It was a happy surprise for me this week to find out that Arbouretum released a new recording! Part of the burgeoning Baltimore Indie scene which seems to favor sludgy guitar tone, Arbouretum is singer/songwriter/guitarist David Heumann with a rotating cast of supporting characters. Arbouretum has been on Thrill Jockey for the last three releases (2007’s Rites of Uncovering, 2008’s split with Pontiak Kale, and 2009’s Song of the Pearl).
On April 10th Arbouretum and another Baltimore duo The Expotentials played a gig at a secret venue known only as The Granfaloon. For this show, Arbouretum trotted out the over-51-minute composition that makes up the new CD/download and second release from Aural Slate— the house label for the Baltimore/D.C.-scenester blog Aural States, which I discovered about the same time I found out about Arbouretum. Aural States is worth following and it is a dream of mine to run a boutique label, so I’m watching Greg Szeto’s progress in this space closely– he’s off to a good start with his second release Couldn’t Hit It Sideways by Arbouretum. Couldn’t Hit It Sideways is 51-minutes of churning, chugging improvisation and exploration of a simple and familiar chord progression. To many the concept of this recording might seem tedious and repetitive– and certainly I wouldn’t recommend this as a first exposure to Arbouretum as it doesn’t showcase the strong vocals and lyrics from Heumann. However, even with the 5-minute sample that is provided one can see how Heumann creates and tears down guitar lines– subtle changes that roll over the constant rhythm anchored by the bass and drums laid down by Corey Allender and JV Brian Carey.
The physical CDR will be available at the live shows Arbouretum is doing this Spring (some with Pontiak!), but you can get either 320Kbps mp3 or FLAC (yay!) for $5 from Aural Slate.
In other Arbouretum news, the blog Bmore Musically Informed has an mp3 download of Arbouretum’s show from the G Spot on 1/29/10. The show features a great selection of Arbouretum tracks and closes with an astounding version of Neil Young’s “When You Dance I Can Really Love” joined by Wye Oak!
Click Here to see pix and the link to download that show!
Last weekend Sherry attended America’s Beauty Show for the third year running and I got the opportunity to have some quality time with Chicago’s record stores. Friday night we went down to a bar called This Must Be The Place in Lemont, IL to see Chicago R&B phenom The Right Now. We got into town late, so we needed to scoot to try and get there in time to get something to eat. Thankfully the folks there were very accommodating and the food was excellent!
The show was a lot of fun– it was the first time I’d seen the band since they played Mahoney’s in Cedar Rapids in 2008 as Eli Jones. The band has come a long way in their stage show. Now the guys in the band all wear matching suits and Steph looked great in a sequined dress and heels. This was the first time the band had played This Must Be The Place and there was a pretty low turnout. Some of the dinner crowd stuck around through the first set but by the second set the audience was made up of Sherry and I and the employees of the bar. The band followed a setlist for the first set, but after the break they decided to loosen up a bit and played some older songs like “Candlelight and Satin Sheets” and “Disco Smooth” and a couple of newly-written songs.
I talked to the soundguy at the break a bit, and he said that the owner of the bar is trying to establish This Must Be The Place as a place for musicians to meet– sort of like The Green Mill or the Empty Bottle downtown. It is a lofty goal for sure as Lemont is about 45 minutes south of the Loop on I-55, and I think that getting the bands to come out of the Loop is a tough proposition. That said, the Metra runs down there so it isn’t an impossibility. It is a really nice venue with a great soundsystem and stage and the food and drinks are good. I’d come back if there was a good band there.
We got to hang out and talk to the band after the show– I was happy that Sherry got to meet them, and we talked a bit about the upcoming Iowa shows the weekend of 4/16 (Iowa City, Davenport and Cedar Rapids).
On Saturday, Sherry attended the first day of the conference at McCormick which started around Noon and I parked in the first floor lobby and worked on blog stuff. On Sunday she went to the second day of the conference and I decided I wanted to hit a Half-Price Books as I had the 50% Off One Item coupon. There are a few Half-Price Books in the Chicagoland area, but all of them are way out in the burbs. The closest one to McCormick Place was down in Countryside, IL off I-55 (pretty close to Lemont, really). So, I dropped Sherry off and hit I-55– it’s exit is right near McCormick Place.
The Countryside HPB has a pretty substantial collection of vinyl as it turns out– and a decent selection of obscure and Chicago-local bands. Unfortunately, I didn’t find a lot of stuff I was looking for. They had a Japanese pressing of the Blind Faithalbum for $30 that I was really interested in. It had the alternate cover featuring the band instead of the topless underaged-girl photo. It had a pretty deep scratch on it otherwise I would have bought it with my 50% coupon. They had two copies of Dave Brubeck’s Time Out— both appeared to be original pressings and one of them was a very worn Mono. I almost bought the Mono, but the wear and the seam-split cover had me passing on it. Plus, I have a very mint Stereo Columbia 6-eye I cherish, so I don’t need another copy, really. They also had Marti Jones’s second album Match Game on LP. Match Game was produced by Marti’s husband Don “Praying Mantis” Dixon. I have this on cassette, and would have liked to have this on vinyl, but it was missing an inner sleeve and was pretty worn. Here’s what I picked up:
Men At Work – Business As Usual (LP, CBS Records, FC 37978, 1982)($0.50) This was clearance-priced, and has a VG cover and vinyl. Fairly quiet on the turntable after I cleaned it. I listened to this and Cargoa lot in junior high school. Three pretty big singles in “Who Can It Be Now?”, “Down Under,” and “Be Good Johnny.” It was their appearance at the US Festival on “New Wave Day” that really helped establish the band and make them the MTV darlings. This album is strong all the way through– the singles are scattered throughout the record and serve as familiar landmarks through the rest of the songs. Men at Work were often considered a band that copied The Police– and quite a bit of this album with it’s bouncy ska rhythms and jazz influences certainly supports that idea. One of my favorite non-single tracks is “Helpless Automation” which recalls a new-wavy Devo. I included this song in a mixtape that I played all the time in High School. I need to get Cargo, next.
