Now This Sound Is Brave

Doc Dailey & Magnolia Devil: Alabama Daydream

2011-02-24T08:50:00.004-05:00

Even though Doc seems to think the only reason to travel through Ohio is some girl, I like Doc Dailey & Magnolia Devil. I like them a lot.

Hailing from the Muscle Shoals area of Alabama - home to Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, FAME Recording Studios, W.C. Handy and more than one member of Drive-By Truckers - Doc and his crew play with a complement of instrumentation that ranges from the traditional Americana staples of mandolin and banjo to pedal steel and organ right on up to horns and classical strings (If you don't think banjo and classical strings make good companions, the title track from Victims, Enemies & Old Friends will prove you wrong).

Just as diverse is the range of song styles they pass through, from big-drum rockers ("She's Gonna Love Me", "The Only Reason That I Know") to heartbroken-yet-hopeful ballads ("Pray for You") to country music's bread and butter, story songs ("Let Me Down", "'Til Death Do Us Part"). And, no mistake, this is music that lands heavily on the country side - Doc's accent is the definition of "twang" - but it is a world away from those Nashvegas products that pop up in many people's minds when they think of country music. This is music from people who appreciate, say, the Replacements as much as they do Hank Williams, Sr.

With its clean and warm production, Victims, Enemies & Old Friends is a very pleasant surprise from beginning to end, and you'll probably have more than one favorite song from this album from the first listen.

Doc Dailey & Magnolia Devil - The Only Reason That I Know

Doc Dailey & Magnolia Devil - She's Gonna Love Me

Doc Dailey & Magnolia Devil Official Website

Doc Dailey & Magnolia Devil on Bandcamp

Rock 'n' Roll Photog: Love Crushed Velvet

2011-02-23T10:00:00.001-05:00

We are crazy with the interviews here all of sudden. Today, Jennifer talks to A.L.X., singer of Love Crushed Velvet.

A.L.X. and Love Crushed Velvet at Crash Mansion

Love Crushed Velvet, last seen on NTSIB participating in the Beatles Complete on the Ukulele event, will be putting out a new record in the middle of April. Recently, I sat down with lead singer A.L.X. to discuss a variety of musical topics:

During the Beatles Complete on the Ukulele event I thought I heard someone say you were from Austria. That's since been cleared up – you were born in East Germany and later moved to the United States - but in the process of straightening that out, you dropped a tantalizing reference to having briefly been a cult celebrity in Austria. What was that all about, because it sounds like a good story.

It was one of those weird things about being in the right place in the right time. I ended up living there – I was actually a student at the time – this was back in the '90s – and whenever you leave the New York area and you go live someplace new, even though being born in Europe and having European parents I was used to going over there pretty often, but I wasn't used to actually living over there, it's a big difference from staying with your family for five weeks versus someone just throwing you – 18 years old, 19 years old - in the middle of a European city.

Basically the first couple of weeks I was just checking out all of the music clubs, all of the pop clubs and things and ended up falling into a circle that - unbeknownst to me at the time - were some of the top rock musicians in the country. And you go there as a young American singer – I only realized this in retrospect – but you go there as a young American singer, you don't have to be great, all you have to be is half-decent. Just the fact that you're American, they just embrace you. Just by nature of that – being American, being from the New York area, and being a rock singer – the kind of doors that opened were just unimaginable.

So literally within 2-3 months we ended up having a band with a bunch of guys who were quite well known – Falco's guitar player, the Kruder and Dorfmeister guys became part of the band – Peter Kruder was one of the Kruder and Dorfmeister founders – and it was just fun, it didn't last very long – in retrospect it felt like five minutes. But that for me was an important period musically just because it gave the sense of affirmation of "hey, I can do this." Even though it's kind of this distant foggy memory, and what I'm doing now musically really doesn't relate much to that period, it was still a great thing as a start, when you're an 18-19 year old kid. All of a sudden it's just kind of hitting me. And I realized how much harder it would be every step of the way since then. Because you just assume it's going to be so much easier everywhere else you go. And then you get back to New York and no-one gives a shit, and damn, this is hard.

So now, this new band you have going, Love Crushed Velvet, how did that start?

I'd been playing with a couple of guys for a few years in some of my solo projects. Tommy Price who was drummer for Joan Jett and the Black Hearts, and was with Billy Idol right before that, and Jimmy Bones who was with Blondie, he was also with Joan Jett at one point – we'd been playing – I cut a record a couple years ago – two years ago, three years at this point - a solo album, and they'd been supporting me just as my back-up band – and as we were playing that music from that A.L.X record, with these guys playing it live, everything just morphed into a completely different sound. Songs changed – as songs often do anyway, you can write a song and play it with 30 different musicians it'll be 30 different songs, in essence.

But the direction of the music, it just had a very interesting feel. With Tommy's drumming he has a very crisp, powerful, but not heavy handed snare – listen to the Billy Idol records from the mid-'80s, you can really hear that in there – and as we started playing we found this nice sound that was really very different than a lot of rock you hear nowadays which is either big radio cockrock or really really indie and alternative. I mean cool, I love a lot of alternative stuff out there, but there wasn't that much of it that had that combination of being big and muscular and having that alternative feel to it at the same time. So that's kind of the birth of Love Crushed Velvet.

I'd started writing really around the sound of this band and then everything just fell into place very easily, just seemed from the first studio sessions. I'm too close to the record to tell whether it's good or not, but, it took a long time to make but it wasn't a difficult record to make. The songs, the vibe, everything fell into place very easily. So I'm hoping it's the start of a good thing and a long thing.

I've listened to the record a couple of time now, and in the song, Love Crushed Velvet, the "love crushed velvet" that you're looking for – what is that? What does that mean?

You know the song, if you look at the lyrics, not surprisingly the song is about sex. The song is really about how so many of us mask our sexual identity as something else. How sometimes – because our sexuality is really the core of who we are. Our essence as people, it's not in our heads, it's in our hearts and in our crotches, if you think about it. And that song really just explores the whole concept of chasing who we really are from that perspective. Just allowing ourselves to be free on that level. And the video we made of that played with that idea a little bit, with the whole concept of having multiple masked identities.

Okay. So your next big gig in New York is Earth Day?

We don't have much before. The next one that's firmly booked is Earth Day. We haven't booked anything as a band between now and then, but there will probably be three or four Love Crushed Velvet shows. And the other thing I'm doing is I'm traveling around a fair amount- I've started doing an unplugged tour, solo, and just taking the Love Crushed Velvet songs, and stripping them down. I've done five or six of them already. Between the Love Crushed Velvet band shows there's time kill and space to kill and we still want to get the music out there - this is just a different way of doing it; a more intimate way of doing it.

All right. Now, Google tells me you also run a chemical company?

Running is kind of a big word, I guess. It's essentially a green technology company. And it's something I fell into – I've kind of grown up around it, it was a family business that I fell into, I was pretty much involved with it one way or another since I've been a kid. I've never seen myself as a person who could just do one thing, in that sense. And I love the yin and the yang aspect of having – because being a musician is a very esoteric thing. There's the business side of music which is a discipline, a disciplinary, regimented thing, but I've always said I hate the music business and want as little to do with the business side of it as possible. But this other business, I find it's a really interesting business. I travel, so I can play and do that at the same time. It just a nice balance against being too free-form as an artist.

I had a stray thought about lacquers for guitars -

We do that too. And those are my favorite trips! Yeah, you get with the guitar companies and you talk about the lacquers, but basically you sit around all day playing the guitar.

That sounds like the best business trip ever.

It's amazing. So, what kind of music do you like?

Big drums and dirty bass lines.

Well, that could be a lot of things. What was your transformative song? The one that really woke you up?

It was Beat It. I remember being in the kitchen, and hearing it on the radio for the first time – I was really young, obviously – but that opening guitar riff came out, and I remember really distinctly reaching out to turn it up. And I've never been much of a Michael Jackson fan beyond that, but that opening riff, I have an almost automatic Yesssssssss!, punch the air with both fists response.

Fall Out Boy did a cover of it, and when I was at Bamboozle a couple of years ago – this was before he [Michael Jackson] died, they don't play it now that he's dead – they played it. I was in the back of the pit, being squashed by the crowd, and they launched into it right as I was deciding to get out, and as I'm walking past the security dudes, I'm waving my arms in the air.

And then – I didn't realize until I was getting out - but in order to get out you had to walk towards the stage, through the line of security dudes. And I had to really focus on not stopping and staring at them on the stage, so I didn't get in trouble. But as I got towards the front, where I could see the kids with their faces turned up towards the stage and bathed in the light and the guys really focused on what they were playing, and Patrick Stump's voice soaring over us, I thought This is where it is, this is where the magic happens.

Also, uh, Welcome to the Jungle, because I'm predictable that way. And Dr. Feelgood. Anyway, that's a good question. What was your transformative song?

It was – I've had a few of them. The one that kind of woke me up was actually, ironically, a Billy Idol song. It's from before I had ever heard of him or Generation X, it was the last Generation X single Dancing With Myself. This was Gen X– god knows how long they'd been broken up already. I was living in the suburbs at the time, on the radio you couldn't hear anything there.

Except I came across this - when I was, I don't know, fourteen or something like that - this alternative station that would play older punk and new punk, stuff that wasn't Bruce Springsteen, that wasn't the Eagles, all that kind of stuff that didn't move me musically. And I remember there was this one radio show that used to come on at 10 o'clock at night, and as soon as the show started - b-tchk b-tchk bnar nar nar - I was like, Fuck this is cool. It had a simple rhythm and incredibly simple guitar line, and it just felt like it was going to explode out of the speakers, it just had so much energy.

And finally now after having made some records, you can figure out how they created that, how they gave that much energy in the studio. But at the time it really opened me up to punk and all those punk bands. And fortunately or unfortunately I was generation removed from it, so I was too young to be in that scene. So all the type of stuff that I had to tap into were really the later generation of post-punk bands coming up around New York at the time. But that opened my eyes to a different, more simple, more energetic kind of music. It was a jolt to my central nervous system at the time. That really woke me up, to the accessibility of it, it just had two simple notes, or three simple notes, that could make people dance and go crazy.

A.L.X. and Love Crushed Velvet at Brooklyn Bowl

So this is always a fun question. What was the first show you went to?

The first show was the Kinks. They were – I had a friend who was a couple years older than I was – I was thirteen or fourteen – who was a big Kinks fan, and this was the late '80s so that point, in retrospect, the Kinks were sort of on their downhill slide. They probably hadn't been relevant for six or seven years, but they were still great. The two things I remember was how often Ray Davies changed his jacket, and how much pot smoke there could be in a big place. But it was cool. There was something I loved about the Kinks, because they were dirty, but they were still sophisticated.

Then after I got to know more of them over time, and learned a little more about Ray Davies in subsequent years. He's a pretty interesting cat, very literate, very smart, very thoughtful guy. But at the time it was basically simple riff rock with a lot of pot smoke and a lot of different jackets. But it made an impression, at least. I think your first show – there's something – especially if it wasn't that big of a place, I think it was at Roseland. It's one thing if you're at an arena show, but if you're at a smaller place like that, with still a great band and that atmosphere. That whole world kind of attracted me and scared me at the same time.

My first show was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, in an arena, – Lenny Kravitz opened.

Wow.

Yeah. And I was also, like, fourteen, and had no idea that openers existed, so I was like, Who is that? That's not Tom Petty! And this was – '89, Full Moon Fever - so he was on his up-tick again.

He's brilliant, Tom Petty. He's such an underappreciated song writer. It's funny, when I was younger, I never cared for his voice, it wasn't appealing to me. And for me if I don't like the way the singer sounds, I just can't get past it, or I can't get into it. Since then – now I like his voice, I appreciate it for it's distinctness, but yeah, looking at Tom Petty as a songwriter, god he's good.

I went out after that and acquired his back catalogue at Tower Records. Which took some doing, in 1989, since everything was still on tape. Which actually brings me to my next question: What was the first album that you bought - record or tape or CD or whatever?

Led Zeppelin IV.

Interesting. Yeah, mine were Born in the USA and Nervous Night. I think I used my birthday money – I was 11.

Led Zeppelin was an interesting record, too, because I got turned on to all of this stuff by older friends. And Zep, just like that first Kinks concert, was enticing but scary. When you're a kid, you're thirteen, and you listen to Led Zepplin for the first time, you're not quite sure what to make of it. And now we're so used to it, that it's a part of our vernacular, it's almost like it's in our bloodstream, we've grown up around it for thirty-some odd years, but hearing that for the first time - especially hearing Black Dog for the first time? - you can see why people thought they were Devil worshippers. I guess, you know, way back in that era, when they were around, because it's scary but it's sexy. It's all those things rock and roll is supposed to be, really at the highest level. So yeah, that was my first record.

What was the last one that you bought?

Record record?

It doesn't have to be a record record. Album. Collection of music! I haven't – oh wait, I have bought a record record. Not on purpose, though – it was part of a larger band package. I don't even own a record player! I do have a walkman, though. It's kind of beat to shit, but I've got it.

I've kept my old records, but I don't keep them in my apartment. They're like in the basement of my mother's house somewhere because in New York, you live in Manhattan – record players, you need a certain amount of space, it's not like CD players that you can just stick it in the corner. Record players, you have to be able to open them up and move them around. You need all of this accompanying square footage around record players.

But the last CD I bought, it's this cool band, I'm not sure where they're from, they're called Diamond Rings, and I bought them about a month ago when I was in Houston. There's a great record store there called Cactus Music, it's just fantastic. There's no record stores left anymore, and this is one of the great record stores in America, because it's relatively small, but they do live bands, they do showcases in there, and kind of everything a modern, relevant records store should be. Anyway so they were playing Diamond Rings when I was in there, and I was like, shit, this is a fantastic record.

Circling back a little bit – I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the Beatles Complete on the Ukulele event, since my normal Beatles tolerance is . . . somewhat limited.

That show was mostly about bands interpreting the Beatles, and interpreting the Beatles, it's an education, because just the - you look at their choice of chords, their choice of structures, their choice of melodies – when I grew up I was the same way, I was never really moved by the Beatles, I didn't find them dirty or sexy enough or edgy enough.

My objection is that they're, like, really irritating wallpaper after a while.

Yeah, well, they've also been overplayed.

Yes, they play the same five songs all the time, and then I'm like, Enough now.

But, I thought the Beatles thing last week – it's interesting to hear the songs played by someone other than the Beatles, because they become new songs, in and of themselves. And I remember standing at the bar with my band and some friends came by to say hi, we were just chatting, and then I remember listening to Hey Jude, having someone else play it –

On the accordion, no less!

- yeah, and it's just such a fucking good song. The chorus just gets bigger and bigger and bigger – as a songwriter that song is a masterpiece, it's just so well done.

But the dirge-like pace at which the Beatles played it is excruciating after a while. I have to say I developed a whole new appreciation for I Am the Walrus. I think it was Black Bells – they were the first ones up after the Uke mob – and I'm pretty sure they did I Am the Walrus because they really stomped through it, and I was like, This is a great song! . . . wait a minute.

And that's the thing, when you go back and listen to Hey Bulldog, one of the ones we covered, when I heard the original version of it, I wasn't – I'm still not excited by it, I don't care for the way it's mixed, I just don't respond to it, but then when we sit down and break it down, just that guitar - again a James Bond-y guitar line that George Harrison's playing, and when you kind of make it your own, suddenly you're like hey, this is a cool song.

A lot of their music is like that though. They're such strong writers, there's not a lot of weakness in their catalog – you can argue maybe with how it was performed - but they also did so many different renditions, I mean if you go back to collections of the Beatles outtakes, some of the songs have four or five or six different versions of them. In a few cases they were all released in some form or the other. But when you strip it down to it's core essentials, just as writers, their sense of melody, they're just an amazing creation.

So how did you get involved in the Beatles Complete on the Ukulele thing? Do you get invited to that?

Well, I got invited by Roger Greenawalt, and he and I have known each other for a while, we've done about two or three different projects over the last ten-twelve years, he was the first producer I met when I moved to New York. So, you know, I cut some demos, back, hmm, right at the tail end of the '90s? And then Roger produced four songs off the Love Crushed Velvet record.

It was actually interesting, while we were cutting the Love Crushed Velvet tracks during that time he was really starting - he was conceptualizing the Beatles on the Ukulele thing, and we had just cut some basic tracks about two years ago, which was literally two months before he did his first Beatles thing at Spike Hill [a bar in Brooklyn], which was much smaller, much funkier, not the quasi-spectacle it is now. So I ended up doing a show, getting up there and doing a couple of songs then. And he's invited me and/or the band to come back in subsequent years, so this is actually the third time doing it. I was there when it started!

From the beginning!

Thank God not on video, that first time.

Apparently he's doing Led Zeppelin on the ukulele next? Is that what I hear?

Yeah, he's been talking about it for a while. I haven't gotten invited yet – I'm hoping that means it hasn't happened yet.

I'm actually terribly intrigued by the prospect of Led Zepplin on the ukulele. I think Immigrant Song with ukulele might be quite dramatic.

If you think about it, in some ways Zeppelin on the ukulele makes more sense than the Beatles on the ukulele, because they used – Jimmy Page used nonstandard tunings on most of his songs, they had mandolin, a lot of other things going through their records. To an extent a lot of Zeppelin has that sonic frequency of the ukulele underneath it, even if it might not have been the ukulele, it might have been a mandolin instead, but they give to some degree a similar effect. I can see it working.

Maybe he can try the Rolling Stones on the ukulele next.

That one I'd be a little bit more careful with.

That might be awkward.

You can't ukulele-ify the entire world.

That's true. Still. It would be funny. I would be entertained by the Rolling Stones on the ukulele.

I would be entertained by Nine Inch Nails on the ukulele.

[cackling with glee] That would be PERFECT. [manages to contain laughter] Anyway, that's about all I had, so, in conclusion, thank you so much for meeting with me today, and for letting us put one of your songs up for people to download.
----

Song: Problem Child

I like it because: It's a gleeful bad-boy anthem, and also an interesting bookend to He's Not a Boy, which is a "You can't change a bad boy, you just have to love him as he is, and really, would you have him any other way?" song by The Like. The two bands are very different, musically, I just enjoy the way these two tunes "talk" to each other.

Listen to the record streaming at bandcamp: Love Crushed Velvet

-- Jennifer

Bits: Patrick Sweany, Infantree, Shivering Timbers, Bill Withers, Empires

2011-02-22T10:20:00.005-05:00

Patrick Sweany was featured on Cleveland public radio program Around Noon this past Thursday. A lovely interview with a couple of wonderful live songs. Listen here.

Infantree will be re-releasing their album Would Work in a re-mastered version at the end of April.

Akron's Shivering Timbers are venturing out beyond Ohio and will be playing Nashville, Tennessee - February 25 at the Basement and February 27 at the 5 Spot. Their album, We All Started in the Same Place, is now available on iTunes.

Still Bill, a documentary about the amazing Bill Withers is now airing on Showtime.

And, from Jennifer:

Empires, scrappy little band of my heart, has a shot at being the first unsigned band to be on the cover of Rolling Stone. They are from Chicago, and when I last discussed them on NTSIB , I described them as a "punch drunk love affair" and that description is still true. Their sound is big and raw and sexy and, basically, rock and roll at its finest.

Please, NTSIBbers, go and vote for them here at Rolling Stone, and then feel free to pass the link around.

This is a video for "Hello Lover", their latest single:

Close to Live

2011-02-21T10:00:00.000-05:00

I've been fighting (and losing to) the flu for nearly a week now, and because of that, I very sadly missed Patrick Sweany's recent CD release show for That Old Southern Drag at the Zephyr Pub in Kent, Ohio, this past Friday (if anyone who did attend the show would like to contribute a review and/or photos, please let me know - contact information can be found to the right), so we're missing the final big event of Patrick Sweany Month here at NTSIB.

And as I've mostly been listening to comfort music (the Godfathers, the Parting Gifts, the Dirtbombs and the Black Keys... I may have a skewed sense of comfort) when I haven't been laid up on the couch, watching old movies and making my own music (i.e., whining about being sick), there's not been a lot of new music intake going on here at NTSIB HQ. And the closest I can get to a live performance right now is via television. So, I give you my favorte televised performance to date: the Afghan Whigs' fierce cover of Barry White's "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe", performed at an MTV-hosted party for the film Beautiful Girls (the soundtrack for which Greg Dulli was an executive producer) in 1996.

And, submitted by the esteemable Brucini of the Black Keys Fan Lounge, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion pretty literally tearing it up while playing "2 Kindsa Love" into "Flavor" on an Australian Saturday morning show called Recovery in 1997.

Do you have a favorite sit-up-and-take-notice television performance? Comment!

Craig Wedren: Are We

2011-02-17T11:18:00.003-05:00

Craig Wedren has long been a favorite of mine, both solo and in his game-changer band Shudder to Think, for always pushing his songwriting in new directions, and now he's taking the same adventurous spirit into video. Wedren will be releasing a new album that will also have a companion interactive film, both titled Wand, in May. You can check out the 360-degree interactive video for the first single, "Are We", at the link below.

www.craigwedren.com

Rock 'n' Roll Photog: Biffy Clyro and Moving Mountains

2011-02-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

So, the night before I witnessed loud music performed by men in suits, so did Jennifer. And then she witnessed loud music performed by half-naked men. Sounds like a good night to me.

This is Moving Mountains; they are from Purchase, New York, and, while they might be wearing suits and grandpa sweaters, their music is like an oncoming freight train. I seriously was not expecting the periodic bursts of James Hetfield-style ogre roar that I heard Saturday evening, but I assure you I enjoyed them tremendously. Also they sound very different live then they do on MySpace, much heavier, and the drums and bass combine into a tidal wave of percussive power. If you aren't headbanging during their set, I think you might be dead inside.

And this is Biffy Clyro, of Kilmarnock, Scotland. They’ve been around since 2000, but I only learned about them this year, via the unlikely agency of UK TV show The X Factor, when contestant Matt Cardle covered their song Many of Horror and won, and the UK portion of my Internet got very cranky. Having now heard the song live, I can see why. It's a little bit like if someone on American Idol decided to cover Patience and somehow contrived to make it sound like disposable elevator music, and then renamed it and sold it as a single.

Simon Neil

Note: Biffy Clyro sounds absolutely nothing like Guns n' Roses, but the song is a gem of a hard rock ballad, the kind of thing audiences can (and did) sing back to the band. All I can say is, I'm glad no-one involved with televised talent shows has yet gotten their hands on one of Biffy Clyro's other slower songs, the spare and lovely Folding Stars, which they also played on Saturday. (Equivalents in emotional punch: Wake Me Up When September Ends, Green Day and Helena, My Chemical Romance.)

