(Upcoming Release) Hiss Golden Messenger – Southern Grammar EP Out 2/3/15 – Letterman Video

Southern Grammar EP

 

Some good news from the Hiss Golden Messenger camp today!

First, we’re getting a new 12″ vinyl 3-track EP in February! Titled Southern Grammar, it will feature the previously digitally released “Brother, Do You Know The Road,” and a version of “Southern Grammar” that was recorded for WXPN’s World Cafe.

In addition to those two tracks, the EP will include the Lateness of Dancers outtake “He Wrote The Book” which dedicated HGM fans might recall was a solo acoustic Bad Debt outtake that was collected on the 2012 album Lord I Love The Rain. I’m assuming since this was intended for Lateness, that it is a full-band recording.

The EP is available for pre-order right now for $10.98 from Merge and releases February 3, 2015. There will be a digital download with it.

In addition to this, a full-band HGM stormed the Ed Sullivan Theater (home of The Late Show with David Letterman) last night and performed “Southern Grammar.”

Here are the tracks from the EP you can check out:

A video for the World Cafe performance of “Southern Grammar”

“Brother, Do You Know the Road?”

The version of “He Wrote the Book” that was on Lord I Love the Rain

 

Dan Auerbach Brings His Signature Sound to L.A. Trio The Black Tibetans

The Nashville Session
Aside from the attendant drama with Mr. White, Dan Auerbach has been busy as of late.

The reunion of The Black Keys with Dangermouse Turn Blue came out in May. The Auerbach-produced sophomore Lana Del Rey album Ultraviolence came out this month.

In less high-profile work, Auerbach produced the new album from Nashville native Nikki Lane who fancies herself a “modern era Wanda Jackson” (what her website says). (Note: the actual Wanda Jackson is on Jack White’s Third Man Records!) Aside from that hype, Lane’s album is really good and benefited from Auerbach’s production and participation.

L.A. retro rock band The Black Tibetans packed up their dusty motorcycle leathers and flew to Nashville to work with Auerbach on their new 2-track single aptly-titled The Nashville Session.

Auerbach’s lo-fi leanings are a perfect fit for The Black Tibetans and the gear-jamming amphetamine fueled punk of “You’re Cold” lays this in spades. Check out the video for “You’re Cold” which serves as a document of the trip. The band is shown in the studio with Auerbach (who puts a signature guitar riff on the song) and checking out the local vintage shops in Nashville.

The Black Tibetans – You’re Cold – (Official Music Video) from SRCE production on Vimeo.

Ryan Adams Emerges from Self-Imposed Exile, Looks Around Suspiciously, Announces Stuff

We’re just past the Ides of March and although he has historically exclaimed “Et Tu, Internets?” this month has brought us a bunch of new Ryan Adams news. The last time we heard from our hero, he had fired up his PaxAm imprint and released two albums that had been hiding in his archives– his Metal Space Opera Orion and Cardinals III/IV which was two albums worth of Easy Tiger-Era recordings with The Cardinals.

To accomplish his desired DIY apprach, he assembled a staff to handle the shipping and orders that were done via the PaxAm website. In the case of Orion things went pretty well, but apparently folks were having issues with delivery of the III/IV album that were placed on the PaxAm site and went to the internet boards to bitch about it. The fact of the matter is that there was an accident involving the guy who was handling the orders and things got delayed and people complained loudly and frequently as is the manner of some.

Fed up, Ryan responded on the boards:

All future Pax-Am releases are cancelled and I don’t have any plans to continue anymore merch. Maybe I will sell the rights to someone else and let them make this stuff. All I know is I am not going to do it. I don’t believe we did a bad job…. The truth is both releases cost a boat load to manufacture and so many good people who I enjoy working with are involved in a hands-on way, all the way down to the manufacturing, that I seriously doubt the vinyl made any money back. It was about the tunes and doing it right and making quality vinyl. We took time to do it right.
Clearly I was 100 percent wrong that this was a good idea and I am really glad I tried but am totally done. Sorry if that sounds passive aggressive or something but I am just being real. I over it and over blogging and I had to borrow this very computer to even write this crap. Blah.