The Time – Ice Cream Castles (LP, Warner Bros. Records, 25109-1, 1984)($2.98) This is a title I don’t see very often (though, coincidentally would see again on Monday…). The story goes that Prince was trying to transition from the pop-funk sound that he established leading up to Controversyand apparently had a lot of music he still wanted to release in that vein. He puts his childhood friend Morris Day in front of a Minneapolis funk band called Flyte Time and creates The Time– on record, at least was mostly Prince and Day. By the time Ice Cream Castles is released in 1984, Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam had been fired by Prince for missing a show and Morris Day quit to pursue an acting career propelled by his appearance in Purple Rain. Although the album cover shows the post-Lewis and Jam version of the band– which has a shockingly-young St. Paul Peterson on the cover. If his birthdate in October of 1964 is correct, St. Paul was 18 when he played in the Time. He wasn’t on the album, however and only apparently played two live gigs in the Twin Cities and he appears in the movie Purple Rain. After Morris Day leaves The Time, Prince gathers the remaining members and his then-girlfriend Susannah Melvoin and creates The Family. The Family are re-united as F Deluxe (Prince denies them the use of the name The Family– apparently still bitter about St. Paul leaving the group). Ice Cream Castles has what amounts to the biggest songs from The Time– “The Bird” and “Jungleland” which are both featured prominently in the Purple Rain movie. The production is credited to “The Starr Company” which is effectively Prince, who sometimes used the alias “Jamie Starr.” The original album inner sleeve is black plastic, interestingly.
My plan was to hit another Half Price Books and spend my 50% coupon, but the next closest one was another 35 miles away. I did a quick Google Maps search for nearby record stores and found one called The Record Dugout(6055 West 63rd Street, Chicago, IL 60638-4317). The Record Dugout is technically in Chicago– although really far south in Chicago. It’s a moderately-sized store that specializes in vinyl LP’s dating up to the 80’s, comic books and sports cards. The day I was there, the guy who handles the vinyl part of the store was working. His name is Bob Miner and he hosts an acapella radio show on The University of Chicago radio station WHPK which airs on Sunday evenings and is called “From the Subway to the Streetcorner.” The store was literally packed with vinyl. There was one row of sorted Rock in record bins, another shorter row for Jazz and folk/country, another “discount bin” with $1-$2 records, and a meticulously-organized bin with 7″ records– the majority of which was R&B from the 50’s/60’s/70’s. Other areas included a “Wall of Shame” as Bob called it, which showcased the more expensive records– rare 7″es with sleeves, etc., a table which had unsorted piles of cheap records in varying degrees of shape– most of which had damaged sleeves, but had serviceable records in them, and two areas on the floor which had $1 and $2 records piled up.
I found most of the haul below in the sorted bins, but the ones for $1 and $2 I found by digging. Bob buys whole collections of records from people looking to get rid of them, so if he hasn’t gotten through them, the good stuff might not be in the bins. Everything seemed to have prices, however. It’s important to note that The Record Dugout only takes cash and the nearest ATMs charge fees, so bring cash. Also, if you buy a lot of stuff, Bob will work with you on price. I spent about three hours here, and probably could have spent more time. I’ll certainly come back!
R.E.M. – Lifes Rich Pageant(LP, IRS Records, IRS-5783, 1986) ($4.00) I might have paid a bit too much for this one. The sleeve was not split, but kind of rough on the corners and the paper sleeve was replaced with another sleeve. The record is pretty clean, and after I gave it a thorough wipe with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol to get it cleaned, it sounds really good– the surface is a bit hazy, however. R.E.M. is tough to find in the bins, so I’ll pick these up when I find them. Lifes Rich Pageant was the follow-up to Fables of the Reconstruction, which was the album that pretty much changed my music listening. R.E.M. called this their “John Cougar Mellencamp album” because it was produced by Don Gehman at Mellencamp’s studio in Indiana. Classic R.E.M. sound on this one– “Begin the Begin,” “Hyena,” “Fall on Me,” “Superman,” “I Believe” are all strong tracks in the R.E.M. canon. The song “Just a Touch” was a song resurrected from the early days of the band and a number of bootleg recordings from the early 80’s have this song.
Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band – Nine Tonight(2 LP, Capitol Records, STBK-12182, 1981)($2.00) I found this one in one of the piles on the floor– hence its $2 price. Fabulously clean cover and LP’s! My dad bought this cassette when it was new and we used to listen to this a lot riding around in the car. A live album comprised of songs recorded in Detroit and Boston in 1980. All of his classic tracks are here– “Hollywood Nights,” “Tryin’ to Live My Life Without You,” “Night Moves,” “You’ll Accomp’ny Me,” “Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “Mainstreet,” “Fire Lake,” “Fire Down Below.” Probably the only album of Bob’s I would care to own, although I’d need Live Bullet to get “Turn the Page.”
