tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65967881900567372862024-03-13T23:38:55.419-07:00Impact 89FMJeremy Whitinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07013042266941826627noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-81418387677348576932010-10-18T09:49:00.000-07:002010-10-18T09:58:41.624-07:00Impact chats with... Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://rcrdlbl.com/cms/rcrdlbl/albums/7377f62b1fd1c543d18acb72abe17d99.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://rcrdlbl.com/cms/rcrdlbl/albums/7377f62b1fd1c543d18acb72abe17d99.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">On Tuesday, September 21, we caught up with Rich from Margot & the Nuclear So & Sos at the Blind Pig for the band’s </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">Buzzard</span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> album release show.</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">Ian Heslip:</span></b></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> So I know that </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">Buzzard</span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> was recorded on your own label, how did that influence the sound of </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">Buzzard</span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> as opposed to being with Epic for </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">Animal!</span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">/</span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">Not Animal</span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">?</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">Rich Edwards:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">When we were on Epic we pretty much made it sound exactly the way we wanted. It was more the effect of after it was done. When the last one was done, we didn’t really change anything but they weren’t very happy with it. So this time we didn’t have to worry about anyone returning it and seeing if they approve.</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span></span><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Lucida Grande'"></p><div><a name='more'></a></div><p></p></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">IH:</span></b></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> And was that a big reason why you guys decided to go away from them?</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">RE:</span></b></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> Yeah, they started this one with us and wanted to do it, but it got to a point where, you know, you just get asked to do things that you don’t feel comfortable doing. We never wanted to put ourselves in a position where even if we do stuff that ultimately doesn’t work or does work, I’d rather it come from us. I can fail on my own, you know?</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">IH:</span></b></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> How do the new members and the guest spots influence the sound of </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">Buzzard</span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">?</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">RE:</span></b></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> A bunch of ways. I’d been playing with Brian Deck, my friend who produced the record and played drums on it and so we had kind of developed a little bit of a chemistry and understanding over several months. I was living in Chicago, he and I were playing a lot and talking about recording. So we developed something that I think was the basis of the record which was really nice since Brian and I play really loud. I think that influenced the energy of the record. I could go on and on about everybody. Everyone adds their own flavor based on a groundwork Brian and I have established over several months.</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">IH:</span></b></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> Margot has been classified as chamber pop, alternative, indie rock, do you consider those things relevant now, do those labels even mean anything?</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">RE:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">No, I don’t think they really mean anything, we’ve been compared to just about everything and been called all sorts of genres. It’s nothing I’ve ever taken very seriously. I understand why people want to classify things, but I don’t think it’s really what people who play music relate to. </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">IH:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">I understand the recording process took place in a movie theater in Chicago, an abandoned one</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">RE:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">Some of it, we bounced around a lot of places we did in a studio </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">IH:</span></b></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> Was it true that you guys found some films in there and watched some of them?</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">RE:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">Yeah, well I found little 8 millimeter films and things like that and I was also getting a lot of stuff from a shop called Obsessions, it’s a really great video rental house. They specialize in kind of off-the-wall, strange stuff that you maybe have to dig a little bit to find, and those guys would me a lot of this stuff. So yeah there’s certain things I found while I was working on the record. </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">IH:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">Did any of that stuff influence any particular songs? </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">RE:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">Probably. It’s hard to remember exactly, I think “Lower Back” was influenced by some of those things and I’m sure there’s other stuff. I don’t remember every specific thing from certain movie or stereotype because that’s kind of stream of conscience. And when you do songs like that, they’re kind of free association writing. You can sometimes go back and point to where certain things came from, but in doing something like that I guess your goal is to not edit yourself too much.</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">IH:</span></b></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> Being from Indianapolis, do you guys notice a difference between crowd atmosphere from shows in the Midwest as opposed to strictly East or West coast?</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">RE:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">It varies from place to place around the Midwest and around the East coast. Indianapolis audiences, I can’t really knock it too much, I love Indianapolis, it’s where we started, it’s our home in a lot of ways even though we don’t live there anymore. But they have a real problem with talking during shows. It’s like you play a show in Indianapolis and you never quite understand -- not everyone, but a lot of people -- why they spend fifteen or twenty dollars and then talk during the show.</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">IH:</span></b></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> Yeah I’ve seen a lot of videos of you guys playing at home and there’s always people talking in the background</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">RE:</span></b></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> It’s weird, yeah, and Chicago’s the complete opposite. I think it has to do with age, it depends on the shows’ age limits too. A lot of the all ages shows tend to be quieter, it tends to be kids that are maybe a little more reverent. Whether that’s a good or bad thing I don’t know, but they’re so new to seeing shows and it’s exciting. Sometimes at the twenty-one and up shows if you go on too late it’s just the nature, people are going to be drunk.</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">IH:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">How have people been responding to new songs live so far?</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">RE:</span></b></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;"> Well I think, much better than they were for the tour for </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">Animal</span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CCCCCC;">, I remember it took months and months before anyone kind of got them. Now there’s stuff on there that people that are big Margot fans are very interested in and want to hear live, but that record took a super long time for people to maybe get through it. This one seems like it’s gotten a more immediate reaction.</span></span></span></span><br /><span style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background- font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;font-family:Arial;font-size:11pt;color:transparent;"></span>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-7451529075785140022010-10-10T21:30:00.000-07:002010-10-10T21:43:37.119-07:00New Album Review: The Corin Tucker Band<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGGD9N0olJu0V80dt_z9bRIc3d7K5A-n3qhx9fHXEGXHVJVZkrQGC_HXxM3wfzvve6hkykfh9Vm1hIqGrR5K3hyuIg8Z7C1v03a8i56SRkDtPWvc2ZV55zlx-CrCswadmmWv1wM2kHZDs/s1600/corin_tucker_band.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 316px; height: 316px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfGGD9N0olJu0V80dt_z9bRIc3d7K5A-n3qhx9fHXEGXHVJVZkrQGC_HXxM3wfzvve6hkykfh9Vm1hIqGrR5K3hyuIg8Z7C1v03a8i56SRkDtPWvc2ZV55zlx-CrCswadmmWv1wM2kHZDs/s1600/corin_tucker_band.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background- font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color:transparent;" id="internal-source-marker_0.8120445669303505"></span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><span style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background- font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color:transparent;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The Corin Tucker Band:</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> </span></span></i></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The Corin Tucker Band</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> Album Review</span></span></span></span></div></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">The Corin Tucker Band’s debut album sounds exactly like you’d expect from the former front woman of Sleater-Kinney. There’s still the unpolished quality Tucker’s voice, although it’s less raw then back in 1994. The punk influences are still clearly heard, even if slightly mellowed. Yet as Corin Tucker herself said in an interview with </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Pitchfork, “</span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">It's definitely more of a middle-aged mom record, in a way. It's not a record that a young person would write... There's some sadness, some reinvention, some rebirth. I think the goal for me is to write some good stories.” Tucker’s work here won’t be unfamiliar to fans of Sleater-Kinney though, and songs like "Doubt" will be more than welcome by fans missing her old band.</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /></span><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Lucida Grande'"></p><div><a name='more'></a></div><p></p></span></span></div><div><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">What Corin Tucker brings to this album, and what is so refreshing in a landscape dominated by overly-manufactured pop acts, is her honesty. Her lyrics are intimate. A person can relate to every word she sings of loss, separation, and failed relationships, and the hard edge of the music keeps it relevant in today’s world. </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Corin Tucker is no stranger to cultural relevance. As a founding member of Sleater-Kinney in 1994, she was on the forefront of the riot grrrl movement. The band, rounded out by Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss, wrote politically charged lyrics that were closely associated with third wave feminism. However, the media ofter lost focus and completely misconstrued or misrepresented who they were as a band. As Tucker has said, “I think it was deliberate that we were made to look like we were just ridiculous girls parading around in our underwear. They refused to do serious interviews with us, they misprinted what we had to say, they would take our articles, and our fanzines, and our essays and take them out of context. We wrote a lot about sexual abuse and sexual assault for teenagers and young women. I think those are really important concepts that the media </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">never</span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"> addressed.” Despite the media backlash, Sleater-Kinney continued to be an influential band until their break up in 2006. </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;"><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; "></span><br /></span></span></span><span style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background- font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color:transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFFFFF;">Corin Tucker is not the only bandmate to continue making music after the band’s hiatus. Carrie Brownstein and Janet Weiss have also begun recording a forthcoming album with Mary Timony and Rebecca Cole of Helium. Their new band, Wild Flag, hasn’t released a lot of details about themselves quite yet, but they do already have shows lined up for November in various cities along the west coast. They’re currently signed with Merge Records, but not date has been set for the release of their LP. If you’d like more info on them, they have a really entertaining Facebook page at:</span> </span></span></span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/WILDFLAG"><span style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 153); background- font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; color:transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">http://www.facebook.com/WILDFLAG</span></span></span></a><br /><span style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background- font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;font-family:Arial;font-size:11pt;color:transparent;"></span></div><div><span style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background- font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; color:transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><i>Kimberly Allen</i></span></span></div>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-73912012577855187902010-10-01T17:28:00.000-07:002010-10-01T17:51:30.908-07:00Concert Review: Margot & the Nuclear So and Soʼs at the Blind Pig<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnMuLNiDI8yyMwpMOJtlJKqmKFla75eYtkykQh1vkgd331nqOhyphenhyphenbPxWSipiY7IyPgFaWbzMTiB2TRYTuoeIZbMjVn79SHJD565vOMf7f3h5J9LAN-I2NTBAFpilYMdLM1JXHpyuK6sM_E/s1600/IMG_2401.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnMuLNiDI8yyMwpMOJtlJKqmKFla75eYtkykQh1vkgd331nqOhyphenhyphenbPxWSipiY7IyPgFaWbzMTiB2TRYTuoeIZbMjVn79SHJD565vOMf7f3h5J9LAN-I2NTBAFpilYMdLM1JXHpyuK6sM_E/s320/IMG_2401.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523240506419023586" /></a><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Having previously seen Margot in Grand Rapids, I was ready for an excellent concert. Iʼve been a fan since their first release, </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Dust of Retreat</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, and have praised every demo, single, session, and album theyʼve followed up with. </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Buzzard</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> is no exception. </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Buzzard</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> explores the rougher side of what the sextet can create. Margot has always been dark, but their latest effort combines Richard Edwardsʼ haunting lyrics with an energy that used to exist only in their live shows.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Lucida Grande'"></p><div><a name='more'></a></div><p></p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUcKb4J_E6JFEpqnJsrpZ9v9wsjAFNoIN1u-I-XfE15Lu1Y2XhLL2xtWDDdOUCq9SCdJd-1KGsBDpx7Bizqr53eGgW3GcS6hH0CQnLMnHEAchjTahtXdalGJSF0KDwIKnoM52207VNaiQ/s320/IMG_2411.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523242422740785842" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; font-family: Georgia, serif; " /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Seeing that the new album is dark, rough, and a bit perverse, the Blind Pig perfectly suited the atmosphere for the albumʼs release show. Perpendicular to railroad tracks, graffiti littered alleys, and dumpsters displaying such life lessons as “Fuck It,” one could imagine the band crafting tunes like “Freak Flight Speed” and “I Do” on the gravel beside the basement door. Once inside, The Blind Pig is a seedy dive bar, pure and simple. Black walls. Dull brass railings. Pictures of Mick Jagger and Elvis hang above the bar. The staff have scraggly facial hair and beer bellies. But it is friendly enough.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9QeKqb_-Ve3eAT8aNj7t7Qe9JbPYz30vEgpOOYhPGn58X6wRTWmKwxuPfhoRi8zZvs6Z1SafMpAcBhORVTfRE_rTQsH_-6NV35JlkAsFQtH5Fjd85PsAjFQY5hAc3nfG3vpZkp8ps_5k/s320/IMG_2395.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523244014462013778" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Soon I begin to wiggle my way through the fairly full audience and wonder what Margot will open with. Something older and familiar? Maybe. A single from </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Buzzard</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">? Seems likely. Sure enough it’s the new single “Will You Love Me Forever” – incidentally we got a private acoustic set before the show featuring this very song, typical of Margot, they love to strip songs down to just Rich and his acoustic guitar, and both versions of “Will You Love Me Forever” are fantastic.