Category Archives: Downloads

Joyo Velarde Moves Center Stage With 5-Song EP

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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”:

Upcoming Show Reminder: Marco Benevento in Iowa – CSPS on Sunday 4/12

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Just a reminder that this weekend brings the remarkable piano trio led by Brooklyn, NY resident Marco Benevento to. Currently on tour Benevento and his trio are on the road promoting his sophomore solo release Me Not Me, which is a collection of originals and really inspired covers.

Listening to his performance on The World Cafe, his passion for what he does is absolutely addicting, whether it’s discussing his growing collection of circuit-bent toys, or when he talks about his methods for inpiration when he writes. It’s clear he embraces all aspects of his talent and brings some genuine unique vision in his work.

Even though the Cedar Rapids show at the phoenix-from-the-flood venue CSPS is on Easter evening, I’m planning to high-tail it back so I can catch this show. I’ll be shooting pictures and will also be interviewing Marco for a future “B-Sides in the Bins” so stay tuned!

Tickets are $14 in advance, and $17 the day of the show. Set the Tivo’s and come out!

BTW: The song Marco uses as the demonstration on World Cafe for how he composes with circuit bent toys became “Now They’re Writing Music”. Click Here to download!

Oh, I’ll eat any Peeps that people don’t want from their baskets if they bring them to the show.

Click Here to visit Marco’s Website

Click Here to visit Marco’s MySpace page which has tracks streaming from Me Not Me.

Arbouretum On Tour and On Taping Shows

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Dave Heumann of Arbouretum

In anticipation for the Spring and Summer tour in support of Song of the Pearl, Dave Heumann posted from his blog today stating his official stance on taping his shows.  I applaud his “taper-friendly” stance, and contributing to archive.org is also a very cool thing and should help spread the word about his band. Dave comments on the archive.org page that he’s going to contribute some shows as well!

In essence, we are into it, as long as it’s done with sharing as the goal. We have several shows already posted already on archive.org. All of these have been recorded locally by Baltimore Taper Jeff Mewborn, a huge music fan who has been very generous with his time spent recording not only us, but lots and lots of other bands.

If you are someone who tapes shows and would like to record us, that’s great- the more, the merrier…ESPECIALLY if you don’t mind uploading it to archive.org afterward, or just making us a copy so that we can. I will be happy to give you the setlist after the show, and will do my best to update this blog with our setlists as well.

I’ve posted here in the past about a couple of shows that Jeff “Baltimore Taper” Mewborn has recorded, and they are very good and I find myself listening to them often.

The current list of tour dates for Arbouretum is posted on the MySpace page. Right now there are dates through June with a concentration on the East Coast, with a May gap that hopefully will bring Arbouretum closer to the Midwest.

Click Here for Dave Heumann’s Blog

Click Here for the Arbouretum MySpace page

Click Here for the Arbouretum archive.org page

Click Here to listen to “Another Hiding Place” from Song of the Pearl performed live January 30, 2009.

Upcoming Show: Lyrics Born @ The Picador in Iowa City – 4/15/09!

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Lyrics Born

Well, it looks like I don’t have to drive to Minneapolis on April 17th, as Lyrics Born will be stopping by Iowa City on his way from Madison to Minneapolis!

Lyrics Born along with Joyo Velarde and DJ D-Sharp will be playing the Picador in Iowa City on Wednesday, April 15th. A Wednesday night show will be a little rough for work the next day, and there isn’t much for seating at the Picador so it will be a standing night. Doors are at 9PM according to the Picador site and Ticketweb, and they are a very reasonable $15. Other acts to be announced.

Click Here to visit Lyrics Born’s Website

Click Here to visit the Picador website

Click Here to order tickets from TicketWeb

Don’t forget to download LB’s new song “Funky Hit Records” from his forthcoming album As U Were.