James Johnston

Anyway, naturally after that I had to know more, so when their name floated up on one of my concert alerts, I made plans to go. I also did some digging into their back catalog, though I only got as far as Puzzle (2007) and their more recent Only Revolutions. So I went into the show not quite cold, but not quite totally up to speed, either.

I can now tell you that going to that show was among my finer decisions, in terms of random acts of concert-attendance. Like Moving Mountains, Biffy Clyro are heavier live than on the internet, and they are not like anything else I have heard recently. Especially notable is the way their drums and bass have complex conversations that sound like the oncoming apocalypse, and that their ballads are distinctly lacking in excessive sentiment and schmaltz. Their back catalog is deep and I recommend you explore it.

Meanwhile, their tour with Moving Mountains is slowly wending its way west. Looking at the schedule they seem to be stopping mainly in smaller clubs – the Gramercy Theatre is tiny - and while it may be a function of them being less known here than at home, it's also truly a treat for anyone who is able to see them.

-- Jennifer

Rainy Day Saints/Frosting/The Godfathers at the Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH, 2.13.11

2011-02-15T08:43:00.005-05:00

Rainy Day Saints

When I had previously seen Rainy Day Saints, their sound mix was muddy, making it difficult to gauge anything but a beat. Sad to say, this night was more of the same. Even sitting at the bar situated at the back of the Grog Shop, the sound seemed to be mixed for some point 20 feet behind the back wall. They might be a great band, but if they don't gauge their sound mix down a little, it's going to be hard to tell.

Frosting

"This song's on capo 1, everybody."

Chicago band Frosting have a full complement of women and bald dudes and a good sense of humor. The group, led by a singer/guitarist who is not bald or a woman but does sort of look like a mashup of Doug Fieger and Mark Arm, powered through an upbeat set of guitar pop. A post-song comment from the singer gives a good idea of their sound: "I tried to sell that song to Matthew Sweet. He said, 'No fucking way.'" An enjoyable set from a solid band with good stage presence and some nice harmonies.

The Godfathers

The fucking Godfathers, people.

As I've noted before, the Godfathers' album Birth, School, Work, Death has been a staple for me since youth. In that previous post, I mentioned that I had never become a big enough fan of the group to pursue any of their other albums (which, in Ohio in the late '80s/early '90s, would have taken a good amount of effort), but seeing them Sunday night for their first show on American soil in over 20 years has changed that.

From the moment the Godfathers - singer Peter Coyne, guitarist Del Bartle, drummer Grant Nichols and a bassist whose name I did not catch, filling in for Chris Coyne who was detained in the UK as he's apparently a threat to national security or something - stepped on stage, it was clear that there would be no fucking around. Peter Coyne still seems pretty pissed off, and the Godfathers' music still carries the same intense energy. Still sharp in their pinstripes, the band delivered a punishing set spanning back to the Sid Presley Experience (the band from which the Godfathers formed in 1985) all the way up to brand new song "Back into the Future", hitting some amazing high points in between: "'Cause I Said So", "Walking Talking Johnny Cash Blues", "When Am I Coming Down", "This Damn Nation" and on.

Coyne cuts as imposing a figure as ever, gripping the microphone like he's going to shoot you with it, spitting lyrics with as much vengeance as he did 20 years ago, grazing the audience with his blue-eyed, hard-edge stare between snarls - though he was never anything less than gracious to the appreciative audience. "It's been too long," he told Cleveland at one point.

Almost as a counterpoint to Coyne's ever-serious demeanor, Nichols' drumming was almost gleeful, backing the songs with on-point propulsion. Bartle's guitar playing is so precise you wouldn't know he hadn't written the lines himself (he played in the Sid Presley Experience and joined the Godfathers in 2008). And the low end was more than competently held down by the bass player.

It was a gratifying show on a number of levels, not least of which was being able to shout along to "Birth, School, Work, Death" and have it feel just as vital now as it did when I first heard it 20-some years ago. This is no nostalgia act. This is goddamn rock 'n' roll.

(And while I don't usually do this, I feel so strongly that you should see the Godfathers live, here's a list of their remaining U.S. dates:

Feb. 15: Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ
Feb. 16: Johnny D’s, Somerville, MA
Feb. 18: Black Cat, Washington, D.C.
Feb. 19: Frankie’s Inner City, Toledo, OH
Feb. 20: Double Door, Chicago, IL
Feb. 21: Club Garibaldi, Milwaukee, WI
Feb. 22: Off Broadway, St. Louis, MO)

Benjamin Riley Band/Cassie Morgan and the Lonely Pine/Patrick Sweany at Off Broadway, St. Louis, MO, 2.10.11

2011-02-14T09:14:00.004-05:00

To continue Patrick Sweany Month here at NTSIB, we are pleased to have a guest review of Patrick's recent CD release show in St. Louis by our friend Nate Burrell, along with some wonderful photos by Nate and another talented photographer, Kate McDaniel.

On a cold and icy Thursday evening in south city St. Louis, music fans braved the elements to go out and see an absolutely stellar 3-band bill at Off Broadway – our city's premier music venue. With the stage lights beaming down, headliner, Nashville-based rhythm and soul rock-n-roller, Patrick Sweany grabbed his pale green guitar, stepped to the mic and shouted out "All right, St. Louis, how ya doin'?" and immediately started into a hot set that melted the stage and unthawed the ears of anyone unfamiliar with his signature sound. Backed by an extremely tight bassist and a drummer with metronome like precision, Sweany burned through a few numbers from early in his catalogue before unleashing live versions of tracks from his recently released 5th album That Old Southern Drag. Showcasing his commanding guitar work and his beautifully raspy, soul-filled voice, Patrick stomped, shredded, and howled out tune after tune for 75+ minutes, leaving the crowd wanting more. With an applause that could be heard three blocks down, Sweany played one last song before stepping off of the stage and into the masses, where he began handshaking, talking eye-to-eye with every approaching fan, and thanking the out-of-town crowd that he had just won over.

Opening the evening and warming up the stage were St. Louis-based indie folk darlings Cassie Morgan and the Lonely Pine. Morgan, whose song craft is as brilliant as anyone in the industry today, and her band mate, the endlessly talented Beth Bombara, played a delightfully beautiful set of original tunes that held the room at a captivated stand-still. With songs formed around Morgan's eerily delicate vocals and outstanding use of space in her guitar playing, while Bombara sang in deliciously on-point harmony as she laid down layer after layer of percussive accompaniments, these two multi-instrumentalists were able to let their uniquely organic sound breathe a melodic breath, that was warmly welcomed by their appreciative hometown crowd.

Rounding out the evening was the ever-energetic Benjamin Riley. With a five-piece band backing him, Riley took control of the center stage and absolutely let loose. Belting out a series of upbeat songs, Benjamin let his gritty soul-soaked vocals do the rolling, while he and his band did the rocking. At one point, Riley and bassist Kit Hamon were so into the moment that they were literally stomping and playing in unison – completely awesome to see. Just as they did for the Sweany, Morgan and Bombara, the crowd showed their appreciation and respect to this up-and-coming St. Louis band.

Three bands. Lots of people. One kick-ass venue. All coming together for an excellent night of live music.

St Louis music photographers Nate Burrell and Kate McDaniel were in the front row capturing it all as it went down. See the show as they saw it – both in black & white and color. And when you are done with the visual stimulation, go get the sounds of each band at their website. You're sure to be a fan when it's all said and done. Rock on!

Links:
Bands
www.patricksweany.com
www.cassiemorgan.com
www.benjaminrileymusic.com

Photographers
www.flickr.com/natebnate or www.beforetheblink.com
www.flickr.com/kate_pequeno

Who Kate and Nate often shoot for:
www.kdhx.org

Venue:
www.offbroadwaystl.com

Label:
www.ninemilerecords.com

Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area + Patrick Sweany

2011-02-11T09:52:00.002-05:00

Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

Fri, Feb 11| 9 PM (8:30 PM door)
Waterloo Alley Cat Project Fundraiser
Prisoners
Rainy Day Saints
Filmstrip
$5 / $3 admission with dry or canned cat food
Tavern | All Ages

Sat, Feb 12| 8 PM (7 PM door)
Cabinet
Hoots & Hellmouth
Holy Ghost Tent Revival
$10
Ballroom | All Ages

Mon, Feb 14| 8 PM (7 PM door)
James Hunter
Blue Lunch
$15 adv / $17 dos
Ballroom | All Ages

Tue, Feb 15| 8:30 PM (8 PM door)
Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds (feat. Kid Congo Powers - ex Cramps, Gun Club, Bad Seeds)
Exploding Lies
Shouting Thomas Torment
DJ Hot Trash
$8
Tavern | All Ages

Wed, Feb 16| 8 PM (7:30 PM door)
Chris Bathgate
The Modern Electric
Brian Straw
Chad Hill
$7
Tavern | All Ages

Thu, Feb 17| 8 PM (7 PM door)
Cowboy Mouth
The Ray Johnston Band
$15 adv / $17 dos
Ballroom | All Ages

Grog Shop

Sun, Feb 13| 8 PM
The Godfathers
Frosting
Rainy Day Saints
$12

Wed, Feb 16| 8 PM
Orgone
Groovesmith
$8

The Winchester

Fri, Feb 11| 9 PM
Commander Cody
$12

House of Blues

Tue, Feb 15| 8 PM (7 PM door)
The Robert Cray Band
Kristine Jackson
$25 adv / $27 dos / $45 balcony

Patrick Sweany will be playing at Zephyr Pub in Kent, Ohio, on Friday, February 18, and I couldn't be more excited. Here's a clip of the Patrick Sweany band playing on an old local show called Crooked River Groove back in 2006. Check out Patrick's big-ass belt buckle.

Patrick Sweany: Coming Soon, Baby, to Your City

2011-02-10T09:27:00.004-05:00

It's Patrick Sweany month here at NTSIB (check out the interview we did with Patrick if you missed it). Patrick kicks off a series of CD release shows for his latest, That Old Southern Drag, starting tonight in St. Louis at Off Broadway (check his website for more dates - more dates coming). To see why you should not miss the opportunity to see Patrick live if he's coming to your town, check out the videos below.

Here's Patrick playing the hell out of "Hotel Women" - and blessing a sneezer in the audience without missing a beat - from his album Every Hour is a Dollar Gone at Merlefest 2009.

From the same album, "After Awhile", filmed at the Old Rock House in St. Louis in December, 2010.

And for the players, here's a video of Patrick leading a workshop at Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch Guitar Camp, teaching Papa Charlie Jackson's "Shake That Thing".

Patrick Sweany Official Website

Patrick Sweany @ Bandcamp

Giveaway: Hugo

2011-02-09T11:42:00.004-05:00

Giveaway is closed.

First, watch this:

You want to go see that guy now, right? Well, if you're in Cleveland tonight, you're in luck. NTSIB has a pair of tickets to give away to see Hugo play at the Beachland Tavern (inside the Beachland Ballroom at 8 PM with Attack Cat and Dan Miraldi & The Albino Winos) in Cleveland tonight. Be the first to comment, and you get the prize.

Hugo on iTunes

Rock 'n' Roll Photog: Panic! at the Disco / Walk the Moon

2011-02-09T10:00:00.000-05:00

This week, Jennifer reconnects with one of her favorites and discovers a new Ohio band.

Last Tuesday, Panic! at the Disco played their first U.S. show in almost two years. It was an amazing evening, but before I tell you about it, I'd like to introduce the opening band, Cincinnati, OH natives Walk the Moon:

I am not quite sure what the facepaint has to do with anything, but: they have hot funk grooves powered by two drummers - one whom is also the lead singer – and in addition said lead singer is in possession of a killer disco falsetto. They immediately engaged and kept the attention of a restless crowd, and the reason I took so few pictures of them was because I was busy dancing. I'd also totally go and see them at their own show in the future. You can listen to them on bandcamp and also they will be at SXSW. If you're going down there check them out, you will not be disappointed.

Spencer Smith and Brendon Urie

But now, onwards to the main event, with some brief background: In July 2009, Panic! at the Disco split in half. Ryan Ross (guitars, lyrics) and Jon Walker (bass) became The Young Veins, while Brendon Urie (vocals, guitar, piano) and Spencer Smith (drums) continued as Panic! at the Disco. Following a short tour with Fall Out Boy and Blink-182 in the summer of 2009, Panic! have been largely incommunicado while working on their next record.

Ian Crawford

On Tuesday night, Urie and Smith were joined by traveling members Ian Crawford (Stamps, The Cab) on guitar and Dallon Weekes (The Brobecks) on bass, and from what I saw, the time away has had a rejuvenating effect. The dance party started as soon as they played the first notes of The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage - their early song titles are kind of ridiculous – but ridiculous titles or not, the old songs sounded new and the new songs fit in with them seamlessly. And by "old" songs I mean Fever era tunes. A few tracks from the more recent Pretty. Odd. were in the set, but they were beefed up to fit with Panic!'s current modern pop sound, which MTV's James Montgomery has dubbed "baroquetronica." Whatever you want to call it, Panic! at the Disco's sonic Summer of Love has pretty clearly come to an end.

L to R: Ian Crawford, Spencer Smith, Brendon Urie, Dallon Weekes

Vices & Virtues is out on March 29, and, seriously, Happy (Belated) Birthday to ME. I am SO EXCITED for this record, y'all, I can't even tell you. I'm predicting it will be delicious and they'll have us dancing all summer. I'm especially keen to hear the studio of version of Let's Kill Tonight, which as best I could tell was a "you do what you want, we're going to party" song with a headbanging beat and complicated string section accents.

Dallon Weekes

Panic! has a tradition of playing one cover per tour: in 2006, during the Nothing Rhymes with Circus for their first record, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, it was were Radiohead's Karma Police; when they went on the Honda Civic Tour in 2008 in support of second record Pretty. Odd. it was The Band's The Weight ; during Rock Band Live, also in 2008, it was The Isley Brothers' Shout and lastly in 2009 for the Believers Never Die tour with Blink-182 and FOB it was Journey's Don't Stop Believin'.

Brendon Urie

For this show – and I am hoping for the next tour - it was Science Fiction/Double Feature, from Rocky Horror Picture Show, with just Brendon Urie's voice and the keyboard. It was a beautiful, unfussy valentine to campy ridiculousness, science fiction geekery and musicals all wrapped up into one song. You may, possibly, at this point, be unsurprised to learn that I put it on almost all of my mix-tapes, back when I made mix-tapes, and that it is my favorite song from that movie. Hearing it again, and so unexpectedly, was both a highlight of the evening and the moment that I fell in love with Panic! at the Disco all over again. In conclusion: that was great, and I can't wait to see them again.

-- Jennifer

I Am Your Champion, Part II

2011-02-08T21:09:00.002-05:00

Here’s the deal, my babies: If you read this post, you’ll see that I’m championing for the Music Maker Relief Foundation as a part of a charity-driven game set up by A Terrible Idea (you can join the game, too - just visit A Terrible Idea for details).

Here’s where you get to pitch in. If you donate $5 - just five measly bucks, less than you’d pay for an actual album download - I will create a personalized music mix just for you. Each person who donates will receive a mix (download or, if you prefer, on CD) unique to him or her.

To donate, Paypal your $5 donation to nowthissoundisbrave@gmail.com (note: you don’t have to have a Paypal account to send money) or e-mail me at the same address, and we’ll work out arrangements. 100% of the donations will go directly to the Music Maker Relief Foundation, and you’ll help keep the roots of American music alive and thriving.

Once I receive your donation, I’ll e-mail you with a question or two (or 30) to aid me in tailoring your mix. Please allow time for pondering, rearranging and crafting. I will try to keep you apprised of progress throughout the process.

And thank you. So much.

Bits: TV on the Radio, Over the Rhine, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Royal Bangs

2011-02-08T10:00:00.000-05:00

Yay yay yay! TV on the Radio will be releasing a new album, Nine Types of Light, this spring. And April 13 will be TV on the Radio City Music Hall day as they play a gig at the famed New York venue to kick off a national tour. I'm a little excited.

Over the Rhine's new album, The Long Surrender, drops today, and you can listen to it Spinner. (Nicole Atkins' Mondo Amore is up there, too.)

It's the day of streaming (for a given value of "streaming"), as Jessica Lea Mayfield's latest, Tell Me, is up at Rolling Stone.

In sad news, Justin Robinson will be leaving the Carolina Chocolate Drops. But CCDs will continue on with two new members, multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins and beatboxer Adam Matta.

Our friends at Citizen Dick have a track for you from the upcoming Royal Bands album, Flux Outside. The album is set for release on March 29.

To close out a live video of Over the Rhine performing "The Laugh of Recognition".

The Laugh of Recognition from Sneak Attack on Vimeo.

I Am Your Champion

2011-02-08T09:24:00.003-05:00

Duane, my oldest friend and the benefactor of this blog, is a man who has always been full of ideas. He's making a name for himself in the gaming industry, and while I've never been much of a gamer, his latest idea has me inspired to play along. It's a game called I Am Your Champion.

From his A Terrible Idea website:
"I Am Your Champion is a game that will challenge your existing ideas regarding charitable fundraising. I sincerely believe that if you complete all five rounds of this game, you will look at working with charities, and your ability to assist your favorite charities, in a whole new light.

We will play the game in five rounds. Each round will begin at 10:00 AM, starting today and going through Friday. Each round will consist of three Tasks you must complete to proceed to the next round, as well as additional Drills that are optional, but will have an effect I will describe in a moment. And you can join the game at any time – if you’re reading this Friday morning, you can still complete all five rounds (but you might need to hustle).

Any player who completes all five rounds will receive a special pass from me. Only people who finish this version of the game will get this pass. In addition to being a unique and interesting item in and of itself, this pass will entitle the bearer to certain benefits to be disclosed after the game has been completed. Each one will be unique, and if you complete some of those Drills I mentioned earlier, your pass will reflect that."

Now, here's where I tie that all in to the modus operandi of NTSIB.

So many of the artists who gave us the music that inspired the music we still make today, music that feeds the soul, music that sometimes even made a difference in the world, died poor and sick, buried in unmarked graves. At times, the music itself has almost been lost to history. Some music has been lost.

The Music Maker Relief Foundation works to provide for mostly older musicians who are keeping the roots of Southern music alive by providing for their day-to-day needs, helping them develop their craft and helping them get gigs, record deals, etc. Artists on their roster, past and present, include Jack Owens, Robert Belfour, Ernie K Doe, and they've even helped the Carolina Chocolate Drops.

Since I first heard some of those early, scratchy blues tunes, I've felt it important to educate people about the roots of American music, to share the love this music so richly deserves. For that reason, Music Maker Relief Foundation, I Am Your Champion.

Grandfather: Down to the Dirt This Time

2011-02-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

The line of separation between "That sounds interesting" and "I must listen to that again RIGHT NOW" can be a wide one. But after my first listen through Grandfather's debut album Why I'd Try, that line was so thin it was practically invisible. I found myself hitting the "play" button again before my brain had even had the chance to fully grasp the music, to file it under a tidy banner, as brains are wont to do. The heavy, compelling rhythms, guitar that sounds a range from attack-dog machine-gun barking to high jangly space ambience and almost delicate melodies bore quickly and directly into some sub stratum in my brain, making my understanding of the music a bottom-up process instead of the usual top-down ("We're a [genre] band", "RIYL: [other bands that may or may not sound like this band]") method. It was not unlike my initial experience with a band that went on to become one of my favorites: Shudder to Think, with their changed-the-game-for-me album Pony Express Record (a band Grandfather has been compared to based on their favoring of off-kilter time signatures and unusual melodies).

Grandfather - Tremors

How the end product of Why I'd Try came to be is an interesting story and an effective calling card for Grandfather - a three-piece made up of Michael Kirsch on guitar, Jonathan Silverman on bass and Josh Hoffman on drums and vocals. After messing around with their digital home recording equipment to the point where they didn't feel they could trust their own ears any longer, they decided that the most freeing option would be to take all those digital options away. They would hand the engineering reigns over to someone else and record their album in an analog studio. And there are few more qualified to take those reigns than Steve Albini (and if you don't know who Albini is - oh, honey - check out this list of albums Albini has engineered, including those by his own bands Big Black, Rapeman and Shellac).

Grandfather - It's Good Enough Now

Decision made, Grandfather sold off their digital recording equipment, set up a Kickstarter campaign to make up the difference and booked time with Albini's Electrical Audio studio in Chicago. In three days, Why I'd Try was recorded and mixed by Albini and mastered by Albini's Shellac bandmate Bob Weston. (Michael Kirsch wrote a series of posts about the process and experience for SonicScoop that are well worth a read.)

Grandfather - Blood Theme (From Dexter) / Tremors from Big Ass Lens on Vimeo.

With the money spent and the hard work finished, Grandfather proceeded to give the album away for free (go to the official site link below for the full download). The trick of it is, once you hear the album's sonic richness on mp3, you'll want to hear it again on vinyl for the full experience of highs and lows and textures. Lucky for you that they had a limited number of LPs (and CDs) pressed to fulfill that need. All it'll cost you is a ten-spot (and some shipping if you're ordering online - I already have mine on order).

Grandfather Official Website

SonicScoop | How Grandfather Made A Record With Steve Albini In Three Days

Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

2011-02-04T10:16:00.002-05:00

Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

Fri, Feb 4| 9 PM (8:30 PM door)
Whiskey Daredevils
Heelsplitter
$7
Tavern | All Ages

Sat, Feb 5| 8:30 PM (7:30 PM door)
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Charles Bradley
$28
Ballroom | All Ages
SOLD OUT

Sun, Feb 6| 8 PM (7 PM door)
Baby Soda
$10
Tavern | All Ages

Wed, Feb 9| 8 PM (7:30 PM door)
Hugo
Attack Cat
Dan Miraldi & The Albino Winos
$6
Tavern | All Ages

Kent Stage

Fri, Feb 4| 8 PM
Leon Redbone
$25

Tue, Feb 8| 8 PM
Justin Townes Earle
Jessica Lea Mayfield
$25

Wolstein Center at CSU

Fri, Feb 4| 8 PM
Salt-n-Pepa’s Legends of Hip Hop tour
Whodini
Kurtis Blow
Rob Base
Doug E. Fresh
$42.50 / $52.50

Patrick Sweany: Let 'Forward' Be My Credo

2011-02-03T10:00:00.000-05:00

Listening to Patrick Sweany's albums is like reading his life. In between and over top of melodies that are sometimes sweet and sometimes rough, deftly finger-picked on acoustic and electric guitar, Sweany uses the full range of his rich baritone to sing of everything from the rigors of touring to the most painful complications of love. He doesn't pull many punches, laying out his struggles and fears with his career and his personal life under a lens that looks as unflinchingly at himself as it does at anyone else. His voice, sometimes soft as a hand brushed against a loved one's skin, sometimes as harshly ragged as a rusted-out muffler dragged down miles of dusty backroads, reflects the truth of every word.