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">They continue to rip into new songs: “Freak Flight Speed,” “Birds,” and “New York City Hotel Blues.” The new songs sound amazing live. Peppered throughout the set are favorites and a few surprises off older records. “Dress Me Like A Clown” and “Skeleton Key” are rockers from the early </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Dust of Retreat</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. The catchy and just-plain-damn-cool “A Childrenʼs Crusade on Acid” keeps the audience screaming and clapping well after the last chord has been bashed out. “Hello Vagina” is a bit of a shocker, but nonetheless it finds its niche. And then “Broadripple is Burning”; it is simply one of the saddest and greatest acoustic songs written in the past decade. Everyone sings along.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; "></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLhiSlAlJ5qBxV-99dPuVUzP5Bps4_Uy0UHHYACvmp4B2tCxQzZuVrO7znv_tkV3YrniPpdGIcfWBy8KXU9IiyaUNLPjLKOu4eYd2mjEDc1Ap9VNZ2ZcbJczKzrvrRe7rvwha7GrNO27Q/s320/IMG_2409.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523244601748963714" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">During the course of the show beer bottles are drained; Bellʼs Two-Hearted Ale and Jameson are swigged and passed around like a communal canteen. As the beer stacks up and the whiskey level gets lower, one can gauge that the show is coming to a close. Sure enough the band exits with the slow and satisfying “Bookworm,” off of </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Dust of Retreat</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. But everyone knows it is only a quick cigarette and piss until they return to churn out a few more before they leave us for good. The encore consists of the weird and heartfelt “Tiny Vampire Robots” (</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Buzzard</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">) and the classic “Quiet As A Mouse” (</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Dust of Retreat</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">). And thus ends another Margot show. If you ever have the opportunity, go. Go and see a great band performing honest and honestly-great songs.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ian Heslip</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-62759887419141750682010-09-22T15:02:00.000-07:002010-09-22T16:21:51.666-07:00Impact Chats With... Dan Mangan!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.danmanganmusic.com/newwebtest/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/taggart_mangan_11_lr1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 600px;" src="http://www.danmanganmusic.com/newwebtest/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/taggart_mangan_11_lr1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Vancouver singer/songwriter Dan Mangan has a certain air of intense calm and openness that permeates any conversation. Before getting into the interview itself, I chatted with him about life on the road, and it became clear that this was certainly not his first time out touring. He spoke the way your favorite pair of old jeans would: warmly, comfortably. We at Impact 89FM caught up with him about his latest album </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Nice, Nice, Very Nice</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, the Vancouver scene, and life on the road.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Matt Revers:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Your songs are a really interesting blend of poeticism and casual conversation. How would you explain your writing process?</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Dan Mangan:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Iʼve heard other people describe it as almost like a train of thought. Iʼve never been good at writing things like devotion songs, you know, kind of love songs, so most of my stuff ends up being kind of conversational. Kind of like “here are a bunch of my thoughts in a row,” and sometimes itʼs more serious, and sometimes itʼs a little bit more kind of tongue-in-cheek. In general I just kind of like taking the piss out of humanity. I think that weʼre very fickle creatures, and weʼre doomed to make some of the same mistakes over and over again. I aim to rib human kind without being a jerk about it. I think overall Iʼd like to spread a message of optimism, but I do enjoy taking the piss, for sure.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Lucida Grande'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><div><a name='more'></a></div></span></p></span><p></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">MR:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Nice, Nice, Very Nice </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">is the second album youʼve done. How would you explain the differences between this album and </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Postcards and Daydreaming</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">?</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">DM:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> I think when I made the first album, I feel like I was quite young, and more than anything it was kind of like a test to see if we could make an album. I think I had, like, twelve songs that I had written, so I was like, “Yeah, I think Iʼll make an album with 12 songs,” (Laughs) It was everything that I had at that time, so I took about four years between that album </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Postcards and Daydreaming </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">and </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Nice, Nice, Very Nice </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">of straight touring, and after making that first album I decided that this really was what I wanted to do, so if I was gonna do it, I was really going to do it full steam. I didnʼt want to half-ass it, so I spend a lot of time writing, and over those four years I wrote about thirty songs that I was feeling pretty good about, and we whittled that down to about 22, and then down to 12. It was very much a culling process, and we were kind of trimming the fat, trimming the fat, trimming the fat, and I feel like coming towards the second record I had a much clearer idea in mind of what I wanted it to sound like; not just the song part, but the actual audible quality of it–and the arrangements. I came out of it with a lot more confidence and I think what that means is that everything sounds less epic, less anthemic. At first I was trying to make everything so big and long and everything had to be so darn meaningful, and I think that with the second record, my maturity was able to let things stay small and intricate and kind of understated.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">MR:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> I think all of those ideas work well with the song “Road Regrets,” so how would you explain that song?</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">DM:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> That song came as a result of about five or six days traveling on my own doing ten hour days in the car. I was driving to Austin, Texas and I was in western Texas and it was late at night and it started getting really stormy. Iʼd kind of been going crazy because Iʼd spent so much time in the car. I started wondering whether or not west Texas was a place tornadoes happened, and I started thinking, “Oh man, thereʼs going to be a tornado,” and I was kind of having one of those moments when youʼre kind of beside yourself and you donʼt know what to do–do you stop, or do you keep going, do you try to find some place to pull over and sleep? It was one of those affirming moments where I thought, this is what I signed up for, this is what I wanted to do, so Iʼll be coming against some adverse situations. The song was kind of me deliberating on the fact that sometimes being on the road seems like such a stupid thing to do, but at the end of it, if youʼre going to do it, do it full on.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">MR:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> So with that said, what would you say your favorite place to play is and why?</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">DM:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> I have a lot of favorite places to play. I think that a lot of cities have really great rooms, and a lot of great people in them. I think that there are great people in every city in the world, itʼs just about getting those people to your show. There are hubs, like San Francisco, Montreal, New York, where there are these large creative artistic communities that are thriving and pulsating, but even in the smaller towns, the Pontiac, Michigans, there are bound to be a handful of music lovers. If you can narrow in on those people every time, thatʼs how the great shows happen. And we just played Norman, Oklahoma, to like 20 people, maybe. Probably more like 17. It was a super hot night, no a.c., everyone was sweating, and there were like 20 people there and it was one of the most fun shows weʼve played in a while. Itʼs more about making the best out of every situation, and never taking for granted that it doesnʼt matter if there are 10,000 or 20 people there, there are people there that are giving their evening to you and paying to go there and theyʼre supporting you, and theyʼre buying t-shirts and stuff. Itʼs a matter of giving respect to each audience, no matter what. Not grabbing on to too big a sense of entitlement to anything, really.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">MR:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> So whatʼs the Vancouver scene like for you?</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">DM</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">: Itʼs really thriving. During the 90ʼs Vancouver was kind of a hard place to be from in terms of music. In the last ten years weʼve had a few big bands blow up out of there. New Pornographers, Black Mountain, Ladyhawk, You Say Party!, Mother Mother, a lot of really solid indie rock bands coming out of there, and the scene is really thriving. Thereʼs a really beautiful community of musicians there right now, that are into supporting the community as a whole and supporting each other. Rather than getting silly and jealous when one person gets a leg up, everyoneʼs kind of helping each other up the ladder. I Just assumed I would have to move to Montreal or Toronto to make it happen in Canada. Now Iʼm feeling like I donʼt want to go anywhere. Now Iʼm spending so much time on the road, when I am at home, Vancouver is such a lovely place to be. Itʼs a beautiful, beautiful city.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">MR:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> This latest album incorporated a lot more musicians this time. What was the recording process like?</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">DM:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Iʼd spent so much time on the road meeting musicians, when it came time to start making the record, I wanted to invite everybody in and make it like a big collective of musicians so I started sending out emails and phone calls seeing who wanted to be involved and who was into it. We spent about six weeks in Toronto and I flew in a couple friends to be part of it, and at one point we actually came back to Vancouver, and did some recording there with some friends there. It was an administrative feat to try to orchestrate all the recordings and the different people. But it was really important to me to involve the greater scene, and involve a lot of friends to make them apart of it. And to lean on them. Canada has so many talented musicians; itʼs great to be able to play with and rely on them.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">MR:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> So whatʼs next for you?</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">DM:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> We finish up these American dates. Weʼre heading out to the West Coast. Weʼre playing shows with the Walkmen, and Japandroids, and Okkervil River and then we go over to Europe for about a month. We play in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, France, the UK, and then we come back and go across Canada. Weʼre doing a lot of theaters and churches and some other alternative venues and halls across Canada. Thatʼll take us into about December, and weʼll start recording the next record. Iʼve got about 18 songs ready to go now. The band and I have been working on them, whittling them down, figuring out what kind of shape we want them to take. Then over the course of the winter, we should be able to get the album out by the end of the spring.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-63458758791573719782010-08-02T10:32:00.000-07:002010-08-02T10:47:57.012-07:00New Album Review: Frontier Ruckus' Deadmalls & Nightfalls<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500870002233498098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFwe5UJ7TvIg-vYAp-P0X6EFKdQTr5BZQFWiA98swu-8OWft-p8-tkW_cXgA2MYg1hvnv6Yp0jQ0pZKUANP7In08PhkH7nL_JfM0m01NnRx4R1ldngSW3m3RP5z5iL2UZ9CV3fuK75SCQ/s320/fruckus.jpg" border="0" /></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Frontier Ruckus: <em>Deadmalls & Nightfalls</em> Review</span></p><p><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve been to Michigan at some point in your life. You’ve probably driven through tangled cookie-cutter neighborhoods, you’ve spent the daylight in sticky humidity swatting at bugs, you’ve walked across oceans of asphalt parking-lots of strip malls, and in the night you’ve strained your eyes at the stars over the light pollution of the towns. You’ve probably seen what happens to towns when they’ve blossomed and stretch out as far as they could before slowly fading away. All of this is exactly what <em>Deadmalls & Nightfalls</em>, the Frontier Ruckus’ latest full-length (Ramseur Records), sounds like.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><div><a name='more'></a></div><br />In many ways, <em>Deadmalls</em> is about memory. Memories aren’t linear, they aren’t concise, they aren’t instant. They’re organic, they weave, they unfold fluidly, they sprawl, just like suburbia, just like <em>Deadmalls</em>. Matthew Milia, the chief songwriter for Frontier Ruckus leads us through his sometimes muddled, sometimes dark and humid, but always enchanting reflections on Michigan.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">As with <em>The Orion Songbook</em>, Milia doesn’t aim for concise lyricism; lines are sometimes so crammed with lyrics that its difficult to keep up with the allusion, allegory, and imagery. This, however, is not a bad thing. Instead, it’s one of the most rewarding qualities about Frontier Ruckus. The lyrics are so filled with scenery and memories, often accompanied by buoyant harmonies, that the songs are rewarding long after the first listen. The album is abound with references to Michigan landmarks and geography (the Pontiac Silverdome, White Lake, East Lansing, Sylvan Lake, and on), but the album is somehow able to translate specificity into universality. However, the songs bypass obvious emotions, instead using open ambivalence to create an entire landscape of feeling into their songs. “And what is left in my will when the lilac breath is leaving / You are a dark saviour / I do need saving / All our hot behavior will not deliver me,” warbles Milia on “I Do Need Saving,” one of several tracks that explore the sense of longing that so frequently accompanies reflection on the past.</span></p><p><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The album starts with “Nerves of the Nightmind,” a song rippling with feverish banjo, thundering drums and, briefly, ragtime piano. The entire album is intricately crafted, with time changes, key changes, harmonies, and a vast array of instrumentation, but does well to avoid sounding crowded, especially on the more sparse tracks . Though there aren’t any real departures from their alt folk/bluegrass style, Frontier Ruckus introduces a previously unseen sense for complexity which, coupled with the lyrical meanderings laden with references to rural and suburban life, make for all-together impressive song writing. Acoustic guitars, percussion, singing saw, banjo, violin, and intermittent horns are the perfect match for Milia’s earnest warble, all grounded in the Michigan scenery and stories of loved ones, family, travels. “Pour Your Nighteyes,” a short, stripped down song with stunning harmonies performed by Anna Burch, is a quiet exit song that ties together the album’s sense of longing with its gentler side. <em>Deadmalls & Nighfalls</em> is ultimately a more sophisticated, complex album that is a logical and impressive progression from their previous LP <em>The Orion Songbook</em>.</span></p><em><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Matt Revers</span></em>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-19357202438400970852010-07-26T18:31:00.001-07:002010-07-29T11:08:56.668-07:00Impact Chats With... KINGS GO FORTH!<u><span style="color:#0000ff;"></span></u><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImuqNQEAWhDKSYpfDxN7k9qTWQ0VpPSDLaHjlVwD7GAHoAkr2KO6drhYdV0SmAP497AtsG8yA7unI-HCkah1XFCS72-hwj-YTCXfHvWX1Q8XnCjwzo1QG5QRmimHao7Zja2eifQv5snI/s1600/kings_go_forth-outsiders.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499025192393335122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImuqNQEAWhDKSYpfDxN7k9qTWQ0VpPSDLaHjlVwD7GAHoAkr2KO6drhYdV0SmAP497AtsG8yA7unI-HCkah1XFCS72-hwj-YTCXfHvWX1Q8XnCjwzo1QG5QRmimHao7Zja2eifQv5snI/s320/kings_go_forth-outsiders.