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(Free Download) Pieta Brown Encore Daytrotter Session

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Today Daytrotter posted a session I’ve been waiting over a year-and-a-half to hear– Pieta Brown‘s encore session!

The session was recorded Thursday, June 11, 2009 using a short-lived band lineup called “Dream #9” with Jim Viner on drums, Jon Penner on bass and Bo Ramsey on guitar. They performed only two shows in this configuration. June 11th at The Redstone Room in Davenport and then on June 12th at The Mill in Iowa City, which I reviewed.

Here is a picture of that band lineup from The Mill Show:

Pieta Brown and Dream #9 at The Mill

Pieta’s first Daytrotter session was recorded in March of 2008. Between these two sessions recorded less than a year apart, Pieta would go from being on a semi-major label to being “in limbo” with no label. A situation which was remedied by September 2009. Nevertheless, Pieta had self-released an EP titled Flight Time in October 2008 and both sessions include songs from Flight Time as well as her Shimmer EP— produced by Don Was and her debut release on Red House Records.

The session is a nice cross-section of Pieta’s career:

1. “#807” is from her 2005 release In The Cool, which was released on Valley Entertainment and apparently is still in print!

2. “Going Away Blues” is a Frank Stokes cover that Pieta also recorded for her self-released 2003 EP I Never Told which is impossibly out-of-print. I managed to get one of these when Pieta discovered a box last year.

3. “4th of July” also on In The Cool.

4. “Sunrise Highway #44” is from her self-released EP Flight Time which is still available on CDBaby.

5. “You’re My Lover Now” is from her debut Shimmer EP on Red House Records. This version differs from the EP version by having some nice subtle brushwork from Jim Viner.

Pieta Brown Daytrotter Encore Session: The Faint Light of All Lungs and Hearts

Pieta  Brown has tour dates coming up (from her website) with a show at the Mill Restaurant on April 9th:

Date Time Location
Sat Mar 19 Bluegrass & Roots Festival, River Falls, WI more info
Sat Apr 09 The Mill, Iowa City, IA more info
Sat Apr 16 Stoughton Opera House, Stoughton, Wisconsin more info
Thu May 26 SPACE, Evanston, IL more info
Sat May 28 Crossings At Carnegie, Zumbrota, MN more info
Fri Jun 03 Mountain Jam Music Festival, Hunter, NY more info
Sat Jun 04 Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA more info
Sun Jun 05 Club Passim, Cambridge, MA more info
Sat Aug 06 Edmonton Folk Festival, Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA more info
Sun Aug 07 Edmonton Folk Festival, Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA more info

 

(Upcoming Release) Dawes + Deer Tick + Delta Spirit = Middle Brother – Debuting 3/1/2011 (videos)

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McCauley, Goldsmith and Vasquez as Middle Brother

I started hearing about a supergroup of Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, John McCauley III of Deer Tick and Matt Vasquez of Delta Spirit when they performed at “MG+V” at SXSW this year in March. Both Dawes and Delta Spirit played Daytrotter Barnstormer tours (Dawes in October 2009 and July 4th 2010; Delta Spirit in April/May 2010). The guys hit a studio in Nashville last fall to lay down the tracks with Griffin Goldsmith (brother of Taylor, also of Dawes) on drums. The results of those sessions are going to be released in March 2011 under the moniker “Middle Brother” on Partisan Records.

In an interview with Mary Lucia on the Current in Minneapolis, Taylor said that the sophomore release from Dawes is already recorded and ready for release May of 2011. The delay of the release is so that they can release the album for Middle Brother ahead of it. All three bands (Dawes, Deer Tick and Delta Spirit) will go on tour in support of the Middle Brother release and everyone is going to play in each other’s sets. This sounds like one of those tours that people will talk about for years, frankly.

The pre-order for the album is up already and has CD ($12),  vinyl ($15) and a limited-to-500 vinyl + 10″ bundle with tracks recorded at the sessions that didn’t make it to the album proper ($25). The vinyl releases also have mp3 and lossless downloads available with them.

Click Here to pre-order Middle Brother.

Tracklisting for Middle Brother

1. Daydreaming
2. Blue Eyes
3. Thanks For Nothing
4. Middle Brother
5. Theater
6. Portland
7. Wilderness
8. Me Me Me
9. Someday
10. Blood and Guts
11. Mom and Dad
12. Million Dollar Bill

IFC filmed their set at SXSW in March. Here is their performance of “Daydreaming” the first track on the album.