Drawing on influences from Mississippi blues to classic soul to New Orleans R&B to classic country & western to protest folk to rock of all stripes to a wealth of other styles and sounds that he has avidly devoured since his childhood, Sweany has steadily, industriously been carving out a career for over a decade, producing five albums to date (with one, C'mon C'mere, co-produced by Jimbo Mathus and Dan Auerbach and another, Every Hour is a Dollar Gone, produced by Auerbach). Coming out of Northeastern Ohio and currently settling in Nashville, Patrick Sweany is a sharp, smart, funny, determined man with a flair for storytelling. Though he has a degree in English Literature ("which I pronounce 'Let-trah-chah,' and rotate my palm upward, swirling the brandy in my imaginary snifter," Sweany says), it's clear that Sweany was meant for music not only because of his immense talent, but because he is also someone who truly loves music (When I told him of how standing in Sun Studio in Memphis had me fighting back tears, he confessed, "The Stax museum did the same to me, just brought me to tears."*). This may seem like a redundant thing to say about a musician, but, trust me, it's more rare than it should be.

Patrick Sweany's fifth album, the beautiful That Old Southern Drag will see physical release on February 15 (and it's already available for download on his Bandcamp site). Thanks to a push from NTSIB collaborator Nate Burrell, I was able to sit down, via e-mail, with Sweany for a lovely chat that revealed how The Cosby Show was integral to his development into a musician, the existence of a secret juke joint in the middle of downtown Cleveland and more.

Alright, Mr. Sweany, let's do this thing. (And thanks again for doing this thing with me.)

I know your father plays guitar and was an influence on you, but was there a "moment" that set you on the road to being a musician?

The moment where I decided "I want to be a musician," was probably when I was about 12 or 13. I was probably 12. Mom and Dad were working, my brothers were down in the basement playing video games, and I was listening to a Pete Seeger album that my dad had, on the big console stereo. The album was recorded live, and it was just so great. The way all those people listened to him and sang along when he asked them to and erupted with applause, and the way that performance made me feel. I hadn't really been exposed to a lot of different music, other than what my dad had, so none of this music sounded dated, or folk-y in the derogatory sense. I was just a kid. I had no concept of what the social and societal ramifications of the particular time frame (MLK, Kennedy, pre-summer of love, civil rights movement) were when that recording was made. I knew that at that point in my life, this record moved me and I wanted to be there. The guy on the record was just one guy. My Dad could play most of the songs on that record. I knew my dad was a cool guy, so I figured I'm his kid, I could be cool, I could pull this off. I felt so knocked out and excited by guys playing guitars and singing, I just wanted to be like that. I wanted to do what they were doing. It was different than watching a guy win a game.

There were other times. Hearing Ray Charles' "Night Time is the Right Time" on The Cosby Show. Watching it in the living room with my Mom and Dad and my brothers. That was before everyone had cable, before most TVs had remote controls. All the Huxtable kids were lip synch-ing and dancing to the record. Ray's voice, that band, Margie Hendricks singing, hollerin', "Squeeze me, hold me tight. You know I love you... etc." It made me so excited. Remember, I'm just a kid, and sex wasn't anything I was remotely thinking about. I knew what it was, but I didn't understand anything about it. I was excited like a kid gets about riding bikes or new toys. I wanted to holler like that. I didn't understand what Margie and Ray were saying, but I could feel it was something different. I wanted to make people dance like the kids on TV. I didn't want that song to be over. I don't think we had a VCR or anything at that time, not that many people did, if any. It was just gone when it was over. I felt little bit embarrassed because I wanted to know about it, but I didn't understand. It was just something that I thought about. It would make me excited when I thought about it, and I would mouth what I thought the words were when I was alone, and maybe dance around a little bit, using my imagination, like a kid does. I didn't really know who Ray Charles was until a few years later, but I figured it out pretty naturally.

Your answer leads into so many other things I want to ask you. For instance, the joy and excitement you obviously found in music then still comes through in your performances now. One of the things that knocks me out most about your music is the passion that comes through, especially in your voice. Since you've been at this for a while now, do you find that passion and excitement difficult to maintain? Or is it just like breathing for you?

Doing a gig/performing is always exciting. If I let it all hang out, really let it fly on the bandstand, play good, holler in key, and really move around and get sweaty, I feel really good. Better than anything else, I've found. It's kept me from getting into self destructive behavior (despite providing countless opportunities to do exactly that!), it's given me an opportunity to meet people and see places I never would have known existed. It seems to make other people able to feel good. Vocalizing that emotion is important to conveying that, so I sometimes push the voice a little harder than I probably should, but I have a pretty firm grasp of my limits, or least what I can bounce back from. I get a lot of satisfaction from entertaining people. The physicality of it is important. It's not all of it. A lot of the greats are great because they reached people, made them feel like they were a part of it. ("That song reminds me of when I was ______.")

I feel like I've got a perspective on American music that's a little unique to what most people know, but it comes from a root that's familiar to them. I put what's happening in my life into a song, but I try to be aware that the purpose of this whole thing is that people all feel the same on the inside, and they feel good when they feel somebody relates specifically to them.

I need to do this. I'm 36 years old, and I don't know how to do anything else. Do you have any idea how intimidating it is to fill out a job application with a 15 year gap in your employment history titled "self employed musician." I went to college. I got a degree, but I used college as a diversionary tactic so I could be a musician. The education I was able to absorb along the way was invaluable, and allowed me a lot of perspective that I probably would have missed out on, but it was always secondary to music. I guess maybe that's where a lot of that fire comes from, still trying to prove this is really what I'm supposed to be doing.

You say you feel you have a unique perspective on American music - can you expand on that?

I probably wouldn't have said "unique perspective" if I knew I had to explain it. It's a figure of speech musicians use that means "I'm stupid and insecure, but I want people to think I'm smart and cool."

But I love talking about me, so here goes...

Mom was born in Liverpool, England. She's the same age as McCartney. Poor. Working class. Went out dancing, like kids did then. Saw the Beatles like any other dozen bands that played around the clubs and dances. Beatles got popular. Brian Epstein's family owned a lot of the record stores in Liverpool. So, my introduction to the most influential phenomenon in modern popular art and culture is this quote from my mother: "You know they got famous because their manager's family owned all the record stores, then they got into drugs..."

So, beyond their first batch of American singles, of which my Dad had a record, I never listened to them until very late in my college career. And even then, not much. I listened to the folk records that my dad had, when I developed enough attention span to really listen to music. My dad stopped buying albums when Dylan went electric. And for some reason I just really dug that stuff. Pete Seeger, early Gordon Lightfoot, the first Dylan albums, Tom Rush, Dave Van Ronk, etc., just made sense to me. Beautiful songs, deceptively simple accompaniment. Just people singing and playing acoustic instruments. Dad had some Leadbelly albums, and some comps with Lightnin' Hopkins and acoustic John Lee Hooker that were just otherworldly. He had some Rock and Roll stuff, like Buddy Holly, Fats Domino, etc. Through that, I read album jackets and just threw myself into learning about all these fingerstyle acoustic blues guys from the 1920s and '30s. Willie McTell, Booker White, Tampa Red, Charlie Patton, Skip James, Gary Davis, Furry Lewis, The Memphis Jug Band. And lots of piano players, Little Brother Montgomery, Speckled Red, Roosevelt Sykes. And I just dove in, this is what I want to do. I want to play this music, the way these guys did it. No plugged in guitars, no artifice. I studied and performed this stuff and really worked hard to get to the essence of what made this stuff happen. I made a conscious decision that I wasn't going to come at this stuff with modern rock music as the template or filter through which I viewed it. It didn't sound dated or hokey to me. It sounded good. I was listening to modern, popular music with my friends, and enjoying it, but none of them played guitar or any instruments, and nobody thought the old stuff I was into was cool. I figured out almost every one the guys I liked plugged into electric guitars as soon as they were able, and I got into Muddy Waters, Elmore James, B.B. King, Magic Sam, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, and then I started really getting into Soul music. Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Sam and Dave, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and Percy Sledge. At the same time, I was also digging on George Jones, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Tom T. Hall, Conway Twitty, Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams. I was still riding around in beat up cars, drinking cheap beer with my high school friends, listening to the first Metallica tapes, lots of Led Zeppelin records and stuff like that, which I still love, but I always had this secret guitar life.

Speaking of the classic bluesmen, I read that you played with Hubert Sumlin and Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin. How did that come about and what was it like to play with them?

(And speaking of wanting people to think I'm smart and cool, I feel proud of myself for recognizing all but two names you listed.)

I was hanging out with "Moonshine" Pete Schidmt, a real raw, cool harmonica player who lived down the street from a gig I had way out in the country east of Cleveland, but it was only about 90 minutes from where I was living in PA for a couple years. He's a white guy that used to run around in the 'hood in Cleveland back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and he knew all the real cats. Pete was kind of a street guy, real tough, kind of wild, but cool. Real sweet guy. I'm sure he gave a dozen amps and mics to guys in the hood, like (Cleveland) Guitar Slim, and cats who played blues, but didn't leave the hood. He married Slim's niece, had some kids and was living life out in the sticks when we met. We got to be friends and he said, "I'm going to take you to see Robert, and then we'll go play with Slim." Robert Jr. Lockwood, who lived in Cleveland and was one of my all time heroes. I had opened some shows for Robert, and he was always really nice to me, and I've watched him dozens of times. He's the most underrated influence on the sound of the guitar in the latter 20th century.

Well, Pete had a guy that would bring up jugs of moonshine from Alabama. It's the best I've ever had. The old cats that didn’t drink anymore would almost always take a little shine and reminisce. That Pete is a smart fella'. So, I got to sit knee to knee with Robert Jr., and pass the guitar back and forth, with the pretense of dropping off a little shine. I couldn't believe it. Pete says, "Hey, we got to go to Slim's birthday party. Bring this jar, don't drink any of Slim's, I got sick last time I drank his shit." Got it. So, we go down in the 'hood. It is deep. We park and walk up to this big, old, 3 story, firetrap house down near Hough, buzzer on the door(!) with a kid working the door, and walk up to the third floor, up these narrow stairs. We walk in, Pete and his wife know everybody, and it's a big linoleum floored, wood paneled room with a little bar at one end, tables against the walls and amps and drums in the corner. They're selling beer and shine, and they were waiting on Pete to bring another amp and get down. It was an honest to goodness juke joint, right in the city. Fun as hell. People dancin', it was great.

So, afterwards there's most of a jar left, Pete says, "Keep it. Give some to Hubert when you see him."

I was booked to play at the Marietta, OH, Blues festival later that month, Bob Margolin (of the Muddy Waters Band) and Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf's guitar player!!!) were the headliners.

I cornered Bob beside the stage and said, "Hey Bob, blah blah, I'd like to give Hubert some shine, don't want to be a bad influence or wreck your show, I'll taste some if you are worried about it, we gave some to Robert Jr., etc..." Bob said, "I'd love to have Hubert sip some and turn on the tape machine when we get home."

"That's great Bob, here you are."

"You wanna sit in?"

"Why, yes I do."

Easiest question you've ever been asked, right?

A juke right in the middle of Cleveland. How fantastic.

How long have you been in Nashville now? Thinking of "Leaving Ohio", I wonder if it's gotten any easier for you since moved down there.

Financially, it's as tough a situation as I've ever been in, but I really love living here. It was tough at first, no close friends, feeling like I was just starting a whole career over. I'm getting to know more folks and my personal life with my fiancee is great, we moved here together. Pretty happy as it goes. More Ohioans are moving here all the time. I miss home though. I guess everybody does.

I had mixed feelings about Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney moving down there at first, but I understand the desire.

Speaking of the Black Keys, there was discussion on the Black Keys Fan Lounge Forum about how living in Nashville might affect the sound of the band since many people think of country music when they think of Nashville (even though I know there are a number of great rock bands based out of Nashville now). Do you see Nashville influencing your musical direction?

As far as influencing the sound, that is something to consider. It certainly has. I am among the most skilled, educated and professional musicians in the world. The guys I hire in Nashville show up prepared, on time, with the right gear, and ready to play. They are knowledgeable and confident in their abilities and able to take direction in order to make who they are working for sound the best. In Nashville, you are able to hire the right man for the job.

The terrible music that is recorded here that is marketed as country music overshadows most of what the world outside of Nashville views as "the sound of Nashville." If you listen to shitty pop radio music, it's shitty music. People buy it for some reason, so they keep reproducing it, usually here in town because it's centrally located, tons of studios, tons of musicians, etc. It's the music BUSINESS center. If you work in fashion, New York is where you go for opportunities. Nashville = Music. If you make shitty throw-away music, you'll make shitty sounding throw-away music here. If your are happy being derivative and soulless, location can't help that. If you care about how your record sounds, you won't sound like a those records.

Hell yes, Nashville is influencing my musical direction. It's influencing to me to explore my roots more deeply, be more careful with language, and be a better performer to differentiate myself from the crowd.

Speaking of your language, your songwriting is so damn honest. Is it ever hard to perform a song that is particularly personal? A song like "Two or Three" seems like it might rake you over the coals. How do you deal with that when it comes showtime?

There is enough time in the writing process, and the subsequent practice performing the material prior to recording, to be able to put distance between you and the story. I guess it comes from interpreting other really heavy duty material that you didn't write, that you really relate to. I used to cry every time I listened to certain songs (by other artists). Now I don't. When you read a book that you really like, in your mind, you put yourself in that story, one way or another, and you are able to deal with it, and gain catharsis from it.

Do I like talking about the really shitty situations in my personal life in the past? No. Did I come away from that particular situation you referred to in "2 or 3" with any sense of closure or feeling that I was the good guy? No. Not at all. Broken homes are awful things. Children suffer for it. It's never completely okay.

Things just get easier to work around as you get used to them, over time.

Short answer: you get used to it. A performer performs.

I can't recall where I read it or who said it, but someone once said something about how the best soul love songs were really just gospel songs done in a secular vein, and I know that a few of the songs that Isaac Hayes and David Porter wrote together were actual adaptations of gospel songs, right down to the titles. "The Edges" seems like that kind of song: depending on your perspective, it could be romantic or spiritual. Was that conscious? And which is it for you, romantic or spiritual?

I was really tempted to just say, "Both."

And leave it at that, but that's not very nice.

Haha! I almost gave you "both" as an option, but decided I should try to make you choose one.

"The Edges": I just respond to, and feel comfortable with that type of song. The gospel influenced secular song. It has a groove that, by design, elicits emotional reaction and frees the singer to express him(her)self by providing a template of language or vocabulary that seems fresh, due to the freedom of phrasing. It works like a sonovabitch.

I don't feel it as a conscious decision, I just get little ideas, and I flesh them out, try different grooves and make sure I'm not directly ripping something off. (Ya'know, sometimes I make sure.)

"The Edges" is about when I met my fiancee and how she made me feel like I could start to get on with having a real personal life. I was not really a very happy person. No relationships of any depth, by choice, and a little bitter. She changed that. Did not see that comin'.

I am also a sucker for that bugaloo groove and deeper voiced singers like Jerry Butler, Brook Benton, etc., and I hadn't really ripped off either one, lately.

I gathered some questions from the Black Keys Fan Lounge forum because you have some avid fans there. One person wants to know more about "Frozen Lake". Aside from being a lovely piece, it has a little different feel from the rest of the album. Clearly recorded live, it has a really intimate feel. Can you talk a little bit about the song and the recording of it?

Well, I don't know what there is to say about it. We recorded it in the hallway, miked my acoustic guitar with a really nice ribbon mic, and also had it plugged into an amp in the bathroom. Maybe a little ambient mic in the room to give it a little, well, ambience. Sang it and played it. My thrift store Sam Cooke song about how it's really easy to end up alone.

Amps in bathrooms seems to be a popular choice when recording. Give it up for shower-singing acoustics.

Another forum regular would like to know how you and Dan Auerbach met. I know Dan used to play with the Patrick Sweany Band), so was it just through the usual musician connections? You two seem like brothers from different mothers in terms of musical aesthetics and influences (and I'd wager that Dan drew some influence from you).

A friend of mine, Mike Lenz, was giving Dan some lessons and letting him sit in at gigs and said, "Hey, you should hear this kid, he's into all this Mississippi stuff and Hounddog Taylor." So, Dan came out with his dad, Chuck, and I invited him to sit in, he kept coming out, and eventually I just got rid of the bass player and had Dan handle the low end guitar stuff instead of a bass. Hounddog Taylor did this with his guitar player, Brewer Phillips, and he was one our mutual heroes.

I've showed Dan some things, guitar stuff, alternate tunings, but he was well on his way down the path, always focused. I'm older than Dan, and I was heavy into the Country Blues thing so I was the guy to ask. The Ampeg Gemini 1 that Dan plays on their first record, he found out about from me. The Gemini 1 was my first amp and still my favorite. Dan was in the band until he just got too busy with the Keys. We still hang out, now that he lives in the Nash.

While we're on the subject of Dan, another forum regular is curious about the most memorable moment during the recording/production of Every Hour Is a Dollar Gone.

I would have to say the most memorable moment during the recording of Every Hour... is when Dan invited me to join the Black Keys as the lead singer and maracas player, and I turned them down. Just Kidding. There aren't any real memorable things that come to mind. It's work, you show up, you run the songs, listen back to the tracks, we spent 3 days tracking and it was done. It happens fast, there isn't much messing around. That album was done almost 4 years ago.

Tell me about the Tiger Beats.

The Tiger Beats are my friends Ron Eoff (Cate Bros, The Band), Joe McMahan and Jimmy Lester (Webb Wilder, Los Straitjackets). We play old '50s style blues and R&B like Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Elmore James, Bobby Blue Bland, etc. It's my all fun, no hassle blues band.

Nice lineup. So, there's probably no plans to make a Tiger Beats
record? Do you just play around Nashville?

We have been thinking about doing a record, and writing material for it, but focus is on my new record right now. We only play in Nashville, by design, for the time being.

What are your plans for the foreseeable future, outside of your record release shows?

Future: The Van. Covering as much of the map as possible.

Any chance of a gig in Cleveland proper?

Possibly in the spring, we may play Cleveland.

And, finally, because I tend to get my best music recommendations from musicians I love: what music have you been listening to lately?

I have really been eaten up with Joe Tex, which is nothing new, but deeeeeeeeeep soul. Nick Lowe's The Convincer, but it's from 2001. That album wrecked me yesterday when Joe McMahan turned me on to it. Transcendent.

I was just listening to "Skinny Legs and All" the other day. My curse as a music blogger: while everyone else is listening to newer and newer music, I keep listening to older and older music.

Well, Mr. Sweany, thank you so much. This has been such a pleasure. Congratulations on the new album and your engagement.

Thank You! I really appreciate your patience. In the last two weeks, I've driven back and forth to NW Arkansas twice, drove to Jacksonville, FL, and back, and played two shows and an instore, here in town. It makes all the difference in the world to actually talk about real things in an interview instead of rehashing the one sheet. Thanks.

Patrick Sweany Official Website

Patrick Sweany on Bandcamp

*Patrick and I both recommend the book Soulsville U.S.A.: the Story of Stax Records by Rob Bowman.

Rock 'n' Roll Photog: Iron and Wine with Edie Brickell

2011-02-02T10:00:00.001-05:00

This week, Jennifer visits with a couple of old friends, watches Sam Beam rock out (and get Dylan'd for his trouble) and has some choice words for the monkeys at the circus.

Occasionally my adventures in modern music appreciation feel a bit like being at a big party with a lot of pleasant strangers, where I'm half wandering between intriguing conversations and half hiding behind a potted palm with a cocktail thinking Who are these people and what is going on here? And then the crowd parts and a familiar but rarely-seen face appears, and I feel a surge of relief and affection and want to stop and chat and see what they've been up to all this time.

One of these moments occurred last Saturday night, when Edie Brickell & friends (including Charlie Sexton!) took the stage at Radio City Music Hall:

In case you are now squinting your screen thinking Edie who?: she had a big hit with What I Am in 1988, and then in 1992 married Paul Simon (MTV nation emitted a collective WHAT? at the time) and essentially fell out of pop-cultural memory. She did not, however, stop making music, and now it looks like she's come back with a new band The Gaddabouts . Also I am pleased to tell you that her voice is as clear and sweet and true as ever, and she sounds comfortable - settled in herself – and best of all, like she is having the most possible fun she could be having on stage. If you'd like to hear more, she'll be on WFUV this coming Friday night, along with Iron & Wine.

Iron & Wine were also next up at Radio City. If you haven't heard of them before, they normally specialize in somewhat mellow folk. Their average tempo is somewhere between gentle swaying and spinny hippie dancing. I say "normally" because that is what they did for the first half of their set: glided pleasantly through tunes like He Lays in the Reins, from In the Reins the album they made with Calexico, and Naked as We Came from Our Endless Numbered Days.

Then the horn section and the drummer came out –

- Sam Beam plugged his guitar in and SHAZZAMO! Iron & Wine became a rock band and proceeded to stomp through Lion's Mane like roadhouse veterans and give House By the Sea some jazzy calypso swing. The songs that followed were similarly rearranged and reimagined, and I have never before been as simultaneously baffled and pleased at a show. Though I do have to say it was the kind of reinvention that rewards people who pay attention to lyrics, because there was really no other musical cues to go by to figure out which song they were playing.

While I felt the evening was a success, musically, some of my fellow audience members were less excited. Several people left and one person yelled Judas! at him (Sam Beam: "But Judas was Jesus' favorite!") But really the biggest irritant of the night were the people hollering out requests. Ladies. Gentlemen. You are at Radio City Music Hall. The person on the stage 1) can't hear you and 2) isn't a jukebox and also 3) please can we all at least pretend to be adults who know how to behave? And really, where-ever you are, unless the artist actually says, "So, what do you all want to hear today?" be quiet and let the artist work whatever magic they feel like working.

-- Jennifer

Bits: the Dirtbombs, the Grande Ballroom, the Black Keys, Shivering Timbers, Jamie Stillman, Drive-By Truckers, Carolina Chocolate Drops

2011-02-01T10:11:00.010-05:00

Stream the new Dirtbombs album Party Store at the Detroit Free Press. Do it now!

Speaking of the greatness of Detroit music, there's a campaign on to fund a documentary called Louder than Love: The Grande Ballroom Story, about the enormous, once-majestic venue that played hosted to local Detroit legends like the Stooges and MC5 as well as national acts like the Who.

The Black Keys brought tales of urine-soaked minivans to NPR's Fresh Air yesterday. Listen here.

Baby You Can Drive My Car shares a lovely performance and interview with Shivering Timbers.

