an edit) from Relayted

Click Here to download “Faded High” from Relayted

Upcoming Release : “Old Punch Card” by Sam Prekop; Sea & Cake Tour Dates

Posted on June 27, 2010 by mike

If you’re interested in early information about Thrill Jockey releases you need to look no further than the Thrill Jockey website itself! Last week I was doing some research on a couple of upcoming releases on the label and stumbled upon the upcoming solo release from Sea & Cake frontman Sam Prekop! Titled Old Punch Card it will be an experimental instrumental electronic release. I have confirmed with Thrill Jockey that this will be released on Septemer 7th on vinyl as well as CD and download. Each of the covers for the CD and LP will be individually painted by Sam. The cover art you see above is effectively the canvas. Here are some examples of what the covers will look like:

Sam’s last release in the Fall of 2007 was also a disc of electronic instrumentals. It was bundled with his book of photographs.

Tracklisting for Old Punch Card (from thrilljockey.com)

01	Old Punch Card
02	Array Wicket
03	Knitting Needles
04	Brambles
05	Tell Work
06	November September
07	A Places
08	Lazy House
09	The Silhouettes

Sam’s band The Sea & Cake will also be going on tour around the time of this release in support of Broken Social Scene. I wonder if the Sea & Cake is gearing up for an eventual new record? John McEntire– who is the drummer for The Sea & Cake– produced Broken Social Scene’s new album Forgiveness Rock Record.

The Sea & Cake Fall Tour Dates in Support of Broken Social Scene (from Thrill Jockey):
Mon Sep 13 Washington, DC – Warner Theatre w/ Broken Social Scene
Tue Sep 14 Philadelphia, PA – Theater of Living Arts w/ Broken Social Scene
Fri Sep 17 Boston, MA – House of Blues w/ Broken Social Scene
Sat Sep 18 New York, NY – Rumsey Playfield w/ Broken Social Scene
Mon Sep 20 New Haven, CT – Toads Place w/ Broken Social Scene
Tue Sep 21 Northampton, MA – Calvin Theatre w/ Broken Social Scene
Wed Sep 22 South Burlington, VT – Higher Ground w/ Broken Social Scene
Fri Sep 24 Ithaca, NY – Historic Ithaca State Theatre w/ Broken Social Scene
Sat Sep 25 Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom w/ Broken Social Scene
Sun Oct 3 Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theatre w/ Broken Social Scene
Mon Oct 4 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue w/ Broken Social Scene
Wed Oct 6 Winnipeg, MB – Burton Cummings Theatre w/ Broken Social Scene
Thu Oct 7 Saskatoon, SK – The Odeon Events Centre w/ Broken Social Scene
Fri Oct 8 Calgary, AB – Macewan Hall w/ Broken Social Scene
Sat Oct 9 Edmonton, AB – Winspear Centre w/ Broken Social Scene
Sun Oct 10 Kelowna, BC – Kelowna Community Theatre w/ Broken Social Scene
Tue Oct 12 Victoria, BC – Element Nightclub w/ Broken Social Scene
Wed Oct 13 Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom w/ Broken Social Scene
Thu Oct 14 Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom w/ Broken Social Scene
Fri Oct 15 Seattle, WA – Paramount Ballroom w/ Broken Social Scene
Sat Oct 16 Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom w/ Broken Social Scene
Tue Oct 19 Los Angeles, CA – Wiltern Theatre w/ Broken Social Scene

Click Here to visit the Thrill Jockey page on Old Punch Card which will be updated with streaming tracks and pre-order information closer to the release date.

Time to play b-sides

Mike Roeder muses over things musical

Category Archives: Upcoming Show