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><strong>Nick Van Huis:</strong> Your sound has kind of a Motown feel to it, how does it feel to be in Detroit?<br /><br /><strong>Andy Noble:</strong> You know, the "Motown" thing gets tossed around a lot in interviews and stuff, and it's not that it's not true, but it's just that 9 out of 10 times, my inspiration for the R&B or funk stuff comes from the people who were standing in the shadows of the Motown people, the ones who didn't have a huge record deal or anything like that. A lot more of the mom and pop recorded groups were more of an influence on us. Motown was kind of fancy. But it's a huge soul city, a ton of people I'm a fan of have created albums here, so it is exciting. I love Detroit, it's great for records, it's great for soul people in general.<br /><div><a name='more'></a></div><br /><br /><strong>NVH:</strong> Have you played here before?<br /><br /><strong>AN:</strong> Nope, this is our first show.<br /> <br /><strong>NVH:</strong> You used to own a record store, right?<br /><br /><strong>AN:</strong> I did, for ten years, and if you can believe it I actually closed it because it was preventing me from having more records because I had to be stationary all the time. I hunt for records so vigorously both physically and intellectually that I needed the freedom of movement. <br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>NVH:</strong> Did the ownership of the record store play into the formation of Kings Go Forth?<br />AN: There were some really direct connections. Our lead singer Black Wolf I met in my store. He came in, he had been arranging a gospel record in a studio across the street, and he came into my store and that's how we met. There's a lot of influence in the music that come from records that I was listening to, buying, and discovering when I was in the shop, and not just soul and funk and R&B stuff, but rock, a lot of stuff from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. I'm into what I call "Real People Music", music that was made by the little guys and that didn't have a lot of bullshit with all the business and stuff. It's more about the people who made records to see if anyone would play it on the radio. <br /><br /><strong>NVH:</strong> Where have you toured so far?<br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>AN:</strong> Basically, the first time we left Milwaukee was for SXSW, and that really opened a lot of doors for us. I was reluctant to do it at first, really. It's a big gamble, basically, but it paid off. We got a lot of exposure, and I think we really stuck out there, just because we were doing something that not everybody was doing. We did a small east coast tour to DC, New York, and Philly, and this is really just the third thing we've ever done. We've never been out for more than a week or so in a row. <br /><br /><strong>NVH:</strong> How did you end up on Luaka Bop [David Byrne's record label]?<br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>AN:</strong> Though David Byrne owns it, he's not really hands on with [the label] anymore, I guess. So Yale [Evelev] found us through a BMX video, his son's like this super good BMX guy and stuff, and they like watching BMX videos all day. I guess they put the song "One Day" in one of the videos, which I didn't even know about, but I guess that's how it goes some of the time. So he heard that, and just looked us up online and got in touch. I knew the label, I had the record shop, but I knew about them because I was really into Brazilian music. They had started out with a lot of Brazilian music; to this day, they have Tom Zé and Os Mutantes, I knew Os Mutantes' stuff, the Shuggie Otis reissue that they did was pretty amazing. So I knew about the label, and I thought it was a pretty weird fit for us. They were definitely thought of as being very international, except the last three artists they've signed have been from America. They're all really different from each other, Javelin in particular I really like. Javelin is really interesting though, I think we both have influence from third-world music. <br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>NVH:</strong> Is it hard being the group leader in a group with almost a dozen members?<br /><br /><strong>AN:</strong> It can be, and there have been times already when on singer has had their eyes on a song and I've decided to give it to another singer for whatever reason. <br /><br /><strong>NVH:</strong> So you pick those things? <br /><br /><strong>AN:</strong> I do, more or less. You can't have a pure democracy with a ten-piece group; it's just chaos. I tend to make the final call, but I'd like to think that I take the most input as possible, sometimes even from outside the band. I'm a record listener, I'm a record collector, so I bounce ideas off people. I'm really interested to see how one note, one chord, one song can bounce off different people in different ways. <br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>NVH:</strong> So with the recent revival of soul music, with artists like Sharon Jones and Duffy, how does it feel to be thrown into that mix?<br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>AN:</strong> To a certain extent, I think we're all helping each other. Sharon Jones' band has a couple members that I've been friends with for a while now. I think that they broke down a lot of these barriers, these doors, with the size of a group like that. I guarantee you that Gabe [Bosco Mann] and Neal [Sugarman of the Dap-Kings] did not start that group thinking it would be charting on Billboard. It wasn't what they even wanted. I feel like since they broke down these doors, that all we're doing is walking through them, so of course I'm going to be like, "Thanks, Sharon, thanks Gabe, thanks Neal!" because they did do a lot of the work already. People know now. Otherwise, you would say, "You should go check out this band tonight, they're a soul band," and people would think we were a wedding band. Now you can say, "Kind of like Sharon Jones," and even though it's not exact, it's closer than the wedding band. I don't begrudge any of that stuff. <br /><br /><strong>NVH:</strong> I'd be interested to hear what you'd define as "rare soul". <br /><br /><strong>AN:</strong> "Rare Soul" is a catch-all term for the regional artists that never really broke out, a lot of the stuff that came out on tiny Mom and Pop record labels back in the day. Rare Soul is a term I like to use in place of more media-friendly terms like Northern Soul, Deep Funk and things like that. Those are more English-oriented terms that refer more directly to subcultures in England. Rare Soul is a great umbrella because it is what it is. They're just rarer soul records, they're people who weren't as famous as Otis Redding. Lee Fields or someone like that is a great example. He made records back then, and he sounds a lot like James Brown, he can sound a lot like Otis Redding. He made records back then, they were great, but he wasn't famous at all. He's way more famous now than he was back then. Rare Soul is sometimes just that simple, sometimes it's just more obscure. But after you've waded through tens of thousands of titles like I have, you start to notice sounds, and whole styles, that never bubbled up to the charts. It's a fascinating world, like jazz and its infinite amount of subgenres. There's all these different worlds, there's a lot to explore.Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-84675530959188158812010-07-22T11:47:00.000-07:002010-07-23T11:27:00.434-07:00SLEIGH BELLS concert review: July 15, 2010<a href="http://www.urb.com/wp-content/thumbnails/41908.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 252px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 251px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.urb.com/wp-content/thumbnails/41908.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p>At the very pinnacle of restless anticipation, strobe lights burst into the anxious eyes of the crowd. A giant swell of violent energy exploded from both the stage and the audience at the same time. Everyone began shoving everyone else as "Tell 'Em," the opening song off of Sleigh Bells' freshman LP <em>Treats</em>, tore through the venue.</p><p><div><a name='more'></a></div><br />Derek E. Miller (guitar) and Alexis Krauss are something of an odd couple, musically, but the contrast works for them. Sleigh Bells' thrashing hip hop-inspired beats shook the whole room while Miller played gutter-scraping guitar hooks (Miller was once in hardcore group Poison the Well), and Krauss sang her sweet-gone-poisonous vocals.<br /></p><p>Sleigh Bells' sound is a gritty alloy of contemporary hip-hop, metal, and pop. Chaos was the most prominent feature of the concert, but Krauss' surprisingly pretty voice grounded the explosive noise, and the only live instrument was Miller's guitar, which allowed the band to keep control over their decidedly aggressive sound. The energy was consistently high with both the band and the audience, which turned the concert into more of an experience than anything else, and both members of the band were giving more of a show than I could have ever expected.</p><p><br />Almost as amazing as the actual performance was the turn-out. The Magic Stick was completely packed, but <em>Treats</em> has barely been out for two months. Signing on to N.E.E.T. (MIA's label) certainly didn't hurt the Brooklyn-based duo's popularity, but it speaks even more to the power of internet hype. It seemed like every blog had something good to say about Sleigh Bells before <em>Treat</em>s was even completed, but the band delivered on all fronts, and for that, they were seriously rewarded with a packed house.</p><p><br /><em>Matt Revers</em></p>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-62969079693352260452010-07-18T09:31:00.000-07:002010-07-23T11:21:57.660-07:00Lemuria Concert Review: July 10, 2010<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilklHyP6tcO50srL3jYnm0l6Zn6XP7Lpe-w6aOYBNm-kylZ45sSRpsyoMU6yfxL-nJkfvp3ROU9zFbSymQn-J794Yr6xwqoCXBTLlsiffhIIyLmgjPS3SXSx1YxTIf6vo39ndpYOKtOsU/s1600/IMG_0569lemuria.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496412284367271810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilklHyP6tcO50srL3jYnm0l6Zn6XP7Lpe-w6aOYBNm-kylZ45sSRpsyoMU6yfxL-nJkfvp3ROU9zFbSymQn-J794Yr6xwqoCXBTLlsiffhIIyLmgjPS3SXSx1YxTIf6vo39ndpYOKtOsU/s320/IMG_0569lemuria.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><div><div><div>As I had just finished my set with the <a href="http://www.myspace.com/cartridgefamily">Cartridge Family</a> -- who are now banned in Lansing -- at GTG Fest in Ionia, I knew it was time to head back to Lansing for the Lemuria show at Mac's Illustrious Bar.<br /><div><a name='more'></a></div><br /><div>I enter the now smokeless Mac's Bar to the site of hardcore hipsters who came to see Lemuria play, who just recently signed to these hipsters' favorite hardcore label, Bridge 9. The first band to hit the stage for this early all ages show was The Guest Stars, who surprised many incoming show-goers with their pop punk sound in the vein of Say Anything and early Green Day. They blended their own style of pop punk nicely, all the while giving people the reason to ask "Who are these guys? This is an opening band that doesn't suck." To be honest, I was chanting "Young Dan Tucker" in hopes of that band to play instead of The Guest Stars, but they were the best substitute for Young Dan Tucker.<br /></div><br /><div>The next band to hit the stage was Homelife, whose first couple songs I missed due to the fact I was hungry and went to El Oasis to get a burrito. They play a style of post hardcore/pop punk/emo similar to that of bands like Small Brown Bike, minus the dual vocals. From a band that I have seen plenty of times, they have definitely improved their live shows and the fact that they just came back from a short east coast tour probably benefited their sound on this night.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496411724830126258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgIqCRtBnI5aK44fMifQ6KHx-Q8UYfISHhzJQpE9yqqEZL9SXZX6R5VJ1kHwR4EnyRU9itCKy-MZVDBgx6R_ScXW-hb0hnz_uoWLEAMxsY6k1GfRB69pDyuP_BGR8sewqPfhvlNbloaeM/s320/IMG_0535fisherking.JPG" border="0" /><br />The next band was Fisherking, which on this evening was their EP release show that is being released on Bermuda Mohawk Productions, who came with a vengeance this night, which showed, with the crowd singing along to their songs and moshing to their hardcore punk songs similar to that of Comeback Kid and with a lot of early hardcore punk influences. They were very tight, especially on their song "Bringing Me Down," where the 3-piece stops on a dime at moments within the song and start up thrashing again and then stopping with a drum breakdown after each time the band stops.</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496411932931447266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglqTNWAEqASwHALTwlvVAL0AikB3VlVqle9q0pBfLTN626JXVBbhKJhQBk8pwgyDEfwMiw1M6FQffjGSfTQiRHIRIExlfnUoy7ISxVqnuS_gc-MI80yna3zlMhRIie2jOMyzwJTGClzg0/s320/IMG_0513fisherking.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>A sight to see during their live set is to watch Ben Jenson, as he is in a trance, possessed by his guitar. As their set was over, they played a surprise song which was a cover of the Bad Brains song "Big Takeover," which really did 'takeover' the crowd as the last song of their set.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496410425597050658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrVRP-q4cXuvQpXLM2BuFBiEq4xHhwHzLdREI51_JsCsPtUNtZnDsEM2UJ_X0Jw-1xgii1qUmhQ4VkRxb0CdBSeYfPbpAT6n1RDrWpLG6d4kKBLoDRPoXbZ-NVvqpi8bYyDGe_IF5ew-Q/s320/IMG_0564cheapgirls.JPG" border="0" /></div><br /><div>After the fast paced hardcore punk set, it was time to settle down to the mid tempo pop punk/powerpop of the Cheap Girls. The Cheap Girls played all of their hits and overall had a great as usual set, for the many times I have seen them, they did not disappoint. They defintely found me a drink home to Ft. Lauderdale, after we found weed in the parking lot and took the long way back home to have another.</div><br /><div>To finish off the evening of this show was the only band on the bill that I have not seen live before, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/lemuria">Lemuria</a>. With the female fronted vocals, Lemuria's Sheena Ozzella sings in a soothing way that could make anyone's day better. The only bad thing about their set was that it took a long time to sound check, or at least it felt like forever. The dual vocals of Sheena and the drummer, Alex Kerns, put everyone into their own soft calmed state as they sang along, and watched the band play.<br /></div><br /><div>A lot of songs that I had previously heard were not played because the former bass player had vocal parts in the songs, so those songs were not played, which kind of disappointed me; but they are set to record a new album with their new bass player and with the dual vocals of Sheena and Alex. Also, be on the lookout for their split with the Cheap Girls on <a href="http://noidearecords.com/">No Idea Records</a> soon. The worst part of the show: the humid Michigan summer weather, if it wasn't for the hot sticky weather inside Mac's Bar it would have been a perfect show.</div><br /><div><em>Ante Beslic</em></div></div></div></div></div></div>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-81935522447263288852010-07-12T14:52:00.000-07:002010-07-23T11:22:16.352-07:00Levi's 2010 Pioneers Album Review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.levispioneersessions.com.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/opening_credits_572x318-562x312.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 562px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 312px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://images.levispioneersessions.com.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/opening_credits_572x318-562x312.jpg" border="0" /></a> <p class="MsoNormal">Levi's, in a project called "<a href="http://www.levispioneersessions.com/">Pioneer Sessions</a>," has released 13 covers since May in an attempt to, in effect, celebrate the endurance of truly great songs (and to generate music for new commercials, no doubt).</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Lucida Grande';font-size:15;"></span></p><div><a name='more'></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">And maybe I'm reading too much into this, but there's probably some intentional parallel between the endurance of classic tunes and classic blue jeans, you know, because "We are all workers." Indie fans/hipsters like their music the way they like their skinny jeans, rougher around the edges than anything they've actually had to endure. Naturally She & Him was there. It just wouldn't be Indie or bitingly cliche without them.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">This gimmick doesn't detract from the musical merit of the tracks themselves, though. Artists like Nas, The Dirty Projectors and Raphael Saadiq -- "pioneers" of the music industry -- were asked to record a song that had special significance. Levi's did a good job of finding flannel-wearing, mostly NYLON-featured individuals that all happened to choose amazing songs. I loved Passion Pit's take on Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight, Tonight" and Jason Mraz managed to not be annoying while performing Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit in the Sky."</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">I don't know how Colbie Caillat covering Blondie qualifies as pioneer-y, but this song caught me on a girlie day so I'll let it fly.