An archival Gov't Mule 3CD set drops August 23. Entitled Mulennium it contains live tracks recorded with their late, great bassist Allen Woody and guest players Audley Freed, Robert Kearns, Johnny Mosier, and Mark Van Allen.
The album is released on Evil Teen Records. Pre-order Mulennnium.
» mule.net
Dead Confederate will release their second studio album Sugar on August 24. They offer the new song Giving It All Away, with J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr) on guitar, as a freebie.
Live dates:% w/ Deer Tick
$ w/ Surfer Blood
» deadconfederate.com
» myspace.com/deadconfederate
HCTF review of Wrecking Ball.
Phish
2010/06/29
CMAC
Canandaigua, NY
Notes (from Phish.net)
This show featured the Phish debut of I Am The Walrus.
» Buy the official LivePhish 2010/06/29 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)
Audience sources:
» Grab your torrent (Schoeps mk4v)
Belgian industrial rockers Thot have embraced the trend to release singles and EP's for the digital consumers age. As a follow-up for their Fig.1: The apple trees lover single, they have just released an EP with two tracks of heavy-handed borderline goth rock entitled Fig.2&3: Stories of The hills mover and The fields tuner.
Moved Hills is a left-field power pop song clashing with Middle Eastern melodies. Just before you think that it can't get any louder, it explodes into a full throttled speed metal anthem. Spellbound Fields sounds like a Big Black outtake that was recorded at a late night session with all the needles in the red. All the way to eleven for the first tow minutes or so, after which slow down a bit with some Arabic noodling going on in the background - world music from Hell segueing into a distorted fairytale singsong before ending it as to a Sisters of Mercy freak-out.
Thot:
Grégoire Fray: guitars, vocals, keyboards
Gil de Chevigné: drums, electronics
Barto La Punzina: bass
Hugo Peeters: piano, keyboards
Arielle Moens: live visuals
The Fig.2&3: Stories of The hills mover and The fields tuner is a self-released album. Buy it from the band's website. Also available as a very limited 8 pages book edition, including words, pictures, and cd.
Tracks:
The Jason Domnarski Trio (JDT) are dragging electronic piano jazz into the '10s. Based in NYC they have to face fierce competition from Medeski Martin & Wood, and the omnipresent Marco Benevento. with their new EP Vices they mash the cool, dry sound of electronics with catchy, loungy keyboard motives, played over a deep bass and drums that channel Charlie Watts (rhythm sense) and John Fishman (swing) and Joe Russo (risk taking).
Opener Crown Vic sets the tone for a sonic tour of the big city, including a run in with the law (Brought Up On Charges) and a couple of nasty man's best friends (Guard Dogs). All tracks are longish (around the 7 minute mark) and were recorded live at the fabled Bunker Studio in Brooklyn. Vices is a happy marriage of analog and digital equipment usage. Let's hope it lasts.
JDT:
Jason Domnarski: piano, keyboards
Aaron Nevezie: bass
David Mason: drums
Vices is a self-released album. Buy it from the band's website.
Tracks:
Gypsy jazz guitar virtuoso John Jorgenson will perform in August with Chris Hillman (formerly of The Byrds) and the other original members of Desert Rose Band, the legendary Country music outfit.
Before that he will be on a rather curious bill playing for the military in the Middle East:
Called upon by another former colleague, drummer Charlie Morgan of Elton John's band, Jorgenson will also be joining the classic rock super group RPM for a USO tour this summer. From June 27th until July 8th, Jorgenson will perform for U.S. troops and Iraqi trainees in Iraq and Kuwait along with an extraordinary band and a front man line-up including singers from Orleans, Blue Oyster Cult, Kool and the Gang, Survivor and Santana.
HCTF reviews of One Stolen Night and Istiqbal Gathering.
Welsh musicians join forces. John Cale is playing on a track of the new Manic Street Preachers album. From their Facebook:
Magical day in Cardiff: Ian McCulloch singing duet & John Cale playing on a new Manics track in LA.