Free Download: New Lyrics Born! “Funky Hit Records” Upcoming Shows

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It doesn’t seem that long ago that Lyrics Born released his last album Everywhere At Once— in fact it was released just under a year ago! (4/22/08) Not one to rest on his laurels when there is inspiration– LB has been spending time in the studio working on the release of his next album to be titled As U Were to drop this fall.

To help spread the buzz, LB has made available for FREE the old school stylee track “Funky Hit Records.”  “Funky Hit Records” is a tribute to classic 80’s style hip hop– a different direction than the production of his last two albums using only beats and scratches to propel the track from Trackademicks. A fun track with trademark tongue-in-cheek bravado from the man LB. The song has a video produced by Justin– the guy who handles all of the on-line activity for the Lyrics Born camp including the LBTV videos.

In other news, Lyrics Born is making a quick jump to the Midwest in April with Joyo Velarde and DJ D-Sharp. They’ll be at The Majestic in Madison, WI on April 14th, and Trocadero’s in Minneapolis on Friday, April 17th! I’ll be at the Minneapolis show, of course!

Apr 8 2009 9:00P
The Nightlight Lounge – Bellingham, WA Bellingham, Washington
Apr 10 2009 8:00P
Wonder Ballroom – Portland, OR Portland, Oregon
Apr 11 2009 8:00P
McDonald Theatre – Eugene, OR w/ The Roots Eugene, Oregon
Apr 14 2009 9:00P
Majestic Theatre Madison, Wisconsin
Apr 17 2009 8:00P
Trocadero’s – Minneapolis, MN Minneapolis, Minnesota
Apr 18 2009 8:00P
Palace of Fine Arts – San Francisco, CA – Adam Theis with special guest Lyrics Born San Francisco,

Click Here to download “Funky Hit Records” from the forthcoming As U Were.
Click Here to visit Lyrics Born’s website
Click Here to visit the LBTV YouTube Channel with the video for “Funky Hit Records” as well as a bunch of other videos.

(Almost) Free Download: John Coltrane – The Ultimate Blue Train $1.99 at Amazon

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Today Amazon.com has a sale on the 1997 remaster of John Coltrane’s only Blue Note album Blue Train. The story goes that before Coltrane signed to Prestige as a solo artist (he was already recording on Prestige as part of Miles Davis’s band) he had a meeting with label head Alfred Lion in late 1956 or early 1957 where Lion gave Coltrane an advance to sign with Blue Note. Coltrane would sign with Prestige, but still felt obligated to come over to Blue Note and record one album.

This album, of course, is the essential Blue Train (Blue Note 53428). Amazon.com has the 1997 remaster with two alternate takes available for $1.99 for a limited time, so if you don’t already have this remaster or album I highly recommend it!

Free Download: Phish Live at Hampton 2009

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In celebration of Phish’s reunion shows– Phish is generously offering 256Kbps mixed, soundboard recordings of their upcoming three-night run at the legendary Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, VA for free download. From their press release:

In celebration of Phish’s first shows in over four years, we’re thrilled to be able to offer fans free, high-quality downloads of the band’s sold-out March 6th, 7th and 8th concerts at Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia at LivePhish.com.

Each show will be professionally multi-tracked and mixed onsite and within 24 hours, 256kbps MP3s will be made available for free for a limited time at LivePhish.com. Fans who wish to download higher quality versions may purchase FLAC downloads. The shows will also be available on CD. Both are available for pre-order now. Register at LivePhish.com to receive an email when the free MP3s are available.
“We really wanted to show our gratitude to all the Phish fans for their support and the overwhelming response they’ve had to these shows. It’s going to be an amazing celebration and we only wish everybody could be there,” said Trey Anastasio.

Hampton Coliseum is notable in Phish’s history as being the location for the shows on November 20 & 21, 1998 that was the basis for the six-disc box set Hampton Comes Alive. Hampton Coliseum has been a favorite stop for Phish and these upcoming shows on March 6th, 7th, and 8th mark the 13th, 14th, and 15th time Phish will have played there.