Here is a performance of “Someday” with Matt on vocals:

Here is a performance of the stomping rocker “Me Me Me”

McCauley, Vasquez & Goldsmith Perform at Ale House SXSW
Uploaded by brooklynvegan. – Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Here is one with Taylor on vocals called “Thanks for Nothing”

Thanks to the always-awesome Brooklyn Vegan for the links to these songs.

(Upcoming Release) Snowblink Reissues “Long Live” on Fire Records

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Snowblink
One of the vivid memories I have of Daniela Gesundheit of Snowblink is of her standing on the Grand Old Opry-style stage in Green Island, IA during the first Barnstormer tour framed by twinkling strings of Christmas-tree lights– the small crowd armed with small brass bells to ring on cue. Her mellow ambient set was a departure from the mostly-rocking lineup of those shows, but her otherworldly naive charm seemed to dislodge even the most jaded PBR-fueled hipster from their folded arm vantage point. Her music was dew clinging to the small plants on the forest floor. The kind of stuff that faeries would be streaming from their Pandora accounts whilst updating their Facebook statuses.

Daniela and her small band were performing songs from her at-the-time self-released CD Long Live. Songs like “Rut and Nuzzle,” “Ambergris,” and “Stand Where a Fruit Tree Drops the Things It Doesn’t Need” from this album were standout songs I waited anxiously to hear these songs at each of the stops during the Barnstormer tours.

She announced yesterday that Long Live would be re-issued on Fire Records in Europe on November 8th on CD, MP3 and vinyl (yay!) in conjunction with a tour of Europe. Fire will release in the US and Canada in February. The new reissue gets new cover art, too and features the little boy from the “Ambergris” video (below). Long Live is an album I’ve enjoyed for over a year and its one that I always felt should get more exposure, so I hope that Fire can put some promotional support behind it. I plan on picking up the vinyl when it’s available.

Track Listing for Long Live:

1. Rut & Nuzzle
2. Ambergris
3. The Tired Bees
4. Stand Where A Fruit Tree Drops The Things It Doesn’t Need
5. Membrillo
6. Green to Gone
7. Bulb, For Later
8. Divining Rod
9. Sea Change
10. None
11. Heckling The Afterglow
12. This Is This
13. Go Deep (Fon Frank)
14. The Fish of Little Thoughts
15. The Haunt

Click Here to listen to “Rut and Nuzzle” from Long Live (with lyrics!)
Click Here to listen to “Green to Gone” from Long Live (with lyrics!)

Click Here for Snowblink’s Website

Click Here for Snowblink’s Facebook Fanpage

Click Here for Snowblink’s MySpace Page

Click Here to follow Snowblink on Twitter

Click Here for the Long Live page at Fire Records.

Snowblink’s First Daytrotter Session (3/27/2008)
Snowblink’s Second Daytrotter Session (10/22/2008)
Snowblink’s Third Daytrotter Session – Michael Jackson Covers (3/12/2010)

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

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Dan Maloney of Death Ships

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.

Maybe 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

New Diplomats of Solid Sound Album What Goes Around Comes Around on 10/11

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I’m really happy about the number of great new releases coming out this fall! One release that I’ve been waiting on for I think two years, is the new album from Iowa City’s own Diplomats of Solid Sound! I first heard songs that would make up What Goes Around Comes Around (Record Kicks, October 28) back in August 2008 when they performed at KCCK’s Jazz Under the Stars. In fact, I’m pretty sure I remember the title song from that show. In the shows I’ve seen since then, I’ve heard most of these songs so I feel like I’m already familiar with the album!

The line up for The Diplomats has changed since their 2008 release The Diplomats of Solid Sound Featuring The Diplomettes which was released on Italian Boogaloo-loving label Record Kicks and domestically on Pravda. The Diplomettes was a trio before Abbie Sawyer moved to New Zealand for a year leaving Sarah Cram and Kathy Ruestow to handle the vocal duties as a duo. Original drummer Jim Viner departed at the end of 2008 and is these days behind the skins for Brother Trucker. Viner was replaced by Paul Kresowik.

Like their 2008 release, What Goes Around Comes Around was mixed and edited by Adam Gibbons aka Lack of Afro. Just listening to the track “Give Me One More Chance” which you can hear below on their Soundcloud link (below) I can hear an evolution in their sound. While still firmly planted in classic Ameican soul and R&B– it seems a little more evolved to me. The strings on this track are a fantastic flourish to the song. On the song “What Goes Around Comes Around”  they have developed a hot buttered jazz funk that I’d like to hear more of.

What Goes Around Comes Around is due to release on October 11th and will be available from the band, on Amazon and other places like Dusty Groove (likely) in LP and CD and digital download. Prior to the release of the album there will be a 7″ of “Back Off” and “B-O-O-G-A-L-O-O” the center label will look like this:

Record Kicks has made this single available before its release date of 9/27 as a digital download from their site. You can get both sides of the single in 320Kbps mp3’s for £ 0.79 apiece. After PayPal fees and currency conversion, I got both tracks for $2.77 US.