» facebook.com/manicstreetpreachers
(Thanks: Michael McCarthy)
Phish
2010/06/27
Merriweather Post Pavilion
Columbia, MD
Notes (from Phish.net)
# Phish debut.
This show featured the first Walfredo since September 30, 2000 (131 shows). Antelope contained Brian and Robert teases and an alternate "Michael Esquandolas" lyric. Meatstick contained Japanese lyrics. Jumpin' Jack Flash was a Phish debut. Ghost, Contact, YEM and Fire all contained Saw it Again quotes. YEM also contained Jumpin' Jack Flash teases and, in the vocal jam, quotes of Saw It Again and Surfin' Bird (The Trashmen). The lyrics to Fire were changed to "Let Jon Fishman take over."
» Buy the official LivePhish 2010/06/27 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)
Audience sources:
» Grab your torrent (Schoeps mk4)
Railroad Earth takes on Powderfinger, the Neil Young classic. Recorded live at Rocks Off Cruise Aboard The Temptress - 2010-06-17.
MP3: Railroad Earth - Powderfinger
(Thanks: Triple-B)
Phish
2010/06/26
Merriweather Post Pavilion
Columbia, MD
Notes (from Phish.net)
This show featured the Phish debut of In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Neutral Milk Hotel).
» Buy the official LivePhish 2010/06/26 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)
Audience sources:
» Grab your torrent (Schoeps mk4)
» Grab your torrent (AKG)
Another giveaway. HCTF has 5 pairs of 3-Day Passes for the first edition of North Coast Music Festival in Chicago (September 3-5). Catch Umphrey's McGee, The Disco Biscuits, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals and tons of other acts in concert at Union Park.
Want a pair of 3-Day Passes? Drop me a line. Winners picked at random.
All gone. Winners have been notified.
Phish
2010/06/25
Susquehanna Bank Center
Camden, NJ
Notes (from Phish.net)
# Phish debut
@ Unfinished
* Michael Jackson teases
This show featured the first Alumni Blues since 7/24/99 (222 shows) and the first Letter to Jimmy Page since 7/15/94 (587 shows). Free Man in Paris was a Phish debut. Both Chalk Dust and Caspian were unfinished. 2001 included a Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' tease from Trey and full-band Billy Jean and Thriller teases, on the first anniversary of Michael Jackson's death.
» Buy the official LivePhish 2010/06/25 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)
Audience sources:
» Grab your torrent (AKG C460Bs/CK 63-ULS )
Producer and bass player Hans Weekhout, who goes by the name of Yukon, has finished his "air drumming" video for Ashes to Ashes. The David Bowie cover can be found on his Famous For Nothing, Ready For Anything album.
» yukonweb.nl
» myspace.com/yukonweb
HCTF review of Famous For Nothing, Ready For Anything.
Gov't Mule
2010/06/20
Gdynia Blues Festival
Hala Widowiskowo Sportowa
Gdynia, Poland
Phish
2010/06/24
Susquehanna Bank Center
Camden, NJ
Notes (from Phish.net):
@ unfinished
# Phish debut. Led Zeppelin cover.
During I Didn't Know, Trey mentioned his prediction from the 6/7/09 Camden show that the Flyers would win the Stanley Cup and announced that Fish would perform a voodoo vacuum solo for next year's Cup. Reba was unfinished. The Rover was a Phish debut.
» Buy the official LivePhish 2010/06/24 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)
Audience sources:
» Grab your torrent (Schoeps mk4v)
» Grab your torrent (Schoeps mk41)
» Grab your torrent (Schoeps mk41)
» Grab your torrent (Milab VM-44)
Episode 127 in the podcasts section Live Jambands in Holland. Complete show 2010-03-22 show by 30db in Amsterdam at the Jam in the Dam Festival. 30db are Brendan Bayliss (Umphrey’s McGee) and Jeff Austin (Yonder Mountain String Band).
Live Jambands in Holland #127:
30db
Melkweg
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2010-03-22 (click to download)
Running time: 41:28 -- 128 kbit
Source: Aiwa CM-TS55 > Sony TCD-D7
Transfer: Sony TCD-D7 > Sony DVD Recorder RDR HX727 > DVD Audio Ripper > Cool Edit > CD WAV > FLAC
Taped, transferred, and converted by BigV
» 30db.net
Gov't Mule
2010/06/22
Le Kursaal
Limbourg, Belgium
» Grab your torrent
» Grab your torrent (missing track)
Anand, Bharat and Dhyan Chalmers are The Sparkling Arrest, three brothers form New Zealand currently living in Australia. They have released an EP called Live In The White Room Pt. 1.