The Akron Beacon Journal has a nice article on Jamie Stillman (he of Drummer, Harriet the Spy, Party of Helicopters, Relaxer and about umpteen other projects) and his effects pedal business, Earthquaker Devices.

The Drive-By Truckers reunited with Jason Isbell for an evening in Huntsville. You can download the show.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops have released a collaborative EP with Luminescent Orchestrii, and CCDs will begin their 2011 tour tomorrow in New York with a show at Lincoln Center.

Over the Rhine: We Try to be Tender with All of Our Might

2011-01-31T10:00:00.000-05:00

A confession: this is the first time I've really listened to new Over the Rhine material in over a decade. When I first heard OtR, they were a four-piece (with Ric Hordinski on guitar and Brian Kelley on drums), Linford Detweiler had long hair, Karin Berquist was shy and Karin and Linford were not yet married. My ex and I were going to a show to see the Choir, and as we stood in line outside the club before doors opened, we fell into conversation with others in line that went something like:

Us: Who are Over the Rhine?
Several other people in line: Who are the Choir?

And by the end of the show, I was also asking "Who are the Choir?" having fallen in love with the charming four-piece from Cincinnati who opened for the Choir. Over the next few years, OtR's music became integral to my marriage as we travelled to several shows, adopted "Paul and Virginia" as one of "our songs" and became friendly enough with Karin and Linford that, before we moved to California, we spent a pleasant afternoon with them in Cincinnati. Their 1997 release Besides was the last OtR album I spent any considerable time with before drifting away (not just from them but from most new music in general).

The first thing that stood out to me upon listening to their new album, The Long Surrender, was how Karin's voice has become a confident, unique instrument. While always capable of great depth and power, self-consciousness seemed to keep her from using that power more than sparingly. Hesitancy is clearly no longer an issue.

Over the Rhine's musical arrangements have gained confidence, as well. While the jangly, sepia-toned sound of those early songs still remains at the core, that sound is now plumped with strong jazz, classical and country tones, even dipping into some classic R&B, soul and gospel at times.

The stand-out song for me is the torchy epic, "Infamous Love Song", mining the smoky vein previously tapped with 1994's "My Love is a Fever". The way Karin's voice warmly, languidly oozes over the words, it's easy to imagine that this is the kind of song she was born to sing. Other stand-outs are "Undamned" in which Karin's sweet voice pairs companionably with Lucinda Williams' scratchier one, "The King Knows How" with its hip-grooving, deep bassline, "Rave On" with its building intensity and the heartbreaker of an opener "The Laugh of Recognition".

While early OtR albums called up visions of rainy, late-summer afternoons, The Long Surrender is a late night groove, dark and close. Put it on, turn the lights down and pour a glass of bourbon...

Over the Rhine - The King Knows How

The Long Surender, produced by Joe Henry, drops February 8, and Over the Rhine will begin touring in support of the album in March (with a February 16 date at the Folk Alliance in Memphis, Tennessee).

March 25 - Boston, MA @ The Red Room @ Café 939 (Berklee)
March 26 - New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
March 27 - Alexandria, VA @ Birchmere Club
March 29 - Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live
April 1 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Small’s
April 2 - Akron, OH @ Musica
April 5 - Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark
April 7 - Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
April 8 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
April 9 - Madison, WI @ Majestic Theater
April 10 - Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center

Over the Rhine Official Website

Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

2011-01-28T10:13:00.001-05:00

Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

Fri, Jan 28| 8 PM (7:30 PM door)
The Schwartz Brothers
Physical Rockett
$6
Ballroom | All Ages

Wed, Feb 2| 7:30 PM (7 PM door)
Two : Two - First Annual 2 Man Band Festival
Qix - 11:30 PM
Green Abyss - 10:50 PM
Beach Stav - 10:10 PM
Madame & The Moist Towelettes - 9:30 PM
The Walkies - 8:50 PM
< me > 8:10 PM
Highland - 7:30 PM
$2
Tavern | All Ages

Grog Shop

Mon, Jan 31| 8 PM
Tapes 'n Tapes O
berhofer
Filmstrip
$10 adv / $12 dos

Now That's Class

Sat, Jan 29| 9 PM
Dog That Bites Everyone
Antispetic
Lorain Skum
$5

Musica

Sun, Jan 30| 6 PM
Queens Club
Lystrata
Poema
The Whenever Plan
$9

Happy Dog

Thu, Feb 3| 9 PM
Winters Warm
Triggers
Shivering Timbers

Wilbert's

Fri, Jan 28| 8:30 PM
C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band
Mo' Mojo

Akron Civic Theatre

Sat, Jan 29| 8 PM
Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt
$38/$48/$58

The First Year: NTSIB Turns 1

2011-01-26T13:26:00.006-05:00

Line up the shot glasses and lock up the animals and children: it's time to celebrate Now This Sound Is Brave's 1-year anniversary.

It's been a thrilling year, and it looks like the next year is going to be even better. Not to get all awards-speech on you, but my thanks go out first and foremost to Duane, my oldest friend, who first proposed the idea of this blog and who continues to show inspiring support and encouragement. Thanks also to my co-blogger Jennifer, to fellow collaborators Brucini at the Black Keys Fan Lounge and photographer Nate Burrell, to fellow bloggers Digger (Take This Bread) and Tim (Rubber City Review), to friends who have become readers and readers who have become friends and anyone who has stopped here for even a moment. And, of course, a huge debt of gratitude to you who make music - even beyond this blog, I don't know what I'd do without you.

Now, a present for you: a mix. Twelve songs that have elicited something strong for me, whether it is an emotional punch in the gut or just excitement over a great chord progression, these are songs that made me pay attention this year.

Here's the download (.zip file) link.

And here's what you'll find inside:

1. The Famous, "Cold Tonight"
2. Drive-by Truckers, "Used to be a Cop"
3. Cadillac Sky, "3rd Degree"
4. Conrad Plymouth, "Fergus Falls"
5. A Place to Bury Strangers, "Ocean"
6. Liars, "Scarecrows on a Killer Slant"
7. Gil Scott-Heron, "Me and the Devil"
8. Patrick Sweany, "Rising Tide"
9. Freddie Gibbs, featuring Chuck Inglish, Chip tha Ripper, Bun B and Dan Auerbach, "Oil Money"
10. Lee Fields and the Expressions, "Honey Dove"
11. Infantree, "Slaughterhouse"
12. Strand of Oaks, "Sterling"

Stick around for great things to come.

Rock 'n' Roll Photog: Video Grab Bag

2011-01-26T10:00:00.001-05:00

This week, Jennifer shares some music she's excited about right now, along with visual accompaniment.

Here (In Your Arms), Hellogoodby, from evilp8intpro922

Hellogoodbye put out their first record, Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! in 2006; I stumbled over it in 2008 and promptly bought it because of the seriously irresistible title. The track in the video above is one of my favorites, and indicative of their then sweet synth-poppy sound. After some wrangling with their now ex-label, they have put out a new record, entitled Would It Kill You? (less synth-y, but still poppy; also still delicious) and are hitting the road with, among other people, Gold Motel. That link back there leads to a free-for-Tweet-or-Facebook-Like tour sampler, which I highlight and heartily encourage you to check out because it includes a Gold Motel cover of Here (In Your Arms) which I cannot stop listening to, and much more besides.

The Black Apples - Where the Wild Things Go (Live at The Echo, Los Angeles, 2010-11-08) by lineinla

And then hopping over a couple of genres, for the psychadelic surf-rock fans in the audience, I bring you The Black Apples, who recently released a vinyl LP into the wild. You can find digital excerpts on bandcamp and the full LP on iTunes. Why I like it: They have TWO drummers and a lot of sweet grooves. In my collection, they occupy the "sounds like Scooby Doo" category with MGMT, but their sound is heavier – big solid drums and crisp guitars, as opposed to candy-colored dreamy noodling. They are having a record release party this Friday, January 28 at 7 PM Origami Vinyl in Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA, and, special note to Colorado and New Mexico, they will be headed your way in early March!

Brett Detar, It's Only The Night from Tocy777

Brett Detar formerly the lead singer for The Juliana Theory, has recently launched a solo career. I found him and his new record when I was noodling around on Facebook one evening and, ladies and gentlemen, if you enjoy old-fashioned country, you need to get yourself over to his website right now and check out his tunes. My favorites: It's Only The Night, Cocaine, Whiskey & Heroin, A Miner's Prayer and This City Dies Tonight.

Panic! at the Disco, The Ballad of Mona Lisa lyric video, from Fueled by Ramen

And finally, I leave you with the lyric video – as in, video composed solely of lyrics – for Panic! at the Disco's new single, The Ballad of Mona Lisa from their third record, Vices & Virtues, which is expected later this spring. I am a tiny bit of a typography nerd and so I must tell you I am all a-flutter because they are using new and different (and lovely!) fonts here and in their other promotional materials. I do also like the song; they would appear to have left behind the '60s stylings of Pretty. Odd. and jumped back into the present with both feet, and I can't wait to hear the rest of the record.

-- Jennifer

Bits: Juniper Tar, Mike Watt, Sebadoh, Fugazi, The Black Keys, Sonic Youth, Jon Walker, Michael Runion

2011-01-25T09:16:00.009-05:00

The good guys in Juniper Tar will be taking part in the Pablove Benefit Concert at Turner Hall Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this Saturday, January 29, 2011. The show, "a special evening to improve the lives of children with cancer", kicks off at 5:30 PM and also includes Cory Chisel, Fitz & the Tantrums, an acoustic set from Brian Aubert and Nikki Monninger of Silversun Pickups and more.

Stereogum has a free download of "Arrow-Pierced-Egg-Man" from Mike Watt's latest, an opera called Hyphenated-Man.

Sebadoh's Bakesale is being reissued with bonus material on April 4, 2011. In support of this, Sebadoh will be touring the United States beginning in February (including a stop at the Grog Shop in Cleveland on April 2 - coincidentally, just days after J Mascis brings his acoustic tour through the Grog ).

The Fugazi documentary Instrument will be screening at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, on February 27, 2011. Director Jem Cohen and members of Fugazi will be on hand for the screening.

If you missed it, the Austin City Limits Sonic Youth/Black Keys split episode can now be viewed at the PBS website. Long live PBS.

Additionally, Jennifer reports:

Jon Walker (The Young Veins, Panic[!] at the Disco, 5o4 Plan) has put out a solo record. Recommended tracks: Sun and Moon and Growing a Beard.

Michael Runion has revamped his website and there are a couple of new songs available as free downloads. He has also started a new band, The Chances, and they are playing an acoustic show at The Standard in West Hollywood, California, on January 26, 2011, at 7:30 PM at the Cactus Lounge.

Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

2011-01-21T09:24:00.004-05:00

Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

Fri, Jan 21| 9 PM (8 PM door)
Roy Loney (original Flamin' Groovies frontman)
Purple Knif (w/ Chris Butler of The Waitresses & John Teagle of the Walkin' Clampetts)
Living Stereo
$12
Tavern | All Ages

Sat, Jan 22| 9 PM (8 PM door)
The Hesitations (legendary Cleveland soul vocal group)
DJ Charles McGaw
DJ Racecard
$10
Ballroom | All Ages

Sat, Jan 22| 9 PM (8 PM door)
15-60-75 (The Numbers Band)
$7
Tavern | All Ages

Sun, Jan 23| 7 PM (6:30 PM door)
Whistle Pigs
Hey Mavis
Johnny & The Apple Stompers
$6 adv / $8 dos
Tavern | All Ages

Grog Shop

Sun, Jan 23| 8 PM
Red Buttons
The Poland Invasion
Cereal Banter
Galactic Moustache
$5

Happy Dog

Sat, Jan 22| 9 PM
Terminal Lovers
Pickering/Scheible
Melted Face Constitutional

Annabell's Bar & Lounge

Fri, Jan 21| 10 PM
Ashely Brooke Toussant
Shivering Timbers

Deep Blues Festival Returns! To Cleveland!

2011-01-20T09:28:00.004-05:00

From Deep Blues Festival organizer Chris Johnson:

"You heard the rumors and the rumors are true! After a one year hiatus, Deep Blues Festival rides again. This time around, Deep Blues Festival is a totally artist driven one day event in Cleveland, Ohio at the infamous Beachland Ballroom on July 16 2011!

So what is Deep Blues Festival? It is the biggest outsider blues festival in the country. If you like your blues music to involve creativity, originality and proof that this is still an immensely vibrant musical form...then this is the festival for you.

DEEP BLUES FESTIVAL 2011
Sat July 16 2011 5pm-1:30am
THE BEACHLAND BALLROOM
15711 Waterloo Road - Cleveland, OH
12 BANDS - $20.00!!"

Past Deep Blues Festival performers have included straight-up blues artists like T-Model Ford and CeDell Davis on through to blues-influenced acts like Scott H. Biram, Patrick Sweany, Black Diamond Heavies, Radio Moscow and Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, to name just a few. So, you'd be well-advised to block out your calendar for this one and keep your eye on the Deep Blues Festival Facebook page.

Check out T-Model Ford laying it down at the 2009 festival.

**Update**
The Deep Blues Festival '11 site has launched, line-up announced.

Thanks to Chuck Auerbach for the information.

Rock 'n' Roll Photog: The Beatles Complete on the Ukulele

2011-01-19T10:00:00.001-05:00

The Beatles catalogue gets refreshed on... the ukulele? It's true! And Jennifer was there to experience it.

The Beatles Complete on the Ukulele 2011, producer Roger Greenawalt's annual weekend-long celebration of the Beatles' entire catalog / fundraiser - this year's recipient is Mark Zuckerberg - took place this past Saturday and Sunday at the Brooklyn Bowl.

This actually marks the second concert I have attended in a bowling alley. The first a all-star Cure cover-band (The Love Cats) at Asbury Lanes, and, well, I love all aspects of Asbury Park, Asbury Lanes included, but in terms of style, Brooklyn Bowl is a cut above. It is, in fact, possibly the fanciest bowling alley I have ever attended. Also, the food is delicious.

The "Uke Mob", performing Why Don't We Do It In The Road?
The first two songs of the evening were performed by a "Uke Mob" made up of enthusiastic amateurs. After that, a wide variety of bands took the stage to celebrate the Beatles, and were accompanied by Greenawalt on the ukulele. The following are some of my favorite moments:

The Zambonis, their mascot, and Greenawalt

I promise I am not making this up: The Zambonis are normally dedicated solely to songs celebrating hockey. I took this particular picture when their mascot, Sir Hockey Monkey, joined them on stage for a rousing rendition of Everybody's Got Something To Hide But Me And My Monkey.

The Wild ConFabulations singing When I'm 64 through a traffic cone.

In addition to inventive appropriation of non-musical objects, the Wild ConFabulations gave the proceedings some swing. And some tap; for their songs, percussion was provided by the shoes of Lorinne Lampert, the talented lady on the far right.

A.L.X. of Love Crushed Velvet and Greenawalt, powering through Back in the U.S.S.R.

A.L.X. made an interesting point when introducing the song: the USSR as a concept is starting to fade from pop-cultural (if not historical) memory. The song is as catchy as ever, though. (By which I mean: the chorus is still stuck in my head.)

Nat Wolff (left) and friends, making Here Comes the Sun bearable.
All I am going to say is that I once had an alarm clock that played cheesy synthed-out version of Here Comes the Sun; I still kind of want to throw something across the room when I hear it. The Wolff brothers and friends performed a far superior interpretation of the tune.

Starting the Magical Mystery Tour with The Jingle Punks
Intriguing discovery: the Jingle Punks are both a band and a music licensing company! If you are a musician and want to get your work on tv or in movies, etc, you probably want to check them out.

-- Jennifer

Bits: Nicole Atkins, The Meat Puppets, The Twilight Singers, The Black Keys, A Place to Bury Strangers

2011-01-18T08:52:00.006-05:00

Nicole Atkins will be playing a live acoustic session and chatting on livestream Wednesday, 1.19, at 1:30 PM ET/10:30 AM PT.

The Meat Puppets will be releasing their new album, Lollipop, in April, Paste reports. Their line-up now includes Shandon Sahm, son of Texan multi-instrumentalist Doug Sahm, on drums.

The Twilight Singers' upcoming album, Dynamite Steps, is available for pre-order at Sub Pop. The pre-order entitles you to stream the album online immediately, and if you pre-order by 2.15, you'll receive two non-album tracks.

Though they've had to cancel their Australia/New Zealand tour and part of their European tour, the Black Keys juggernaut rolls on with an appearance on Austin City Limits airing 1.22 on PBS, in a split episode with Sonic Youth. (The Keys' appearance was taped about three months ago. I am very excited about this, having hoped for a Keys ACL for a long time now.)

A Place to Bury Strangers will hit the road again this spring, including SXSW gigs where they will premiere material from their forthcoming, as-yet-untitled album. These guys are amazing live.

THU 3/10 - ATLANTA, GA – Masquerade*

FRI 3/11 - DURHAM, NC - Motorco Music Hall*

SUN 3/13 - DENTON, TX - 35 Conferette Festival*^

TUE 3/15 - SAN ANTONIO, TX – Korova*

WED 3/16 - AUSTIN, TX - SXSW

THU 3/17 - AUSTIN, TX - SXSW

FRI 3/18 - AUSTIN, TX - SXSW

SAT 3/19 - AUSTIN, TX - SXSW

SUN 3/20 - HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, AR - Valley of the Vapors

MON 3/21 - HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, AR - Valley of the Vapors (pedal workshop)

TUE 3/22 - OXFORD, MS - Proud Larrys*

WED 3/23 - GREENVILLE, SC - The Handlebar*

THU 3/24 - BALTIMORE, MD – Ottobar*

*with Hooray for Earth

^with Dan Deacon, !!!, How to Dress Well & Local Natives

Speaking of APTBS, they've treated us to a tale of hopscotch gone awry with the video for their remix of Holy Fuck's "Red Lights", directed by Thomas Smith as a gift to APTBS.

Holy Fuck – Red Lights (A Place to Bury Strangers Remix) from Spool on Vimeo.

Crazy and the Brains/The Due Diligence/Shivering Timbers at Now That's Class, Cleveland, OH, 1.13.11

2011-01-17T10:30:00.006-05:00

Crazy and the Brains

Imagine: You're in a chilly punk bar, the kind with band stickers all over the walls, along with a little graffiti, and bike quarter pipes along the back of the room. There's four-piece punk band on stage whose line-up includes xylophone. The band starts up, and a crowd comes dancing in, some of whom look like they were shipped in from the suburbs. There is a conga line at one point.

This was my cognitive dissonance-inducing introduction to not only Now That's Class (a nice little venue with good acoustics and a laid-back vibe - easy to see why they received more than one nod in Scene's most recent "best of" round-up), but also Crazy and the Brains. The audience, who had apparently been priming themselves at the bar for a while, was ready to dance, and CatB supplied just the right soundtrack with their bright, high-energy punk rock. While their originals, like "Birthday Song" and "Saturday Night Live", were well-received, the most popular song of their set was a scream-along cover of "I Want Candy".

Here's video of "Birthday Song". Gotta say, the xylophone really works.

The Due Diligence

Regular readers know I've been enjoying the music of the Due Diligence (i.e. Isaac Gillespie) for a while now, so I was excited for the opportunity to see the New York-based artist live. Gillespie set the tone by kicking off with a ragged tribute to Sly and the Family Stone in the form of a cover of "Family Affair". Going from a quiet figure (with an impressive beard) to a stomping, howling demon in seconds, Gillespie seems to be less playing and singing the songs than he is pulling them out of his chest, strand by gut-drenched strand.

While the touring version of the Due Diligence is much stripped-down from the album line-up, the song arrangements lend themselves easily to a simple guitar-and-drums set-up, especially when amped up by Gillespie's flip-a-switch energy. Including originals like "I Will Wreck Your Life" and "Uncle Stephen" and covers like the aforementioned "Family Affair" and Steve Miller's "Keep On Rockin' Me, Baby", the Due Diligence set covered extremes from slow and sultry to a screaming wall of sound.

I Will Wreck Your Life • Cleveland, OH from the Due Diligence on Vimeo.

Shivering Timbers

"This is a nursery rhyme," Sarah Benn almost seemed to be warning the audience, with finger pointed, at the beginning of Shivering Timbers' set. Sarah and husband Jayson traffic in nursery rhymes, littering their album We All Started in the Same Place with jazzy arrangements of the childhood rhymes along with songs inspired by their daughter. But Shivering Timbers' music is not strictly for the babies. With Sarah's slinky upright bass and Jayson's bluesy guitar - along with drums and appearances by banjo, toy piano and toy hand bells - stories like that of the crooked man who walked a crooked mile sound like they were birthed in a smoky club instead of at cribside.

While Dan Auerbach - who produced Shivering Timbers' album - is known for his ability to capture a honest, live sound, the Benns should be seen in concert to appreciate the range of their talents, such as Sarah's powerful voice and Jayson's skilled guitar work. Not to mention the fact that they are charming as all hell, Sarah projecting a warm and friendly presence while Jayson, with a grin, thanked the crowd for "being drunk enough" at one point. And the way the Benns look at each other while playing is enough to make a seasoned cynic melt a little.

The dance-hungry crowd - who were obviously familiar with the band, requesting "Baby Don't" and sending up a pathetic whine when they thought they might have to go the night through without hearing "Little Bird" - was given enough ammunition to keep them happy with the likes of the rock-out endings to "Little Bird" and "Evening Prayer".

Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

2011-01-14T10:24:00.003-05:00

Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

Fri, Jan 14| 8 PM (7:30 PM door)
The Floorwalkers
Dolfish
All Comers
Tinamou
$10
Ballroom | All Ages

Sat, Jan 15| 9 PM (8 PM door)
Darwin Deez
Hot Cha Cha
Friends
$10.00
Tavern | All Ages

Grog Shop

Tue, Jan 18| 8 PM
Freddie Gibbs
Tommy New
Carl E Story
Twerp
Moriarty
$10

The Due Diligence, Crazy and the Brains and Shivering Timbers Tonight

2011-01-13T10:00:00.000-05:00

Laying low at NTSIB HQ today, but we wanted to remind the locals that the Due Diligence will be hitting Now That's Class tonight with Crazy and the Brains and Shivering Timbers (whose new album was produced by sound connoisseur Dan Auerbach). The show is at 9 PM and costs a measly 5 bucks. They're practically giving it away, people!

Rock 'n' Roll Photog: Graceland Too

2011-01-12T10:00:00.001-05:00

This week, we do a little rewind as Jennifer shares her take on one of the more... exceptional places we visited on NTSIB's Great Southern Roadtrip of 2010.