Various – The Breakfast Club– The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack(LP, A&M Records, SP 5045, 1985)($2.00) Another one from the floor. Cover is in good condition and the record looks decent, but there seems to be a lot of groove wear on this one– particularly on “(Don’t You) Forget About Me” by Simple Minds. This was a soundtrack that my brother Steve and I listened to a lot– in fact, I think the cassette was actually his. My band in high school with Steve used to cover “(Don’t You) Forget About Me.” Fantastic drum beat in that song, which is why it is so timeless. It’s a kind of well-known story that Simple Minds didn’t write the song– it was penned by Keith Forsey who also wrote “Flashdance… What a Feeling” for Irene Kara. After being turned down by Billy Idol, Bryan Ferry and Simple Minds– it was encouraged by A&M that Simple Minds record the song. It becomes their biggest hit which help propel their career for a couple of albums. This soundtrack always struck me in how different it was to other John Hughes soundtracks in that while it had a huge single in “(Don’t You) Forget About Me,” it was really lacking in every other respect. I became familiar with the other songs by Wang Chung, E.G. Daily, Jesse Johnson, and Karla DeVito but aside from “Fire in the Twilight” from Wang Chung, which frankly sounds like an outtake from Points on the Curve, everything else seems like bargain-basement licensing– particularly if you compare it to the powerhouse soundtrack to Pretty in Pink, for example. The instrumentals by Forsey, while largely forgettable, work really well in the context of the movie.
In the 80’s it really seemed like you couldn’t have a soundtrack to a teen movie that didn’t include songs by E.G. Daily. She contributed her unique vocals to movies like Better off Dead — where she performs her two songs in the movie, Summer School, Thief of Hearts as well as The Breakfast Club. She’s a pretty talented lady, and is a regular for voiceovers. It is she who voices Tommy Pickles in Rugrats, for example.
Talking Heads – Speaking In Tongues (LP, Sire Records, 23883-1, 1983) ($2.00) Another one from the floor piles. The cover and inner sleeve are in tact, if a bit beat up. I have no Talking Heads on vinyl– well except for a bootleg called humorously enough Gimme Heads which has some studio outtakes and live tracks on it and a 12″ to “Blind.” After cleaning this one up, it plays pretty well, but I’ll be on the lookout for better copies. Last year’s Record Store Day had a Rhino reissue for 77— so I was hoping for some other reissues on vinyl. The Dugout also had True Stories on vinyl, but it was in pretty rough shape so I passed on it. Speaking In Tongues is pretty much the Talking Heads pinnacle release with the massive “Burning Down The House” single as well as secondary hits of “Girlfriend is Better,” and “Naive Melody.” Of course, these songs would show up in a bunch of movie soundtracks. I remember “Naive Melody” standing out in the soundtrack to Wall Street, and “Swamp” shows up in Risky Business. These tracks are featured prominently in the Talking Heads concert movie Stop Making Sensewhich was directed by Jonathan Demme.
Fleetwood Mac – Mirage (LP, Warner Bros. Records, W1 23607, 1982)($3.00) Very clean vinyl– cover has a suspicious wear spot, like someone used water to take adhesive off the cover. Also a Columbia House pressing. Clearly I didn’t look very closely at this one. I don’t like to take Columbia House pressings normally due to the uncertain nature of what they used for masters. That said, it is very clean and plays well, and is one of the better copies of Mirage I’ve seen, even with those flaws. The Mac tries to come back from the Titanic expensive failure that was Tusk (still my favorite, however). I really like Mirage— the band comes back to the style and sound of Rumours. The album had six singles released worldwide, but the biggest singles were “Hold Me” and “Gypsy.” The album makes it to #1 on the US charts, so it is clear that their audience wanted another album, but in the canon of Fleetwood Mac, Mirage is not one that people remember.
My first Fleetwood Mac concert was for the Miragetour in 1982. My family saw them in Cedar Falls with Glenn Frey of the Eagles opening on his first solo tour. I’ve seen Fleetwood Mac three more times since then– once during the very sad Time tour with Dave Mason and Bekka Bramlett on guitars and vocals in Dubuque, once for The Dance tour and once for the Say You Will Tour.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – Live/1975-85(5 LP, Columbia Records 40558 LP, 1986)($15.00) This one was a cool find. I bought this new on cassette back in 1986– and still have it. I’ve seen it on CD over the years used, but never on LP. A great collection of Bruce live goodness from what most people would consider the high-point of his career. I think that they should do an official release of the legendary Winterland 1978 show. The version of “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” heard at Christmas time is from that show. This box set does, however, include the version of “Fire” from that show. The Winterland 1978 show had been bootlegged many times over the years– since it was aired live on the radio, lots of folks taped it. Wolfgang’s Vault helpfully has the show in their archives, but it is not one that is purchasable. Listen here.
The vinyl on this box is pretty much pristine, even if the box itself isn’t. One I’ll want to kick back and listen to with a glass of wine some night.
Booker T. & The MG’s – “Hip Hug-Her” b/w “Summertime”(7″ Stax 45-211, 1965)($4.00) I hadn’t really planned to pick up any 45’s, but they had a dedicated section just for Stax! So, I flipped through it and they had a few Booker T. & The MG’s singles. I picked this one because it was on the massively cool light blue Stax label. The record is in great shape for being 45 years old!
Wilson Pickett – “Funky Broadway” b/w “I’m Sorry About That” (7″, Atlantic Records, 45-2430, 1967)($3.00) This one is one of the singles I really dig from Wilson Pickett– on the red Atlantic label. Super-clean and in an Atlantic paper sleeve.
The Dangtrippers – “The Masquerade” b/w “Lover’s Again”(7″, Dog Gone Records, DOG 0005-7″, 1989)($3.50) Why is it that if I want to find rare Iowa bands in the bins I need to leave Iowa? The Dangtrippers were Doug Roberson of The Diplomats of Solid Sound’s 90’s band. I still remember seeing The Dangtrippers playing the Loras College gym when I went to school there. The band got signed to Dog Gone records which was the record label started by Jefferson Holt who was the manager for R.E.M. This is the single to the only album released for The Dangtrippers on Dog Gone before it went under (see below). “Lover’s Again” is a non-album b-side!