At fist they sound like melodic piano rock band sans real-life drummer (software takes care of that), but they are not above throwing in a raucous guitar licks that serve as a nice counterpoint for the pop-tinged vocals. You can see for yourself how they did it. All tracks of the EP are up on Youtube.
Tracks:
Gov't Mule
2010/06/23
Le Bataclan
Paris, France
Scottish post-rock band Mogwai recorded their three-night residency at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg in April 2009. With an audience hanging on to each drawn out note the band replicated their studio material with great musicianship. And that's the weak point of the new CD/DVD combo Burning / Special Moves.
The B&W film Burningdirected by Vincent Moon and Nathanael Le Scouarnac of La Blogotheque’s Take-Away Shows tries hard to conjure up Weltscherz and a sense of foreboding backed by an in concert soundtrack that is just that - played with care, handled with care. The live CD might as well be recorded in the studio. It sounds great, but it lacks a pulse.
John Cale will be playing his Paris 1919 album in Los Angeles. Basically a hometown show after he moved West.
Phish
2010/06/22
Comcast Center
Mansfield, MA
Notes (from Phish.net):
# Phish debut (Rita Clarke and The Natural)
$ Debut
* "Leo Esquandolas" lyric; piano solo
This show featured the Phish debut of Lit O Bit and the debut of Dr. Gabel. In Antelope
"Marco Esquandolas" was changed to "Leo Esquandolas," followed by a Page solo.
» Buy the official LivePhish 2010/06/22 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)
Audience sources:
» Grab your torrent (beyerdynamic CK933t)
» Grab your torrent (beyerdynamic CK933 -24 bit)
» Grab your torrent (Schoeps-mk41)
Did you favorite team loose at the World Championships? Need some loud music to make you feel better? HCTF has 5 pairs of free tickets for two shows in Chicago.
Want a pair of tickets? Drop me a line. Winners picked at random.
All gone. Winners have been notified.
Video: The Dead Weather - I Cut Like A Buffalo
» thedeadweather.com
» primusville.com
Photo: David Swanson (The Dead Weather)
Watch the Jordan Galland video for Free Love, a track off of his Search Party album. He created it with Gary Breslin, using a Canon 5D digital camera, which gives the live action video an almost fantastical look thanks to the ultra-vivid colors and image clarity.
» jordangalland.com
» myspace.com/galland
HCTF review of Search Party.
Balkan influenced Denver band DeVotchKa will headline the Telluride Wine Festival with Blitzen Trapper and Moondoggies. The rescheduled Bellvue show happens on August 28.
Another Festival? Chicago is hosting the North Coast Music Festival. This "Summers Last Stand" takes place September 3-5 at Union Park. A portion of all ticket sales will go to support Urban Initiatives, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that runs a health and education soccer program in fourteen Chicago Public Schools and continues to grow.
The line-up of the North Coast Music Festival consists of jam band favorites, rock acts and dance artists.
Single-Day Passes are available for $35, 3-Day Pass for $75.
Phish
2010/06/20
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Springs, NY
Notes (from Phish.net):
In what is becoming a Father's Day tradition (see 6/21/09), the show-opening Brother featured the band members' children jumping into a bathtub on stage, followed by Trey introducing each of them and wishing everyone a Happy Father's Day. Gotta Jibboo featured Tony Markellis on bass and Mike on a second guitar. The end of Wilson contained a Dixie tease from Trey. In place of a traditional Makisupa keyword, Trey improvised lines that set up solos for Mike, then Fish, then Page. The subsequent Piper intro included repeated phrases from the Makisupa ("Mike," "Policeman" "SPAC" and "House" among others).
» Buy the official LivePhish 2010/06/20 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)
Audience sources:
» Grab your torrent (Schoeps CCM4V'S)
Phish
2010/06/19
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Springs, NY
# First Tweezer Reprise opener since 11/9/95 (482 shows).
* Song debut.
» Buy the official LivePhish 2010/06/19 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)
Audience sources:
» Grab your torrent (Neumann U89i)
I had to resign myself, many years ago, that I'm not too articulate when it comes to explaining how I feel about things. But my music does it for me, it really does.
David Bowie
Phish
2010/06/18
Comcast Theatre
Hartford, CT
Notes: Livephish.com fucked up. Possum and The Moma Dance are one track.