And with that he went into radio silence, but clearly this wasn’t the end of the story as we have now heard about a Record Store Day 4-song, 2 colored vinyl 7″ single EP of Cardinology-era previously-unreleased tracks called Class Mythology that will be a limited edition of 2500 copies with a picture sleeve, poster and sticker and will be on PaxAm Records! It is confirmed from his Facebook page with a mock-up of a single. The distributor for this record is going to be Junketboy who has a history of doing small-run releases like this. So, it would appear that he is delivering on the idea of letting someone else press the records. Hopefully he is getting his say on the quality of the records as his desire to get the mastering right had delayed releases in the past. In the same post where he bows out of pressing records, he also comments on the Lost Highway vinyl and in particular the new 10th Anniversary clear vinyl releases:

I was simply signed to Universal/ Lost Highway as an artist and had no say in the quality of the product. I was appalled they ever released ANY of my albums on vinyl since NONE were mastered for vinyl including the clear GOLD thing. I still have the original ones and they sound like ass. THAT is my personal opinion and I don’t care. Sorry. I like mastered vinyl.

I picked up the 2 LP clear vinyl version of Gold recently, and I don’t think it sounds “like ass” but there are a couple of spots where there are some clicks present, so there is a bit of a QC problem. I was particularly interested in this release as it included the “Side 4” bonus tracks that were only available on the first 150,000 CD pressings of Gold. This release fixes that sin.

So, with this RSD release, there is some hope for the future of other archive releases– in particular, folks are really anxious to get to hear Blackhole, which is another release that apparently did not leak to bootlegging. There is photographic evidence around the time he was working on the III/IV ramp-up that it had been mastered to vinyl, so perhaps we are close to this actually coming out if he’s working with a distributor.

On top of this great news, it was announced in an e-mail from the PaxAm site that Ryan is working with legendary producer Glyn Johns on his first album of new material since 2008. Johns is credited with some of Rock’s great albums including Who’s Next, The Stones Sticky Fingers, and Clapton’s Slowhand.  Clearly keeping the trust in the family,  Johns’ son Ethan produced Heartbreaker, Gold and 24 for Adams.

The question would be how he’s going to release this album– he is not on a label at the moment other than PaxAm– and he used TVT/The Orchard to distribute III/IV to stores and online. So, potentially, the new album could still be on PaxAm. Really, the only issues were the orders placed on the PaxAm website, so that is probably solved by not doing preorders by himself.

While we ponder the always-unpredictable career of Ryan Adams, on Monday he announced a tour of Europe starting in June that will be just him with an acoustic guitar playing new songs he wrote over the winter. “I’d like to play them for whoever wants to hear them,” he posted to Facebook, “Please don’t yell at me,” These are the songs that evidently moved his wife Mandy Moore to tweet, “been listening to my hubby write insanely beautiful music over the past few weeks. blows my mind at how easy he makes it look. the nerve! :)”

This will be the first organized tour since Adams announced in early 2009 that he was leaving the Cardinals following a very extensive tour in support of Cardinology. This announcement was for a few reasons, but likely primarily related to his affliction with Ménière’s disease that caused severe vertigo among other afflictions. He’s clearly easing back into touring since this tour will be solo acoustic. I’m not alone in hoping that he brings this tour to the US.