Prince and the Revolution – Around the World in a Day(LP, Paisley Park W1-25286, 1985)($3.00) A Columbia House pressing, but in superb shape! I’ve never seen this on LP before! I have this in this crazy longbox trifold CD I picked up at a Discount Records in the early 90’s in Chicago. The LP cover is sort of a trifold with a short flap that folds over. The cover art is a painted scene which has in it representations of each of the songs– a tambourine, a ladder, an American flag, a raspberry beret– the ones I found anyway… A pretty progressive album– lots of psychedelica and strangeness– Prince at his most experimental. “Pop Life” and “Raspberry Beret” were the big singles off this album, but I think that most people ignore this album. I liked it back when it came out, but admittedly haven’t listened to it much since the 80’s. Giving it a spin the other night, I’m struck by some of the songs. In fact, I like all of the album other than the track “Temptation.”
The next day I dropped Sherry off at the conference again and I headed up to Lincoln Square to hit Laurie’s Planet of Sound, which I had hit back in October of 2007. The store was pretty quiet when I got there. They changed the parking meters to be able to take credit cards, which is convenient, but still really expensive. I blew $3 to get a couple of hours of parking. Laurie’s has a new arrivals section for their CD’s and LP’s and has a section dedicated to new vinyl as well. Their vinyl prices are higher than places like the dugout, but comparable to places like HPB which is attempting to charge market prices for some.
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals – Burn to Shine(2 LP, Virgin Records America, 7243 8 48151 1 0, 1999)($9.99) This was in the new arrivals section and appears to be a cutout of sorts as the barcode is crossed out. Probably a promo or a giveaway, but is in great shape. I hadn’t really paid much attention to Ben Harper until I saw him as part of that 3D concert movie “Larger Than Life” back in December. I was impressed enough to pick up Harper’s new record White Lies for Dark Times on vinyl. Burn to Shine is considered to be one of his good releases so I thought it might be a good gamble. I gave it a spin when I got home, and it’s a good one for the collection.
Bumps (2 LP, Stones Throw Records, STH2157, 2007)($12.99) This was a new purchase. Bumps is the side project of the Tortoise rhythm section of Bitney, McEntire & Herndon. This is a record of beats, essentially. This is a really cool 2 LP version that was price cut from $15.99 to $12.99. This is mostly as a completion for my Tortoise vinyl collection, I don’t see myself playing this often.
Cougar – Law (LP, Layered Music/Play It Again Sam, LR013, 2007/2008)($4.99) Although it isn’t really listed anywhere on the artwork and the LP itself only lists 4 tracks, this appears to be the full Lawalbum that was released in 2007 in the UK by Layered Music. Madison, WI band Cougar is classified as “emergency” music although I think they fit under the “post rock” area. Having your debut album mixed by John McEntire of Tortoise doesn’t hurt this classification either.
The Dangtrippers – Days Between Stations (LP, Dog Gone, DOG 0005, 1989)($2.99) Wow! Another Dangtrippers find? The cover is a bit trashed on this one, but I didn’t know that this was even available on LP! I see on eBay there are a couple of LPs– one for $14.99 and one for $19.99, so $2.99 is a good deal. The vinyl is very clean. As I stated above, The Dangtrippers were a band from Iowa City from the 80’s and early 90’s that got signed to Dog Gone Records. They had this album out on Dog Gone before the label went under. Their second album Transparent Blue Illusionwhich came out in 1991 was only available on the Australian label Zero Hour. The Dangtrippers had a 60’s jangly rock sound that owed a lot to bands like The dB’s. In fact, the song “Talk About Love” on Days Between Stations sounds a lot like The dB’s and it’s pretty much my favorite track on the album.
That song reminds me of a very bad trip to Florida in the early 90’s with my then-girlfriend to visit some friends of hers. The trip started out okay– it was Florida in late December and her friends had a gorgeous house with a pool and a Porsche 928 that was ours for the borrowing. We visited a mall that had a discount book store or something and I found Days Between Stations on CD there in the bins!
The trip took a turn for the worst as she started giving me the silent treatment and wouldn’t talk about why she was upset. So, I was stuck in Florida with someone who clearly didn’t want to be there with me. We had a painful trip to Disney World followed by a really uncomfortable New Year’s Eve get together. By the time we flew back to Chicago to drive back to Dubuque I had enough of this ridiculous situation where she wasn’t talking to me about why she was upset. So, she was rewarded with four hours of “Talk About Love” on repeat in full volume. The relationship didn’t last much longer– she didn’t like not being the center of attention with her friends and I apparently drew some attention from her. I still dig the frustrated energy of that song.
Click Here to hear “Talk About Love” from Days Between Stationsby The Dangtrippers.
Love Tractor – Around the Bend (LP, DB Recs, DB67, 1983)($4.99) This was another very cool find! Of course, this is where I’ll alienate some of the readers. I found out about Love Tractor due to the documentary Athens, GA Inside/Outabout the music scene in Athens leading up to 1987– R.E.M. is just getting to be a big deal in college rock– it was released before Document with “The One I Love” on it– so the movie happens at an opportune time. Included in the movie is Love Tractor who perform a live version of “Pretty” from Around the Bend. The album is largely instrumental with some sparse vocals. I had Around the Bend on a double-cassette which included their debut self-titled album and the follow-up Until the Cows Come Home. I find their unique style to be pretty similar to Athens contemporaries Pylon.
I actually owned the soundtrack for Athens, GA Inside/Outfor a long time before I ever saw the movie. The soundtrack included two acoustic tracks from R.E.M. “Swan Swan H” and a cover of the Everly Brothers song “All I Have To Do is Dream” so I had to get it. By the time the movie came out on VHS, I was very familiar with a lot of the songs in it, including “Pretty.”
Click Here to listen to “Pretty” from Around the Bend by Love Tractor.
I also bought a bag of 100 mylar LP bags for $20. I never seem to have enough of those. I could get these cheaper online from Bags Unlimited, but since I was thinking of it, I thought I’d buy them.