^ debut of 'Summer Of '89'
* no whistling
** Tweezer Reprise was performed twice because it was not performed at the Hershey show
» Buy the official LivePhish 2010/06/18 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)
Audience sources:
» Grab your torrent (DPA 4023)
Watch the Sebastian Blanck video for I Blame Baltimore, a tracks of his Alibi Coast album. Folk singer Blanck is best know as a visual artist, creating videos for bands like Yeasayer. He has been friends with singer Chris Keating since childhood - they grew up in the same neighborhood in Baltimore. The album release party is scheduled for June 21st at the Robert Goff Gallery (523 West 23rd Street in Manhattan).
Watch Phish perform Backwards Down The Number Line at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, OH - 2010/06/12. Has a memorable type 2.0 jam that the band themselves liked so much that they are giving it an "official" video release.
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers started laying down the tracks for their new album Mojo in April 2009 in Petty's own recording facility. With repeated visits to the studio in May, September and November the album was in the can, save for Lover's Touch, a slow blues that was committed to tape in January this year. Their label sat on int for a couple of moth, waiting for the tour announcement to happen (and offering it as a freebie to ticket buyers).
Mojo is a mellow, mid-tempo album. Lead guitarist Mike Campbell does his utmost to channel George Harrison on Good Enough and takes a bow for the Allman Brothers, both living and dead. He shares songwriting credits with Tom Petty on three of the tracks. Petty never was much of a singer, but he knows his limitations and puts them to good use adopting a nasal twang for Candy and Takin' My Time - the latter has all the hooks and crannies to become a jam vehicle in a Black Crowes kind of way.
It's been eight years since Tom Petty made an album with The Heartbreakers. He doesn't have to proof anything and the same goes for his band. When they decided to lock themselves in at Petty's and plugged in their vintage Gibsons, Les Pauls, Hammonds and even a Vox Continental organ, they fell in step with their musical heritage of country, blues and southern rock. It's all been done before, but a lot was done by these guys who have been playing together on and off since 1976.
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers:
Tom Petty: lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Mike Campbell: lead guitar, mandolin
Scott Thurston: rhythm guitar, harmonica, backing vocals, piano
Ron Blair: bass guitar, backing vocals
Benmont Tench: keyboards, backing vocals
Steve Ferrone: drums, percussion
Mojo is released on Reprise.
Tracks:Video: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - I Should Have Known It
Video: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Mojo
(documentary directed by Sam Jones)
Phish
2010/06/17
Comcast Theatre
Hartford, CT
» Buy the official LivePhish 2010/06/17 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)
Audience sources:
» Grab your torrent (DPA 4023)
Episode 126 in the podcasts section Live Jambands in Holland. Second (and final) part of The Bridge 2010-03-23 show in Amsterdam at the Jam in the Dam Festival:
Live Jambands in Holland #126:
The Bridge
Melkweg
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2010-03-23 (part#02) (click to download)
Taped by eurodrifter
Running time: 36:42 -- 128 kbit
Taper: Festival Staff
Source: FOH Matrix -> CDR
Transfer: CDR -> EAC -> PC
Processing: Fade in, fade out & tracking using SoundForge 9.0.
Conversion: FLAC frontend 1.7.1 used to align on sector boundaries and for Flac16 Conversion @ level 8
Tagging: Band name, Venue and Song Title in Foobar2000
@ Neville Brothers cover
* with Debrissa McKinney, vocals & Josh Phillips, vocals (Josh Phillips Folk Festival) and Joe Tatton, keyboard (New Mastersounds)
# Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd St. Band cover
& live debut
» thebridgemusic.com
» myspace.com/thebridgebaltimore
» archive.org/details/TheBridge
Guitar player and singer Guthrie Kennard is seasoned veteran who has been in the songwriting business since the age of 16. He tears through his Texas rootsy Americana material with confidence and joy, coming up with cheerful songs - Monkey Wrench is a tribute to a female mechanic, Motorcycle praises the joy of riding a bike just for the Hell of it, and Catfish Fishin' conjures up the image of sunny afternoon with a bunch of friends trying to catch a meal. He gets more serious when he sings about being stuck in a dead-end job (Another Day, Another Dollar), or describes the spookiness of the Day of the Dead in Mexico (Streets of Juarez).
Kennard has the laconic deep voice that was made for storytelling. Produced by Ray Wylie Hubbard, who also played Resonator on some of the songs, Matchbox is a hardcore alt.country album with a blues feel that gets stuck in your head after the first spin (and there will be many more).