Graceland Too, Holly Springs, MS
If I could return to any one town from NTSIB's Southern voyage last summer, it would be Holly Springs, home to, among other things, Graceland Too. NTSIB stopped by Graceland Too the day after visiting Graceland itself. We happened to arrive at the same time as two ladies from a Tupelo paper, which is how I learned about the concepts of "Birth Week" and "Death Week", two of the major annual events in Elvis country. In somewhat belated honor of what would have been Elvis' 76th birthday this past Saturday, here are some pictures from the experience:

Elvis Presley trading cards

The collection of Elvisiana at Graceland Too is the hard work of one man: Paul McLeod. He's been collecting since 1956, and basically, if it involves Elvis Presley in any way, shape or form, he's probably got it in his house. He also has hundreds of binders of Elvis-related news clippings, and maintains three televisions devoted to recording mentions of Elvis in popular media.

Photographs of Elvis Presley

The amount of visual information present is actually overwhelming. We only spent a couple of hours there, but I could easily have spent several days absorbing it all. Unlike Graceland - both a rigorously curated time-capsule and a genteel, if glittery, G-rated memorial to someone who lived an R-rated life – Graceland Too embraces all of the chaos and highs and lows of Elvis' pop-cultural (after)life, from Reese's Pieces boxes and curtains and rugs with Elvis' face on them to stuffed toys that sing Elvis songs.

Flowers and other items left at Elvis' grave

Also, dear readers, I must tell you: I'm an archivist by day, and I was as entranced by the volume and diversity of McLeod's collection as I was by his methods of organization and preservation. I was very glad to hear some of it had already gone to the Smithsonian.

A corner of two of the four walls covered in Elvis Presley records

In addition to the massive collection inside the house, McLeod is also engaged in outdoor projects. The house changes color now and again – it's been pink in the past, it was blue and white when we arrived – and there is what I think is a very special Jailhouse Rock exhibit under construction in the backyard, complete with a startlingly realistic representation of an electric chair.

In conclusion, I give you a snapshot of one of the highlights of the visit: Mr. McLeod, singing an Elvis song in his kitchen:

-- Jennifer

Bits: Strand of Oaks, Young Circles

2011-01-11T12:54:00.003-05:00

The highly successful campaign to have Strand of Oaks' album Pope Killdragon released on vinyl is in its last 48 hours. Use it to help fund all things Strand of Oaks and pre-order the vinyl. (Not sure why you'd want to? Check out this video for all the answer you need to that.)

Young Circles' Bones EP dropped today, and damn if they haven't made it free.

Bits: Juniper Tar, The Builders and the Butchers, Gregg Allman, Drive-By Truckers, The Black Keys

2011-01-11T10:14:00.004-05:00

Juniper Tar has a frigging sweet deal in their online store: their full-length album To The Trees, The Howl Street EP, a lovely T-shirt plus a handmade mix CD. Eight bucks plus shipping. Get on that.

My Old Kentucky Blog has a new tune for you from the Builders and the Butchers' forthcoming album, Dead Reckoning. Hot.

Gregg Allman's new album, Low Country Blues, is streaming on NPR's First Listen. It's well worth a listen. (I think I may even like his cover of Skip James' "Devil Got My Woman", which is an accomplishment since that song is nearly sacred to me.)

Drive-By Truckers has begun posting behind the scenes episodes for their new album Go-Go Boots at their Vimeo page. You can find the first two episodes and other goodies there.

The Black Keys made a return visit to Letterman yesterday, and you can watch the performance at The Audio Perv if'n you missed it. And if you missed their great appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend, well, we've got that for you, too. (They also played "Tighten Up".)

Bit: Bobby Bare, Jr.

2011-01-10T12:04:00.003-05:00

Here's an update from The Untitled Bobby Bare Jr. Documentary camp about tomorrow night's event:

1/11/11 – THE UNTITLED BOBBY BARE JR. DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKERS COLLABORATE WITH SUPERFINE TO PRESENT: AN EVENING SHOWCASING INDEPENDENT MUSIC & INDEPENDENT FILM.

NASHVILLE ROCKER BOBBY BARE JR. MAKES HIS DUMBO DEBUT AND WILL BE JOINED BY SPECIAL GUESTS CAREY KOTSIONIS & BONNIE WHITMORE! ENJOY FREE TITO’S HANDMADE VODKA & PBR AS THEY TAKE OVER THE STAGE AT SUPERFINE BAR & RESTAURANT!

JOIN US IN DUMBO – THE CENTER FOR ALL THINGS ART AND ALL THINGS THAT ROCK

DOORS OPEN AT 8PM

FOR ADVANCE TICKETS AND EVENT DETAILS GO TO:

http://untitledbobbybarejrdocumentary.com/2011/01/09/update-free-booze-sponsors-special-guests-announced-for-bobby-bare-jr-brooklyn-event-11111/

Secret Colours: Follow the Drone

2011-01-10T10:03:00.003-05:00

If black leather rebel rock crashed its bike into the front of psych rock's Haight Street squat, the impact might sound a lot like Secret Colours. While the vocals of the Chicago band are a lighter-than-air haze, they are countered by a swampy, low-end rhythm that drives and sneers, and it's all covered in a fallout dust of guitar noise.

Secret Colours - Follow the Drone

Find the "Follow the Drone" single-EP along with two more single-EPs, as well as their well-worth-a-listen full-length album ("Chemical Swirl" is a sexy number).

Secret Colours Bandcamp

Secret Colours Official Website

Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area + The Due Diligence

2011-01-07T10:13:00.004-05:00

*The good dudes at Citizen Dick will be hosting a listening party for the new Akron/Family album at Loop Coffee & Records in Tremont tomorrow evening. Check 'er out.

Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

Fri, Jan 7| 9 PM (8 PM door)
15th Annual Rockabilly Holiday
Krank Daddies
Scarlet Fever
Wolfboy Slim & His Dirty Feets
Steve Brown: Yo Yo Artist Extraordinaire
$10 / $8 w/can of dog or cat food

Sat, Jan 8| 9 PM (8 PM door)
Ante up Showcase
Gentlemen Hall
Hazard Adams
Nicholas Megalis
Leah Lou
Ceterum
Champion Bubblers
The Vig
$8
Ballroom & Tavern | All Ages

Tue, Jan 11| 8:30 PM (7:30 PM door)
The Dirt Daubers
The Misery Jackals
Nicholas Deveney
$7
Tavern | All Ages

Grog Shop

Fri, Jan 7| 8 PM
Sun God
Founding Fathers
Wooly Bullies
Spacer Ace
FREE

Sat, Jan 8| 8 PM
Afternoon Naps
The Modern Electric
Mike Uva & The Bad Eyes
Brian Straw
FREE

Thu, Jan 13| 8 PM
Apache Beat
Madame & The Moist Towelettes
Fangs Out
Attack Cat
$6

Now That's Class

Mon, Jan 10| 9 PM
Herculaneum
Tonguing
Guerilla Toss
$5

Thu, Jan 13| 9 PM
The Due Diligence
Crazy & the Brains
Shivering Timbers
$5 donation

Happy Dog

Fri, Jan 7| 9 PM
Benefit for Dave P.
HotChaCha
Filmstrip
CLOVERS
(a band called) Me

Sun, Jan 9| 9 PM
Whitey Morgan & the 78s

NTSIB is very happy to be a part of bringing the Due Diligence to Cleveland. Here's a hint of what to expect...

Nicole Atkins Album Delayed

2011-01-07T09:38:00.003-05:00

The release date of Nicole Atkins' new album Mondo Amore has been pushed back to February 8.

While you wait, check out the first of three vignettes Atkins and filmmakers Mandy Bisesti and Lucia Holm have created.

Cowboy Junkies Cover Vic Chesnutt

2011-01-06T09:42:00.005-05:00

This past Christmas marked the one-year anniversary of the death of singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt, a legendary and singular figure on the Athens, Georgia, music scene. In the second installment of "The Nomad Series", called Demons, the Cowboy Junkies pay tribute to Chesnutt with an album's worth of covers of his songs.

"We tried to approach Demons with the same sense of adventure that Vic undertook in all of his projects (or at least that is the way his recordings sound). We let happy accidents happen; we tried to invest his songs with the same spirit and the adventure with which they were written, at the same time investing them with our own Northern spin. Exploring his songs and delving deeper and deeper into them has been an intense, moving and joyous experience. I don’t think Vic would have wanted it any other way."

-Michael Timmins, July 2010, from the liner notes for Demons

You can download "Wrong Piano", Chesnutt's lament of self-doubt that turns into something like a hymn in the hands of the Cowboy Junkies.

Cowboy Junkies - Wrong Piano

Demons, which will be released on February 15, can be pre-ordered on the Cowboy Junkies website.

(Guest) Rock 'n' Roll Photog: Nate Burrell's Best of 2010

2011-01-05T10:00:00.000-05:00

Regular Rock 'n' Roll Photog Jennifer is taking a well-deserved vacation, and NTSIB friend Nate Burrell was kind enough to contribute his favorite photos of 2010 from his own collection. In addition to being a hell of a nice guy, Nate is a great photographer, and we're very pleased to feature him again.

The Black Keys:
To Summarize: this band kicks ass. They have since 2002, and they are finally getting their due respect on a wider scale in 2010. Their most recent release, Brothers, opened them up to popular outlets, due to its groove-thick gnarly sound and the hit single Tighten Up; but don’t be fooled- their catalogue prior to this year’s album is disgustingly good. Get learned if you haven’t already.
www.theblackkeys.com

Dan Auerbach stepping to the edge of the stage for the sold out crowd at the Pageant – St. Louis, MO.

Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three:
After successfully touring the US and the UK, as well as having been named Best New Discovery at 2010’s Newport Folk Festival, this St. Louis-based American Roots Music band is definitely a band to look for. Absolutely awesome to see live- energetic, tight on stage, and good musicians to the core… and just as good to put on your turntable or in your headphones. Check "La La Blues" from their album Riverboat Soul if you want to sing and clap along as you get on down! And keep your eyes peeled for their upcoming releases in 2011 – ya heard me??!!
www.pokeylafarge.net

Pokey LaFarge singing and sweatin’ at Off Broadway in South City St. Louis.

JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound:
This Chicago Rhythm and Soul group is another hot ticket to see. Funky as you ever wanted to see on stage, a sound that’s vaguely familiar, but also fresh and its own. You’ll be swayin’ and head bobbin until it’s an all out get down in your own right! Good stuff for sure. Their album is dope! And they are playin’ out in cities right now.
www.facebook.com/pages/JC-Brooks-the-Uptown-Sound/262902497556

JC Brooks reaching out to the crowd at the Beat ‘N’ Soul Festival – St. Louis, MO.

Patrick Sweany:
A soulful Nashville bluesman, Sweany is a name that you should look up. Having as much comfort on the 6 string as anyone out there today, and a comfortable banter with his audience – you are sure to see a good set when he takes the stage. His new album Southern Drag officially drops in Feb. 2011, but he’s currently out on the road touring and could be headed your way. Look him up.
www.patricksweany.com

Banging the stomp box at the Old Rock House – St. Louis, MO.

Those Darlins:
If you saw these three gals and one fella in 2010, you most likely saw them in a smaller to mid-sized venue… and I’ll bet it was packed… and I guarantee it was rowdy! They wail live - no doubt, and will hit you with an assault of songs that’ll soak you with country punk and soul… right after they spray their beer on ya from the stage. After basically going on a world wide tour in 2010, they just released a 7”, and I hear that there’s also a full length to follow.
www.thosedarlins.com

Jessi Darlin rockin out and lightin’ up at the Off Broadway.

Jessica Lea Mayfield:
After a critically acclaimed debut album, Mayfield toured the world far and wide, played with various big namers of many genres and stole many hearts along the way. Her dark folk sound has a familiarity that we all can relate to and a melody that we will all want to hum or sing along with. With a major label release coming early in 2011, she will certainly be doing some amazing things this next turn of the calendar.
www.jessicaleamayfield.com

Jessica Lea Mayfirld looks over a theatre filled with her hometown crowd while headlining the Kent State Folk Festival.

Cassie Morgan:
Indie-folk songstress Cassie Morgan had quite a successful 2010. Her band, Cassie Morgan and the Lonely Pine, spent the majority of the year backing the release of her full length album debut Weathered Hands, Weary Eyes. Morgan (along with band mate Beth Bombara) played with a variety of well known national acts in her home city of St. Louis and embarked on a tour through the great Midwest. While ending up (deservingly) on many–o-critic’s year end best of lists, look for more great things from her in 2011.
www.cassiemorgan.com

Cassie Morgan silencing the crowd at the Gramophone with her beautiful dance of guitar and vocals.

mr. Gnome:
Cleveland, Ohio, rockers (and April’s new favorite!) mr. Gnome will melt your heart and melt your face. Creating walls of growling sonic beauty, this duo is one of the best stage bands you’ll find night in and night out. That good, no question. Screaming guitar and howling female vocals, with a pulsating complex drumming style –you’ll be standing second row before you know it… head bobbing and all!
www.mrgnome.com

Nicole Barille captivating the room at the Firebird.

The Sights:
Detroit is known for its soul and rock-n-roll. The Sights give you just that. I wasn’t familiar with this band until seeing them rip up the stage as part of the Beat ‘N’ Soul event at St. Louis’ premier venue Off Broadway, but when they stepped off stage, I was floored. They stomped, they pounded, they hollered and they won the crowd - all in the matter of 35 or 40 minutes. I will definitely make it a point to see them this year, and you may want to consider the same.
www.sightsarmy.com

Eddy Baranek lets loose for the fans crowding the center stage.

photo copyright Nate Burrell - taken for KDHX Media, St. Louis, MO

Bits: Cadillac Sky, The Due Diligence, Bill Monroe, Justin Townes Earle, The Black Keys

2011-01-04T15:06:00.004-05:00

We are very sad to announce that Cadillac Sky are going on "indefinite hiatus", i.e. they broke up. But I guess if you're going to go, it's good to go out on the best album of your career. And we still have The David Mayfield Parade to enjoy, along with projects the other guys will surely be involved with.

The Due Diligence is touring! Along with Crazy Brains and a number of local openers, they are hitting a number of joints down the eastern U.S., including a January 13 stop at Now That's Class with Shivering Timbers.

The International Bluegrass Music Museum will be hosting the Bill Monroe Centennial Celebration in honor of what would have been the 100th birthday of the late bluegrass great September 12-14 in Owensboro, Kentucky. The amazing line-up will include Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, Doc Watson, Jesse McReynolds, Mac Wiseman, J.D. Crowe, Bobby Osborne, Eddie Adcock, Tom Gray, Kenny Baker, Curly Seckler, Everett Lilly, The Lewis Family, Bill Clifton, Rodney Dillard, Melvin Goins and Paul Williams.

Justin Townes Earle will be hitting the Late Show with David Letterman tomorrow night, January 5, while the Black Keys will be making their Saturday Night Live debut on January 8.

Bit: Bobby Bare, Jr.

2011-01-04T15:02:00.003-05:00

An update from The Untitled Bobby Bare Jr. Documentary camp:

1/11/11 – WHEN NASHVILLE ROCKER BOBBY BARE JR. MAKES HIS DUMBO DEBUT – TAKING OVER SUPERFINE BAR RESTAURANT – THE PARTY REALLY GETS STARTED!

THE UNTITLED BOBBY BARE JR. DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKERS COLLABORATE WITH SUPERFINE TO PRESENT: AN EVENING SHOWCASING INDEPENDENT MUSIC & INDEPENDENT FILM

JOIN US IN DUMBO – THE CENTER FOR ALL THINGS ART AND ALL THINGS THAT ROCK

Visit The Untitled Bobby Bare Jr. Documentary website for more information.

A Foreign Country: The Godfathers

2011-01-03T10:00:00.002-05:00

A Foreign Country is a non-regular series in which I'll write about music I dug in my youth that I still enjoy now. The name comes from the L.P. Hartley quote "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there", because, while I do continue to enjoy some of the music I listened to in my early days, my tastes have changed since then (thank fuck for that) and even the songs I still like are heard through different ears.

The Godfathers with Joan Jett, Cleveland, Ohio, 1988

While it is a problem that occurs with frustrating regularity that I will find a band with one great song that is followed by a string of disappointments, some of my best album purchases have resulted from taking a chance on one great song. It happened for me with the Jayhawks ("Waiting for the Sun" from Hollywood Town Hall) and Jeff Buckley ("Grace" from the album of the same name), and in 1988, it happened with the Godfathers.

In the farm community where I grew up, about twenty minutes outside of Akron, Ohio, it took some determination to hear new music that was outside of Casey Kasem's Top 40 or the classic/stoner rock played on WMMS. But if it was a weekday afternoon and the reception was good that day, I could hear a couple of hours of alternative music from the Akron City Schools' public radio station. Alternativ music had a different, decidedly more amorphous definition then, and in a sitting, I would hear the likes of Joy Division, the Smiths, Faith No More (the Chuck Mosley incarnation), the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Lime Spiders, Lords of the New Church, the Bolshoi and To Damascus. And I also heard a song called "Birth, School, Work, Death" by the Godfathers.

On one of the occasions when I successfully whined my mother into taking me to the Westwood Connection, an alternative music shop on the College of Wooster campus, I also successfully pled my case for her to buy me the Godfathers album, also titled Birth, School, Work, Death. I didn't know anymore about the band then that they were from England, and they seemed a little pissed off. At heart, my circumstances in the late 1980s were worlds away from those of the working class in Thatcher's Britain, but growing up outside of Akron and Cleveland in the Reagan Era, with a mother who worked in a factory and a father who worked construction, I was close enough to get it. And, being a teenager, I had all sorts of anger and frustration... as manufactured, misplaced and melodramatic as it might have been. It was still enough to feel like the metallic, grinding guitar work, stomping force and spittle-inflected ranting of the Godfathers' music spoke for me as clearly as it spoke for anyone in industrial Britain. Not that I was considering any of this at the time. I just knew it was loud and angry and good for dancing to up in my bedroom.

I never became a big enough fan to pursue any of the Godfathers' other albums, but I still occasionally pop in my cassette of BSWD - which is beginning to sound a little woozy after all these years - and I still enjoy the hell out of it and am infected by its energy.

As it usually turns out when I start researching my nostalgia, I've learned that the Godfathers reunited in 2008, have been touring, released a live CD/DVD in 2010 and plan to release an album of new material this year.

The Godfathers Official Website

The Godfathers Facebook

Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

2010-12-31T09:52:00.002-05:00

Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

Thu, Jan 6| 8:30 PM (7:30 PM door)
Mountain Heart
J.P. & The Chatfield Boys
$12
Ballroom | All Ages

Grog Shop

Sat, Jan 1| 9 PM
The Big Show
feat. Smoke Screen
Izzrael
100 Proof
Kick Flip B
Ebony James
Mz. Crazy Tee
Tezo
Doxx
Bravo
The Funny Sound
$10 adv / $12 dos

Now That's Class

Fri, Dec 31| 9 PM
4TH ANNUAL NEW YEARS EVE PARTY
Midnight
Megachurch
Burger Boys
surprise band
all inclusive $30 includes open bar/bands/mexcican food/shots

Sat, Jan 1| 9 PM
Screaming Smoldering Butt Bitches
Kill the Hippies
Sosumi
$3

Kent Stage

Fri, Dec 31| 8 PM
The Numbers Band
Rachel Wearsch & the Beatnik Playboys
$15

No More Words: Rock Instrumentals

2010-12-30T09:39:00.004-05:00

Once upon a time, in the relative infancy of rock 'n' roll, rock instrumentals were such a popular form that some artists were dedicated entirely to instrumentals and some who, while having a few songs with vocals, built their reputation on instrumentals - artists like the Ventures, the Fireballs, Duane Eddy, The Surfaris and Dick Dale. In time, the popularity of rock instrumentals faded until today when it seems like rock instrumentals are mainly the domain of dinosaurs and noodlers.

Here are a few of my favorite rock instrumentals, ending with what I hope is a glimmer of hope for the future of good rock instrumentals.

Link Wray was a man ahead of his time. A stone cold and cool greaser with a dangerous sound, you can still hear his influence today on some of today's music. If cool has a soundtrack, Wray's 1958 hit "Rumble" is definitely a featured number.

Released a year later, it's difficult to believe that "Sleep Walk" by brother duo Santo & Johnny could even exist in the same universe as "Rumble". It's a dreamy piece with some of the most evocative guitar ever recorded.

In the late '50s and early '60s, studios had house bands who played support to a label's roster of solo and vocal artists. One of these bands, Booker T. and the MGs, had such a distinctive and compelling sound that they went on to become a major contender on their own as well as making huge contributions to the sounds of artists like Otis Redding and Bill Withers. Their most popular song, and still one of my all-time favorites, is 1962's "Green Onions".

(Keys man Booker T. Jones is still going strong, releasing Potato Hole last year, which he recorded and subsequently toured with the Drive-By Truckers. Incidentally, the father of Drive-By Truckers' Patterson Hood, David Hood, was the bass player for the house band at Muscle Shoals Sound around the same time Jones was playing for Stax Records.)

In 1993, the Afghan Whigs ended their benchmark album Gentleman with a string-heavy and slightly ominous instrumental called "Closing Prayer". I probably don't have to go into any further detail about my feelings for the Afghan Whigs.

Which brings us up to now. The Black Keys are not new to recording instrumentals, having closed out their 2002 debut The Big Come Up with the hip hop rhythm of "240 Years Before Your Time" (and then closing it again some 20 minutes later with a hidden instrumental track that kicks off with a recording of Dan Auerbach's grandmother) and recording "Junior's Instrumental" during their Chulahoma sessions. But "Black Mud", their tasty chaser to "She's Long Gone" on this year's Brothers, may be the song to bring the band their first Grammy as it is nominated for Best Rock Instrumental.

Rock 'n' Roll Photog: Life by Keith Richards

2010-12-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

Today, Jennifer treats us to our first book review after a wild ride with Keith "Have fun deducing how much of what I say is fact and how much is drug-addled hallucination" Richards.

My first reaction, on turning the final page, was my god, this man is exhausting. And also to be amazed, again, that he's still alive to co-write his autobiography. Yes, co-write; his assistant in this massive undertaking is James Fox, whom the jacket copy informs me is an old friend of Richards', author of White Mischief and former journalist for the Sunday Times in London.
What they have produced together is a complex and fascinating portrait of Keith Richards, which reads like you're sitting at the kitchen table with him while he tells you fabulous tales of sex, drugs (lots and LOTS of drugs) and rock and roll. (He also, unsurprisingly, has a lot of feelings about Mick Jagger.) I could almost see his hands waving and the smoke curling above his head. A good many of the stories cover territory that long-time and/or devoted Rolling Stones fans will already be familiar with; more recent, or more casual fans, on the other hand, may feel a little bit lost in the sea of names and partial descriptions of past events.