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">As a whole, the project has a gritty, soulful and optimistic American feel with blues, folk, hip-hop and rock coming together seamlessly (with Bomba Estereo reppin Colombia because, why not?) for some great advertising power. And really, what's more American than trying to sell something? </p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Courtney Morra</i></p>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-2291185088396885562010-06-21T19:02:00.000-07:002010-07-23T11:22:29.912-07:00Marina and the Diamonds: The Family Jewels album review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/30/Marinathefamilyjewels.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 600px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 600px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/30/Marinathefamilyjewels.jpg" border="0" /></a> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">She is (if we must make a comparison) Regina Spektor meets Lady Gaga, maybe a little bit <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.myspace.com/yacht">YACHT</a>. Marina Lambrini Diamandis (Marina and the Diamonds) on her first album, <i>The Family Jewels, </i><span style="FONT-STYLE: normal">offers an addicting take of social commentary with poppy hooks and a stunningly bold and orchestral voice. Maybe you're familiar with tracks like "I Am Not A Robot" and "Hollywood," but these don't do the album justice. Because, while these songs give a fair synopsis of what Marina seems to be about (I have a big dream, I'm true to myself), they don't cut in the way "Oh No" does or explore the enveloping quality of her art as in "Numb."</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">And it's not just her range that's incredible, but how somehow, in her own effortless way, she manages to evoke this energy that literally gives me goose bumps. There are lyricists who struggle to sing convincingly about self-awareness or any sort of Rajasic power because, well, they don't <i>sound </i><span style="FONT-STYLE: normal">strong or uninhibited. Not the case in this work. She could have used less instrumentation and mixing because, honestly, she doesn't need it. But I'm still going to be listening to her in the car for the next month at least. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">In sum, <i>The Family Jewels </i><span style="FONT-STYLE: normal">beckons the listener to question, to scream, to simultaneously be here while flying there. "Better to be hated than love, love, loved for what you're not." And is it not almost too sexy to hear a woman say, "I know exactly what I want and who I want to be?<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Keep your ears open for this one. She's in your face and she knows what she is talking about. But Welsh-Greek soon-to-be star is going to "take over the world" without selling sex. Let's applaud that, at least!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Courtney Morra</i></p>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-88161233802752573542010-06-16T16:19:00.000-07:002010-07-23T11:23:23.100-07:00Impact Presents... THE APPLES IN STEREO!<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfc8VM-qhZBAGgcgvxEUW4uxWHc95KpFDNwitQVdRrOJHdNaerFsJ38yVTCGay2JQZmFiVqdD4RZIo5asZnSdm_4FuhyEn0kxHIMz3AWkKjozzHrGD3tkjtnhp4k1Vd2zgRTh50GMViA/s1600/P1000547.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXp1FGCoVc0qcNWydzzwz0P-j9JlQXt21hhIoYP4IGKKuSbAe8dLXjGMTUVr2yX5Mi1VzVl1BQF1xJ9DD_LEB5-DJpGitupoR5dxbjx_5uobMh6uBnJb67Fd7JUhe-KZjttMyN9ZlFUHM/s1600/P1000598.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483515716038222242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXp1FGCoVc0qcNWydzzwz0P-j9JlQXt21hhIoYP4IGKKuSbAe8dLXjGMTUVr2yX5Mi1VzVl1BQF1xJ9DD_LEB5-DJpGitupoR5dxbjx_5uobMh6uBnJb67Fd7JUhe-KZjttMyN9ZlFUHM/s320/P1000598.JPG" border="0" /></a> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000ee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Robert Schneider: </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I have a son who's 9 years old, and we always act futuristic on the phone… I'll be like, "I'll see you in the future, future, future" (voice fades), and he'll be like "Okay Daddy, daddy, daddy". My wife said I should use it on stage.</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Calibri, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">On Wednesday, April 28th the Impact presented the Apples In Stereo's live show at the Pike Room in Pontiac.</span><span style="font-size:0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Calibri, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We talked to Robert Schneider, frontman of Apples in Stereo, and the only remaining original member.</span><span style="font-size:0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">He started the Elephant 6 music collective, with members like Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel), and Will Cullen Hart (Olivia Tremor Control).</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Calibri, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Calibri, serif;"><p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 16px 'Lucida Grande'"></p><br /><p></p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Calibri, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Calibri, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underlinefont-family:Georgia, serif;" ><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483516049359912562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUfc8VM-qhZBAGgcgvxEUW4uxWHc95KpFDNwitQVdRrOJHdNaerFsJ38yVTCGay2JQZmFiVqdD4RZIo5asZnSdm_4FuhyEn0kxHIMz3AWkKjozzHrGD3tkjtnhp4k1Vd2zgRTh50GMViA/s320/P1000547.JPG" border="0" /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The show started with psychedelic rock band Laminated Cat, from Athens Georgia.</span><span style="font-size:0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The members are young and the band even includes twin brothers.</span><span style="font-size:0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Next was the Generationals from New Orleans.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Finally, the Apples in Stereo came on in matching silver space outfits.</span><span style="font-size:0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The band played a phenomenal show with tons of energy.</span><span style="font-size:0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">After the show we asked Robert about them and he said they were designed by Rebecca Turbow, who also designs outfits for Of Montreal.</span><span style="font-size:0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Robert explained, "We're a spaceship crew.</span><span style="font-size:0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We're supposed to be in uniform.</span><span style="font-size:0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I'm kind of like the guru, that's my role in the crew.</span><span style="font-size:0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We all have our characters."</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Calibri, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underlinefont-family:Georgia, serif;" ><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483516556590197842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2S3MFT3IlPte4ck21-0rh4N5uCeRU9Fa2r8YMp6k3NOI2G-7-ppB-BrzJbDih3TObPCfhC9u_OVkTU8FxgF5iFAT5PYBPJ493iDzmFfsI2V4PHy1p_XxqWHhVICCo-MWlnddW3ayKbY/s320/applessetlist.JPG" border="0" /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Here's the set list:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Hey Elevator</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Dignified Dignitary</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Go!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Energy</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Please</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Dance Floor</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Told You Once</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sun Is Out</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Rainbow</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Seven Stars</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Next Year</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">No One In The World</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Same Old Drag</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Can You Feel It</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Tidal</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The band came out for a couple encores including "Strawberryfire."</span><span style="font-size:0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Check the Impact YouTube channel for video of the show.</span><span style="font-size:0;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">See more photos on our <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/impact89fm/sets/72157624149772810/detail/">flickr stream here</a>.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="mso-bidi-: ;font-family:Calibri;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A big thanks to the Apples in Stereo and the Crofoot/Pike Room and Yep Roc records for making this all happen!</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:14;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0pt; mso-pagination: none; mso-layout-grid-align: none; tab-stops: 28.0pt 56.0pt 84.0pt 112.0pt 140.0pt 168.0pt 196.0pt 224.0pt 3.5in 280.0pt 308.0pt 336.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:14;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><em>Elise Yoon</em></o:p></p><!--EndFragment-->Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-90975513723294990492010-06-15T12:54:00.000-07:002010-07-23T11:22:40.384-07:00The Black Keys: Brothers album review<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/93/The_Black_Keys_-_Brothers.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/93/The_Black_Keys_-_Brothers.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">A few months back I played one of my favorite songs of the year, "Rockabilly Party" off of the newest Quasi album on Sit or Spin. The song, a Neil Young style guitar rave up, is nothing revelatory or new but it's a great SIMPLE rock song.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><div><a name='more'></a></div></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I always have and always will preach the importance of simple rock music. Don't get me wrong I like weird and complicated music. Music that stretches the boundaries of what music is or used to be. Music that pushes the envelope and creates something completely new. BUT, not everything has to be new and original. A lot of "original" music tries to hard to be original and falls very short of being revelatory. Thus the brilliance of "Rockabilly Party". Its takes an old archetype without simply rehashing it, it recasts it in a new light, creating something completely new. Some people don't like simple rock music, one of the panelists that night was one of those people. He claimed that it was passe to make rock music, he said that everything that could be done had been done with rock music. He only liked "new" and "original" music. The "new" and "original" song he played was a song by a band Autechre, a three minute drone that had no melody or music to it at all. It sounded like a broken air conditioner frankly, and it was only "original" because it wasn't music, it was just sound.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">That night made me think about how a lot of great—not necessarily simple— rock music has been made since the beginning of this year. The great southern rock shit-kickers the Drive-By Truckers released one the best albums of their career, and maybe of the year, employing a crunchy guitar onslaught and somewhat twisted, story driven lyrics. The Hold Steady released their newest album <em>Heaven is Whenever</em> which has the same immediacy and enthusiasm of previous records. Although this album has the band reaching for the cheap seats and singer Craig Finn is in somewhat of a dad mode, the music has the ferocity and punch that we as fans have come to expect from the Hold Steady. Speaking of ferocious, one of the best rock records of the year come from New Jersey punks Titus Andronicus. <em>The Monitor</em> grabs you by the throat and never lets go. It's an album rooted in classic rock nostalgia—paraphrasing Springsteen, "tramps like us/baby we were born to die"— and punk spirit. It has true grit and true tenacity and it is rooted in the ethereal experience of rock music. All three bands are rooted in the immediacy and experience of rock music.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The Black Keys are another band that has added to this year's collection of great rock music. The Black Keys gained prominence with a few albums of meat and potatoes rock music but in more recent history the band has stretched out their sound. On their last album, <em>Attack and Release</em>, Dangermouse was behind the boards and his influence is hard to miss. <em>Attack and Release</em> found the Black Keys moving into a more adventurous, psychedelic direction. <em>Brothers</em> mines a lot of the same vein as <em>Attack and Release</em> while also moving the band into newer unmapped territory. Cuts like "Next Girl" and "Tighten Up" are archetypal Keys tracks both sounding like they could have been outtakes for <em>Attack and Release</em> — in a good way The most surprising changes in the Black Key's sound is their Motown and soul leanings.For the first time on record lead singer Dan Auerbach sings in falsetto, a far cry from his bluesy howl, while songs like "Never Gonna Give You Up" find the band in a more Motown-y head space, it is easy to say that this is the most adventurous Black Keys album to date.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Rock music isn't about flash or reinventing the wheel, because the wheel keeps rolling There is an immediacy to rock music and an immediate gratification, that's why it doesn't need to be complicated or challenging.Life is complicated and and challenging, why not just enjoy the simple things in life?<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><em>Nick Van Huis</em><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-16851185179832209872010-06-06T17:47:00.000-07:002010-07-23T11:22:58.228-07:00Impact Chats With... LOCAL NATIVES<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://drlacxos.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/local-natives.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://drlacxos.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/local-natives.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><p class="MsoNormal">5/10/2010 at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor</p><p class="MsoNormal"><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Nick Van Huis:</b> I know <i>Gorilla Manor</i> was named after the house you guys lived in. How did the experience of living in that house influence the album?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ryan:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I think it definitely shaped the way that we write songs together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I’ve come to find that we are very weird, in that we are so collaborative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I think a lot of bands are centered around one guy who just writes all of the songs and tells everyone what to do. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>But we would wake up on Saturday morning or whatever and literally just get together in the main room of the house and just write songs together around a piano and two acoustic guitars and we did a lot of the songs that way just hours and hours on end of everyone just putting in their ideas and shaping the song that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b></b></p><b><p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 16px 'Lucida Grande'"></p><div><a name='more'></a></div><p></p></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Taylor:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Not only was it that but it was also the very act of moving in together marked a time when everyone agreed to make the band a number one pursuit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And part of that was Ryan and I were in school a couple of the guys had full time jobs and we decided to put everything behind pursuing our passion for music and being in a band together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There was a lot of solidarity in the group at that time and I remember it as a time when it was so intense because we were really excited to be following our dreams, but at the same time we literally didn’t know where money was going to come from for next month’s rent and food. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>And it was just the classic starving artist situation that was really exhilarating but really trying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And I think that was also important and that kind of shaped the urgency we all had and how driven we were at that time.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV:</b> You guys mentioned the collaborative process, how cohesive is the process itself?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ryan:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There’s not any set parameters like, “this is what’s gonna happen with the song.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We’re still kind of figuring it out but for the most part someone will bring an idea, whether it’s just a guitar line or a vocal melody, or even like a whole demo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And it would unexpectedly go a million different ways that I think the person who brought it to the table could never have anticipated. I think that’s what’s so exciting about being in this band. Yeah, it is cohesive but it’s not stagnant, you never know what’s gonna happen to it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV:</b> Do you guys get into any fights?