Matchbox is released through Rango Records. Buy it from CD Baby.
Tracks:
Songwriter/keyboardist Paul Jenkins, producer Wes McCanse and multi-instrumentalist J. Lugo Miller are ...music video?, an trio based in Tucson, AZ. They are knee deep in electronics which are used to create lush harmonies embedded in slow grooves that go well Jenkins' dreamy vocals. They have released two albums and their new single I'm Afraid Of Everything b/w feelgooddesperation is a post-rock meets melodic shoegaze musings two-some.
I'm Afraid Of Everything slowly pulls in the listener by building chords and harmonics into an elegant tour along the everyday horrors that surround the song's unwilling hero. Flip-side feelgooddesperation is a mash-up of sorts. Their own song postrockfeelgoodsongofthemillenium, an instrumental, is mixed with the words of Desperation, a song by fellow Tucson band Musica Obscura.
With this single ...music video? shows that quiet desperation is the Tucson way nowadays.
"I'm Afraid Of Everything" b/w "feelgooddesperation" is released by Fort Lowell Records on 7 inch clear vinyl, limited to 500 copies. Comes with a digital download card. MP3s are mastered for digital playback. Release date: July 13. Vinyl challenged? Look for it at the usual digital outlets.
Live date:Phish
2010/06/15
Ntelos Pavilion at Harbor Center
Portsmouth, VA
Tube was played by request
First Cold Water (Tom Waits)
First Idea (new Mike Gordon song)
» Buy the official LivePhish 2010/06/15 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)
Audience sources:
» Grab your torrent (Schoeps mk4v)
The unpigeonholeable trio Primus will be joined on their 2nd Annual Oddity Faire Fall tour by a rotating cast including Mariachi el Bronx, Portugal. The Man and Split Lip Rayfield.
Video: Primus - Too Many Puppies
The JPT Scare Band started recording their stoner blues heavy proto metal in the Seventies, but it wouldn't until the 1994 that their debut album Acid Acetate Excursion would see the light of day. With the cat finally out-of-nag the band has raided their archives, came up with new stuff, and have released seven albums, turning the Kansas City trio into a cult-band 30 odd years after they started out. And they are still at it.
The latest addition is Acid Blues Is the White Man's Burden, seven lengthy psychedelic bluesy rock stompers (nine of the vinyl version) that come howling out of the speakers. This is Classic Rock from the Golden Age of that genre, which can holds its own against their famous niche sharers, such as Cream, Ten Years After, Rory Gallagher and the mighty Led Zeppelin. Singer Swope has the swagger and the chops, and the rhythm tandem of Jeff Littrel and Grigsby are solid and smooth. It just goes to show that it's never too late to be recognized as an interesting chapter in the Big Book of Rawk.
JPT Scare Band:
Paul Grigsby: bass
Jeff Littrell: drums
Terry Swope: guitar, vocals
Acid Blues Is the White Man's Burden is released on the specialty label Ripple Music out of San Ramon, CA. Release date: June 22
Tracks:
Matt Steven's Echo was a truly original album, so expectations fo the follow-up Ghost were high. The London guitarist once more expresses himself through layered instrumentals built on loops, but he has called in outside help. Stuart Marshall (The Fierce & The Dead) played drums, Kev Feazey (Polar Bear/Lydia Lunch) was in the producer's seat, and Stevens himself added a bit of bass.
His compositions have gained depth and texture, preserving the signature clarity of his tone. A nice surprise is the addition of the warm sound of the Mellotron on a couple of tracks. The sound of the vintage electro-mechanical, polyphonic keyboard fits like a comfy blanket around the percussion.
Stevens in an inner-circle player, a guitarist's guitarist, who sadly enough doesn't goes out much, due to back problems. Webcasts allows to play to an audience throught the Cafe Noodle (you can sign up here), who will appreciate his in-depth knowledge of the guitar combined with smart programming.
Ghost is a self-released album. Buy it (pay-what-you-want) from his website. The 10 Track Digipack Version Of Echo (limited edition of 100 copies) is yours for £5 GBP or more.
Tracks:HCTF review of Echo.
Phish
2010/06/13
Hersheypark Stadium
Hershey, PA
» Buy the official LivePhish 2010/06/13 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)
Audience sources:
» Grab your torrent (Josephsons C42mp)
Watch Tori Amos perform Leather. No sign of plans for a crappy Christmas album back then.