Click Here to visit the Record Kicks page for the “Back Off” b/w “B-O-O-G-A-L-O-O” single to order your mp3’s or to purchase the 7″ single. You can listen to the tracks here, too.

Tracklisting for What Goes Around Comes Around:
1. B-O-O-G-A-L-O-O
2. Back Off
3. Promise Of A Brand New Day
4. Gimme One More Chance
5. No Man
6. Fascination
7. Bailout!
8. Jealous
9. What Goes Around Comes Around
10. I Can’t Wait For Your Love (Pistol Allen)
11. Get Out Of The Way (So I Can Get Back To My Life)

THE DIPLOMATS OF SOLID SOUND – Give Me One More Chance by Record Kicks

(Upcoming Release) Antibalas – Who Is This America? Reissued on 8/17

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I became aware of Antibalas around the time that I was working on a review of the very cool Scion Daptone Records Remixed compilation where I mentioned that Ticklah who is credited with the remix of “How Long Do I Have to Wait” by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, is David Axelrod who, among other things, has been a member of the Brooklyn, NY Afrobeat and funk ensemble since 1999.

Antibalas was formed in 1998 and modeled after Fela Kuti’s Africa 70 band and continues to maintain connections with members of Fela’s bands. In 2008 the band was involved in the off-Broadway and on-Broadway musical of Fela’s life titled Fela! The musical is based on the events of his life and particularly his politically motivated music career and oppression from the Nigerian government.

Antibalas’s influence from Fela Kuti extends further than just their afrobeat style, they also choose to make their music the platform for sharing their political views. No where is this more evident than their third album Who Is This America? which was released in 2004 on Ropeadope records. The band and label felt that their political and social statements on the album are as relevant today as they were during the Bush-era, post 9/11 period they were conceived in.

The re-issue of Who Is This America? will be on CD and digital download with a new bonus track “Money Talks” and with an iTunes-only track “Paz.” Notably, Ropadope is choosing not to release this album on vinyl. As luck would have it, Daptone Records released a vinyl version back in 2004 that seems to still be available on their site for $20 and has the “running man” cover artwork. Daptone also has Antibalas’s 2007 Anti- Records release Security on vinyl as well. Security was produced by John McEntire of Tortoise, incidentally. Ropeadope will have a special edition package that includes the CD, a download and a reprint of the “Running Man” teeshirt ($27.99). You can get just the teeshirt, too.

Click Here to download “Big Man” from Who Is This America?

Click Here to pre-order Who Is This America? from Ropadope.

Click Here to order the original (no bonus tracks) Who Is This America? 2 LP from Daptone.

Click Here for the Antibalas website.

Click Here for the Antibalas MySpace Page

Click Here for the Antibalas Facebook Fan Page

(Free Download) Karyn Paige – “Want To” from Hola Mademoiselle

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When it comes to HipHop I tend to favor the musical pastiche typically purveyed by the Bay Area. Some of this is because I really cut my HipHop teeth on the seminal Bay Area label artists on Solesides (later Quannum) including Lateef, Lyrics Born, DJ Shadow, Blackalicious. In some respects California HipHop is considered a second generation from the early New York days of HipHop and rap, but it might be this distance that makes California HipHop more of a converged sound with funk. Of course these days, Left- and Right-coast isn’t so much a discernible distinction. These days there are still stylistic differences between, say Jay-Z and Snoop but beyond that there has been a lot of cross-pollination so it is difficult to make the same comment about today’s HipHop and rap.

Still, the last releases from Lyrics Born, The Gift of Gab, Blackalicious and DJ Shadow really show a very wide view of their art and I think shows them pushing the boundaries of what defines HipHop.

It’s this cultural and musical diversity in the Bay Area that fosters artists like singer Karyn Paige who, after several years of working and performing with various bands and musicians including the Jazz Mafia collective as well as Lyrics Born (who also worked with the Jazz Mafia Orchestra “Brass Bows and Beats) and Chali 2na (of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli), is ready to release her first solo record titled Hola Mademoiselle which will come out fall of this year. Prior to that she will release a digital EP this summer titled The KP EP.

The releases promise to be a “diverse blend of pop, R&B, New Wave, Soul and Funk” and this is certainly delivered in the first single being offered as a free download titled “Want To.” “Want To” was co-writted and produced by Joe Bagale and Matt Berkeley of the Jazz Mafia with Karyn and to me really recalls the purple funk heyday during Prince‘s reign in Minneapolis– the funky analog synths and beats that were the signature of Mr. Rogers Nelson and the production duo of Jam and Lewis. It is a super-catchy track  and has already made it to two of my car mp3 mixes! I can’t wait to hear the EP and album when they come out!