But the inside scoop on the scandalous behavior is really not the best part. Richards is most interesting when he digresses into a guitar lesson, and explains the secrets to the Stones' disctinctive sound, or wanders off on an extended tangent about the mechanics of constructing songs.

The book is a big book, dense and sometimes rambling, and by turns hilarious, horrifying and mind-blowing, in a You did what? With whom? kind of way. I was left with a variety of things to chew over, about music and fame and rockstars in general, if not Keith Richards in particular, most notably the isolating nature of fame.

I was also left with the desire to read all the rest of the Stones' memoirs, to get more views on the story.

Which brings me to: Please Allow Me To Correct a Few Things an review of the book in Slate by Bill Wyman (journalist, NOT rockstar) which is written as Mick Jagger's response to the book. Just to be clear: Mick Jagger did not write the article. It's a parody, a literary put-on, but it's a very sharply observed parody. There's also a postscript to the piece on Wyman's blog. I mention it because it's easy to get caught up in Richards' story, and get to a point where all of the madness seems perfectly normal.

In summary: A big book, but not a dull one. Rating: \m/\m/ (two sets of metalfingers out of two)

-- Jennifer

Bits: Hell and Half of Georgia, the Low Anthem, Conrad Plymouth, the Twilight Singers, Mark Sandman

2010-12-28T09:45:00.005-05:00

Shows! Hell and Half of Georgia will be playing a free show in Long Beach, California tomorrow, 12.29.10. On the other side of the country on the same day, the Avett Brothers, the Low Anthem and Bombadil will be playing a benefit show in Carrboro, North Carolina - tickets go on sale at 10:00 AM EST today, 12.28.10. (The Avett/Anthem/Bombadil benefit show sold out within the first hour.) Conrad Plymouth will play a New Year's Eve show with Ian Olvera and the Sleepwalkers and Laarks at Linneman's in Milkwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Twilight Singers have made another track, "On the Corner", from the upcoming album Dynamite Steps available for free download.

And the news I'm personally most excited about right now is the impending release of Cure for Pain: The Mark Sandman Story. The singer/bass player/avant-instrumentalist for Morphine was and is a huge influence on me, and I'm very much looking forward to this documentary, which will be hitting the festival circuit in 2011. Check out the trailer below, and find more video clips at the Gatling Pictures website.

Cure for Pain: The Mark Sandman Story (Trailer) from Gatling Pictures on Vimeo.

Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

2010-12-23T09:39:00.002-05:00

Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

Sat, Dec 25| 9 PM (8 PM door)
Matthew Forcefed
& The Jesus Freaks
The Sound People
Winters Warm
Keith Jackson
$8
Tavern | All Ages

Sun, Dec 26| 8 PM (7 PM door)
8th Annual
Old Home Night
Home & Garden (w/Tony Maimone)
Alejandro Escovedo & Miss Melvis
Kidney Brothers (w/Anton Fier)
The Heathers
$10
Tavern | All Ages

Tue, Dec 28| 8:30 PM (8 PM door)
A Festivus Miracle!
Old Boy with Istvan Medgyesi
Tastycakes
Beach Stav
Library Time
FREE
Ballroom Floor | All Ages

Wed, Dec 29| 9 PM (8 PM door)
An Evening with
The Spikedrivers
$10
Tavern | All Ages

Thu, Dec 30| 9 PM (8 PM door)
The Schwartz Brothers
$6
Ballroom | All Ages

Thu, Dec 30| 8:30 PM (8 PM door)
Beachland Blue Grass Barn Dance
Misery Jackals
Front Porch
Gordon Keller and the Rubes
Miss Firecracker
Live square dance
$5
Tavern | All Ages

Grog Shop

Sat, Dec 25| 8 PM
HotChaCha
Megachurch
CLOVERS
Born of the Yeti
$5

Sun, Dec 26| 8 PM
Return of Simple
Herzog
The Sibs
Belmez
$6

Thu, Dec 30| 10 PM
Prisoners
Cloud Nothings
The Very Knees
$6

Rock 'n' Roll Photog: 2010 in Pictures, Part Two

2010-12-22T16:51:00.002-05:00

Even though our tastes rarely seem to overlap, these year-end posts illustrate why I'm fortunate to have Jennifer on board. Thanks for a great year, Jennifer.

Felicibago, Lebowski Fest, Louisville, KY, July 2010

Nick White, Jon Walker and Nick Murray, The Young Veins, Crazy Donkey, Farmingdale, NY, July 2010

Ryan Ross and Andy Soukal, The Young Veins, Crazy Donkey, Farmingdale, NY, July 2010

Willie Nelson, Caeser's, Atlantic City, NJ, August 2010

Evan Dando, The Lemonheads, The Crazy Donkey, Farmingdale, NY, August 2010

Matt Shultz, Cage the Elephant, Jones Beach Ampitheater, Jones Beach, NY, September 2010

Amy Klein, Titus Andronicus, Webster Hall, New York, NY, September 2010

Pete Wentz, The Black Cards, The Loft, Poughkeepsie, NY, October 2010

Bebe Rexha, The Black Cards, The Loft, Poughkeepsie, NY, October 2010

Ian Felice and Christmas, Felice Brothers, The Chance, Poughkeepsie, NY, Halloween 2010

Mike Ness, Social Distortion, Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY, November 2010

Glen Hansard, The Frames, Terminal 5, New York, NY, November 2010

Brandon Flowers (solo tour), Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY, December 2010

Ray Toro, My Chemical Romance, Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY, December 2010

Frank Iero, My Chemical Romance, Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY, December 2010

Mikey Way, My Chemical Romance, Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY, December 2010

Gerard Way, My Chemical Romance, Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY, December 2010

--Jennifer

Rock 'n' Roll Photog: 2010 in Pictures, Part One

2010-12-22T16:48:00.003-05:00

Some technical difficulties held us up, but here it is, Jennifer's favorite photos from her 2010 musical adventures/shenanigans.

Alex Suarez (left) and Ryland Blackinton (right), This Is Ivy League, The Studio at Webster Hall, New York, NY, January 2010

A.A. Bondy, Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY, February 2010

Ryan Ross, The Young Veins, The Studio at Webster Hall, New York, NY, March 2010

Eric Nally, Foxy Shazam, The Studio at Webster Hall, March 2010

Jon Walker, The Young Veins, The Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY, March 2010

Nick Murray, The Young Veins, The Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY, March 2010

Nick White, The Young Veins, The Knitting Factory, Brooklyn, NY, March 2010

Jonathan Coulton, The High Line Ballroom, New York, NY, April 2010

HIM, Irving Plaza, New York, NY, May 2010

Butch Walker, Webster Hall, New York, NY, May 2010

Roky Erickson and Okkervil River, Webster Hall, New York, NY, May 2010

Liz McGrath and Morgan Slade, Miss Derringer, High Line Ballroom, New York, NY, May 2010

Cadillac Sky, Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY, May 2010

Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch, the Dave Rawlings Machine, Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY, June 2010

The Felice Brothers, Clearwater Festival, Croton-on-Harmon, New York, June 2010

Z Berg, The Like, Maxwell's Hoboken, June 2010

Sean Van Vleet, Empires, The Studio at Webster Hall, New York, NY, June 2010

Courtney Love, Hole, The Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, June 2010

--Jennifer

Joe Strummer: Love Kills

2010-12-22T09:17:00.004-05:00

Today marks the eighth anniversary of Joe Strummer's death, and the impulse is usually to be solemn and possibly even maudlin in our remembrances and tributes on this day. Yes, Joe was a seriously thoughtful guy and inspired many people to do great things, but he also had a sense of humor and wonder and joy which shouldn't be forgotten. It bubbled out of him until the day he died.

So, in that spirit, I post the video for one of Joe's contributions to the Sid & Nancy soundtrack, "Love Kills". Joe, Dick Rude and someone who looks a lot like Jane Wiedlin as a group of inept federales, Gary Oldman turning into superhero Sid Vicious and (I think) a rockin' song - what more do you need from a music video?

Bit: Party of Helicopters

2010-12-21T12:34:00.002-05:00

I Rock Cleveland hints at the possibility of a new Party of Helicopters album. I am one of those who sadly missed the recent reunion shows, so I have my fingers crossed for this.

Bits: Bootsy Collins, Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté, Captain Beefheart

2010-12-21T11:06:00.002-05:00

Ohio-born funk master Bootsy Collins has started the Bootsy Collins Foundation to promote music and education for those who might not be able to afford it on their own. "Say It Loud, An Instrument For Every Child."

Nonesuch has made a track, "Sabu Yerkoy", off of the second (and final) collaboration from Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabaté, called simply Ali and Toumani, available for free download.

Those wishing to pay their respects to Don Van Vliet, a.k.a. Captain Beefheart, who died December 17, can leave their tributes at The Captain Beefheart Radar Station. And self-titled has a post that includes Beefheart's Letterman interview along with John Peel's short documentary (in 6 parts) on Beefheart's career.

Bit: Bobby Bare, Jr.

2010-12-21T10:21:00.003-05:00

Here's a little update from our friends at The Untitled Bobby Bare Jr. Documentary headquarters:

FIRST OFFICIAL POSTER FOR THE UNTITLED BOBBY BARE JR. DOCUMENTARY!

Cover your home with the first official film poster! Bobby Bare Jr. rocks your walls!

Want to see more? Go to www.untitledbobbybarejrdocumentary.com

The Captain is Dead, Long Live the Captain

2010-12-20T12:26:00.004-05:00

I'll admit that it was only very recently that I began getting into the music of Captain Beefheart (a.k.a Don Van Vliet) and his Magic Band after realizing how many of the musicians I love have been influenced by it. Everyone from Greg Dulli to Joe Strummer to, well, practically everyone I've ever listened to and really enjoyed. The prize for most Beefheart tributes paid by one band may well go to the Black Keys who have covered four of Beefheart's songs, including Beefheart's own cover of "Grown So Ugly" (as discussed in this post).

Van Vliet passed away Friday morning, at the age of 69, due to complications from Multiple Sclerosis. For me, it feels fitting to pay my tribute to the influential and singular giant by way of the band who made me most familiar with his work before I began delving into the source itself. So here are the rest of those Black Keys covers along with the Beefheart originals.

"Her Eyes are a Blue Million Miles" is a touching song from an artist who was better known for freaking people out. Here's a live rendition from 1978.

Then the Keys turned it into a freakout of their own.

"Here I Am, Here I Always Am" was one of Beefheart's classic blues-inflected stompers.

So it seems tailor-made for the Keys in retrospect.

"Blue Million Miles" was not Beefheart's only foray into love songs, of course, and just as touching was his song "I'm Glad". (This version is a demo from 1966, and it's much more affecting without the doo-wop backing vocals of the final version on Safe As Milk.)

"Glad" may be the best of the Black Keys' Beefheart covers with the emotional power of Dan Auerbach's vocals being on par with Beefheart's own rugged delivery.

I have other Beefheart favorites that stray farther away from Beefheart's blues roots toward his experimental apex, but "I'm Glad" seems like the most fitting way to send the Captain out.

Soft Speaker/HotChCha/mr. Gnome at the Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH, 12.18.1010

2010-12-20T08:58:00.010-05:00

Somewhere between home and the Beachland, I managed to lose one of my camera batteries, but I did manage to attain a concert-going companion (NTSIB friend Joy) with a camera phone. We didn't get any shots of Soft Speaker, but we do have some fittingly atmospheric pictures of HotChaCha and mr. Gnome.

Soft Speaker

This Chicago quartet, whom my brain persisted in thinking of as the Red Guitar Brigade due to the color of all their string instruments, weaves in and out of styles, sometimes moving from a more funked-up groove to treble-heavy indie rock within the same song. And it may just be my background playing up things that weren't there, but it seemed at times that the vocals and lyrics were influenced by a dusting of late-'90s goth. While it is easy to hear how a track like "I Stand To Lose My Fortune, Easy" can grow quickly on the listener, Soft Speaker's encompassing style is perhaps too much for a first-time listener to process at a live show, and they never seemed to spark with the audience.

HotChaCha

HotChaCha are swiftly becoming an NTSIB favorite, bolstered heavily by their energetic live shows. As most live reviews of the band will mention, much of this is thanks to frontwoman Jovana Batkovic and her complete lack of inhibition or pretension. She will engage the audience, whether they like it or not - and they usually end up liking it. Especially the men who gather up around the front of the stage, eagerly anticipating Batkovic's eventual leap into the audience to dance through the crowd, sliding up against various audience members as she goes. In an era when most live performances will consist of a group of shy hipsters standing still behind their mics, not making much eye contact with the crowd, Batkovic definitely stands out as she lets the music take her, using her mic and/or mic stand as a phallus, crawling between the legs of her bandmates, making eye contact with any and everyone and folding herself backwards on the stage.

But it is Mandy Aramouni, Heather Gmucs and Roseanna Safos who perform the massive springboard from which Batkovic launches. Aramouni's atmospheric guitar and keys are never in danger of becoming lighter-than-air partially thanks to the heavily solid low end held down by Gmucs and Safos. And while most eyes tend to be on Batkovic, the rest of the band is giving their all, Aramouni rocking and headbanging, Gmucs prowling across the stage and Safos propelling everything with her power hitting.

At one point Saturday night, Batkovic asked the crowd, "Who wants to dance?" She then proceeded to pull about ten audience members on stage - including Joy - for a dance party, which she soon left for the floor to let the stage dancers take the spotlight while she took a rest from being the center of attention. Audiences will often reflect the attitude of the band they're seeing, and while those shy indie hipsters have shy hipster audiences, HotChaCha's audience is one of the smilingest crowds you'll see.

mr. Gnome

I suppose it is a common cry among fans and bloggers who concentrate on independently-produced music, but every time I listen to mr. Gnome, I ask, "Why isn't this band huge yet?" Finally seeing them perform live (after having failed to make it happen three times previous), this question has only grown louder in my mind.

Nicole Barille and Sam Meister eased the crowd into things with the soothing, pretty "Titor" before plunging directly into the bounce beat of "Plastic Shadow" (one of my favorites). When listening to mr. Gnome recordings, I'm usually too caught up in the atmosphere, the feeling of their songs to notice the skill involved. That probably sounds counterintuitive to some of you, but I always latch onto emotion in music before I get around to pesky things like skill or even lyrics. Being able to see Barille and Meister work their instruments Saturday night brought my levels of respect for them from merely high to through-the-roof. While Meister is a power hitter of epic proportions, he's also precise and complex, his syncopations and fills far beyond the skill of most rock drummers.

Most press on Barille focuses on her voice as she plays between low roars, tenor howls and pixie trills, but her guitar work is more than just a backdrop to her vocals. Barille moves easily between the heavy power chords and experimental atmospherics you would expect when listening to mr. Gnome's music, but she's also capable of intricate fretwork, which she displayed on a brutal "Deliver this Creature". Oh, and she also belts out the vocals like a hellion live.

The playlist for the night concentrated on Deliver this Creature and Heave Yer Skeleton material, ending with "Three Red Birds" from the recent Tastes Like Magic EP. They also broke out a couple of new babies from their forthcoming album, which land on the more head-banging end of the Gnome spectrum. Check out this footage from the omnipresent kingofthecastle7 of their new song "Manbat".

Andrew Bird Gezelligheid concert at Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, IL, 12.16.10

2010-12-17T15:20:00.009-05:00

NTSIB friend Annie, of, in her own words, "the dormant food
blog" Bon Appegeek, attended one of Andrew Bird's special Gezelligheid holiday shows this year, and she was kind enough to share her review with us.

I had the privilege of attending the second of Andrew Bird's three-night run of his special Gezelligheid shows at the historic Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago. He performed the Gezelligheid shows last year in the same venue and floored me so thoroughly that I lowered my expectation for this year's show, figuring that there are just some things you can't beat. That turned out to be unnecessary.

In addition to his usual four Specimen horns, this year Bird added what he called "hornlings," sixteen little maple box horns in a row on the front of the stage and five smaller black box horns in the back. They're quite striking close up. Lots of people went up to the stage before the show, took pictures, and looked them over. I had a second row seat on the aisle, about ten feet from the stage and maybe fifteen feet from Bird.

Where last year's show felt like a seamless symphony of effect, this year's show felt like a fun, experimental performance. When he spoke, his sheepish shyness last year was still there but with a stronger assertive element. He played mostly instrumentals and new music, including adding lyrics to a gorgeously melodic new instrumental song from last year's show (tentatively retitled "Eye on Eye"). "I hope you don't mind all the new songs," he said. "I learn something new whenever I play them for you. So you're part of the process." I had worried that Noble Beast's lush and sometimes alienatingly subtle layering pointed to a potential weird evolution of his style, that he might become too "fine," serious, and inaccessible in his next major release, but if the new songs he played are any indication, I'm wrong. He's still hilarious, and he's still going to play pretty melodies. I'm looking forward to what will be a great new album.

Bird threw in some old favorites like "Why," "Section 8 City," and in his encore, a guitar-only version of "Effigy" where he converted the lovely Irish-style violin solos into a whistled variation. He did a striking solo version of one of my favorites, "Tables & Chairs," which he admitted was the first time he'd tried it solo. There was also a cover of a great Alpha Consumer song "Crown Salesman," which includes the lyrics "trampling masses." "I thought the lyrics were 'trembling masses,'" Bird said, "but then I asked him about that, and he said they were 'trampling masses.' It refers to people being crushed to death. On Black Friday. Outside Target." He brought out his opening act, Jeff Parker, to play improvised guitar on the last few songs of the set. Bird, solo up to that point, changed his style a bit, deferring to Parker's additions and clearly switching to jam mode, which he seemed to love. He gave Parker such big warm smiles that he never gave us that I may have gotten a little jealous.

The view behind me. It's a beautiful church. The audience seemed a little more middle-aged this year, where last year they seemed more hipstery. I attribute to this to my buying a newly added show last year, so last year probably had a larger percentage of lazy young procrastinators. This year I scored a pre-sale ticket like a responsible adult/crazy stalker.

As a bonus, he solved a mystery for me. "Why" is one song I have always was thought out of character. Bird said that he likes to play it to relax him and work out his frustrations. It's a hot piece, and he plays the hell out of it, especially if you've ever obsessively Googled him and happened to find a smokin' hot video on YouTube of his almost over-the-top performance of the song at Bonnaroo. But Bird threatening to punish me if I show him my crime doesn't quite fit his persona, not that I'm complaining. Well my hunch was right. He explained that the song grew out of experiences with a college roommate, except Bird was the passive one. "He used to throw things at me, trying to get me mad. My brother did the same thing. I guess it's a pattern that's been repeating itself." Long pause. "I think I'm better now."

I admire Bird in part because he's an art form in and of himself. It's the same reason why I love Tom Waits. There's that effortless fashion style, that natural comic timing, and that uniquely deranged mind. Then there's Bird's charmingly disarming self-consciousness, his awareness that he's a little weird and that he hopes you don't mind. "I wrote this song after I was near Joshua Tree and got caught in this huge sandstorm. All those molecules flying everywhere. You start to think all your own molecules could be replaced right then. Which wouldn't be a bad thing. And then...um......." He shook his head. "I don't know what I'm talking about." I think I knew what he was talking about. To his fans, his weirdness makes perfect sense.

I have a rule about concert photography, and that is to take just one or two pics of the performer for memory then put the phone away. I never could understand people who record entire concerts or snap photos all night. That takes you out of the moment. So here is my lone photo of a blurry Bird. He took the scarf off within minutes and then yanked off his shoes, probably to make it easier to press all his looping pedals. He wore tomato red socks with gray heels and toes. Adorable.

The gift of seeing Bird live forces you to appreciate how much sound one man can make. Watching him assemble "Carrion Suite" from a single violin piece into a layered orchestral masterpiece in front of your eyes is a huge treat, even nicer than cake, and that's not even a song I liked that much before...until I watched him build it. And I really really like cake. Then, of course, there's seeing his violin artistry up close. He jabbed his bow at the audience so violently at one point that I worried the bow would fly out of his hand and stab an audience member in the eye, but I then noticed his violin case had an extra bow and I sighed with relief. Early on, he hit the strings with his bow so hard that a cloud of rosin floated into the spotlight. The motherfucker can play.

Fabulous show. If he does it again next year, I'm getting tickets for two nights, even if I'm homeless. If I'm not homeless, I might splurge for three.

Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area + HotChaCha

2010-12-17T09:00:00.005-05:00

Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

Fri, Dec 17| 8 PM (7 PM door)
The Horse Flies
Hiram Rapids Stumblers
$13 adv / $15 dos
Ballroom | All Ages

Sat, Dec 18| 9 PM (8 PM door)
Mr. Gnome
Hot Cha Cha
Soft Speaker
$8
Ballroom | All Ages

Sat, Dec 18| 9PM (8 PM door)
Music Saves / Square Records 7th Annual Holiday Get Down
Cloud Nothings
Herzog
Low in the Sky
Relaxer
$5
Tavern | All Ages

Thu, Dec 23| 8:30 PM (8 PM door)
Beachland Home for the Holidays

Ballroom
Bears - 12 AM
Afternoon Naps - 11 PM
NIGHTS - 10 PM
Diamonds & Pearls - 9 PM

Tavern
Roue - 12:30 AM
Harriet The Spy - 11:30 PM
Kill the Hippies - 10:30 PM
Filmstrip - 9:30 PM

$8
Ballroom & Tavern | All Ages

Grog Shop

Sat, Dec 18| 9 PM (8 PM doors)
Red, Black & Green Xmas
presented by Cleveland Tapes & Fair Trade Future, hosted by MuAmin Collective
featuring
The Mag-Nif
Keyel
San Goodee
LMNTL
Navy Blu
Ereact
Moriarity
DJ Ceven
$5 adv / $8 dos

Sun, Dec 19| 8 PM
Tinamou
Lowly, The Tree Ghost
Nick Zuber Band
Rebekah Jean
$5

Wed, Dec 22| 8 PM
Hip Hop Gives Back 3
Soul Kryziz
D Roof
Caine
Crazy8TheGreat featuring Cha~Cha, Mookie Motonio & Split Personality
$5 or free w/ non-violent toy donation

Thu, Dec 23| 10 PM
Ace & The Ragers
The Not So Good Ol’ Boys
Lords Of The Highway
$8

Now That's Class

Sat, Dec 18| 9 PM
Koffin Kats
Rockabye Ransom
Scoliosis Jones
$8

Wed, Dec 22| 9 PM
Weakness
Trees Understand Me
Two Hand Fools
Setbacks
$5 donation

Musica

Fri, Dec 17| 10 PM
Square Records/Music Saves 7th Annual Holiday Get Down
Low in the Sky
Relaxer
Cloud Nothings
Herzog
$5

Wed, Dec 22| 8 PM
Black Danielz
Raw Materials
PM 317
$5

Happy Dog

Sat, Dec 18| 9 PM
Party of Helicopters
Founding Fathers
Sun God
Octolope

The magnificent women of HotChaCha will not only be opening for mr. Gnome tomorrow night in one of the most awesome local match-ups possible, but they'll also be playing the Grog Shops X-mess show on Christmas day, along with Megachurch, CLOVERS and Born of the Yeti. My kind of fucking Christmas.

mr. Gnome Return Home

2010-12-16T09:20:00.004-05:00

Now that the news of the Black Keys move to Nashville has been officially announced, I can christen mr. Gnome as my favorite-local-band-that-is-still-local*... though, as seems to be the way of things, this will probably precipitate Nicole Barille and Sam Meister's move to distant lands. I'd like to apologize to all the other mr. Gnome fans in advance.