It's a Phish iPhone App and it works pretty good. This might turn into the must have 2010 tour gizmo.
Get the new Live Phish App at iTunes to stream everything you've ever purchased from LivePhish.com. Access your whole Live Phish Stash of shows and albums, enjoy free stream From The Archives, read and post reviews of each show, and browse photos and notes. Tune in to Live Phish Radio through the app for a 24x7 stream from the Live Phish Archives.
For a limited time, every first time user of the Live Phish App will get a download code redeemable at LivePhish.com for ONE FREE MP3 SHOW of your choice.
Watch the Hayseed Dixie tutorial on how to combine the instruments banjo, mandolin, guitar and bass in order to achieve the Majesty of Rockgrass Music.
The video can be found on the DVD that comes with their Killer Grass album.
Phish
2010/06/12
Blossom Music Center
Cleveland, OH
* First Time Played - The Band
** First Time Played - John Lennon
» Buy the official LivePhish 2010/06/12 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)
Audience sources:
» Grab your torrent (Schoeps mk4v)
» Grab your torrent (Dynamic Audio Binaurals )
Phish
2010/06/11
Toyota Park
Chicago, IL
Notes (Phish.net):
After Possum, Trey congratulated the hometown Chicago Blackhawks' victory over his beloved Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals that ended two days before this show.
This gig featured the Phish debut of Show of Life.
» Buy the official LivePhish 2010/06/11 release (FLAC | FLAC-HD | MP3)
Audience sources:
» Grab your torrent (Schoeps mk4v)
John Cale has been awarded with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition fo his musical output.
(Thanks: Gary Fox & Isabel)
Jambase has an interview with Paul Weller who feels right at home on stage:
"I don't need both hands to count the number of gigs each year that I don't enjoy. I still get a buzz off it. I still get nerves beforehand. Before almost every gig I feel sick and fucking nervous and just want to go home, but as soon as we count in, on the first or second bar of the first song, it's all sort of there and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world. Everything just makes sense to me. All the thoughts beforehand just dissipate and I feel I'm not meant to be anywhere else but here in this moment. And I don't know if it's ever been too different from this. I think if I was gonna lose that feeling it would have gone long ago, and hopefully it will always stay."
David Byrne took part in the long running TED series. His February lecture was entitled "The Venue Makes The Music - Creation In Reverse".
"I was honored to do a TED talk this year - back in February. It's about 16 minutes long and now, today, they are posting it online. It is also available as a video podcast, downloadable free from the iTunes store. I am hooked on watching these podcast versions of their famous talks, which they've had available for a few years now. You can carry them with you and watch a short talk from an array of incredible thinkers (many of whom are pretty well known) whenever you feel like it. Inspiring stuff.
My own talk (it wasn't a musical performance) was based on the idea that the acoustic properties of the clubs, theaters and concert halls where our music might get performed determines to a large extent the kind of music we write. We semi unconsciously create music that will be appropriate to the places in which it will most likely be heard. Put that way it sounds obvious...but most people are surprised that creativity might be steered and molded by such mundane forces. I go further - it seems humans aren't the only ones who do this, who adapt our music to sonic circumstances - birds do it too. I play lots of sound snippets as examples, with images of the venues accompanying them... Enjoy."
» ted.com (also has a free download option)
» davidbyrne.com
Jonny Rumble is a at crossroads with their new album JR. They released a Courtney's Basement in 2009 and those two rock oriented songs were a sign that their punk days were over. JR moves even further away form the three chords punk attitude and now they are gravitating to pop and even electric blues, the musical genre that will be forever associated with their hometown Chicago.
Mixing genres and sampling cuts from a varied musical palette isn't a problem so long as you incorporate them into a sound that is truly your own. JR isn't a bad album - it just lacks personality.
Jonny Rumble:
Brian Webb: vocals, guitar, harmonica, organ
Patrick o'Connor: guitar, vocals, piano, organ, glockenspiel, bass
Jeremy Pryor: bass, vocals, guitar, piano, organ, bells
Seth Thomas: drums, vocals, percussion, piano, organ
JR is released on Limey Jam Records. Buy the vinyl (limited to 250 copies) from the band's website. A free digital download will be available through rockproper.com.
Tracks: