The barstools built for dreamers
We'll fit fine and find
All the worlds dreams have died
But tonight they're only taking thirsty people
Who've been pullin' on their drinks
From a glass that lies a bar length wide...
Big Black Delta is a solo project of Mellowdrone vocalist/bassist Jonathan Bates. He spent his younger years in Venzezuela and then moved to Miami, FL. He was attending Berklee College of Music in Boston when he jumped at an opportunity to head to California. He and a buddy formed the band Mellowdrone and toured for ten or so years before calling it quits. He states that the band was at their limit with the whole touring gig and just wanted to stop. He has been working on his solo project since 2009 and hopes to put out his debut album sometime this year. Big Black Delta has teamed up with other artists such as War Widow, Alessandro Cortini, and Morgan Kibby. This song strays away from the usual electronic influenced sound that is Big Black Delta, but shows his range as an artist. This is "Dreary Moon" off of BBDEP1.
M83 is an electronic/dream pop act by French musician Anthony Gonzalez. It is named after a spiral galaxy, Messier 83. The band was founded in 2001 by Gonzalez and former member Nicolas Fromageau in Antibes, France. The musical style of M83 owes something to the shoegazing genre in its extensive use of reverb effects and lyrics spoken softly over loud instrumentals, although M83's songs employ considerably less guitar than most shoegazing bands. Gonzalez and Fromageau parted ways shortly after touring for their second album Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts, and now Gonzalez records mainly on his own. He employs the help of his brother Yann Gonzalez (composing), Morgan Kibby (vocals/keys), Pierre-Marie Maulini (guitar/bass), and Loïc Maurin (drums). This is "Midnight City" off of their upcoming release (October 2011) Hurry Up, We're Dreaming.
A Place to Bury Strangers are a New York–based noise rock band. The lineup is composed of Oliver Ackermann (guitar/vocals), Dion Lunadon (bass) and Jay Space (drums). In early Spring 2010 original member Jono MOFO decided to leave the band for personal reasons (after recently getting married) rather than tour with the band during their US tour. He was replaced by Dion. The band plays a heavy, atmospheric wall of sound-influenced blend of psychedelic rock, shoegaze and space rock. Throughout their formative years, the band's live shows got increasingly chaotic which garnered them the title of New York City's "loudest band" from various indie reviewers and bloggers. The sonically overdriven sound they've accomplished is no clumsy accident, but a carefully cultivated and well-maintained entity all its own, fostered by an unbridled passion that's clearly evident in every live show they play and each recording they make. A Place To Bury Strangers does not so much play songs as allow them to pour out. They are songs about longing, heartbreak and confusion played extremely well and at a passionately loud volume. They are currently in the studio working on their third album. This is "Keep Slipping Away" off of their 2009 release Exploding Head.
Bon Iver (pronounced bon e-vair) is an indie folk band founded by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. Vernon is joined live by Sean Carey (drums/vocals/piano), Michael Noyce (vocals/baritone guitar/ guitar) and Matthew McCaughan (bass/drums/vocals). I wanted to do another post on Bon Iver because he just released his second album. Joining him on the new album are several different musicians, such as Colin Stetson (bass saxophone) and Greg Leisz (pedal steel). The album is composed of 10 songs and takes a new musical direction than his first album. Vernon states “I brought in a lot of people to change my voice; not my singing voice, but my role as the author of this band, this project.” Prior to the album's release, Vernon said that each song on the new album represents a place. The album was recorded in a remodeled veterinarian clinic in Fall Creek, WI, which was bought by Vernon and his brother in 2008. It was converted into April Base Studios, built mainly over the defunct swimming pool attached to the clinic. Vernon's reason for recording in the location was that "[it's] been a wonderful freedom, working in a place we built. It's also only three miles from the house I grew up in, and just ten minutes from the bar where my parents met." I really love the utilization of so many instruments in this song, especially being performed live. This is "Holocene" off the new self titled album.
BRAIDS (formerly The Neighbourhood Council) is an art rock band from Calgary, Alberta presently based in Montreal, Quebec. BRAIDS consists of Raphaelle Standell-Preston ( vocals/guitar), Katie Lee (keys/vocals), Austin Tufts (drums/vocals) and Taylor Smith (bass/guitar/vocals). The band members met at a young age and began collaborating in high school. Convincing one another to skip university, they stayed in the garage all year and practiced obsessively, even while their fingers froze during the cold Canadian winters. Then the band (still in their teens) took the bold step of moving across the country together to Montreal. This culminating into their debut album entitled Native Speaker (released 01/18/2011). This is "Plath Heart" off that very album. Enjoy your weekend!