Here are the European tour dates (from his Facebook post):

Friday, June 10, 2011 Stockholm, Sweden Cirkus
Saturday, June 11, 2011 Oslo, Norway Folketeatret
Monday, June 13, 2011 Malmö, Sweden The Consert House
Tuesday, June 14, 2011 Copenhagen, Denmark Koncerhauset
Thursday, June 16, 2011 Lisbon, Portugal Aula Magna
Friday, June 17, 2011 Porto, Portugal Teatro Sa Da Bandeira
Monday, June 20, 2011 London, UK Barbican
Wednesday, June 22, 2011 Brighton, UK Dome
Thursday, June 23, 2011 Manchester, UK Bridgewater Hall
Saturday, June 25, 2011 Glasgow, UK Academy
Sunday, June 26, 2011 Oxford, UK Oxford New Theatre
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 Amsterdam, Holland Concertgebouw

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Click Here for the Kopecky Family Band website

Click Here for the Kopecky Family Band MySpace Page

Click Here for the Kopecky Family Band Facebook Page

Upcoming Show: Lotus Announces Winter 2010 Shows with a Stop at the Cap in Davenport

Although the band Lotus is one of the new additions to the SCIFidelity stable of bands, their label debut Hammerstrike in 2008 was actually their seventh release since their formation in 2002 in Goshen, Indiana at Goshen College (according to their Wikipedia article). With the label switch, Hammerstrike proved to be a refining and commitment to the more instrumental and unique sound that Lotus had started to drift towards in 2006 with The Strength of Weak Ties. If Umphrey’s McGee is a jamband with Prog Rock leanings, Lotus is a jamband with Post Rock leanings.

After Hammerstrike, the band continued their regimine of extensive touring pausing only to revisit some tracks for the album that either weren’t completed or the band didn’t feel fit. These tracks were completed and collected into two EP’s released in October– Oil on Glass and Feather on Wood. In addition to the eight new songs, they include three remixes of tracks from Hammerstrike.

Lotus just announced a run of dates in February 2010 which includes two nights in Madison at the Majestic and Davenport at the wonderful Capitol Theatre. I saw Umphrey’s McGee in July at the Capitol and was really impressed with it– a nice old theatre with beautiful ceilings and a balcony.

Click Here to visit Lotus’s Website which includes tourdate updates and news.

Click Here to listen to live shows on archive.org

Click Here to listen to “Simian” from Oil on Glass live at The Town Hall in Buffalo, NY on 10/30/09

Winter 2010 Tour Dates (from lotusvibes.com)

  • Fri Feb 12, 2010 The National Richmond, VA

    Time: Doors: 8:00pm, Show: 9:00pm
    Address: 708 E Broad Street
    Web: http://www.thenationalva.com
    Ages: All Ages
    Price: $16 adv, $19 dos
    Buy Tickets Online
    With: Toubab Krewe
    Additional Info: On Sale NOW!

    Details

  • Sat Feb 13, 2010 9:30 Club Washington, DC

    Time: Doors: 8:00pm, Show: 9:00pm
    Address: 815 V Street NW
    Web: http://www.930.com
    Ages: All Ages
    Price: $17 adv/dos
    Buy Tickets Online
    With: Toubab Krewe
    Additional Info: On Sale NOW!

    Details

  • Sun Feb 14, 2010 Sherman Theater Stroudsburg, PA

    Time: Doors: 8:00pm, Show: 9:00pm
    Address: 524 Main Street
    Web: http://www.shermantheater.com
    Ages: All Ages
    Price: $20 adv/dos
    Buy Tickets Online
    With: none
    Additional Info: On Sale NOW!

    Details

  • Wed Feb 17, 2010 Newport Music Hall Columbus, OH

    Time: Doors: 7:00pm, Show: 8:00pm
    Address: 1722 N High Street
    Web: http://www.promowestlive.com
    Ages: All Ages
    Price: $15 adv, $17 dos
    Buy Tickets Online
    With: none
    Additional Info: On Sale NOW!

    Details

  • Thu Feb 18, 2010 The Vogue Indianapolis, IN

    Time: Doors: 7:00pm, Show: 8:00pm
    Address: 6259 N College Avenue
    Web: http://www.thevogue.com
    Ages: 21+
    Price: $12 adv, $14 dos
    Buy Tickets Online
    With: none
    Additional Info: On Sale NOW!

    Details

  • Fri Feb 19, 2010 Majestic Theatre Madison, WI

    Time: Doors: 8:30pm, Show: 9:30pm
    Address: 115 King Street
    Web: http://www.majesticmadison.com
    Ages: All Ages
    Price: $16 adv, $18 dos
    Buy Tickets Online
    With: none
    Additional Info: Limited Two-Night Tix available – On Sale NOW!

    Details

  • Sat Feb 20, 2010 Majestic Theatre Madison, WI

    Time: Doors: 8:30pm, Show: 9:30pm
    Address: 115 King Street
    Web: http://www.majesticmadison.com
    Ages: All Ages
    Price: $16 adv, $18 dos
    Buy Tickets Online
    With: none
    Additional Info: Limited Two-Night Tix available – On Sale NOW!

    Details

  • Sun Feb 21, 2010 Schubas Chicago, IL

    Time: Doors: 6:00pm, Lotus: 6:30pm
    Address: 3159 N Southport
    Web: http://www.schubas.com
    Ages: All Ages
    Price: $22.50 adv
    Buy Tickets Online
    With: none
    Additional Info: On Sale Fri 12/18 at 10am – 2 ticket limit – 100% non-transferable will-call On-line sales only

    Details

  • Mon Feb 22, 2010 Schubas Chicago, IL

    Time: Doors: 7:30pm, Music: 8:00pm
    Address: 3159 N Southport
    Web: http://www.schubas.com
    Ages: 18+
    Price: $22.50 adv
    Buy Tickets Online
    With: none
    Additional Info: On Sale Fri 12/18 at 10am – 2 ticket limit – 100% non-transferable will-call On-line sales only

    Details

  • Tue Feb 23, 2010 Mercy Lounge Nashville, TN

    Time: Doors: 8:00pm, Show: 9:00pm
    Address: One Cannery Row
    Web: http://www.mercylounge.com
    Ages: 18+
    Price: $12 adv, $15 dos
    Buy Tickets Online
    With: none
    Additional Info: On Sale NOW!

    Details

  • Wed Feb 24, 2010 The Capitol Theatre Davenport, IA

    Time: Doors: 7:00pm, Show: 8:00pm
    Address: 311 Ripley Street
    Web: http://www.thecapdavenport.com
    Ages: All Ages
    Price: $15 adv, $18 dos
    Buy Tickets Online
    With: none
    Additional Info: On Sale NOW!

    Details

  • Thu Feb 25, 2010 Royal Oak Music Theatre Royal Oak (Detroit), MI

    Time: Doors: 8:00pm, Show: 9:00pm
    Address: 318 W Fourth Street
    Web: http://www.royaloakmusictheatre.com
    Ages: All Ages
    Price: $15 adv, $18 dos
    Buy Tickets Online
    With: none
    Additional Info: Tickets on sale 1/8 at 5pm

    Details

  • Fri Feb 26, 2010 Water Street Music Hall Rochester, NY

    Time: Doors: 8:00pm, Show: 9:00pm
    Address: 204 N Water Street
    Web: http://www.waterstreetmusic.com
    Ages: 16+
    Price: $15 adv, $17 dos
    Buy Tickets Online
    With: none
    Additional Info: Tickets on sale 12/19 at 10am

    Details

  • Sat Feb 27, 2010 Opera House Toronto, ON

    Time: Doors: 8:00pm, Show: 9:00pm
    Address: 735 Queen Street East
    Web: http://www.theoperahousetoronto.com
    Ages: All Ages
    Price: $18.50 adv, $20 dos (CDN)
    Buy Tickets Online
    With: none
    Additional Info: On Sale NOW!

    Details

  • New EP from Javelin on Thrill Jockey with Limited-Edition Thrift Store Sleeves

    Javelin is an electronic duo from NYC that is steeped in the tradition of old school cratedigging and cut up sampling. They’ve gained a lot of notice over their first self-released cassette Jamz n Jemz which Pitchfork gave a 7.4 rating saying, “At a time when it seems like everyone’s roommate is cooking up bargain-bin symphonies, Javelin stand out like two heady chefs, turning canned food classics into tiny little pieces of inspired, inverted gourmet reimaginings.” They gained the attention of David Byrne who has signed them to Luaka Bop for their first full length to come out next year.