As I was walking back to my car I happened to catch someone out of the corner of my eye– it was Chris Corsale from The Right Now sitting in a window of a sandwich shop playing acoustic guitar and singing! He was suprised to see me as well! So, I moved my car to a side street– which is free and doesn’t require a permit after 11AM. Then I came back to the restaurant and ate lunch hanging out with him in between sets. It was pretty cool– Chris has a pretty wide selection of covers he does and made for good lunchtime entertainment. A great coincidence that sort of made for a good wrap-up of the weekend.
After lunch I made my way back to McCormick Place to pick Sherry up and head home.
Last year’s two Daytrotter Barnstormer tours brought bands and fans together in unique barn settings. These shows were not without their challenges– but proved to be memorable and transcendant experiences for the bands as well as the fans. Most of my favorite band and music experiences from 2009 were as a result of these shows– certainly in the case of Local Natives and Dawes we are seeing two bands from these barns on impressive career arcs. Both bands just finished “barnstorming” SXSW this year with multiple shows all with rave reviews from press and fans.
This year’s first Barnstormer show– which will be the third– will take place April 27th through May 1st and include shows in Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. Unlike the first two tours last year, these will have a cover charge of $10. From last week’s Daytrotter e-mail:
We know that all of you Barnstormers enjoyed the freeness of the first two tours and we thank you for making the tour what it is. With the acts that we have set for No. 3, we need your help to pay for everything… Each night, half of every paid admission will go to someone who needs help. Maybe it’s someone you know. We are choosing one individual or family — based on your nominations — to receive some help from the Barnstormer. So, write rsvpdaytrotter@gmail.com with a story of someone who’s fallen on hard times and could use some assistance. We’ll take the best five stories and do what we can to make things a bit better.
The cover charge is a notable change– when I talked to Sean about this last year he said that since he really doesn’t spend any money for promoting daytrotter.com– these shows were going to be used as a method of promotion and his promotional budget would pay for part of it. Plus, the bands were playing these shows understanding that they’d get some needed exposure and hoping to sell merchandise and they were crashing at people’s homes and camping out– in Bellevue all of the bands were put up in a bed and breakfast operated by the owner of Mooney Hollow. While I don’t expect that the living conditions for the bands will be changed much, I’m sure that the $5 per head will be welcomed!
The idea of giving the other half of the money to a needy family or individual is great, and certainly in line with Sean’s idea of giving back to these little towns like the one he grew up in.
$10 certainly isn’t a lot for five Daytrotter-approved up-and-comers anyway. The band line-up looks pretty good and it already has some buzzworthy bands in it. Free Energy, originally from Minneapolis now living in the land of Philly cheesesteaks, has been getting a lot of blog press lately with their brand of power-pop. Dawes and Deer Tick-BFF’s Delta Spirit have done three Daytrotter sessions since 2007. Ra Ra Riot purvey a kind of organic unplugged britlikepop with a nod to some Smith-y ideal or a tip of the scooter helmet to mod groups like The Jam or The Police. The strings serve only to underscore the pining sentimentality, frankly. Pearly Gate Music is Zach Tillman– whose brother is J. Tillman of Fleet Foxes so you seem to be guaranteed a familial if not familiar pedigree. The tracks I’ve listened to on his MySpace page a strong in melody with slightly cockeyed perspective. I’m interested to hear this in a live setting– he apparently made fans of the Fleet Foxes fans when he opened for them. Nathaniel Rateliff is a new signee of Rounder Records. His sound is a melange that stands undecidedly somewhere between indie, country, bluegrass and the long tradition of folk music.
A nice selection of strong musicians and artists– just what we’d expect from Mr. Daytrotter.
DAYTROTTER PRESENTS: BARNSTORMER III SCHEDULE (generously lifted from daytrotter.com):
Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore— according to the press-releases– met after Ben Sollee– a classically trained cellist and member of Abigail Washburn‘s Sparrow Quartet– stumbled upon Moore’s MySpace page and listened to the music there. Daniel Martin Moore was signed to SubPop records in 2007 on the power of an unsolicited demo. He released his first album Stray Age on SubPop in 2008.
Both Sollee and Moore as well as producer/collaborator Yim Yames (aka Jim James from My Morning Jacket) are from Kentucky and have a shared concern in the mountain top removal that occurs in coal mining in their state today. Sollee and Moore have chosen to take the proceeds of their first collaboration together– their album titled Dear Companion (on SubPop) and donate them to Appalachian Voices. Appalachian Voices is an organization hoping to bring awareness to and end mountain top removal coal mining. They have a really interesting application on their website that shows you how your local utility company contributes to Mountain Top Removal.
The little bit I’ve had a chance to listen to Dear Companion leaves me with the opinion that their stripped-down folk and bluegrass melange is reminiscent of Nick Drake and a little like labelmate The Iron and Wine. An impressive collaboration and very worth checking out.
Sollee and Moore will be performing at CSPS in Cedar Rapids on Monday, March 15th at 7PM. Joining Sollee and Moore on stage will be percussionist Dan Dorff and violinist Cheyenne Mize. Tickets are $11 in advance and $15 at the door.
Click Here for the Legion Arts webpage about the Dear Companion show.
It was last July when Local Natives graced our bucolic farmlands as part of the inaugural Daytrotter Barnstormer tour. I saw them twice– once in Bellevue at Mooney Hollow Barn and once at the Secrest Octagonal Barn. I recount my experience here. It was the case that at least for the two shows I saw, the Silverlake, CA group really stole the show in my opinion, and which is why I’m really excited to announce that they will be back in the area in May!