Dawes is an Americana soul band from Los Angeles, CA. The band is composed of brothers Taylor (vocals/guitar) and Griffin (drums/vocals) Goldsmith, along with Wylie Gelber (bass), and Tay Strathairn (keys/vocals). Dawes was formed from the band Simon Dawes after the departure of co-songwriter Blake Mills, subsequently abandoning a post-punk sound in favor of folk rock. Dawes is part of the Laurel Canyon sound (Laurel Canyon found itself a nexus of counterculture activity and attitudes in the 1960s, becoming famous as home to many of L.A.'s rock musicians, such as Frank Zappa, Jim Morrison, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, and Love), which is centered in the North Hills area of Los Angeles. The band often cites influences such as Crosby, Stills, & Nash and Neil Young, among others. Dawes also recently performed with Robbie Robertson (The Band) in support of his new album. This is "Give Me Time" off of their debut album North Hills released back in 2009.
Emergency Blanket is a Peruvian rock band formed in 1998. The band members are Paco Holguin (vocals), Lufo Armestar (bass), Gino Solano (lead guitar), Jeremy Castillo (drums), and Jaime Urteaga (rhythm guitar). With influences from rock classics from the 60’s, 70’s and 90’s “the Blankets” achieve a very classical but yet very fresh and original sound. These guys were big news at this past year's SXSW festival. They are currently in the studio working on their second album. This is "Rusted" off of their first album Combi+Nation.
California Wives is Chicago's newest conglomerate of new wave pop servants to hit the colorful streets of the city's music scene. Their music has been compared to the recent revival of the new wave genre (think of New Order's synth-pop mixed with guitar riffs reminiscent of The Police). The band consists of Jayson Kramer (vocals/keys/guitar), Dan Zima (vocals/bass/guitar), Joe O'Connor (drums), and Hans Michel (guitar/keys). The track heard hear is "Twenty-Three" off their debut EP Affair that was released in 2010.
As the last addition to California Wives, Jayson Kramer proves that coming in last isn't necessarily a bad thing. A classically trained pianist from a young age, Kramer later taught himself guitar in his early teens, and it wasn't long before he began writing his own music. Kramer dove head first into electronic music while attending Boston University, and though he continued to study biology, his hunger for learning more about computer music than chromosomes generated a self-made library of electronic tracks that helped shape his creative style and self-expression.
Though Dan Zima is responsible for California Wives' streaming pulse, bass wasn't his first instrument of choice. Zima began playing guitar in grade school after his mother purchased him a guitar with lessons, but he didn't take it seriously until high school. As co-founder of California Wives, Zima also splits songwriting with Kramer, and continues to sing vocals on various tracks.
As a child of musician parents, music has always been an imprinted and natural part of Hans Michel's life. He focuses on challenging the band's tendencies to bring forth ideas from more eclectic styles of music, helping to make each song better than the last. At the same time, he always tries to make sure the songs maintain the band's focus and identity.
As the hardest hitting drummer in the Midwest, Joe O'Connor has never been able to pick up anything else, and he's just fine with that. O'Connor tries to split the difference between the various types of music he's loved his whole life, by playing beats appropriate for new wave songs, with enough volume to stick with the loud and energetic crowd.
Lia Ices is the Brooklyn, NY based pianist, singer, and songwriter. She was born and raised in Connecticut, where she began playing piano at the age of five. She didn't discover her penchant for songwriting until years later while studying at N.Y.U.'s famed Tisch School of the Arts' Experimental Theater Wing. True to the ever-present dichotomies that serve as a source of inspiration for her, Lia Ices' emotionally driven and experimental pop music is both avant-garde and timeless. A natural yet refined grace permeates her work: she is a piano herself. Dancing on a finely crafted line between the percussive qualities of her instrument, and the melodic elements within the rhythm of her voice, Ices' music reveals itself as epiphany. With such overt elegance as if from a bygone era, listening to her songs inspires a psychic time slip, and its hard to know if you're wading in the warmest of memories or awed by the invention and glow of new surroundings. This is "Lilac" off her recently released album entitled Grown Unknown.
Givers are an indie pop group from Lafayette, LA. The band is made up of vocalist and percussionist Tiffany Lamson (vocals/ukelele/percussion), Taylor Guarisco (vocals/guitar), Kirby Campbell (vocals/drums), Josh LeBlanc (bass/guitar), and Nick Stephan (flute/keys/sax). The members of Givers met during high school and college, coming together in 2009 to form the band after playing in various other groups. The group just released their debut album in June. I suggest giving them a listen, they are a group of very talented musicians just breaking out of their shells. This is "Atlantic" off of their recently released album In Light. Other tunes to check out from this band include "Up Up Up" and "I Saw You First." Enjoy!
Battles is an American experimental rock super group founded in 2002, in New York City. The band's current lineup is Ian Williams (guitar/keys), Dave Konopka (bass/guitar/effects), and John Stanier (drums). Their vocalist Tyondai Braxton left the band to persue his solo career. They recently released their sophomore (w/o Braxton) album entitled Gloss Drop and I must say that I am impressed. The album is much different than their debut album Mirrored and may catch a few more ears than the first. This is "Ice Cream" featuring Matiyas Aguayo off the new album. I recommend you give this album a listen and I hope you like what you hear.
Lord Huron is a folky pop band with roots in Michigan, but based out of Los Angeles, CA. In Spring 2010 Ben Schneider escaped to Northern Michigan for a few days. There on the shores of Lake Huron where he spent much of his childhood, Ben recorded some songs. When the time came to put a band together, Ben called his old friend Mark, who had recently come off a contract aboard a cruise ship and was gigging around in Nashville. Mark packed up his drums (and other gadgets) and drove straight across the country to join Ben in Los Angeles. The pair then recruited Miguel (bass/electronics) and Peter (guitar), both of whom had performed with Mark on cruise ships in the Caribbean. Rounding out the lineup is Brett (guitar), who has been playing around Los Angeles for years. The band has released two EPs thus far and much more is expected from them. This is "The Stranger" off of their Mighty EP.
MilkDrive is a bluegrass band based in Austin, TX. The current lineup consists of Noah Jeffries (guitar/harmony vocals), Dennis Ludiker (mandolin/harmony vocals), Brian Beken (fiddle/lead vocals), and Matt Mefford (double bass). MilkDrive actually got its start in the northern climes of Idaho, where principal songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Noah Jeffries grew up playing bluegrass and gospel in his family’s band and started writing amazing tunes at age 14. The first band he put together, 36 String Swing, toured the state as Jeffries studied jazz performance at Boise State University. He also played with Jason Boland and the Stragglers for seven years. Jeffries moved to Austin and moved in with fiddling champion-mandolin player Dennis Ludiker, whom Jeffries had met long ago when both were kids competing in the National Old-time Fiddle Contest in Weiser, Idaho; as well as the young Brian Beken, who also would ultimately join the band. The members have each won many awards and titles with their instruments. Awards are a great measure of technical prowess, but they reveal nothing about the musical soul so palpable in MilkDrive’s music, the quartet’s sound is a textural, multi-layer mix of rhythms, tempos, flavors, harmonies, improvisation – and the confidence each possesses that comes from experience with an instrument (or instruments). Check these guys out because they are furrr reel! This is the band performing Richard Thompson's "1952 Vincent Black Lightning."
Richard John Thompson OBE is a British songwriter, guitarist and recording and performing musician, highly regarded for his guitar techniques. He made his debut as a recording artist as a member of Fairport Convention in September 1967. He continues to write and record new material and performs live frequently throughout Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia. Thompson makes use of the "pick and fingers" technique (sometimes referred to as "hybrid picking") where he plays bass notes and rhythm with a pick between his first finger and thumb, and adds melody and punctuation by plucking the treble strings with his fingers. He also makes use of different guitar tunings. Thompson occasionally makes use of a thumb-pick, playing in fingerstyle, the most notable example being seen here in the video. This is "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" off his 1991 release Rumor and Sigh. This song remains the most requested song on NPR.
Hooray For Earth is a New York City based rock band built around the home recordings of singer and multi-instrumentalist Noel Heroux. The group first emerged publicly as Hooray For Earth in late 2005 in Boston, MA. The current lineup consists of Chris Principe (bass), Noel Heroux (vocals), Gary Benacquista (keys/guitar), and Joseph Ciampini (drums). The band played shows and self-released early demo recordings locally in Boston and the surrounding area until Heroux moved to New York City in August 2007. In 2008, Dopamine Records released the six-track Cellphone EP, which was was recorded during the months leading up to Heroux's departure to New York. Following Heroux's relocation the Hooray For Earth project laid primarily dormant, until early 2009 when Heroux teamed up with friend Josh Ascalon to co-produce a group of new recordings. After several months of casual studio work, the two emerged with a set of songs which would find release in the form of the Momo EP. The band just announced their fall 2011 tour to promote their debut album True Loves. This is the title track off that very album.