    Thrill Jockey will be releasing two EPs from Javelin leading up to their label debut. The first self-titled EP is limited to 500 on vinyl and is part of the amazing Thrill Jockey subscription. The best part is that each of the sleeves are pulled from thrift store vinyl and are screened by Crosshair Screenprinting and Design in Chicago who were responsible for the amazing Spring 2007 Tortoise tour poster. See the streaming player below for closer “TWYCE” to see examples of the covers. I didn’t count them, but maybe all 500 are in the display? Lots of interesting cover selections both obscure and familiar– play “spot the cover” at home!

    The tracks on the 5-track EP are new with the exception of “Lindsey Brohan” which was on Jamz n Jemz. The version of “Lindsey Brohan” on this EP is prepended with the Jamz n Jemz opening “skit” “Snow Aorta” where someone is interviewed about jumping expensive bikes into water.

    This EP will be followed with another EP on Thrill Jockey early next year.

    Click Here to visit the Javelin EP page on Thrill Jockey’s site where you can listen to streaming samples.

    Click Here to visit the Javelin MySpace page.



    The Mighty Men of Budos Prepare EP of Unreleased Jams

    The Budos Band are an 11 (or 12) member Afro-Jazz-Funk outfit from Staten Island on the constantly-cool Daptone Records label.  The band’s two albums– The Budos Band released in 2005 and The Budos Band II released in 2007 are examples of well-crafted, if otherworldly instrumentals. After I started getting into the Daptone catalog after writing the review of the Daptone Remixed collection, I quickly made these two albums part of my regular musical diet.

    So, it’s with certain anticipation that I pass along the news that there will be a new EP released on June 23 by “The Bearded Ones” (the band was originally called Los Barbudos until one of the band members decided to shave). The EP, which will be released in vinyl and download only, will be comprised of rare tracks recorded between The Budos Band and II. The EP will contain tracks that the band typically performs live as well as “The Proposition” single. I picked up that single in Chicago in December, 2007.

    The Budos Band EP tracklisting:

    1. Hidden Hand
    2. Mas O Menos
    3. The Proposition
    4. Ephra
    5. Nobody’s Bulletproof
    6. Smoke Gets In
    7. Bonus Track

     

    Click Here to visit the Wikipedia page on The Budos Band.

    Click Here to visit the Budos Band website.

    Click Here to visit the Budos Band MySpace page.

    Click Here to visit Obscure Sound page on The Budos Band which has some mp3’s.

    Click Here to visit The Spinner.com Interface session with video of The Budos Band.

    Joyo Velarde Moves Center Stage With 5-Song EP

    If you’ve been following Lyrics Born’s over 16-year career, you are familiar with the heavenly vocal counterpoint of Joyo Velarde. Joyo’s recorded career with Lyrics Born started with her “Moo baby” vocal hook on his 1997 landmark release of “Balcony Beach” which would eventually be released on the Latyrx album.

    It’s been my opinion that the increasing popularity of Lyrics Born is his unwillingness to be pigeonholed into any particular music style and his tendency for very musical releases. I can appreciate straight beats-and-rhymes hip-hop, but I like my hip-hop tempered with some melody, and certainly Joyo’s presence on his recordings are part of that.

    The promise of Joyo’s first solo record has existed since she released her “Sweet Angels” single in 2002 on the then-newly-formed Quannum Records. Which isn’t to say that she hasn’t been busy– since that time she has provided her voice to many recordings– mostly related to the Quannum collective like the last couple Blackalicious records, Lyrics Born, Latyrx, The Mighty Underdogs, as well as the impressively extensive touring that Lyrics Born has been maintaining since his first album Later That Day. Joyo’s album Love and Understanding was originally supposed to be released last fall and had the very cool Hey Love! mix as its calling card, which included tracks from the upcoming release.