Since they played the barns last year, the Natives have seemingly been on the road non-stop. They had a package tour with Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and Fool’s Gold that brought them to Madison, Chicago and Minneapolis at the end of November and beginning of December. It seems like they’ve been to Europe a couple of times already, and are currently there through March 11th before coming back to do a run of dates in the US which include some high-profile festival shows: SXSW on 3/18-20, Coachella on 3/18, and Sasquatch! on 5/30 and Bonnaroo on 6/10!
Local Natives’ album Gorilla Manor released in the US on French Kiss this week (2/16) and is available as CD, mp3 (with bonus tracks) and vinyl LP! I received my LP yesterday and because I pre-ordered I got a bonus 7″ of “Sun Hands” with a Daytrotter version of “Airplanes” as its b-side.
Local Natives will be hitting the very cozy Rock Island Brewing Company on Saturday, May 15th, The 400 Bar in Minneapolis on Monday, May 17th, and The Mill Restaurant in Iowa City on Tuesday, May 18th. That gap on Sunday makes me wonder if they might be sneaking in an encore Daytrotter session?
Feb 17 2010 8:00P SOLD OUT Maroquinerie Paris
Feb 18 2010 8:00P Le Grand Mix Tourcoing, Lille
Feb 19 2010 8:00P Le Normandy Saint Lo
Feb 20 2010 8:00P Route du Rock Winter Festival Saint Malo
Feb 24 2010 8:00P Thekla Bristol
Feb 25 2010 8:00P Rescue Rooms Nottingham
Feb 26 2010 8:00P Concorde II Brighton
Feb 27 2010 8:00P Brudenell Leeds
Feb 28 2010 8:00P Arts Centre Norwich
Mar 2 2010 8:00P SOLD OUT Heaven London
Mar 3 2010 8:00P Academy 3 Birmingham
Mar 4 2010 8:00P Club Academy Manchester
Mar 5 2010 8:00P King Tuts Glasgow
Mar 6 2010 8:00P Academy 2 Newcastle
Mar 10 2010 8:00P Academy 2 Dublin
Mar 11 2010 8:00P Limelight Belfast
Mar 18 2010 8:00P SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 19 2010 8:00P SXSW Austin, Texas
Mar 20 2010 8:00P SXSW Austin, Texas
Apr 18 2010 3:00P Coachella Indio, California
Apr 20 2010 8:00P Solar Culture Tuscon, Arizona
Apr 22 2010 8:00P The Cavern Dallas, Texas
Apr 23 2010 8:00P Emo’s (inside) Austin, Texas
Apr 24 2010 8:00P Mango’s Houston, Texas
Apr 26 2010 8:00P Sticky Fingerz Chicken Shack Little Rock, Arkansas
Apr 27 2010 8:00P Thirsty Hippo Haittesburg, Mississippi
Apr 29 2010 8:00P Cafe 11 St. Augustine, Florida
Apr 30 2010 8:00P The Basement Nashville, Tennessee
May 1 2010 8:00P Masquerade Atlanta, Georgia
May 4 2010 8:00P Local 506 Chapel Hill, North Carolina
May 5 2010 8:00P DC 9 Washington DC, Washington DC
May 6 2010 8:00P Bowery Ballroom New York, New York
May 7 2010 8:00P Kung Fu Necktie Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
May 8 2010 8:00P Great Scott Allston, Massachusetts
May 11 2010 8:00P Beachland Tavern Cleveland, Ohio
May 12 2010 8:00P The Basement Columbus, Ohio
May 14 2010 8:00P Schubas Chicago, Illinois
May 15 2010 8:00P Rock Island Brewing Company Rock Island, Illinois
May 17 2010 8:00P 400 Bar Minneapolis, Minnesota
May 18 2010 8:00P The Mill Iowa City, Iowa
May 19 2010 8:00P Mojo’s Columbia, Missouri
May 21 2010 8:00P Larimer Lounge Denver, Colorado
May 22 2010 8:00P Kilby Court Salt Lake City, Utah
May 25 2010 8:00P Empyrean Spokane, Washington
May 26 2010 8:00P Neurolux Boise, Idaho
May 27 2010 8:00P Mississippi Studios Portland, Oregon
May 28 2010 8:00P Media Club Vancouver, British Columbia
May 30 2010 8:00P Sasquatch! Seattle, Washington
Jun 3 2010 8:00P Bottom of the Hill San Francisco, California
Jun 10 2010 8:00P Bonnaroo Manchester, Tennessee
Jun 15 2010 8:00P Shepherds Bush Empire London
The story of Dan Maloney’s Death Ships is one of a band outgrowing a local scene, gaining embrace of the Indie Tastemakers riding an arc of success but ultimately stalling. A familiar story to be sure (see: Tapes ‘N Tapes).
For over nine years Dan Maloney has been Death Ships— a band whose beginnings in Iowa City were as a side project. According to his January 2009 interview with Splice, he was in an Emo band called Faultlines when he decided to work on some solo songs. “…on the side I was experimenting with writing songs along the style of the music I grew up with. It took me a while to figure out I could sing better within a certain range rather than “shout/scream.”
Death Ships started initially as a solo accoustic effort and then expanded into a revolving cast of members and became known for having different lineups for every show. In fact, the first time I ever heard about Death Ships was in the context of them seemingly opening for every band at the Mill Restaurant. My friend saw Low and Why? at the Mill and Dan’s Death Ships were openers both times (without drums) and I believe that they opened for Tapes ‘n Tapes and The Hold Steady during their early tours as well. “When Randall (Davis) and Adam “Lars” joined the ranks,” Dan said in his Daytrotter interview, “they really helped shape Death Ships into a functional band.” In September of 2006 the debut Seeds of Devastation was released to some critical acclaim andAlternative Pressnamed Death Ships “Best Unsigned Band.”
The band met ex-Wilco memberJay Bennettthrough a shared manager and he took the band under his wing and on the road with him as his backing band for two tours. In a recent email exchange with Dan, it is really clear that this time with Jay– who passed away last year— made a big impact on him. “[Jay’s death] was a big blow. I didnt know him better than others did, but from touring with him twice and spending a lot of time with him I got a good sense of the man he was: a caring, compassionate man with a love of music and joy that only comes from a child’s first Christmas. He picked us up and gave us a boost that I will never forget.”
Dan moved to Chicago from Iowa City a couple of years ago and has been carrying on the Death Ships name with occasional shows in the area and watershedding the follow-up to Seeds which will be called Circumstantial Chemistry. Additionally, a four-song EP Maybe Arkansas will be released on iTunes. The EP is produced by Luke Tweedy who runs Flat Black Studios in Iowa City and is in (ft) The Shadow Government. “I started working on a follow up a couple years ago and only scraped together four of the songs for this new EP. I moved to Chicago and basically had to start from scratch again. It’s hard– like any band– to sell everyone on commiting to [it], forfeiting the fact that there may not be much money involved but also requiring a lot of time and dedication. I hope I have this with this new group and am finally ready to start pushing Death Ships forward and getting these songs and new songs heard.”
Dan generously let me listen to the songs that make up Maybe Arkansas, and it is a flat-out charmer— hook-filled and standing out in my mind as a testiment 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. Dan’s soft vocal approach on “I Like It A Lot” gives a breezy lead up to the break down “it’s dreams like these/ little melody/ i got plans for you/ you got plans for me” which very nicely launches in the double time and urging cry “put it all on me!”
This is followed by the fun, piano pumping, Beatle-y “Somethings Gone Awry” with its superb use of horns. I love how the song goes from this ironically upbeat drive complete with “do-do-do-do’s” to the mood change as the song runs out “It’s hard to blame the darkness for the rain/It’s hard to see clearly when when we’re reeling from a long black cloud…”
“Let Me Think It Over” is a promise to a former love. It has a undeniable 60’s R&B tinge to it– kind of like when Springsteen used to cover Mitch Ryder in concert– particular with the 3/4 time switch from driving 4/4 at the chorus. “We can get together like we used to be/the same old fool you’ve been dying to see.”
The EP wraps up much too early with the title track. It starts as a melancholy aching sentiment of escape to starting over. “With a furrowed brow you slide across the seat/So, maybe Arkansas– another change in plans” It’s the narrator’s thoughts at the halfpoint of the song of the people they are leaving behind halfway that transforms the song to shouting anger. “Write a letter to your dear sweet mother/tell her that we’re only running from our halted, November mind…”What’s that you gain from this song??”
This EP is a calling card and statement of direction for this new phase of Death Ships. Dan continues from the e-mail he sent me, ” There were times after Seeds where I felt the fruit of my efforts were grossly being undermet and underappreciated, but I have come to peace about being jaded. This is music I make and part of my story. If a few people enjoy it I’m willing to accept that. It’s truly a labor of love and sometimes I forget that. If it ever stopped being fun I would hang it up, but clearly I can’t, because I’ve been doing this project for over six years.”
Birthed from the very fertile improvisation and post rock scene in Chicago comes the collaboration of guitarists David Daniell and Douglas McCombs. David Daniell’s career dates back to 1996 with work in the improvisation group San Agustin. Between his collaborations and solo work he has established a pretty substantial recorded career. Daniell met Doug McCombs when they toured together in 2006 in Rhys Chatham’s six-guitar Die Donnergötter band. McCombs notably plays bass and guitar in Tortoise as well as his solo project Brokeback and Eleventh Dream Day. This meeting cemented a relationship of the two music fans where they exchanged records which lead to the recording sessions that would result in their 2009 release Sycamoreon Thrill Jockey.
Sycamore was recorded over five days in two Chicago loft spaces chosen for their acoustics. The resulting seven-and-a-half hours of music was pared down to the four songs on the album by Daniell and McCombs in editing sessions in a fashion recalling how the late Teo Macero worked with Miles Davis on albums like In A Silent Way (a personal favorite). Final editing and mixing was done by Tortoise compatriot John McEntire at the legendary Soma Studios.
The resulting album is an impressive execution. The ambiance of the record reminds me a lot of Tom Verlaine’s 1992 album Warm and Cool which was very a very influential record for me when it came out and was re-released by Thrill Jockey in 2005. Clean, layered guitars, sparse percussion provide what is a great soundtrack for my day.
Coincidentally, Bettina Richards– the label head for Thrill Jockey— told me when I visited last year that it was Doug who turned her on to the Verlaine album.
David Daniell and Douglas McCombs will be playing The Blue Room at the Blue Moose Tap House (which used to be The Industry, and before that The Cue) on Thursday, March 4th. The opening act will be Star City and another act to be announced. Doors are at 8 PM and tickets will be $7 and are general admission. You can purchase tickets in advance at TicketWeb.
Iowa City musician Ben Schmidt has been on the Eastern Iowa scene for a while, releasing two critically-acclaimed self-released albums– Write It Down in 2002 and While You Were Sleeping in 2005. His press releases draw accurate comparisons to John Gorka, Jesse Winchester, Kelly Joe Phelps and Leonard Cohen.
Ben is releasing a new album titled Silt which draws its inspiration from post-flood experience– the songs are from the perspective of people who have experienced personal “storms” — physical, emotional and spiritual and what remains when those waters subside. The album is pretty much a one-man affair with Ben recording vocals, guitars, bass, drums and electric piano. Assisting one the album is Nate “The Count” Basinger from the Diplomats of Solid Sound on organ, piano and accordion, Steve “The Chief” Hayes on drums, Lori Lane on harmony vocals and Larry Mossman on mandolin.