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Taylor:</b> We’ve never had a fight. We’re like the perfect couple that you get so angry at because they’re so in love. They’re always smiling at each other and never fighting. That’s not true. That’s not true at all. It’s funny because I was gonna say it’s not cohesive. As Ryan said, it is in terms that we do work together really well, but there’s not a lot of uniformity and the thing about our songs is there’s a lot of really positive tension in the song writing process because someone brings a song to the table and I can be sure that if I bring in a song it’ll be flipped on its head and changed around and turn in ways that I didn’t expect, probably 5 or 6 times before we finally land. And so, there is a lot of tension in the writing process. It does take us a long time to write things out because we hash things out so much together, but I think as Ryan was also eluding to that’s what makes our band unique in it’s approach to writing. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV:</b> All the songs on the record sound like Local Native songs, but certain songs have different personalities. Does that reflect the personalities in the band?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ryan:</b> Yeah, I think about a song like “Who Knows Who Cares” versus a song like “Wide Eyes” that were brought by different people but like I think you said they all have elements that make them Local Native songs. Wouldn’t you say? (Taylor laughs) We agree.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV:</b> So you guys right now are getting a lot of positive praise and comparisons for example, being called the "West Coast Grizzly Bear." How do you feel about al those comparisons?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Taylor:</b> I think they’re very flattering and I think with any new band they get compared to somebody and I think as an artist there’s always some part of them that hates that. Like, “What the heck? I don’t sound like that band,” and that’s a very natural reaction but at the same time people need something to at least put it in a ballpark. And I think I do have to say the bands we’ve been compared to, we’re huge fans of and we respect very much and we’re very lucky in that aspect. It’s just sometimes when it goes over the line when people say, “These guys sound just like Grizzly Bear or just like whoever” and if you listen to our album we don’t really sound like any of those bands. And so it can get lazy and that can be annoying from the artist’s perspective, but I think it’s been positive the way the media has compared others with us. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ryan:</b> I think when people have a certain perception or whatever they may say they sound like whatever band I really feel like our live shows is one of those things that shifts peoples perceptions of us because our record sounds a certain way and I like our record, but I really feel like live is where we’re in our element. I just like hearing people say, “Now that I’ve seen you live, I don’t feel that it’s fair to say it’s just this or that”. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Taylor:</b> Our set tends to be a little more energetic and kind of raucous than it seems on the album.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV:</b> I know you guys work on your artwork together, and it’s a little out there. What’s the inspiration behind that?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ryan:</b> It depends on each little thing— there’s a different inspiration behind it. I think as far as the album artwork goes, Andy was the one that came up with the concept and came up with the artwork. When he explained it to me I thought it was really cool because at the time we were all just band 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, just constantly immersed in this world of focus and not eating well and not sleeping and trying to juggle all these responsibilities and whatnot. It really did feel like our heads were going to explode at times and I think in almost this weird way he sort of embodied that. And like you said, it is kinda grotesque and weird but at the same time there’s this beauty in it and as far as the album artwork I feel like it kind of encapsulated the vibe and the feeling we were all going through at the time. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Taylor:</b> And the only thing I’ll add is you know we do everything that has to do with the artwork ourselves whether it’s a tour poster or it’s a 7 inch or the album artwork. And that’s very important to us because it is another extension of who we are as a band and so we do spend a lot of time on it and go over it back and forth.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:+0;"></span><b>NV:</b> A lot is written about your 2009 appearances at SXSW, what was that experience like?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Taylor:</b> Our first SXSW was in March. We did nine shows and we kind of made the majority of the record, and we made it ourselves, and it was self-funded and everything. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>We went out there just hoping to play for as may people as possible. We didn’t have very many connections; we had some kind of leads and then a couple weeks before the festival. All these shows just rolled into our laps and some of them were put on blogs that were friends of ours, some of them were just recommendations, some of them had just seen us at shows, so we got this official showcase at the same show as Grizzly Bear so just crazy stuff kept coming in. We played these shows and what we found, very interestingly, was that everyone that was showing up at our concerts more and more each time had English accents and they were all from abroad and because of that festival we got a lot of attention overseas. We ended up going over there and ended up releasing our record first in the U.K. as a result of that festival. So that was certainly a turning point for us, especially internationally. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV:</b> Were there any major differences between the 2009 and 2010 SXSWs?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ryan:</b> Yeah (laughs). I think just by the sheer scope of the shows. We did the same number of shows, but the level to which each show had suddenly risen was like night and day. We played a show in 2009 in a bicycle shop.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Taylor</b>: On the third floor, no stage, no PA system. And it was packed with 30 people there.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ryan:</b> I think the smallest show was like a few hundred people at this year’s SXSW. And it was crazy just to see people singing along. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Taylor:</b> That was the other difference. It was really crazy.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ryan:</b> People were on our side. 2009 was all about people being like “What’s going on here?” This year people were kind of rooting for us in a way. It was really, really cool.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV: </b>Why did you choose “Warning Sign” as the Talking Heads cover for your album?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ryan:</b> That was Andy right?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Taylor:</b> Yeah, Andy brought that song to our attention and we were looking for a cover song just at the time to add to our live set. We had no intention of putting any kind of cover song on our album. He brought the song to the table and we thought “Yeah, let’s give this one a stab!” The Talking Heads are great and this could be really cool and it was just a couple practices and we hashed out this version really quickly and one thing became the next. It became a staple of our live set that we played every show and all of a sudden it seemed like maybe it would be really awesome to put on the album. It was kind of this natural evolution of changing the song so much that it seemed okay for us to put it on the album.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was actually really crazy, we had just played in New York a couple days ago and we had heard a little bit before that finally David Byrne (of the Talking Heads) had heard our version of “Warning Sign.” Of course we were terrified completely of any kind of reaction and word on the street was that he enjoyed it. We invited him out to the Bowery Show and he ended up coming to the Bowery Ballroom show. He checked out the show and we got to meet him and everything and that was this amazing thing— meeting your hero, and the sigh of relief that you didn’t desecrate something that was really important to you. So that was really nice and a kind of full circle thing for us last week. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV:</b> Your original band was called Cavil At Rest. What was the transition from that band to Local Natives like?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Taylor:</b> Ryan made that name up when we were sophomores in high school. We’ve been playing together since 8<sup>th</sup> grade. It’s funny you didn’t know how to pronounce it because that was a problem for us for like 7 years. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ryan:</b> I think it was more of a long evolution. It was just a long time coming. I mean, we’ve been doing it for a long time and growing and maturing and I think we were writing better and better songs and figuring out what worked for us. By the time the album was to be recorded, it was like, “This album has nothing to do with what we were doing in high school when we first called ourselves Cavil at Rest.” It was like “This was a new band.” It was kind of a name change and this name change afforded us a clean slate where we could be a new band to a lot of people, whereas we had already had this chemistry where we had been playing together and writing songs together for a long time. There was this new energy behind it because we were Local Natives. We were this new band. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Taylor:</b> I’ll say that I don’t think it was a gradual evolution as much as a “punctuated equilibrium”. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ryan:</b> Wow.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Taylor:</b> Is that alright that I busted that out?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ryan:</b> I don’t know man, that’s crazy. Punctuated equilibrium?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Taylor:</b> Yeah, you remember that from science class studying evolution, right? Punctuated equilibrium is the theory that there are intense periods that in a very small amount of time there is a lot of evolution.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Ryan:</b> Okay, that’s fair.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Taylor:</b> Anyways, when we moved in together in those months leading up to the recording of the album was a very transformative time period for us. We were really just able to hone in and find our grooves and things really coalesced in a way for us. It was just that extra step of saying the band is everything that led us to be able to make those final changes that were so important to us in the end.</p><!--EndFragment--></div>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-91968511140946668302010-05-25T15:01:00.000-07:002010-07-23T11:23:43.078-07:00Impact Softball Cards!?!<object height="300" width="400"><param name="flashvars" value="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fimpact89fm%2Fsets%2F72157624136422546%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fimpact89fm%2Fsets%2F72157624136422546%2F&set_id=72157624136422546&jump_to="><param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><br /> <embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fimpact89fm%2Fsets%2F72157624136422546%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fimpact89fm%2Fsets%2F72157624136422546%2F&set_id=72157624136422546&jump_to=" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br />After the Impact vs. State News softball game, it seemed VERY necessary to create Impact Softball Cards to collect and trade!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/impact89fm/sets/72157624136422546/">::flickr Album Link Here::</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-23673054386055351522010-05-18T21:46:00.000-07:002010-07-23T11:23:54.607-07:00Minus The Bear Concert Review: April 25th, 2010 at St. Andrew's Hall<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://blogs.kcrw.com/musicnews/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Omni.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://blogs.kcrw.com/musicnews/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Omni.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000ee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 18px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Detroit area has been buzzing over the past few weeks in high anticipation of indie group Minus the Bear making a stop in town on their current tour. The Seattle based band is in the process of promoting their forth full-length album,</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> Omni</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, and played at the infamous St. Andrew's Hall on April 25</span></span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">th</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, to much enthusiasm from local fans.</span></span></p><p style="MIN-HEIGHT: 21px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 18px 'Times New Roman'"></p><p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 16px 'Lucida Grande'"></p><div><a name='more'></a></div><p></p><p></p><p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 18px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I was introduced to Minus The Bear back in 2005 with their second LP </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Menos el Oso, </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">which brought them their real first significant claim to fame. Though a follower of their music over the past 5 years, I have not had the opportunity of seeing the band play live: an event I've been told is a must-see. </span></span></p><p style="MIN-HEIGHT: 21px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 18px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 18px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Openers Young the Giant and Everest did a good job at keeping the crowd entertained and were catchy enough, but not quite enough to distinguish one song from another after they left the stage. Through a sea of plaid shirts and cigarette smoke, you could see the crowd begin to get restless in anticipation of the headliners. When Minus the Bear finally took the stage, you could tell how much energy the crowd had been holding back until this point.</span></span></p><p style="MIN-HEIGHT: 21px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 18px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 18px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Known for their quirky time signatures, and the monotone lyrical skills of front man Jake Snider, I was surprised at how high energy the band was, as I've always known them for their peaceful, ambient sound. I was also surprised by the amount of electronics incorporated into their set; synthesizers and a killer light show really gave the show that little something extra. </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Omni</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> seems to be the most mainstream friendly and upbeat of the Minus the Bear LPs, and hearing selections from it that night was really my first introduction to the new music. I look forward to hearing more now that the album is out in stores. It seems I was behind the times, however, as most already seemed more than familiar with the new Minus the Bear sound, as well as all of the lyrics. </span></span></p><p style="MIN-HEIGHT: 21px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 18px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 18px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The crowd also rocked out to some classic Minus the Bear, as the band played many selections from </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Planet of Ice</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Menos el Moso</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> and rounded out their set with "Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse" off of 2002's </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Highly Refined Pirates</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, the group's first full length. </span></span></p><p style="MIN-HEIGHT: 21px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 18px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 18px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Overall, the crowd walked away seemingly satisfied, never losing energy throughout the entirety of the show. Minus the Bear seems to share a certain calm chemistry with its fans; a chemistry where the show goers can be laid back but still fully into the music. I believe I have now jumped on the bandwagon as a Minus the Bear live-show endorser. </span></span></p><p style="MIN-HEIGHT: 21px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 18px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 18px 'Times New Roman'"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Annie Scaramuzzino</span></span></i></p>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-63813028083192318212010-05-17T16:29:00.002-07:002010-07-23T11:23:35.292-07:00Taylor Hawkins & the Coattail Riders: Red Light Fever album review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://bandweblogs.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/taylorhawkinsalbum.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 303px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 302px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://bandweblogs.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/taylorhawkinsalbum.