These upcoming shows are also where Phish is looking to legally block the sale of bootleg products like unauthorized “lot shirts” and other paraphernalia with Phish tie-ins. An interesting move considering how ingrained in the jamband scene the lot scene sales have become. Certainly Phish is entitled to defend their very valuable trademark and image– especially since the future of the band seems unclear, and licensing of products in addition to the sale of recordings would be the only way the band could continue to profit if they don’t continue to tour.

Update: Apparently Phish is in it for the long haul and have plans to record a new album with a focus on their proggy side!

Click Here to pre-order the three shows in mp3 format.

Free Download: Pontiak at Daytrotter

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Last week was a good week for show postings at Daytrotter.com– our Internet-music fan-buddy to the Southeast of here. We got the 2008 recording of Nelly McKay, and we got the Pontiak session! Pontiak and Wye Oak were touring together last year on a shared bill and were scheduled to stop at the Mill in Iowa City on June 15th. However, the Floods of 2008 prevented them from performing their show. However, they managed to stop in at Daytrotter on the 16th and record four songs.

Pontiak’s sludgy psychedelia translated well to Daytrotter’s retro facility and in four songs provided a good snapshot of the ride that is Pontiak.

They recorded a song apiece from their previous efforts, “How Tall Are You?” from their debut Valley of Cats, and the waltzing title track from Sun on Sun. They also recorded the title track to their upcoming Thrill Jockey release Maker, due to drop on April 7th. They also dropped a campfire rendition of a recently-learned Warren Zevon cover “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner.”

Have a helping of Pontiak at Daytrotter.

Treat yourself to some Wye Oak from the same sessions.

Free Download: Nellie McKay at Daytrotter

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I had seen this show tipped since I follow the flickr feed from Daytrotter and there was a picture of her in the studio, which is generally how Johnnie does her characterizations of the acts that flow through the studio in Rock Island. So, it is with certain glee that I’m reporting that Daytrotter has posted her session. According to the date on that picture, she did her session on April 4th, 2008. I saw Nellie in Minneapolis at the Dakota Bar with my wife and super-fan daughter RaeEllen on April 6th– so she recorded this in Rock Island and hightailed it to Minnesota, apparently.

Nellie recorded a generous NINE tracks for this session as opposed to the four or five we usually get. The cool thing about this session is it is pretty much exactly like the show I saw and a very good representation of her live show. You get some piano tunes, some ukelele songs, some political humor and show tunes. What more would you want, really?

Click Here to visit the Daytrotter page for Nellie

Ryan Adams Delivers Hot, Steamy Love Note for V-D

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With characteristic flair, Ryan Adams delivered an iTunes-Exclusive EP entitled Extra Cheese today– in time for your Valentine’s Day soundtrack.

The EP is a collection of seven songs for a measly $3.99. Six of the songs are previously released with “Hey There, Mrs. Lovely” mostly unreleased.

I say mostly, because “Hey There Mrs. Lovely” which was recorded in 2000 for the infamous unreleased Destroyer sessions. “Hey There, Mrs. Lovely” would eventually become “These Girls” with a slight lyric rewrite on Easy Tiger.

It’s a bit curious why this song was chosen and effectively released this way. It will certainly spark anew the speculation about the Lost Highway boxset that was announced in 2007 which includes the Destroyer sessions along with 48 Hours, and The Suicide Handbook. It’s cool to get an unreleased song as part of this, but since it became another song, I would think there would be other interesting choices– but whatever.

Here is the tracklist with the album the song comes from:

  1. “Two” from Easy Tiger
  2. “Blossom” from Cold Roses
  3. “Answering Bell” from Gold
  4. “Evergreen” from Cardinology
  5. “My Love for You Is Real” from Follow the Lights
  6. “Desire” from Demolition
  7. “Hey There, Mrs. Lovely”

Some mp3’s from the Destroyer sessions at An Aquarium Drunkard Here (doesn’t include “Mrs. Lovely”).

Ryan Adams - Extra Cheese - EP Click Here to buy Extra Cheese at iTunes