I’ve had the opportunity to listen to Silt, and I found myself focusing on his lyrics. Ben is a masterful storyteller and his deep, smooth voice provides the perfect narrative match. His style recalls some of the great classic singer-songwriters and anyone who is a fan of Lightfoot, Croche and Taylor should find Schmidt a complimentary listen.
To gear up for the promotion of Silt, Ben along with Larry Mossman are taping a Java Blend show with Ben Kieffer today (2/5) at the Washington St. Java House in Iowa City which will be aired on Friday 2/26 and Saturday 2/27 on Iowa Public Radio.
Ben will also be performing a show at CSPS in Cedar Rapids on Saturday 2/6 as a CD release show. Ben will be joined by Dustin Busch on guitar, Steve Hayes on drums, Lori Lane and Larry Mossman on mandolin. Dustin Busch will be opening the show with his hill country blues-influenced music. Doors will be at 8PM and tickets are $11 in advance and $15 at the door and available through IowaTix.
The constant storm of activity that is Pezzettino is kicking off a tour this week that will take her through Minnesota and Iowa on her way west wrapping up at the end of February on the East Coast. This tour hits a lot of the same stops she made in October of last year, which is a smart move to build her fanbase in some of these cities. When she stopped in Cedar Rapids in October, she played a house show at my home. This was a new experience for me, and it was a lot of fun and she quickly made fans of everyone who attended. She also threatened to kidnap my dachshund, but I’m not going to hold that against her! She also performed a very cool show at CSPS opening for another singer-songwriter named Melissa Greener.
This time she’s playing some key stops in Iowa including an interview and performance at the main Java House location in Iowa City on Washington for Ben Kieffer’s Java Blend radio show on Iowa Public Radio which will air on Friday 2/19 and Saturday 2/20. She’s also performing at the very cool Vaudeville Mews venue in Des Moines and two coffee house shows– Roaster’s Coffee House in Hiawatha, IA (near Cedar Rapids) and Monk’s Kaffee Pub in Dubuque. Roaster’s, incidentally, is where I buy all of my coffee. They roast on site some of the best coffee I’ve ever had and includes Free Trade and Organic coffees.
She announced today via twitter, that all proceeds of teeshirt sales will be donated to benefit Haiti!
Some of the great shows I saw last year were part of the legendary Daytrotter Barnstormer shows— I experienced some very powerful performances in these cozy barn settings. One of the bands that really delivered some transcendent shows was Dawes. And, frankly, most everyone I’ve talked to who has experienced Dawes’ live show says the same thing. It’s like a rock and roll revival.
I wasn’t familiar with Chisel or Boesel, but the tracks I’ve sampled so far and their Daytrotter Sessions place them firmly in the same Leftcoast Americana sound that Dawes has perfected and will make for a great show.
Jason Boesel is breaking out of his constant definition as being the drummer for Rilo Kiley by releasing his own album Hustler’s Son. Jason had a lot of support with his new album. It was produced by Jonathan Wilson who also produced Elvis Costello’s Momofuku as well as Jenny Lewis’s Acid Tongue, and had session players Benmont Tench of the Heartbreakers, in addition to David Rawlings who worked with Gillian Welsh as well as Old Crow Medicine Show and some help from tour mate Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes.
Cory Chisel is from Appleton, WI where he’s lived for over 20 years. His upbringing sheltered him from pop music, but was largely influenced by relatives who were musicians and exposed him to a lot of classic folk, country and blues artists from which he draws a lot of his inspiration. His new album Death Won’t Send A Letter is out on Black Seal records and his song “Born Again” has been garnering a lot of positive press. Death Won’t Send A Letter is going to, according to his website, get a vinyl pressing on February 8th. Additionally, the band will be sharing a live split 7″ with Dawes!!
Don’t sleep on this folks– the show will sell out.
Click Here to listen to “Hand of God” from Hustler’s Son
Here are the tour dates for Dawes and Cory Chisel and the Wanderers:
02.05.10 Santa Cruz, CA The Crepe Place
02.06.10 San Francisco, CA The Rickshaw Stop
02.08.10 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios
02.09.10 Seattle, WA Tractor Tavern
02.12.10 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock
02.13.10 Madison, WI University of Wisconsin
02.14.10 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall
02.15.10 Rock Island, IL Daytrotter Presents @ Rock Island Brewing Co.
02.16.10 Chicago, IL Double Door
02.17.10 Columbus, OH The Rumba Café
02.18.10 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom
02.19.10 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
02.20.10 Allston, MA Great Scott
02.21.10 Freehold, NJ Concerts in the Studio (Cory Chisel only)
02.22.10 Easton, MD The NightCat (Cory Chisel only)
02.23.10 Arlington, VA IOTA Club and Café
02.24.10 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brendas
02.25.10 Charlottesville, VA The Southern
02.26.10 Louisville, KY Zanzibar
02.27.10 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge
02.28.10 Atlanta, GA Eddies Attic
03.02.10 Little Rock, AR Sticky Fingers
03.03.10 Oklahoma City, OK The Conservatory
03.04.10 Dallas, TX The Cavern
03.05.10 Houston, TX Rudyards
03.06.10 Austin, TX Emos
03.09.10 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room
03.10.10 San Diego, CA The Loft at UCSD
03.11.10 Los Angeles, CA The Troubadour
Last year’s two Daytrotter Barnstormer tours brought bands and fans together in unique barn settings. These shows were not without their challenges– but proved to be memorable and transcendant experiences for the bands as well as the fans. Most of my favorite band and music experiences from 2009 were as a result of these shows– certainly in the case of Local Natives and Dawes we are seeing two bands from these barns on impressive career arcs. Both bands just finished “barnstorming” SXSW this year with multiple shows all with rave reviews from press and fans.
which was very a very influential record for me when it came out and was re-released by Thrill Jockey in 2005. Clean, layered guitars, sparse percussion provide what is a great soundtrack for my day.