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;"> <div><br /></div>It is always interesting to me to see how a drummer can front a band. Like right here, with Taylor Hawkins and The Coattail Riders, you get to see the drummer for Foo Fighters start a band, reminiscent of his band mate, Dave Grohl, starting the Foo Fighters after he was in Nirvana.</span> <div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Calibri, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Calibri, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 16px 'Lucida Grande'"><div><a name='more'></a></div><p></p></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Calibri, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;">This situation is much different however, here you have Taylor Hawkins creating a band, as the drummer and at the same time being the front man. Yes, he plays drums and sings, it honestly takes a great talent to be able to play the drums and sing. Another thing that I find interesting is hearing the similarities of a new band with that of the person’s other band, in which you can totally hear a similarity to the Foo Fighters. Don’t start thinking it is a complete copy of the Foo Fighters.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Calibri, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:100%;">After listening to the album you will hear a very riff driven album, with a vocal delivery attempt to sound similar to that of Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin. The music tends to have a classic rock vibe similar to the bands these guys probably idolized growing up and it definitely shows in the music. I wouldn’t completely consider this a classic rock album; I would just consider this their interpretation of classic rock, similar to bands like Wolfmother. So, this album would be for fans of Foo Fighters and progressive alternative rock bands.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Calibri, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Calibri, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><i>Ante Beslic</i></span></span></div>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-52915956158335559172010-05-16T17:24:00.000-07:002010-07-23T11:24:06.164-07:00Impact Chats With... DR. DOG<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://caffeine-headache.net/blog3/225.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://caffeine-headache.net/blog3/225.jpg" border="0" /></a> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Recorded at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor on Thursday, April 15th</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Nick Van Huis:</b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>You guys are from Philadelphia, and usually when bands reach a certain level of fame they tend to defect to bigger cities like L.A. or New York. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>Has there ever been that temptation for you guys? </p><p class="MsoNormal"><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Scott McMicken:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We’re not that kind of people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I think there’s way more than enough going on in Philly for dudes like us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If anything, we would probably be more inclined to leave "the city" altogether. There’s nothing really that compelling to go to like L.A. or New York. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>We’ve been in the area of Philly so long, we have so many friends and history there that there’s never a shortage of things to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I think we’re all pretty content in Philly.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b></b></p><b><p style="MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 16px 'Lucida Grande'"></p><div><a name='more'></a></div><br /><p></p></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV: </b>I’ve heard you guys give each other nicknames as well as those who are close to the band. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>What was the inspiration for that and could you clue us in to what some of the nicknames are?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Scott: </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>When we started, we were really into The Residents, and The Residents were a completely anonymous band.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Even in the way they looked, nobody really knows who they were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We thought that was a really cool way to approach being in a band, where it didn’t matter who you really were, because you were just something in this band. It was the context that mattered, not the reality of who you really were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Plus, beyond this kind of conceptual thing, it was fun. It’s like starting a club as well as a band. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>It’s real loose; we don’t actually call each other by that stuff. It’s just a simple way to not put our names on our records, and it’s a good way to include people who offer so much to the band, either in spirit or in the work that they do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s just an easy way to say, “you’re one of us.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s a gesture more than anything.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV:</b> What was it like working with an outside producer for the first time?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Scott:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was really educational.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We wanted to go into the process of making an album where we weren’t so heavily involved in every aspect of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We just wanted to focus on standing in a circle and playing songs together, and let somebody else put all of the microphones around, let somebody else do all that part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> T</span>hat’s exactly what we got to do up there, and we also learned to take it seriously, but in a different way. Not let things slide as much, raise your standards on your own performance and stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That has been a whole new direction for us. Whereas <i>We All Belong</i> was an educational record for us in that we just made things in a completely different way, and <i>Fate</i> taught us a lot about how to work that way, I feel like this record is a lot like that for us too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It introduced us to a lot of new ideas, and now I imagine on the next record we will further pursue some of the stuff that we only got to scratch the surface on with <i>Shame, Shame</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And a lot of that is thanks to our producer Rob Schnapff who is a really cool dude who, in a very gentle way and a very not controlling way pushed us to be more musician-ly about things.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV: </b>Your music is very retro, and you guys have admitted your love of classic rock, but it never feels like a rehashing of old ideas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How do you translate your “classic” music leanings into more modern music?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Scott:</b> In the most general sense I feel as though wen I look around at music, and when I look around at the way people talk about it, judge it, criticize it, and the reasons for which people love it as well, I realize that there’s this needless amount of definition thrown onto things. It’s ok to see yourself as part of a tradition and it’s ok to see yourself within a certain set of parameters that have existed long before you were even alive, and then the exciting part becomes finding yourself within those parameters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s like when you look at the oldest American music, like gospel and blues, that’s the way music existed in culture for a really long time. There was just this<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>specific form, and you worked within that form to find yourself and your individuality within it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That exists all through modern rock and roll music, pop music, R&B music, hip-hop music and everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For a long time, I don’t even think that was questioned, but more and more people are start to severing themselves from any sort of historical narrative within music and assume that they can boldly go where no one has gone before, or reinvent the wheel or something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We don’t really think that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s just about being more instinctive, and of course your instincts are so informed by the experiences you’ve had growing up and listening to this certain music. There’s nothing in my mind bad about assimilating that information into your creation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Originality and newness is not about the creation of some alien sound that no one has ever heard before; it really just comes down to an honest expression. If you can be honest and connect to the thing that you are doing in a way that provides you with as much joy as is available to you, then that’s an original moment, an original act.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV:</b> Also along with the retro feel to your music, there also seems to be a lot of looking back lyrically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For example with “My Old Ways” or “The Old Days.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Is that more of a conscious decision or are the just lyrics?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Scott:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I guess it’s both.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s a conscious thing, but also we have this nostalgia about things that doesn’t manifest itself in any kind of resistance to the way things are. It’s not like this push against the way things are heading necessarily, it’s just an aesthetic thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There’s a kind of warmth and openness to trying to be undefined by the time that you are in, there’s something freeing about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In the case of “My Old Ways”, that’s a very personal thing, where I’m talking about the history of my own life. I don’t want to go back to ten years ago in my own life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I’m not talking about the culture or anything like that, but I don’t want to go back to the thing that I was. “The Old Days” is one of those few songs that I have written that I have no idea what it is about at all, it’s just more of a visual thing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>I just know that the words feel good and the images feel good. Sometimes writing lyrics can be fun in a purely linguistic way, like with words that physically feel nice coming out of your mouth. Some combination of the words stutter and jumble out like their shoelaces are tied together or something, and other things just slide on out in this exciting kind of way, and you start to really look at the color implicit in words, the syllables, and where the sounds are hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s more of a lyrical thing in the case of “The Old Days”, it’s not a specific commentary on now versus then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In general, I’m sure what is a pretty apparent obsession with the past in this band is, for one, not so narrowed down to the past music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We may be a band and all but there are a lot of things about the past that are warm and inviting ideas for your imagination to run with.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV:</b> What has the switch from Park The Van to Anti- Records been like?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Scott:</b> It’s been awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s cool, because we left Park The Van after a long time and there was no bad blood there, no hard feelings about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then we went to this label, Anti-, that i feels like Park The Van's big brother, because it’s bigger, they have more people working, and they have more opportunities waiting for us as a band.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There’s more they can do with our music and more they can do to help us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But, in general, it all feels very similar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They’re very laid back, they’re not driving us with this commercial notion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> All they've</span> asked us to do is to continue what we have proven that we love to do for so long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Since the record has been out it's all been going well and it seems like they are happy with the way things are going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There are a lot of cool people who work there, and those people all know so much about music too. They can tell you all about this stuff you’ve never heard about, and they feel like real music lovers. That’s how Park the Van was too.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV:</b> How is it having two primary songwriters?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Scott:</b> It’s cool, I love Toby [Leaman]. He and I started writing songs together when we were twelve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There wasn’t a period in my life where I was writing songs and he wasn’t my best friend, so it’s all I really know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If I remove myself from it, I can only definitely affirm my appreciation for it because I don’t think I’d ever want to be in a band where I was the only singer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That seems so crazy to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I just feel like it’s built into our understanding of making music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He’s going to have songs, I’m going to have songs, and we’re going to be influencing each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We were making music together the first day we met, and that was more than fifteen years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So we’ve been doing this thing together longer than we haven’t, and it’s really hard to detach myself from it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I’m really thankful for Toby as my friend, my brother, and as a musical dude. I owe him a lot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I value and respect his instincts in music so much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I don’t think I’d be where I am now, with my feelings towards music and what songwriting means to me, without him. It’s great, I recommend it to anybody in a band.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Find somebody else whom you find some connection with in the realm of songwriting, because it's really helpful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV:</b> Essentially, your band is a band with several singers, in regards to the harmonies and such.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Do you write out the harmonies or do they just come naturally?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Also do you do a lot of vocal workouts before the show?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Scott:</b> More and more, we're doing that stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We never used to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We play longer sets now and we put more pressure on ourselves to sound as good as we can now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I still don’t do any vocal exercises but Toby and Frank (McElroy) always go into this room by themselves and sing this little scale over and over again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s on my mind all of the time, and I want to learn to treat my voice a little better. We all do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But right when we started playing music, we saw it as just another thing, just another sound on the stage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Everybody’s got a mouth, so make some sound with it. It’s only going to add to things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>At the time when we were kids and just getting into music, I never got into the Beach Boys, until college. I always knew the Beatles, but I took it all for granted; I never thought that closely about them. We were really into the idea of having backing vocals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I remember hearing Ben Folds Five for the first time when I had just gotten my driver's license, Toby and I were just driving around and it came on XPN, the station near where we lived in Pennsylvania when we were kids. It was their first album just called <i>Ben Folds Five</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>and that song “Philosophy” came on and we immediately got that album.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They were the only band that I knew or I was listening to at that time that had backing vocals, a lot of harmonies and stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV:</b> A lot is written about Dr. Dog’s “rabid” fanbase. How do you feel about your fans?