But until then, we have the chance to enjoy them here at home this Saturday when they headline a show at the Beachland Ballroom with another band of local awesomeness, HotChaCha, and Soft Speaker from Chicago. Our friend Nate Burrell was kind enough to share some beautiful photos with us of mr. Gnome's recent show in St. Louis, Missouri.

And here's some footage from their recent show in Tucson, Arizona:

mr. Gnome Official Website
HotChaCha @ Exit Stencil Recordings
Soft Speaker Official Website
The Beachland Ballroom

*For the record, I begrudge the Black Keys not one bit for their move, am glad they stayed in Ohio as long as they did and am really happy for them and excited for all the opportunities they have now.

photo copyright Nate Burrell - taken for KDHX Media

Rock 'n' Roll Photog: Christmas Music

2010-12-15T10:00:00.000-05:00

This week, Jennifer illustrates one of the great swaths of music where her taste and mine definitely do not overlap by putting together a compendium of favorite Christmas tunes, both profound and profane.

(I'm sick to death of Christmas music [and hate "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" with a passion]... but I love Dean Martin's defining rendition of "Baby, It's Cold Outside".)

There are a lot of things I genuinely love about the winter holiday season: my city dressed in her shiniest lights; the tiny, tiny children dancing in the Nutcracker who can't really dance yet and just wave at their parents; and Christmas music.

Yes, really. Not all of it, mind you; I have something of an allergy to any and all renditions of Santa Baby and Baby, It's Cold Outside, as well as most of the wretched sappy seasonal dreck on the radio. The following is a round-up of my favorite seasonal tunes, presented in no particular order, and interspersed with festive seasonal pictures from northern Manhattan.

All I Want for Christmas Is You, My Chemical Romance: Or, as my sister and I like to call it, All I Want for Christmas Is (Your Liver) . I am not quite sure how he managed it, but somehow Gerard Way made this song menacing, the kind of thing you would listen to while contemplating how to have someone (over) for holiday dinner with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. Needless to say, I love it and listen to it year-round.

Angels We Have Heard On High, The Family Force 5 Christmas Pageant, Family Force 5 : The sweet Georgia crunk version of this song; includes breakbeats and the line put your wings in the air like you just don't care. I don't really have to say anything else, do I?

Christmas Drag, The Brobecks: Have the elves failed to bring you the object of your affections again? Then this is the song for you. It's another one I listen to year-round because I just like it as a song, mostly for the thudding guitars. The Brobecks' non-Christmas music is ALSO delicious; check it out if you like intelligent pop tunes.

St. Stephens Day Murders, from Bells of Dublin, The Chieftains/Elvis Costello: I was baffled by this song the first time I heard it, partially because I had no idea what St. Stephen's Day had to do with anything, and partially because Elvis Costello mumbles. But really if you have ever had About Enough Family For One Day, Thank You, you too will sing along as he growls through and it's nice for the kids when you finally get rid of them (RID OF THEM) in the St. Stephen's Day Murders.

Carol of the Bells, from X Christmas, August Burns Red : I was a little bit wary of the whole collection at first, because hardcore Christmas carols, that sounds like it could be unfortunate. I plunged in, though, and this track, an instrumental version of this song, immediately became one of my favorite pieces of music, just for pure listening pleasure. There are shredding guitars and power-driving hardcore drums - you will want to bang your head – and they slam through the song with stunning and exacting precision, not wasting a single note.

Fairytale of New York, The Pogues: A classic, and for good reason. Shane McGowan and Kristy MacColl capture the two sides of New York in midwinter: the wind does go right through you, but the bells do also ring out. It's what's running through my head when I'm thinking cranky thoughts about That Stupid Tree in Rockefeller Center, and also when I'm navigating hushed, snowy streets.

Do You Hear What I Hear?, Bob Dylan: I've already told you about his version of Adeste Fidelis, which continues to be a thing of beauty and a joy forever. This is another track off the Christmas record he released last year, and is just delicious. There is nothing sappy or overwrought about his delivery, it's just him and his scratched up voice, singing the song. It's like a refreshing glass of cold water after too much over-sweet eggnog.

Oh Holy Night, from Christmas With Weezer, Weezer: I have four different versions of this song – The Chieftains, Harry Connick, Jr,, Sufijan Stevens, and this one – and Weezer's version is currently my favorite. The guitars are pure Weezer, alternating between delicate picking and a big fuzzy roar, and Rivers Cuomo soars over them, giving the song both some real punch and a whole new life, in the process.

Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer, Elmo and Patsy Shropshire: The Greaseman, a DJ at DC 101 back in the Dark Ages when I was in high school, used to kick off every Christmas season with this song, and to this day it just doesn't feel like Christmas until I've heard it on the radio. Or, as happened last year, heard someone singing it in the elevator in the subway.

And finally, some notable compilations and collections:

Excelsis: The Box Set , from Projekt: Three CDs of gothic/darkwave interpretations of traditional carols and songs. I bought the first one all the way back in 1995, and then lost it along the way. I was hunting for a digital download when I discovered they made two more, and decided to get all three. (They're on sale!) They're both mellow and delicately beautiful, and good to have on as quiet company for other tasks.

Songs for Christmas , Sufijan Stevens: There are five, count them, FIVE cds in this set. That is a lot of Christmas music, even for me, but if you dig his voice (I do) and his indie sensibility, it's one-stop shopping for soothing respite from Top 40 irritations.

Xmas 11, by The Yobs, the seasonal alter ego of The Boys. They have several Christmas records; I just happened to stumble over this particular one in a record store on Bleeker Street in 1999. It is a collection of the most brilliant perversions of Christmas songs ever recorded. I would quote lyrics, but they're unsuitable for a family ~~newspaper~~ blog. You can get a general idea here, start with "Oh Come All Ye Faithful", and I'm really totally serious, these are NOT SAFE FOR WORK and you should send small children and anyone with delicate sensibilities out of the room. You may also have to consciously remind yourself not to sing their version of Guantanamera out loud in public.

-- Jennifer

Bits: Roky Erickson & the Black Angels, Robert Pollard, the Black Keys, the Low Anthem

2010-12-14T10:11:00.004-05:00

Roky Erickson and the Black Angels: Night of the Vampire is now on Pitchfork's One Week Only.

Paste shares the details on Robert Pollard's latest batch of releases. Solo album on 1.18, Lifeguards on 2.15 and Mars Classroom on 3.29.

The Black Keys returned to the KCRW studios yesterday. You can watch or listen here.

If you haven't yet grabbed the free download of "Ghost Woman Blues" from the forthcoming Low Anthem album, Smart Flesh, you can hear it while watching their beautiful video.

Nicole Atkins: Take All I Can Get Until I'm Dirt and Bones

2010-12-13T10:10:00.006-05:00

They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but 'they' are generally full of shit. A study of the cover for Nicole Atkins' forthcoming album, Mondo Amore, will give you a good sketch of what's inside. New cozying up with old, light defined by dark, the rugged and the ethereal, beauty borne of unexpected juxtapositions.

Both lyrically and sonically, Mondo Amore is dramatic. The sweep of Atkins voice is often cinematic, and she is backed by instrumentation that often combines the more theatrical heights of '60s pop and soul productions with the guitar-centric heart of '70s rock. Sometimes the drama teeters on the edge of being overwrought, but Atkins generally saves herself with strong but modest musical sensibilities (I find hooks from this album, like the chorus of "Cry Cry Cry", popping into my head even after I haven't listened to the album for a couple of days) and those killer pipes.

Atkins is at her best when she leans more toward rock than pop, and the first track, "Vultures", is the head-and-shoulders-above-the-rest stand-out on this album, its dark and dirty grooves crashing against the shore of Atkins vocals as they wrap around images of greed and decay.

Mondo Amore drops ~~January 25~~ February 8, and Atkins hits the road again in February, supporting Cotton Jones.

Nicole Atkins Official Website

Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

2010-12-10T09:28:00.002-05:00

Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

Fri, Dec 10| 9 PM (8:30 PM door)
Whitey Morgan & The 78's
California Speedbag
The Lawton Brothers
$7
Tavern | All Ages

Sat, Dec 11| 9 PM (8 PM door)
Justice Rocks! Benefit for Community Shares
Founding Fathers
Madame & The Moist Towelettes
Wooly Bullies
Crooked River Blues Band
$10 Donation
Tavern | All Ages

Sun, Dec 12| 8 PM (7 PM door)
Bill Kirchen's Honky Tonk Holiday Show
Hillbilly Idol
$15
Ballroom | All Ages

Wed, Dec 15| 8:30 PM (8 PM door)
The Modern Electric
The Lighthouse & The Whaler
Humble Home
$5
Tavern | All Ages

Fri, Dec 17| 8 PM (7 PM door)
The Horse Flies
Hiram Rapids Stumblers
$13 adv / $15 dos
Ballroom | All Ages

Grog Shop

Sun, Dec 12| 8 PM
Uptowne Buddha
E Little
CG
Jali
$5

Now That's Class

Sat, Dec 11| 9 PM
Viva Le Vox
Patrons of Sweet
Exploding Lies
Gunfire Getdown!
$5 donation

Thu, Dec 16| 9 PM
HR Human Rights
Frank & Jesse
Fangs Out
$8

Happy Dog

Sat, Dec 11| 9 PM
Brian Olive
The Guitars
CLOVERS

House of Blues

Fri, Dec 10| 9 PM (8 PM doors)
Robert Randolph & The Family Band
Winslow
$22 GA/$35 Balcony

Center Court (Barberton)

Sun, Dec 12| 2 PM
Pirate Jenny Benefit Concert
2:00 Shivering Timbers
3:00 Tofu Fighters
4:00 Mike Lenz
5:00 Misery Jackals
6:00 Mo’ Mojo
7:00 Blonde Boy Grunt
8:00 First Offense
9:00 Missile Toe
10:00 The Woovs
$10

T-Model Ford: Taledragger

2010-12-09T09:06:00.004-05:00

The terms "gritty", "raw" and "real" have been used so many times to describe blues musicians throughout the decades that it almost seem insulting to use them now, but when a 90-year-old (according to Alive Records, anyway - seems like he ages a year every three months) man playing a fuzzed-out guitar sings about putting his foot in your ass, terms like that are bound to come up. One of Fat Possum Records' roster of "the last of the hill country bluesmen" out of northern Mississippi (which also included late greats Junior Kimbrough and R.L. Burnside), Ford is said to have first picked up a guitar at age 58, and he's not ready to put it down yet. (And despite lyrics about breaking arms and kicking asses, he's reported to be a sweet guy and a real charmer.)

January 11, 2011, will see the release of Ford's eighth album, Taledragger, with backing band GravelRoad, on Alive Records (on color vinyl [limited to 900 copies], 180 gram vinyl [limited to 100 copies and available exclusively by mailorder through Alive Records], as well as CD and digital formats). Have yourself a little preview:

T-Model Ford - Comin' Back Home

Ford is out on the Juke Joints & Dive Bars of the South tour right now. Check him out if you are able.

12.9 White Water Tavern / Little Rock, AR

12.10 Hi-Tone Cafe / Memphis, TN

12.11 JJ’s Bohemia / Chattanooga, TN

additional dates to be announced

T-Model Ford @ Alive Records

Photo: Robert Matheu

Rock 'n' Roll Photog: My Chemical Romance

2010-12-08T10:00:00.000-05:00

Yeah, you read that right. I'll just say this is completely Jennifer's thing and leave it at that.

The first time I saw My Chemical Romance was at Madison Square Garden, for the last show of their last tour. It was the first time I had ever been on the floor for a stadium show, and I remember at one point I turned to my sister and said Oh my god, we are really here and this is really happening.

On Friday night I had that same brief stunned moment of holy crap, this is not a dream about halfway through the evening, when Dr. Death Defying (aka Steve Righ?, or Steven Montano, of Mindless Self Indulgence) walked out onto the stage at Roseland and started doing the intro to Na Na Na. I was three rows back from the barrier, jammed up in the epicenter of the soon to be screaming, pogoing children, and I could feel the energy building in the crowd as they joined in, a little breathless but growing stronger with each word. Then Gerard Way walked out into the lights and the whole place went berserk.

It was an amazing show, y'all. They did a fairly even mix of their older work and songs from Danger Days, which is the new record, though my heart particularly lifted when they kicked into I'm Not Okay because I will love that song always and forever. Pulling out other highlights is kind of impossible, because it was like we all came home, and they were there waiting for us so we could sing and dance together, clapping and stomping and howling over the dueling guitars. Even I, decrepit as I am, joined in the pogoing for Planetary (GO!) and Desolation Row. Afterwards I walked out sweaty and sore and excited to do it all over again in April and May when they come back on a proper tour.

Anyway, taking pictures during all of this was . . . a challenge. A lot of them are, as I like to say, "atmospheric", by which I mean, you'll get more of an idea of the lights and smoke and color than their actual faces. But I did get a few good ones. The following are a selection of my favorite images:

Gerard Way, during "Cancer", and probably my favorite shot of the evening:

Gerard Way again, during the encore; "It's fake fur!" he informed us, after putting it on. Also, it is really difficult to take a performance picture of Gerard Way in which he is not striking a campy pose.

My other favorite from the evening is Mikey Way and his sparkly bass:

I was on the other side of the stage from Frank Iero, and lost amid a sea of arms, so I didn't get very many good pictures. I honestly couldn't see him half the time. But this one I like:

And finally Ray Toro, who wins the "this picture is totally blown out, but I kind of love it anyway" prize this week:

And in conclusion, one of the Way brothers that I just like for the appropriately post-apocalyptic atmosphere:

Other notes: The first opening band was the radio station "house band," and they were so boring and awful I would have preferred to listen to twenty minutes of Creed. Scott Stapp may be a bombastic disaster but at least he isn't dull. The second band was The Gaslight Anthem, who have recently released their third record, and are much better now that they've stopped shoehorning Springsteen references into all of their lyrics.

-- Jennifer

Bits: A Place to Bury Strangers, Hell and Half of Georgia, Clean Hands, The Low Anthem, Drive-By Truckers

2010-12-07T08:58:00.003-05:00

A Place to Bury Strangers had their van stolen in Rome. Here's some info from their Facebook: "Looks like we had over 15K in merch money and belongings stolen from the van. Add in the cancelled shows, the excess van rental charges and we have been pummeled financially. We've set up a paypal donation link if any of you feel like helping us replace the belongings of our crew. We hesitate to do this but feel horrible about what happened to everyone's things:" If you can, donate here.

In better news, our friends in Hell and Half of Georgia will be playing a gig on December 11 in Lake Forest, California.

Nick Berg of Conrad Plymouth has released an EP with his band Clean Hands. We're digging it. D/L it here.

You can download "Ghost Woman Blues" from the forthcoming Low Anthem album on their site and check up on their 2011 tour dates.

And if you don't have enough downloads today, Drive-By Truckers have made an mp3 of their awesome song "Used to be a Cop" available on their site.

Bit: Bobby Bare, Jr.

2010-12-07T08:27:00.004-05:00

Obviously, I love me some music. And I love me some music documentaries. I'll even watch docs about bands I don't really dig because I find the behind-the-scenes peeks and the glimpses into the more mundane aspects of the lives of musicians so interesting.

So, how much more entertaining would a music doc be if it was about a character like Bobby Bare, Jr.? Well, you'll get to find out as this doc - currently called The Untitled Bobby Bare Jr. Documentary - is being made now, and NTSIB is teaming up with the filmmakers to bring you information and updates on the project.

For REEL!
The Untitled Bobby Bare Jr Documentary is in production!
Lots of new and updates on the film are coming soon!
Get more info on the film and sign up for the mailing list here:
www.untitledbobbybarejrdocumentary.com

Stay tuned for more updates down the line.

Crash Avenue Comp for a Special Cause

2010-12-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

The folks at Crash Avenue seem like a good bunch, and they're dedicating their monthly compilation to the Andy Kotowicz Family Foundation. Here's what they have to say:

We were greatly saddened by the untimely passing of Sub Pop's Andy Kotowicz. Yet, I think I can speak for all of us when we say we're also inspired by the heroism of Seattle business owner Kenny Johnson, who raced to the scene to save Andy's young daughter, and made a valiant effort to save Andy as well. While we only knew Andy for a brief moment, we can say without hesitation that the gang at Sub Pop are some of the most down-to-earth, awesome people to work with - all the more remarkable when considering the size and influence of the label.

After five compilations showcasing some of our favorite discoveries (as well as friends' musical endeavors) and ripping on our blog friends a bit with love and reverence, the Crash Avenue Comp Series has quickly become an exciting monthly program, and as such, it seems only right that we use what we've built here to help Andy's family. Starting with our December release, you can download the full compilation with a Radiohead name-your-own-price structure, with all proceeds going to the Andy Kotowicz Family Foundation. You can find out more here.

You can download the comp here. The Cheyenne Marie Mize cover of PJ Harvey's "Down by the Water" is suitably cool.

Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area + Shivering Timbers

2010-12-02T17:58:00.007-05:00

Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

Fri, Dec 3| 8:30 PM (8 PM door)
Rock-Unroll
A Benefit for the Cleveland AIDS Taskforce
Megachurch
Craig Ramsey
Field Trip
Juggler / Magician: Charlie Peachock
$5 adv / $7 dos
Ballroom | All Ages

Sat, Dec 4| 9 PM (8 PM door)
Wussy
State Bird
Old Boy
$8
Tavern | All Ages

Sun, Dec 5| 8:30 PM (8 PM door)
Shivering Timbers (CD Release)
Rebekah Jean
$6
Tavern | All Ages

Wed, Dec 8| 8 PM (7:30 PM door)
Chasin' Gus' Ghost
A documentary on the history of jug band music
Presented by Ohio Independent Film Fesitival
$8 ($5 admission with Jim Kweskin ticket)
Ballroom | All Ages

Wed, Dec 8| 9 PM (8 PM door)
Cary Ann Hearst
& Michael Trent
Maura Rogers
Jason Patrick Meyers
$8.00
Tavern | All Ages

Fri, Dec 10| 8 PM (7 PM door)
Jim Kweskin
Geoff Muldaur
$20 adv / $22 dos
Ballroom | All Ages

Grog Shop

Sun, Dec 5| 8 PM
? and the Mysterians
The Alarm Clocks
$15

Kent Stage

Sat, Dec 4| 8 PM
Over the Rhine
$25

We attempted to do a round-up of Dan Auerbach-produced acts, but that's an exercise in futility because, as the subject line of that post states, dude never stops. This Sunday at the Beachland Tavern, there will be a record release show for another Dan Auerbach producing job - that of Shivering Timbers' new album We All Started In The Same Place. Check out their slinky arrangement of "Crooked Old Man".

Rebirth of the Cool: Ohio Covers Ohio, Part Two

2010-12-02T10:00:00.000-05:00

When you hear the phrase "Ohio bands", one of the first names that should pop into your head is Guided By Voices. If it isn't, we may have to sit down and have a long talk. Birthed in 1983 in Dayton and led by a high-kicking former teacher and one of the most prolific artists around, Robert Pollard, GBV slammed through 16 studio albums and 16 EPs (plus 3 split EPs) before saying farewell in 2004.

In the meantime, they commanded a hell of a lot of love and respect not only from fans, but also from other bands, including fellow Daytonians the Breeders, who covered "Shocker in Gloomtown" on their 1993 album Last Splash. I love this video for the Breeders' cover for the idea it gives that A) Dayton bands roam the streets of town and B) have nothing better to do than spy on each other's practic sessions.

GBV reunited this year to tour and show the kids how it's done, while sending GBV fans into paroxysms of ecstasy. Here's "Shocker" 2010-style.

GBV returned the favor during their 1995 tour by covering the Breeders' "Invisible Man". Unfortunately, we don't have the GBV cover available, but you can easily imagine it from the Breeders original. This song sounds like it was practically written for Pollard and company.
ers, video

Rock 'n' Roll Photog: Dogboy & Justine

2010-12-01T10:00:00.003-05:00

Hey NTSIBbers, Help Some Cool People Put On a Show!

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, it's Jennifer here, and I'd like to introduce you to my friends Racheline Maltese and Erica Kudisch, also known as Treble Entendre, and the musical they're working on, called Dogboy & Justine. It's an adaptation of a short play that Racheline wrote – I saw it last winter in Queens, and it was sharp and funny and amazing – and they need some assistance with getting it all the way to a stage. Here they are to tell you more about it:

NTSIB: There's some information about your experience in music and theater work on the Dogboy & Justine Workshop Kickstarter page , but is there anything else that you have you participated in that people outside New York could watch or listen to or read?

Racheline: I'm Vito's Roadhouse Dancer #10 in Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road, and while uncredited, I'm also a dying junkie in American Gangster. I've a lot of publication credits, but in terms of writing on pop-culture [you] can check out Whedonistas, an anthology from Mad Norwegian Press, in which I have an essay that talks about my relationship to gender and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I've also got several pieces (including one relevant to Dogboy & Justine) in Idol Musings: Selected Writings from an Online Writing Competition from Fey Publishing.

Erica: And I'm not exactly a staple of the opera world, not yet anyway, but I have performed roles in Pittsburgh and Boston. As publication credits go I'm responsible for the current State of Research (the annotated bibliography of sources to date as of 2007) in the Video Game Music anthology From Pac Man to Pop Music .

NTSIB: What is Dogboy & Justine about? What are the stories you are telling?

Racheline: We like to call it a story about "life, love, and head injuries" and it very much comes out of our feelings about New York and the way that everyone here has to live so many different lives, even if they aren't carrying around stigmatized secrets like sex-work. New York is one of the world's biggest cities, and that means it has tons of small quasi-secret worlds. But doing what you have to do to survive – to pay your rent, to follow your dreams, to meet your desires – those are really common stories, and those are the stories we're telling, just in an uncommon way. Although, we are using a somewhat conventional format to tell them -- the musical theater backstage story.