    Now the release date is slated for this November, and on May 26th, a self-titled 5-song EP will be released digitally (no physical media, presumably). The EP includes three tracks that were included in the Hey Love! mix: “Build This World,” “Take You Home,” and the Bobby Digital-produced bonus track “I Need You Boy.”

    The songs on the EP are a great slice of R&B and Soul. If you are looking for the down-home funk that Lyrics Born brings, you’ll need to look elsewhere. But, the EP isn’t without its funky moments, the track shared all over is “Take You Home” which is pretty much my favorite track on the EP is a summery dance-funk track that should help build the interest in the album.

    Tracklisting:
    1. Build This World
    2. The Way We Are
    3. Feels Right
    4. Take You Home
    5. I Need You Boy (bonus)

    Click Here to download “Take You Home” from Joyo Velarde EP.

    Click Here to visit Joyo’s MySpace Page

    Here is the video for “Take You Home”:

    New Tortoise on Record Store Day Special Release

    Cover by Crosshair

    Cover by Posttypography

    Cover by Posttypography

    In celebration of National Record Store Day, Thrill Jockey is getting in on the action by releasing a very limited edition (900 copies) LP (really more of an EP) called Records Toreism which will be blessed with catalog number Thrill 12.30. [Note: Thrill 12.29 was the Thrill Jockey 15th Anniversary Trey Told ‘Em MegaMix]

    Thrill Jockey is using the occasion to showcase some of their newest acts as well as include a new track from Tortoise’s upcoming release (now pushed to June) and a Trans Am track. Here are the tracks as Thrill Jockey calls them:

    A
    1. Mountains “Windows”
    This is a new song that does not appear any place else. It was recorded with love for the record store.

    2. Tortoise “High Class Slim Came Floatin’ In”
    This is a new song. It will also appear on their new album in June. Released early with love for the record store.

    AA
    1. Double Dagger “Stagger Lee”
    This is a new song that does not appear any place else. It was recorded with love for the record store.

    2. White Hills “Eye to Eye”
    “Eye To Eye” was previously released on Abstractions & Mutations, a limited edition CD-R release put together for a tour in September of 2007. Released for the first time on LP with love for the record store.

    3. Trans Am Featuring Tim Soete “Wounded Monkey”
    This is an unreleased song recorded and mixed March 28, 2005 at MAINZ in Auckland, New Zealand. Tim Soete (from The Fucking Champs) on lead guitar and lead vocals. Released with love for the record store.

    The covers (shown above) are meant to portray the alternate possible futures of record stores– one is if we don’t continue to shop the local indie store, and the other is the optimistic future afforded us from spending money not at Best Buy, but at our favorite Indie store. The covers will be handmade, and hand printed by Crosshair.

    Of course, yours truly is drooling over this release. The trick is going to be to figure out which stores will carry this. Neither indie store in Iowa City is participating in Record Store Day on April 18th. However, two stores in Dubuque are, so maybe a trip to my old stomping grounds and the store that I spent many a Tuesday over lunch Moondog Records (known as Co-Op Records back then…)

    Click Here for Record Store Day Information

    Click Here for the post on the Thrill Jockey boards about Records Toreism

    New Pieta Brown Self-Released EP Flight Time

    For about two minutes today there was a blog post on Pieta Brown’s MySpace page about a new self-released 7-song EP called Flight Time and is reported to be available starting 10/10 via Pieta’s website as a download or eventually by iTunes. The album was produced and played on by Bo Ramsey and includes Sliders luminaries Marty Christensen and Steve Hayes.

    The physical media– which will be available at her shows– is in bio-degradable packaging and is designed by Pieta’s sister Zoe Brown.

    Tracklist:
    Sunrise, Highway 44 (Click Here to visit Pieta’s MySpace Page which has this track streaming)
    Still Runnin’
    Just
    The Lion’s Dream
    Bad News
    I Thought I Heard You Call My Name
    Even When