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Scott:</b> When I hear "rabid", I think negative connotations. I mean, you don’t want rabies, and you don’t want to be around a rabid animal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But our fans are awesome. I love that there’s this certain kind of atmosphere to our shows where anything could happen and the fans are right there with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They’re loud, they’re yelling, they’re dancing, and that’s kind of what we’re doing too, so you don’t feel as stupid because everyone’s sharing it with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I think it’s awesome. I don’t know how you could ever complain about a fan, even if they’re asleep in the front row, you know?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They’re there, and they brought themselves there, and I appreciate that on any level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A kid told me last night that we were a real inspiration, and I was like, "Man, I know what it’s like to be inspired." It’s a great thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> I know w</span>hen I’m feeling inspired and I can identify the source of it, I’m just in such awe and admiration for that thing. To be told that you’re on the other side of that is almost difficult to comprehend, but certainly on its most basic level it's really flattering. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>But if our fans are, in fact, what you call “rabid,” then I’m into it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>NV: </b>Is the song “Mirror, Mirror” off of <i>Shame, Shame</i> about vampires?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Scott</b>: No… But I guess in a way it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s kind of about a soulless state, like feeling a disconnect from yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And I guess that’s kind of the deal with a vampire or a zombie Like this human form with a disconnect with the bigger picture or something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s not specifically about vampires but there may be some parallels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span></p>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-37023112923435528602010-05-15T19:14:00.000-07:002010-07-23T11:24:21.031-07:00Kate Nash: My Best Friend Is You Album Review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/01/Katenashmybestfriendisyou.png/200px-Katenashmybestfriendisyou.png"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/01/Katenashmybestfriendisyou.png/200px-Katenashmybestfriendisyou.png" border="0" /></a><br />Gosh I've missed this girl. Her sophomore full-length album, <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">My Best Friend Is You</span>, dropped April 19th and her North American tour begins July in Chicago. And in case you were worried that Kate went off and grew up, don't be. It's been a while, but she is still throwing tantrums and making slanderous remarks about girls that she thinks are prettier than her, and I still love it.<br /><br /><div><a name='more'></a></div><br /><br />Don't get me wrong; her sound has matured more between albums than, say, those of Lily Allen. In songs like "You Were So Far Away", we find some darker lyrics, tempered with a sound a lot like that of Kimya Dawson, but there's still the screaming, trash-talking, and piano-banging that Nash fans love. Whether it's her naked voice in "I Hate Seagulls" or her noisy tirades in songs like "I Just Love You More", listeners get the same British brat but with a lot more variety.<br /><br />If I have a criticism for Kate, it's that she needs to stop being so self-deprecating! The self-absorption I like and yeah, sure, I LOVE her because I can totally entrain and empathize with her social anxiety, love of crummy boys, and wrath aimed at snobby girls. But just once I'd like her to win! I mean we've been rooting for her for a long time.<br /><br />Her somewhat less-than-astute but delightfully bitchy assessments of life's monotony combine truthfulness with brave vulnerability. I think my favorite song is a tie between "Paris" and "Don't You Want To Share the Guilt?". See you guys at Lilith Fair!<br /><br /><i>Courtney Morra</i>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-34333593939850813522010-05-12T16:10:00.000-07:002010-05-13T07:09:30.229-07:00Gogol Bordello Concert Review - April 21st at the Royal Oak Music Theatre<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://dyingscene.com/files/gogol-bordello-300x296.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 296px;" src="http://dyingscene.com/files/gogol-bordello-300x296.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Jimmy Malkin opened up the concert with a powerful performance by dancing much like Thom Yorke and dressing much like Jack White. However, the crowd was obviously Gogol loyalists and only displayed meager enthusiasm before the second act Devotchka revved up the crowd to a slow hopping jaunt as they swayed to the haunting howls and chanting vocals of Nick Urata who seemed to make the audience inhale and exhale on command as he would lean back and forth on the microphone. The group combines a mixture of Eastern European traditional folk songs with the theremin, guitar, bouzouki, piano, trumpet, violin, bass and percussion to produce a sound that is all unique and still projects the attitude that is so uniquely gypsy punk. The highlight of Devotchka's act came from two lovely young ladies who did scarf acrobatics during one of the band's longer instrumental pieces. I had a chance to meet these young women after the concert who say they have always looked forward to working with such high energy acts after graduating from Boulder Circus School (I had inquired where I could learn how to do that.)<br /><br /><div><a name='more'></a></div><br /><br />Finally, Devotchka wrapped up and the crowd became restless with the long sound check. Ironically enough, the song “Rebels Of A Sacred Heart” came over the airplay as the sound check continued and everyone in the crowd was momentarily subdued as they all grasped arms and belted out the lyrics together. After 20 minutes of anticipation Gogol Bordello began in full swing, playing hits such as “Wonderlust King," and “Through The Roof Underground.” They also played a few new tracks from their then not yet released album Transcontinental Hustle, that dropped April 27th in the U.S. The album was produced by famed Metallica producer Rick Rubin, who discovered the band through a text he received from Tom Morello claiming the Gogol as “the greatest band in the world.” <br /><br />The band played with the gritty, hard hitting, no holds bar energy that they are famous for while the crowd swirled violently around them like the waters in a tropical storm with whirlpools of people occasionally crashing into moshpits like giant crests on the high seas — a floor show not for the weak at heart. Gogol was encored twice with the megahit song “Start Wearing Purple” and another new single from Transcontinental Hustle that Eugene (lead vocal, guitar) then ended with a sharing of his Italian white wine with the front line of moshers. After the show I met with a few of the band members that expressed excitement with the upcoming tour as they were just now leaving for an acoustic set in New York.<br /><br />Eugene was accompanied by a tan-skinned tall woman that was rather eloquently dressed for such a concert — could this be the famous girlfriend Diana, the Romanian samba dancer who has inspired most of the Gogol’s emotional lyrics? I was too bashful to ask. It will be interesting to see the aftermath of Hustle’s release whether Gogol loyalists will continue to see the band in the same light now that they have gained a more mainstream producer like Rick Rubin. Whether they maintain the uncompromised raw energy of Underdog as they progress through stages of higher production is yet to be seen, but I think it is safe to say that they will always have their loyal gypsy punk loyalists to drink their wine. As Eugene Hütz would say “It’s mystical but practical. It’s powerful, man.” (Billboard March 2010 Issue)<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Emily Skipton</span>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-21243612866397592662010-05-12T12:33:00.000-07:002010-05-13T07:09:58.172-07:00Cedar Avenue: Someday Soon album review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.jdunnphotography.com/files/images/Cedar%20Ave%20Band%20-%20Sometime%20soon.preview.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 352px; height: 313px;" src="http://www.jdunnphotography.com/files/images/Cedar%20Ave%20Band%20-%20Sometime%20soon.preview.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#551A8B;"><br /></span></div><br />As a first year music reviewer for Impact, I’ve listened to a LOT of bands that copy the sound of other popular bands, most of them using the Nickelback rule of song writing; us the same chord progressions in the same key, wait 8 measures, start singing.</div><div><br /></div><div><div><a name='more'></a></div><br /><br />When I first read Cedar Avenue’s band description to the group at our weekly meeting, the words “husband and wife duo” made us all groan. Then I popped in Cedar Avenue’s CD, <i>Someday Soon</i>, and it was like a breath of fresh air.<br /><br />The first few processed notes from the bass line in the opening ballad, "Tuesday", had my head nodding, then the crisp acoustic guitar chords sucked me in. Jesse Matthews' soaring tenor voice hits falsetto notes effortlessly and the song writing makes the rest of the upbeat ballads (there are three in total) not seem trite or sappy. Quite the contrary actually; they’re thought provoking and poignant. The song talks about a long-lost toxic love returning to someones life, and the slow haunting fade of a repeating minor chord scale is the icing on the cake.<br /><br />When the band picks up they beat, none of the dynamic structure and content is lost. The tracks, Up North, Someday Soon, Icarus and Running Home are all favorites on my iPod when I’m out running or biking.<br /><br />I think one of the best tracks that demonstrates great matching of lyrics with song writing is in the title track, "Someday Soon." Matthews sings, “Someday soon I’ll do the things that I’ve been saying, but I can’t stop this world. It spins in motion.” The guitar break after just makes you realize how he’s stopped in his tracks from accomplishing his goals. By the end of the song, you’re really cheering for him when he sings, “All I need is a possibility.”<br /><br />"Icarus" covers some of that same ground. “And it won’t be that much longer, one more week to work it out. I’ll fix me when I’m older, it’s too much now to think about.”<br /><br />My only complain in the entire CD is one guitar lick in "Running Home." When it comes time for the guitar solo, it left me wanting something more profound, rather then the same three or four chords repeated over for four bars, but what that might sound like, I’m not sure.<br /><br />Overall, the production values are spot-on, with no muddied vocals or over powered guitar or drums like some freshman releases have offered us here at the Impact.<br /><br />Matthews, who does the bulk of the song writing, has done an outstanding job of crafting music into three minutes and 30 second stories you want to share with your friends and family. I’ll give this two enthusiastic thumbs up and a loud, “Hell yeah, spin it!”.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Mike Weber</i></div>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-65897741278024275482010-04-26T10:24:00.000-07:002010-04-26T10:40:48.912-07:00Impact Chats With... HOT CHIP<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoRfy2-mioPfmH7mrYFnnTyEaYoMQKqjz_MKWb4nScN3T6twxkSNCYuR2y1slHNpi0bvk9PNB8a7_vWW84CXGkX-lHxkhBNYzbjErbRaseq7RAtHOWPPahTryPIrFYWezVu2U64XOUwrw/s1600/HotChip-OneLifeStand.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoRfy2-mioPfmH7mrYFnnTyEaYoMQKqjz_MKWb4nScN3T6twxkSNCYuR2y1slHNpi0bvk9PNB8a7_vWW84CXGkX-lHxkhBNYzbjErbRaseq7RAtHOWPPahTryPIrFYWezVu2U64XOUwrw/s200/HotChip-OneLifeStand.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464502492412671730" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Hot Chip released their album <i>One Life Stand </i>in February of this year to a wide array of critical acclaim. We had the chance to talk to Joe Godard about the process of recording the album, working with other artists, and the different types of shows they play.</div><div><br /></div><div><a name='more'></a></div><div><!-- more --></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Elise Yoon: </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> So your album came out earlier this year, February 9th here in the US, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">One Life Stand</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">. It sounds a little bit different from your previous work, was there anything different this time around that caused that?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Joe Godard:</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> In terms of writing the songs, we did it the way we always do it; Alexis [Taylor] wrote a couple, I wrote a couple, and some of them we wrote together, just in our bedrooms in the way we've been making music for a long time. When it came to recording the record, we did it a slight bit differently. We went to a studio owned by two of the guys in the band down in Phoenix and recorded a lot of it there using a set of instruments featured on a lot of the tracks, like piano, live bass guitar, steelpans. We did that because we wanted the record to have a sort of cohesion, like a kind of sound to the whole record. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>Autumn Maison: </b>How long was the whole process of creating the album?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>JG: </b>The bulk of the work was done in April and May of last year, we spent a lot of time then recording most of the tracks, but if you go from the point when the first song on this record was written, that was maybe two years ago, and the last song on the record was written just a few months before we released it, so that is quite a long period of time if you look at it like that.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>EY:</b> A lot of the songs sound a bit darker than </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Made In The Dark</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">. Was this a conscious decision?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>JG:</b> That wasn't that conscious, it was something that just happened. A lot of those things aren't conscious, the way we write songs is just on instinct and intuition and how we feel at any particular time. We've always been kind of lucky; the songs Alexis has written and the songs I've written have kind of gone together in interesting ways. We DJ a lot together, and we're inspired by the same kinds of music at any one time.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>EY:</b> The music that you DJ, is it similar to music you release as Hot Chip? </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b><br /></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>JG:</b> It definitely influences it, I guess you can't help but be influenced by the music you play when you DJ. You learn rhythmic ideas, the way that songs work, the way they make people feel on the dance floor. All that stuff is really important. We often play quite different music to the music we play in Hot Chip. The music we play when we DJ is often more deeper, house, techno, disco, some UK dance music like dubstep, garage. It's a big mixture really.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>AM: </b>A while ago you were asked by Joy Division to cover their song "Transmission" to be released on the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">War Child</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> compilation. How was it to be approached by such an influential band in that way?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">JG: It was great, it was quite daunting. Joy Division is obviously an incredible group, and New Order as well. We're massive fans, and have a lot of respect for that group. It was quite difficult to know what to do with that song. We felt the original version was so brilliant and successful, and we decided that it would be best for us to try to do something really different and not try to copy it in any way, because I think we wouldn't have had the chance at doing it better than they did it. So we did something with a completely different vibe, and I think it turned out pretty well. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>EY:</b> How do you guys handle remixing other artists' songs? Do you approach it as a group, or individually, and how do you decide which artists to remix?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>JG: </b>Just depending on what you like at any given time, that influences what remixes we choose to do. But essentially, it's more practical. We get asked to remix certain artists by their management or labels, or if they're friends of ours. Sometimes it's myself who does the remixes, sometimes Alexis does some, and then some we do together. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>AM:</b> Festival season is coming up! Do you prefer playing in an environment like that, or are smaller and more intimate shows more appealing?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><b>JG: </b>If I had to pick one, I would pick a small, cool little club. Those gigs are really fun because you're really close to whoever you're playing to, and that's just exciting. You can see people dancing, see people enjoying themselves. It's all very kind of intimate; any small movement or dance or thing that you do, people can see very easily and pick up on. It just makes the whole thing very exciting. But festivals have their own great things about them; like when a crowd feels united and you feel good, that can be very, very cool. It's hard to choose, but the small, sweaty ones are the most fun I think.