Do yourself a favor and grab this mp3.

Click Here to listen to “Want To” by Karyn Paige from her upcoming release Hola Mademoiselle.

Click Here to visit Karyn Paige’s website and sign up for her mailing list

Click Here to visit Karyn Paige’s Facebook Fanpage

Click Here to visit Karyn Paige’s MySpace Page

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

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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.

Hiss Golden Messenger Transforms Country Hai Tracks on Vinyl as “Root Work”

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When I heard that the next Hiss Golden Messenger release was going to be made available on vinyl I was pretty excited to hear it. I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t going to be new HGM songs but an EP to be titled Root Work based on a live radio session in August recorded by Irene Trudel on WFMU. I’d had the tracks that would make up Country Hai East Cotton since 2007 and the album proper came out last year. I was getting pretty hungry for some new material from MC and company!

In appreciation for the general love that playbsides.com gives Hiss Golden Messenger, MC Taylor sent me the mp3’s of Root Work to peruse in April.  “At first, I wasn’t sure about commercially releasing this material as it appears on Country Hai,” he said in a later e-mail, ” but it sounds so good– through no fault of mine, really– that I thought it would make a really nice  limited-edition vinyl release. That particular lineup of the band was special, in that we only played together three times (this  recording was the second time), and it all came together.”

The lineup for Root Work is Slim Diamond (MC Taylor) on vocals and guitar, on bass and lapsteel is regular HGM member Scott Hirsch, Yair Evnine on guitar, Terry Lonergan on percussion, Robert Stillman on piano and Fender Rhodes, and Crowmeat Bob on horns.

The resulting six-track recording is less a re-hashing of Country Hai East Cotton than it is a re-imagining of the source. I think this is partially a product of the chemistry of the musicians as well as MC and Scott benefiting from a perspective two years after the original album was recorded. The fresh perspective seems to allow the band to exercise some light improvisation.

“John Has Gone to the Light” goes from an almost five-minute track to an almost nine minute song. The band spends more time riding the loping dub beat before succumbing to the double reggae-time chorus.

“Lion/Lamb” actually gets edited from the epic Traffic-ish “Lion” on Country Hai down to a just over three-minute stripped down folky strumming guitar and mandolin.

“Resurrection Blues” was a cursing post-death two-beat march on Country Hai. On Root Work it becomes a bluesy sax-driven gospel swagger. The call-and-response makes me think that the Blind Boys of Alabama should cover this version!

“O Nathaniel” is stripped and slowed down to reveal the rich palate of the vocal melody at the sacrifice of the more pronounced double-time Fleetwood Mac glissando payoff at the chorus on. But, on the Root Work version of this song we get a really great guitar solo as the song wraps up that would make Lindsey Buckingham take a second notice.

“Isobel” doesn’t vary much from the original version, but it is clear that MC is comfortable hanging on notes in his vocal making the whole song a more relaxed and bluesy experience. The new mix of instruments and in particular the piano riffing is a welcome development to the song.

“From a Lincoln Continental (Boogie Interpolated)” I thought this Tim Rose cover from Country Hai ended up sounding a bit like a “Digging In The Dirt”- period Peter Gabriel due to the clockwork approach to the instrumentation. On Root Work “Boogie” gets a welcome extended swampy blues workout. The song ends up sounding a lot more like the original Tim Rose version this way.

I caught up with MC last week and the pre-sale is up on the Heaven & Earth Magic Company website. Heaven & Earth Magic Company is the record label MC and Scott Hirsch started for their projects. Their first release was Country Hai East Cotton. The vinyl release of Root Work is a frighteningly limited one-hundred records– each numbered with covers designed by Brendan Greaves and hand screened by MC! The record is $15 (around $20 shipped) and comes with a digital download from bandcamp so you can get 320Kbps mp3’s or FLACs (or just about anything else actually). This is a steal, frankly. If you’re not into the vinyl thing, you can just order the download for a very reasonable $6 or you can pick individual tracks for $1 apiece.

The debate over the versions of the songs between Country Hai East Cotton and Root Work is akin to debating the merits of red versus white wine. Either is appropriate depending on when you’re drinking. I’m looking forward to drinking in the subtle tannins and liquorice notes of the vinyl pressing of Root Work.

Click Here to listen to tracks from Hiss Golden Messenger’s Root Work and to order digital download or vinyl pressing with digital download.