Erica: Which is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting parts of the story. I've described it before as a "girl comes to the big city and gets a weird job" story just like 42nd Street and Thoroughly Modern Millie and Wonderful Town. But the spin D&J puts on it doesn't just tell a good story on its own, but it also takes apart those other stories and lends new depth to them.

NTSIB:What are some of the challenges of transitioning it from regular play to musical play?

Erica:The first big challenge is expanding it. Musical theater has different format conventions and requirements than straight theater. There are some composers who take the song-as-reflection stance (most classical musicals do this, like those by Rodgers and Hammerstein), and others who treat the music more operatically and have song-as-heightened action (Sondheim does this, sometimes Schwartz). I have to lay down what rules the music follows as I write it and make sure the audience can still believe that these characters have to sing in order to speak.

And I think the next hurdle comes when I have to decide what each of the characters sounds like. I'm also writing the lyrics, so that's a little easier, and I can approach their personalities with words as much as with music. But with a cast like this, it'll be really easy--and fun--to differentiate between their styles.

NTSIB: What are your musical influences? Where does D&J fit in the broad spectrum of musical theater, which includes Broadway/Golden Age musicals like 42nd Street and South Pacific as well as Glee and American Idiot? Is D&J "your father's Oldsmobile", or something completely different?

Erica: I'm an opera nerd. A lot of my influence is classical. Then again, so was Freddie Mercury's. I've joked about the style I use when I write more classical pieces as Wagner-after-NIN. That influence definitely still persists when I write pop and musical theatre pieces, because I can't turn my brain off.

But that's good, because that means D&J will have a weird and cool sound. So far it's really jazz-influenced with this sense of the chords not going quite where you'd expect, and changing time signatures and irregular phrase lengths. The progressions are getting a little Radiohead in places, and, well, a lot Queen. Definitely not your father's Oldsmobile--or maybe it was before you tricked it out and replaced the motor with a nuclear reactor.

Racheline: I'm someone who grew up on traditional Broadway and Golden Age musicals, but I'm also someone who is all over things like Wicked and Avenue Q and the really fantastic Passing Strange, which was created by Stew and Heidi Rodewald, and there's a great concert film of it from Spike Lee. So I think you'll ultimately find all these things in what we create. There are a few reasons our production company is called Treble Entendre, and one of them is that we love to bend expected stuff in unexpected ways.

NTSIB: What else are you working on?

Erica: If you want to check out INCEPTION: THE MUSICAL, it's up on the Treble Entendre website! That's the first project Racheline and I worked on together. It is, as you can guess from the title, a spoof musical based on the film Inception and the kinds of reactions there have been to it in the press, and also makes fun of the Joss Whedon musicals and movie musical resurgence tropes.

We're also going to put on a fundraiser in the spring, "Key Change". That's going to be a cabaret evening in which we use Broadway and musical theater standards and sing them completely unaltered--except for the performers. It's like D&J in that we're taking the old Broadway style and shedding new light on it.

And later next year, we're hoping to put on one of my short operas, a modernization of Pygmalion--the Ovid, not the Shaw. It's a weird and aggressive piece about art and populism and copyright infringement. Perfect topics for an opera.

NTSIB:And finally, the "what is the money for?" question.

Racheline: The funds will allow us to rent a theater for a week-long run of a workshop production. It will also allow us to rent studio space for the casting and rehearsal process, print programs, and do some basic publicity, as well as provide us some funds for sets and costume. It will also allow us to make sure that everyone who works on the show gets paid. We believe that artists deserve to get paid for their work and that means every cast member, every musician, every tech who works on the show will get a fee. We get paid last, if we get paid at all, and also only at stipend rates.

If there's anything left-over it gets put back into the pool for future bigger and better productions. Right now we've already put about $500 of our own funds into getting this process up and running, but the best way to guarantee the people we work with get treated well is to have a guaranteed pool of funds to work with -- that's what Kickstarter is going to allow us to do.

Hopefully this will just be a first step in a project that really will generate jobs for working artists. Also, because one of our main characters is living with a disability, we're going to set aside a portion of the door proceeds to benefit the Brain Injury Foundation of America, and that's always going to be a part of what's going on with this particular show. From the workshop, we're writing them a check for at least $200, but depending on ticket sales and audience generosity that number may be higher.

***The Dogboy & Justine Kickstarter deadline is December 21!***

Eddie Kirkland/The Alarm Clocks/The Gories at the Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH, 11.27.10

2010-11-29T08:21:00.004-05:00

This past Saturday night at the Beachland (a busy day for the venue on all fronts with four different events taking place) felt more like a package tour out of the 1950s than your regular a-headliner-and-two-openers show. The mirror ball was spinning, and New York DJ Mr. Fine Wine (check out his WFMU Friday night show Soulville) painted the scene with groovin' chunks of early soul between sets.

Eddie Kirkland

Kirkland's name might be a little obscure, but his history should make even the most casual music fan pay attention. Aside from his own modest hit "The Hawg" (released on Stax/Volt in 1963 under the name Eddie Kirk), Kirkland played second guitar for John Lee Hooker on a number of recordings throughout the '50s and toured in Otis Redding's live band for a while in the early '60s.

After spending most of his pre-show time sitting behind his amp, waiting for his backing band (second guitar, bass guitar, drums and keys) to arrive, Kirkland suffered a little from a hurried soundcheck (this apparently stemming from the fact that the ballroom was occupied all day by Genghis Con). However, once he got going, he gathered an appreciative crowd from the still-sparse patronage of the ballroom. Kirkland specializes in a mix of electric dance blues and soul - the kind of music the encompassing term "rhythm and blues" was first invented to cover. On some songs, you could practically hear a horn section, and it was hard not to imagine the kind of show Kirkland could put on if he had the full band his music deserves. Building up steam throughout his set, it felt like Kirkland had really just hit his peak when his time was over, and the 87-year-old "Gypsy of the Blues" with the jewel-bedecked guitar exited the stage to the cheers of a now switched-on audience.

The Alarm Clocks

Formed in Parma, Ohio, in 1965, the Alarm Clocks took a long time off when guitarist Bruce Boehm was drafted into the army in 1967. Their music resurfaced in 1983 when their songs "Yeah" and "No Reason to Complain" were included on the first Back from the Grave compilation (a series credited with inspiring Jon Spencer to begin his career in music), and Norton Records released an Alarm Clocks album culled from early recordings in 2000. The band reformed in 2006 and have put out their second album since that time, Wake Up.

While the Alarm Clocks are a fully competent band and bass player/vocalist Mike Pierce has an impressive scream, their straight-ahead '60s garage rock felt a little too straight-ahead to me, and my interest in the music waned as the set went on (not even to be re-awakened by a cover of Bo Diddley's "I'm Alright", though this may have been a cover of a cover given that the Alarm Clocks call it "It's Alright", just as Spacemen 3 did when they recorded the song). But it should be taken into account that I have never been the biggest fan of this style of music, and the band received an enthusiastic reception from many in the audience, including the Gories.

The Gories

Dan Kroha was going to have a good time with the Gories' soundcheck whether the sound man liked it or not. The singer/guitarist/harmonica wailer is about 200 pounds of personality in a 100 pound frame and was a clear indicator that the Gories' set of serious rockin' was not going to be serious. As seems to be the case for any of singer/guitarist Mick Collins' bands (see the Dirtbombs, the Screws, Blacktop, etc., ad naseum), energy was the name of the game.

Don't know the Gories? Jack White sure does. Take a listen through the Gories' catalogue, and you'll easily catch the influence that the band - who formed in 1986, broke up in 1993 and reunited in 2009 - had on the White Stripes, right down to specific riffs.

Kicking off, appropriately, with "Hey Hey, We're the Gories", the Detroit three-piece - rounded out by Peg O'Neill on toms - immediately sawed into the skulls of the Beachland crowd (which seemed like it had gone through a complete rotation from the beginning of the night) with their trademark don't-call-it-garage rock. They threw out songs like "Sister Ann", "Feral" and "Telepathic" with bombast and love. Kroha looked like he was going to blow a nut as he wailed away on his harmonica during "You Don't Love Me", but, unfortunately, those of us positioned in front of Collins were unable to hear most of the fruits of Kroha's labor (again, a less-hasty soundcheck would have been beneficial).

While the crowd was clearly a few steps behind Kroha, spurring him to comment midway through, "Oh, you liked that one, did you? Finally decided to wake up?", they'd finally all caught up by the end. When the band returned for an encore, Kroha gave the audience the audience a loving middle finger before the Gories launched into a rowdy call-and-response version of "Thunderbird ESQ" and topped things off with "Nitroglycerine".

Then, around 1:00 A.M., it was all over too soon. Like the best shows, the Gories leave you with excess energy and a jones for more, and I personally would be happy to see the Gories (and most any of Collins' other bands) several nights in a row. And if you have even an inkling of interest in catching the Gories, don't sit on it because Collins' limited attention span - and the fact that O'Neill was reportedly pretty much done with the tour before it even began - may mean this reunion doesn't last long.

Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area

2010-11-26T10:00:00.002-05:00

Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

Sat, Nov 27| 9 PM (8 PM door)
The Gories
The Alarm Clocks
Eddie Kirkland
DJ Mr. Fine Wine
$15
Ballroom | All Ages

Thu, Dec 2| 9 PM (8:30 PM door)
The Sights (Detroit)
Founding Fathers
Very Knees
DJ Mr. Fishtruck
$6
Tavern | All Ages

Grog Shop

Fri, Nov 26| 9 PM
The Cowslingers
Death by Rodeo
$10

Now That's Class

Mon, Nov 29| 9 PM
Zoobombs
Valley Boys
Loon
Swindlella
$5 donation

Happy Dog

Fri, Nov 26| 9 PM
Conspiracy of Owls
CLOVERS
Nights

Sat, Nov 27| 9 PM
Gabe Schray: The Band
Tadpoles
HotChaCha
Manor Lady

The Winchester

Sat, Nov 27| 9 PM
Kelly Richey
Diana Chittester
$10 adv / $12 dos

The Poison Tree: My Only Friend

2010-11-25T10:00:00.001-05:00

Ah, here it is again, Thanksgiving in the States, another holiday about which people have Complicated Feelings. But let me boil it down to this: It's a good day for being thankful. I'm thankful for the usual family-and-friends thing, but I'm also very thankful for music and for everyone who reads NTSIB. It's been a crazy year with the inception of this blog, and so much of it has been crazy good.

As a little token of my appreciation, here's a sweet little song for you by the Poison Tree, a.k.a. Steve Salett, with a little help from friends, including Dawn Landes.

The Poison Tree - My Only Friend

Rock 'n' Roll Photog: The Frames 20th Anniversary Tour

2010-11-24T10:00:00.002-05:00

Today, Jennifer shows us how far Glen Hansard has come from And And Fucking And. (I don't have a long memory, I just happen to have re-watched The Commitments recently.)

You may be most familiar with Glen Hansard's voice from his being half of The Swell Season, or perhaps from his appearing in and writing all the music for the movie Once, or, if you have a very long memory, from his smaller role in The Commitments. The Frames is his regular band, and this past Saturday night they made a stop at Terminal 5 as part of their 20th Anniversary Tour.

Glen Hansard, singing Disappointed

The Frames, if you don't know them, are from Dublin, but unlike other Irish bands such as the Saw Doctors or the Pogues, they mostly don't have a "traditional" sound. I say "mostly" because they do have Colm Mac Con Iomaire and his magnificent mournful violin winding through their big fuzzy guitars like a dark, shimmering ribbon.

Colm Mac Con Iomaire and Glen Hansard

I've actually been puzzling over how to describe them since the show, and "loud-soft-loud-hyperarticulate-howl-of-rage" would be accurate, but so would "spare, sharp, bittersweet and delicate romantic melodies." For examples of these variations, see "Fake," off of Burn the Maps and also "New Partner," from The Roads Outgrown, respectively.

Joe Doyle

And, some news for established Frames fans: during one of their many encores (there were at least three!), Joe Doyle sang a song they had composed that day, which if the lyrics are anything to go by will probably be called "You Can't Hide Your Love". Or maybe "You Can't Hide Your Love (For Someone Else)" since it was something of an elegy for the end of a love affair. In any case I hope they record it soon because I would like to listen to it about a million more times.

-- Jennifer

Bits: Atlas Sound, Justin Townes Earle, The Wu-Tang Clan, Conrad Plymouth, The Black Keys

2010-11-23T09:23:00.007-05:00

Atlas Sound has released two free albums this week. Download Bedroom Databank Vol. 1 here and Bedroom Databank Vol. 2.

Justin Townes Earle has updated his tour schedule, including some European dates and a show at the Kent Stage on February 8 with Jessica Lea Mayfield.

The Wu-Tang Clan has announced a full tour.

Our friends and internet drinking buddies Conrad Plymouth have announced a series of Wisconsin and Minnesota live dates, including the Muzzle of Bees 6th Anniversary show.

It's been 11 days since I've mentioned anything Black Keys-related, but our friends at Rubber City Review have afforded me the opportunity to do it again. They have joined the dark side and finally become a part of the Twitter stream, and to promote this new foray, they have a special contest to win a pair of tickets to the sold-out Black Keys New Year's Eve show in Chicago.

This isn't really news, but Gorilla Vs. Bear posted their favorite videos of 2010, and it gives me the opportunity to mention one of my favorite albums of 2010 as their #1 video is Gil Scott-Heron's "Me and the Devil" from his gorgeous album I'm New Here.

Rebirth of the Cool: Trick Bag

2010-11-22T08:51:00.003-05:00

As I've copped to before, sometimes I discover great music through questionable sources. For example, my discovery trail to Earl King's "Trick Bag" began in 1990 thanks to a cassette tape that featured one of the most ubiquitous songs of that era. But let's start at the beginning...

Released in 1962, King's original has a solid, loping, irresistible groove and an engaging story.

In 1964, Seattle band the Artesians took the song and added layers of noise and bombast with muscular organ and lots of hi-hat. I swear if you put your face close enough to the speaker when you listen to this version, you'll feel your hair blown back. (Incidentally, if anyone has information on this band, please let me know. I'm having trouble turning up much on them.)

Now let's leap to the '90s. In 1990, Robert Palmer created a cultural phenomenon with his video for "Addicted to Love" - you know the one, with the heavily made-up, dead-eyed ladies in their little, black dresses. Despite the fact that everyone grew sick to death of that song, the album it came from, Riptide, was actually pretty good for its time and was loaded with some fairly non-conventional twists, including Palmer's slightly disco-ish cover of "Trick Bag".

Then in '91, the guitar returned to save our souls, and in '92, the Gories brought "Trick Bag" back to its roots, hitting somewhere between the sparse groove of the King original and the freak-out of the Artesians cover.

Trick Bag by The Gories

Notable Shows in the Greater Cleveland Area + The Gories

2010-11-19T09:38:00.002-05:00

Shows worth checking out this week in and around Cleveland:

The Beachland Ballroom & Tavern

Fri, Nov 19| 8:30 PM (7:30 PM door)
Asylum Street Spankers
Caravan of Thieves
$18 adv / $20 dos
Ballroom | All Ages

Fri, Nov 19| 9 PM (8 PM door)
Whiskey Daredevils
Lords of the Highway
45 Spider
$7
Tavern | All Ages

Sun, Nov 21| 8 PM (7 PM door)
Raquy & the Cavemen
Durga Dance Company
$10 adv / $12 dos
Ballroom | All Ages

Sun, Nov 21| 8 PM (7 PM door)
Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Misery Jackals
$10
Tavern | All Ages

Wed, Nov 24| 8:30 PM (8 PM door)
The Floorwalkers (cd release)
The Modern Electric
Tom Evanchuck
$8
Ballroom | All Ages

Wed, Nov 24| 9 PM (7 PM door)
This Way Out 5th Anniversary Show
Afternoon Naps
Clovers
Dreadful Yawns
(Bands start playing @ 9PM
Free appetizers 7 PM to 9 PM)
$5
Tavern | All Ages

Grog Shop

Sat, Nov 20| 9 PM
No Age
Lucky Dragons
Herzog
$12 adv / $14 dos

Sun, Nov 21| 8 PM
Free Energy
Hollerado
The Globes
$8

Now That's Class

Sat, Nov 20| 1 PM - 7 PM
Bling Bling Bazaar
(featuring vendors, DJ’s, food)
Beardo Bandini
Jukebox Value
Muamin Collective
Vigatron
FREE

Sun, Nov 21| 9 PM
Destroy Nate Allen
Beckett & Friends
Back to Bouvet
19 Action News (cd release)
Dan Polo
$5 donation

Musica

Sat, Nov 20| 7 PM
River City Extension
The Modern Electric
Shivering Timbers
Tinamou
$8

Sat, Nov 20| 10 PM
Party of Helicopters
Sun God
New Body Type
$5

Wed, Nov 24| 10 PM
Cap C & Random X
$5

The Kent Stage

Fri, Nov 19| 8 PM
Kent State Folk Festival
Loudon Wainwright
Shawn Colvin
$40 / $65

Happy Dog

Fri, Nov 19| 9 PM
Benefit for Secondhand Mutts
Misery Jackals
Scoliosis Jones

The Gories are coming! The Gories are coming! I first encountered the gigantic and gigantically cool Mick Collins when his band the Dirtbombs opened for the Detroit Cobras at the Beachland Ballroom. The Dirtbombs blew that place up and made the Detroit Cobras seem flaccid in comparison. Now Mick Collins is back together with his old friends in the Gories, and they'll be playing the Beachland on November 27.

Paolo Conte: [Imagine Something in Italian Here]

2010-11-18T09:47:00.003-05:00

It's tough being a fan of singer/songwriter/pianist Paolo Conte if you don't know much Italian. I first heard Conte's music while working in a bookstore in northern California thanks to one of my spectacular co-workers playing Conte's Best of... CD over the PA. I fell in love with the music - which, though I tend to shy away from direct artist comparisons, I have often described to people as "if Tom Waits sang French songs in Italian" - but it's been difficult keeping up with him since.

You may well have heard Conte, too, as songs like "Come Di" and "Via Con Me" have been used in a couple of American films (like the Cleveland-set Welcome to Collinwood). His bi-lingual music is often upbeat and infectious but also ranges to the utterly beautiful. A lawyer as well as a musician (his family have been solicitors for generations), he is known to accompany himself by producing trumpet sounds with his mouth.

And it just so happens that he released a new album last month called Nelson (in honor of his dog).

Italian journal-makers Moleskine love Conte, too, and have produced a lovely special edition Nelson journal.

You can purchase Nelson on Amazon and iTunes Italy (though apparently not iTunes U.S.). And your guess is as good as mine on where to get the Moleskine journal.

Paolo Conte Official Website

Rock 'n' Roll Photog: Video Round-Up

2010-11-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

This week, Jennifer makes NTSIB one of the few places on the internet where you will see the words "killer xylophone action" used together.

No shows this week, so I'm dipping into the video vault (aka YouTube) to highlight some music I've enjoyed recently:

Jail Weddings – I Just Thought You Were Someone I Knew

I have already enthused at y'all about their EP Inconvenient Dreams, which is a five-song slice of joy. Now I am here to be flappy and flaily about their latest full-length release, Love is Lawless, which is both delicious and dirty. As you will see from the video, there are a lot of them, and they harmonize beautifully while singing songs with titles like "What Did You Do With My Gun?" The track in this video is something of a bitter kiss-off to a cruel, inconstant lover, with some killer xylophone and fiddle action.

Tour status: They just wrapped up a West Coast run, but it looks like they'll be playing at The Echo in Los Angeles on Nov. 29, along with The Black Apples, Dante vs Zombies, and My Pet Saddle.

Surfer Blood – Floating Vibes

A couple of weeks ago I had cause to get up at 5 in the morning to watch Subterranean a show on MTV wherein they actually play videos. (I know! On MTV! Has the world slipped off its axis?) The show is meant to be the reanimation of 120 Minutes, but it doesn't quite get there, mainly because – at least in the episode I saw – the artist being interviewed between videos doesn't seem to have much of a connection to what is being played. The videos themselves were actually quite interesting. I pulled this one out to share specifically because I like the "cable access tv" visual style they have going on, as well as their guitars.

Tour status: Currently running around Europe with Interpol, though they will be part of the Bruise Cruise to the Bahamas in February.

Christina Perri – "Jar of Hearts"

Perri recently rocketed up the charts and into a record deal almost literally overnight after this song was featured on So You Think You Can Dance Canada. I happen to like this version better than the "official" video because I think it being just her and the piano showcases the power of her voice. Also, this is the kind of song you play - loudly, repeatedly, and as often as necessary - to stop yourself from taking a bad boy/girlfriend back into your life.

Tour status: She's making appearances at various Christmas-special style shows; check her listings to see if there is one near you!

-- Jennifer

Bits: Sub Pop's Andy Kotowicz, Einstürzende Neubauten, Tom Waits and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Low Anthem, Raekwon

2010-11-16T10:06:00.004-05:00

On October 24 of this year, Sub Pop executive Andy Kotowicz was killed in a car accident, leaving behind a wife and young daughter. On December 4, the Showbox will host a benefit concert for the Andy Kotowicz Family Foundation, featuring A-Frames/AFCGT, Fruit Bats, Mudhoney, Michael Yonkers, Pissed Jeans, Shabazz Palaces, Vetiver, and Wolf Eyes.

At 2:00 PM EST (if my calculations are correct) today, November 16, Arte will have a live webcast of Einstürzende Neubauten's 30th anniversary show in Paris.

Beginning Friday, November 19, Preservation Hall will have for sale a special 78 of Tom Waits and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band's recording of "Tootie Ma is a Big Fine Thing", signed and numbered by Ben Jaffe. (Online sales begin November 20.)

The Low Anthem have announced that their new album Smart Flesh will be released on February 22.

November 13 would have been the inimitable Ol' Dirty Bastard's 42nd birthday. In memory, Raekwon has released the video "Ason Jones".

Young Circles: I've Got Shit for Brains, and They're Out of Stock

2010-11-15T10:00:00.000-05:00

You can't go wrong when you start your album out with feedback, at least in my book. So, Young Circles had me at 'SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH' with the first song off their forthcoming debut EP Bones (out 1.11.11). But feedback will only get you so far, and Young Circles keep up (and expand on) the interest with some seriously heavy low-end, Britpop-style vocals and decidedly infectious grooves. And for a three-piece, these guys throw a lot at you in one song, sometimes flowing from sweet to jarring in seconds. There are layers of good things here.

"Sharp Teeth" is my favorite track off of Bones, with it's clap-stomp rhythm and rap-chanting. Check it out, download it, love it.

Young Circles - Sharp Teeth

Young Circles Official Website