Morgan Kibby is an American singer-songwriter who is based in Los Angeles. She has had various musical projects throughout the years including fronting the LA based indie band The Romanovs, collaborating and touring with the French electronic/ambient group M83, to her most current solo project titled White Sea. Kibby (vocals/keys/guitar) teams up with Jonathan Bates (guitar/bass/vocals), Ray Suen (guitar/multi-instrumentalist), Amy Wood (drums), and Jonathan Leahy (guitar/bass/percussion) to put forth her project White Sea. Her band mates have their hands in many different projects and even have bands of their own. Jonathan Bates fronts Big Black Delta, Amy Wood and Jonathan Leahy are The Broken Remotes and Ray Suen is crrently the violinist in Mariachi El Bronx. The name White Sea actually comes from Kibby's name meaning "white sea dweller." This is "Cannibal Love" off their debut EP entitled This Frontier. If you like the sound of her current project I would strongly recommend checking out M83.
Vanaprasta is a rock band form Silverlight, CA that formed in 2009. The band consists of Steven Wilkin (vocals/keys), Collin Desha (guitar/keys/vocals), Taylor Brown (bass/keys/guitar/vocals), Cameron Dmytryk (guitar/sampler/sleigh bells), and Ben Smiley (drums). Since 2009 Vanaprasta has been blowing the heads off of audiences on the west coast with their aggressive guitar interaction, abrupt shifts in tempo and time signature, driving, unorthodox rhythms, and soaring vocals. The band is influenced by various sounds, ranging from the bluesy monstrous riffs of Dark Side of the Moon to the slurred guitar of The Moon & Antarctica. Their live shows have garnered a wide range of comparisons. This band seems to still be up and coming as there is little info on them out there on the ole internet. Give them a try and I think you might like them. This is "Self Indulgent Feeling" and I'm not sure if it is an original or a cover. I can't seem to find any info on the song. Anyhow, enjoy the tune and I hope everyone had a great 4th!
Formed in 1997, Estonian shoegazers Pia Fraus started slowly after meeting in high school. Rein Fuks (guitar/vocals) and Tonis Kenkmaa (guitar) formed the band with Reijo Tagapere (bass) and Joosep Volk (drums). Cutting their teeth on the sounds of Stereolab and My Bloody Valentine, the group experimented with synthesizers and such. They then recruited Kristel Loide (vocals) and Kärt Ojavee (keys). The band settled on the name Pia Fraus in autumn of 1998 and began recording in 1999. 2001 saw the release of their debut album Wonder What It's Like, on their own Pia Records label. This is "400 & 57" off of their second album In Solarium.
Washed Out is the stage name of musician Ernest Greene. In June 2009, Greene moved back home to the rural town of Perry, GA and started producing songs in his bedroom studio. He soon won the favor of a number of influential music bloggers after they found his music on his MySpace page. His style has been identified with the chillwave movement, and he has identified hip hop as influencing the way he writes songs. Washed Out made his debut New York City performance (his second live show ever) at Santos Party House. This is "Feel It All Around" off of his EP Life of Leisure. This video is compiled by a group of friends depicting the perfect way to spend a summer day. I thought it appropriate as we all celebrate this 4th of July with friends and family. Happy 4th Everybody!
Frontier Ruckus is an American folk-rock band from Michigan. The project is centered on the lyrically intensive songs of Matthew Milia, and was formed by Milia and banjo player David Winston Jones while living in Metro Detroit. Milia and Jones formed the band while attending high school together at Brother Rice in Metro Detroit. They began by playing a mixture of Milia's early compositions and traditional bluegrass songs that Jones had collected. The current lineup consists of Matthew Milia (guitar/harmonica/pedal steel/vocals), David Jones (banjo/dobro), Zachary Nichols (trumpet/musical saw/melodica/keys), Ryan Etzcorn (drums), and Brian Barnes (bass). Anna Burch, the female vocalist in the video, is no longer with the band. The band is about to begin a three month long tour across the United States, so check them out if they are in your area. This is "Nerves of the Nightmind" off of their 2010 release Deadmalls & Nightfalls.