</span></p></div>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-67769569830857027642010-04-25T18:20:00.000-07:002010-04-26T10:55:19.338-07:00New Release: Iggy Pop & The Stooges - RAW POWER (Legacy Edition)<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><br /></span></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin3cTzp_qOvAptlO8WUOnZoLHIyMo0vG0Wm59H3j8jgkf4Mty5s8CHwPO9dfBOvmiyGGxYMIqC5l9VbD8dtJkZ_Ljt4D51OG4Yg4GOgeevZCzV1HBy2d5xPt1_whv3YM6g3wFXk-W-Bdg/s1600/6a00d83451cbb069e20128779690f0970c-800wi.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin3cTzp_qOvAptlO8WUOnZoLHIyMo0vG0Wm59H3j8jgkf4Mty5s8CHwPO9dfBOvmiyGGxYMIqC5l9VbD8dtJkZ_Ljt4D51OG4Yg4GOgeevZCzV1HBy2d5xPt1_whv3YM6g3wFXk-W-Bdg/s200/6a00d83451cbb069e20128779690f0970c-800wi.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464503298617902306" /></a><div><a name='more'></a></div><div><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 16px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Stooges just recently (finally!) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and this reissue of Raw Power is just perfect to showcase an early punk album that is considered one of the best by many musicians as well as an inspiration. The legacy edition contains the remastered David Bowie recordings and also contains a previously unreleased live concert from 1973 in Atlanta, Georgia as well as some other studio outtakes. The live recording captures the live intensity of Iggy Pop and the rhythm section perfectly. Hearing Iggy Pop’s banter in-between songs also brings the live energy of Iggy Pop to another level that many people wish they would have been able to experience. Now, years later, the legendary Ron Asheton has passed away, and the rest of The Stooges are getting old, so this live recording is the only way someone who did not get the chance to experience the “Raw Power” of The Stooges during their prime.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 16px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 16px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 16px/normal 'Trebuchet MS'; "><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ante Beslic</span></i></p></div>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-11606661009005985432010-04-24T10:29:00.000-07:002010-04-26T10:55:01.400-07:00Heaven Is Almost Here<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvd6x_h9ZbDs9pW8z1hMgqNHXv7973dABeBLD2WnvIBwFcFzkNf-iTpd-4msUsHBSk-xPy-YV3Gyr828TWflc0ZLC7Ca5tWSmwFHYpn9vuswLYXur92fagYCoDtyy1DtvtxK6SJt-fIo/s1600/hiw.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkvd6x_h9ZbDs9pW8z1hMgqNHXv7973dABeBLD2WnvIBwFcFzkNf-iTpd-4msUsHBSk-xPy-YV3Gyr828TWflc0ZLC7Ca5tWSmwFHYpn9vuswLYXur92fagYCoDtyy1DtvtxK6SJt-fIo/s200/hiw.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464505304408980546" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms', serif;"><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Two years is too long to wait for another Hold Steady album, but come May 4th, the wait will be over. Fans had been teased for some months after a video of a new song popped up on YouTube titled “Heaven Is Whenever”— now titled “We Can Get Together”— but then the internet went silent. That was until word had spread That Franz Nicolay had left the band, devastating news that left the band significantly less mustachioed.</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><a name='more'></a></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Frontman/guitarist/songwriter Craig Finn has gone on record saying that this record will be “less anthematic and more complex”, leaving hardcore fans wondering what The Hold Steady has in store for them. Fortunately for the faithful, everything we have come to know and love about The Hold Steady is still here, including catchy sing-along choruses, songs about girls and partying, and a heaping dose of nostalgia. Leading up to the release of </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Heaven Is Whenever,</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> the band has released four new songs: “Hurricane J”, “Rock Problems”, “The Weekenders”, and “Barely Breathing”, each song teasing us until the album is released.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Times; min-height: 19.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"Hurricane J"</span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The first song released off </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Heaven…</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, “Hurricane J” is pretty anthemic and fairly straightforward. This song is what we have come to expect from The Hold Steady: a song that draws deep from the well of teenage nostalgia. Referencing working as a waitress and places where you can “drink and kiss for a while”, Craig Finn paints a portrait of a destructive girl and the boy who thinks he’s not good enough for her, but wishes her the best. This isn’t a break-up song so-to-speak; it’s a song about letting go and moving on. When Finn wails during the bridge, “They didn’t name her for a saint/They named her for a hurricane…” you know where he’s coming from. The real striking difference between “Hurricane J” and other Hold Steady songs is the production. The production on this track is pristine and everything has been polished and spit-shined; leaving a clean sound, but not sterile by any means. The song has a real power to it and I dare you to not sing along to the “Oh, ohs” in the chorus.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"Rock Problems"</span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Hold Steady is a rock band, and they play </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">rock</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> music. So I guess it can be safely assumed that they have “Rock Problems”. The song is a straight-ahead rocker with chunky distorted classic rock riffs, Tad Kuebler’s sparing but inspired arena rock solos, and Craig Finn’s unmistakable vocals. The song follows a narrative of druggy girls, and conversations about shows where the sound sucks. “Rock Problems” is a song in the vein of previous songs like “Stay Positive” and “Same Kooks”: fast, furious and fun. The production once again stands out as pristine but without stifling the band and smoothing out the rougher edges. The song gives the band enough room to complain about their rock problems in a truly rocking fashion.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"The Weekenders"</span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is the first Hold Steady song that reminds me of U2. But before the “indier than thou” elitists begin yelling at their computer screens or puking on their keyboards, allow me to explain myself. The verse guitar parts are drenched in reverb and echo, an obvious ode to The Edge. But U2 this is not (thankfully). Craig Finn is the lyricist Bono wishes he could be and though the guitar parts at time owe a debt of gratitude to the Edge, the chorus packs a soaring, anthemic punch and the song becomes a force to be reckoned with. This is the first “power ballad” the Hold Steady has written that truly has power behind it. Quiet tension explodes into awesome power when Finn cries, “I remember the metal bar” and the chorus of "ohs" and soaring guitars wrap you up and never let you go.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"Barely Breathing"</span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is the first song released that truly feels “less anthematic and more complex.” It has a gypsy folk stomp that almost recalls Gogol Bordello, and the horns and swirling background instrumentation makes this a truly original Hold Steady song, and a disorienting one at that. The song has violence at its core, starting out at a street fight and ending at violent shows, as Finn cries, “No one wins at violent shows.” It’s the first song released off </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Heaven Is Whenever </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">that truly feels different. It’s a refreshing change of pace when a band that has been so awesomely consistent throws a satisfying curveball. If this is what heaven is like, then I can’t wait.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Times; min-height: 19.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 16.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Trebuchet MS'"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Nick Van Huis</span></i></p></span></div>Impact89FMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774709030193671496noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-66186129769868887502010-04-20T19:15:00.000-07:002010-04-21T15:26:53.730-07:00Top Five @ 5We've had the Top Five @ 5 intro for years now. Did you know where that theme originally comes from?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVThElC8tIK1r4-yHLEDSP4CTnb7jh-CCpndH8ChKu-SMWK8nrrln9FjPb0Kpg9FhihyvbJI6V1mpIihhDIHZxDFPG9OgbYJtBPEPXl3qrA6SyS_fg29ZI_u3RBBDdiZVk4YzcpI7xh8w/s1600/pharoahe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVThElC8tIK1r4-yHLEDSP4CTnb7jh-CCpndH8ChKu-SMWK8nrrln9FjPb0Kpg9FhihyvbJI6V1mpIihhDIHZxDFPG9OgbYJtBPEPXl3qrA6SyS_fg29ZI_u3RBBDdiZVk4YzcpI7xh8w/s200/pharoahe.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The version we use can be heard on Pharaoh Monch's album Internal Affairs. The track is called "Simon Says".<br />
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But, Happy Hour contributor and all-around swell guy Jon pointed out that Pharaoh Monch actually sampled for that song, too. The <b>original</b> original is from the film Godzilla. It is simply called Godzilla's Theme, and it was composed by Akira Ifukube.<br />
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<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7eQ6PVuvcMA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7eQ6PVuvcMA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Jeremy Whitinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07013042266941826627noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6596788190056737286.post-40323699502868239162010-04-20T18:40:00.000-07:002010-04-21T08:25:20.657-07:00Impact Chats With... FIELD MUSICField Music recently came through Detroit in support of their latest album, <span style="font-style: italic;">Field Music (Measure). </span>The Impact was on location to sit down with Dave and Peter Brewis and talked with the brothers about classic rock radio, the benefit of physical music, and recording neo-classical albums with Talk Talk.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nick VanHuis</span>: In music right now, there's a lot of people trying to sound retro, and I feel like you guys achieve this without it being forced.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">David Brewis: </span>One of the things about the way we record things, is that we can only do them one way because we have rubbish equipment, limited resources. We learned how to play drums, we learned how to play guitar, and that's what we want to do.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Peter Brewis: </span>There are a lot of things about modern recording techniques that I don't particularly like. It's not so much that I want to sound like an old record, but it's more that there's such a suffocating quality in new recordings, which I don't like. I like to hear space, and as soon as you do that, it automatically sounds a little bit like a Led Zeppelin record.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DB: </span>That's what we listen to, that's what we basically listen to to get us through the day when we're driving; we listen to classic rock. It's pointless listening to Talk Talk, cause you can't hear it.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PB: </span>Queen, ACDC, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DB:</span> It's just like, let's get stuff on that feels good, sounds good, we can sing along to. We have good fun. We don't get classic rock stations in the UK, so we just flick around and it's hilarious most of the time. If we do tours longer than 2 or 3 weeks…<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PB: </span>We get sick of listening to Chicago.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">NVH:</span> What newer music are you guys listening to?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DB:</span> It's difficult with contemporary music, because I feel that it's forced upon me a little bit, whereas all the other bands that I like, I've been allowed to discover. It has to be bands that I've discovered, I can't have read about it in Mojo, or Rolling Stone. I'm finding it difficult at the moment. The last things we've discovered were, I think, Deerhoof, The Fiery Furnaces, a lot of the Chicago stuff that we happened to discover. For instance, all the New York, Brooklyn stuff that's coming out at the moment, I'm finding it hard to get into.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PB: </span>It's so heavily media-driven in the UK. You can't open a magazine without seeing something about Vampire Weekend, or the same sort of thing.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">NVH: </span>What inspired the 20-track double album?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PB: </span>We thought that if we were going to release something as Field Music again, we should do something kind of ridiculous, something that doesn't make any sense and where we can be as varied as we want of be, where there are no rules. And hopefully it'll be good.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DB:</span> The idea of making an album is almost a thing of the past, the last milennium.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PB: </span>So if you're going to go for it, you have to really, really go for it.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">NVH:</span> It's definitely refreshing to encounter albums like this, as testaments to the physical form, because in our generation we are almost forced to seek out music digitally.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DB: </span>I mean that's fine, and people do. But I'm 32 years old, I'm a husband. I'm not going to grow old gracefully, I refuse to. There are certain things about the ability to download which I absolutely love, that are absolutely amazing. But there are also things, where you ask yourself: the album's not the medium of choice anymore, or certainly not the pervasive medium. So, what is it, what can it be, what is it allowed to be? Is it going to become some underground art? That's fine by me. If you look at the last Jim O'Rourke album, for instance, it was one track. He questioned the idea of "What is an album", and that's the interesting thing for me.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">NVH: </span>What do you make of the resurgence of the vinyl form?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PB:</span> I don't think it's caught on to the same degree in the UK, so maybe we don't feel it so much.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DB: </span>It's certainly there. There's a microindustry there, where people just like to have vinyl.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PB: </span>Downloading music is really quick, you have it straight to your computer. It's kind of a very passive experience, whereas with the vinyl, you have to turn it after 30 minutes, you have to be in the room with it. You've got to hear the needle, there's a physical interaction with it that I quite enjoy. It makes me listen to music in a slightly different way. I can't listen to vinyl while I'm washing the dishes, I have to sit in the same room.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DB: </span>It's a good excuse to drink.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">NVH: </span>You took a brief hiatus before this album, how did that affect the process of the album?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DB: </span>We were still working quite hard doing other things; we haven't stopped making music at all. We could have called those things Field Music if we wanted to, but I think we needed to get away from it for a while and look at it from the outside, from a different perspective. All of those things seemed to have happened fairly naturally for us. We got a bit sick of doing Field Music, took a break, and didn't know if we we were going to come back to doing Field Music. I, for one, am fairly terrible at knowing how I'll feel about something in 6 month's time. But then we got to a point where you have two solo-ish records, and some of the things we weren't enjoying about Field Music weren't there anymore. We figured out how to cope with it better, so we could come back and have fun making another record. If we got 2 or 3 songs into recording it and thought, "Actually, this is going to be horrible", we would have ditched it straight away. But as it was, we enjoyed recording this album more than anything else, so it was time to get the band back together and get on the road.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">NVH: </span>I know this is kind of a music journalist's blanket statement, but I have to ask. If you could collaborate with anyone, dead or alive, musically, who would it be and why?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DB:</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>We'd get John Bonham in the band<span>! </span>No, he'd be a pain in the ass to take on.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PB: </span>Yeah, he'd be drinking all the time, so no, not John Bonham.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DB: </span>I want to do an album of improv neo-classical music with Tim Friese-Greene [of Talk Talk]. And Doug McCombs [of Tortoise] would be good for that, he's just a cool guy.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PB: </span>The Kronos Quartet.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DB: </span>Yeah, I'd like to write something for them.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PB: </span>But we have a lot of collaboration left to do together. We can take up most of each others' time.<br /><br /><br />Request their song "Measure" to your Impact DJ today at 517-884-8989!Autumn Maisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01132888292268305056noreply@blogger.com0