Kelley Anderson leaves Those Darlins
February 27, 2012
Copyright 2010 Steve Cross
Whoa. Just whoa. I just read on Brooklynvegan that Kelley Anderson has left Those Darlins. A bit of a shock to me, really, but at the same time, I’ve known Kelley (and all of them) for years and I know that Kelley is a very driven and ambitious woman with lots of talent. I’ve no doubt she’s got some awesome projects up her sleeve and I can see how the rigorous touring of Those Darlins may have become a bit too much. I mean, look what she did by founding the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp! That grew into Youth Empowerment through Arts & Humanities, one of the coolest non-profits around, and a cause well worth your support & time. I have no doubt that Those Darlins will power on ahead with the talents of Jessi, Linwood, and Nikki, plus whomever replaces Kelley. The above photo is from a documentary project in which I spent a few days on tour with them, as is the one below. These haven’t been published anywhere else, and I intend to keep it that way- so please don’t download and/or use these!
Copyright 2010 Steve Cross
Gigamesh’s remix of Grouplove’s “Tongue Tied”
February 2, 2012
I’m not usually one to gush, but I’ll be damned if Gigamesh hasn’t been totally winning at life recently. It seems like every single thing he has touched, whether it be a remix or an original track, is pure gold. He’s just released another freebie remix, this time of Grouplove’s indie-pop/gang-chorus/feel-good jam Tongue Tied. You might recognize it from that iPod commercial. (#facepalm, I know)
I honestly am floored by this guy’s ability to take even the most overplayed, fratty, vomit-inducing shit like Foster the People’s Pumped Up Kicks and turn it into a somewhat enjoyable dancefloor anthem. Gigamesh, I love you, bro.
Uncle Skeleton: new single and a remix by yours truly
January 26, 2012
Uncle Skeleton, a project of Ross Wariner of Kindercastle fame, released the first single “Sophisticuffs” from their forthcoming new album All Too Human today. It’s available digitally now via their bandcamp. It’s a fun, breezy, disco-inspired tune with strings, funky guitars, and a smattering of cleverly cut-up vocals. I’m very happy to share the news that my (Burgers) remix of the track was deemed good enough for inclusion as a B-side/bonus track! Thanks to Michael Eades and his YK Records for making it all happen!
Vitalic Noise “Family Affair” mixtape & introduction
November 17, 2011
My man Justin Katerberg has been steadily growing his Vitalic Noise Agency the past couple of years, but it seems that few people really know what Vitalic Noise does, beyond the blog. Well I’ll just tell you what came straight from the horse’s mouth:
Realizing that the majority of people still to this day have no idea what Vitalic Noise does, we couldn’t think of any other way to properly showcase the artists that we are working with than to set up a DJ rig and pushed record on a short tracklist of both artists signed to Vitalic Noise and a few other acts that we hold close to our heart. Did it work? I guess that part is up to you – love it or hate it, we would be ever so thankful if you were to share it with your friends.
Currently we represent, as either management or booking agents:
Fare Soldi
Justin Faust
Edwin Van Cleef
Cadillac
Moonlight Matters
Zimmer
Viceroy
Geisha Twins
FM Attack
So there you have it. Quite an impressive and ever-growing roster. Check out the mixtape on soundcloud:
Makeup and Vanity Set: Charles Park III (Your Halloween soundtrack)
October 26, 2011
Ladies and gentlemen, Charles Park III from our man Makeup & Vanity Set has arrived. It will be your Halloween 2011 soundtrack. It can be purchased tomorrow (10/27) but you can stream it all now via his soundcloud. Or below. Words seem meaningless in comparison to simply giving this thing a listen. Only then will you understand. Clearly I am biased because I love this dude, but it’s the TRUTH. Everything he’s done is utter badassery.
Diarrhea Planet’s Loose Jewels out/Soundland starts today
September 21, 2011
I failed miserably yesterday in that I forgot to mention that Nashville’s own laxative enthusiasts Diarrhea Planet finally released their long-overdue debut album Loose Jewels via Infinity Cat. And they did an in-store at Grimey’s, followed by a full-blown album release party last night at the End. As I was talking to the dudes they were mentioning beer spray guns and confetti. I remember Jordan saying something like, “we basically wanna tar & feather the audience, except with beer and confetti.” A very fitting theatrical addition to their show, I must say. Sadly I’m a crotchety old man with an early-ass day job so I only saw the in-store, but it was fun! I also got the record and it’s exactly what a Diarrhea Planet album should be- balls to the wall party punk anthems with massive guitarmonies and shredding all over the place. So get yourself a copy of the album and thank me later. Also, for a much more professional review of the record check out Lance Conzett’s review for the Scene. I will echo his sentiment that if you can’t get past the “ickiness” of their name not only is there no hope for you, but you’re also missing the point and you need to get laid.
Today marks the beginning of Soundland 2011– the new music festival/conference under the Next Big Nashville umbrella. If you haven’t gotten a wristband yet it’s not too late, but you’ll have to pay the $75 walk-up price. (Unless you buy online, where there’s a limited time extension of the $65 price level.) There are also individual show tickets. Check out their ticket info page for details. I’m once again working for the festival as a photographer, so I’ll be completely swamped with that for the next few days. There will be no “A Few Good Shows” this week, because it would all be Soundland stuff anyway. Till next week!
New somewhat Earth-like exoplanet/Symphony of Science
September 5, 2011
It’s been waaaay too long since I had a good space/science post. So here are a couple of interesting things that have already been floating around the science blogs for a few days, but you may not have heard about unless you’re as big of a nerd as I am. 🙂
- We have another interesting exoplanet discovery worth talking about. It’s another super-Earth that sits within the habitable zone of its parent star- that is- liquid water could exist on its surface. At least, provided there is sufficient cloud cover. This planet, which has the fascinating title of HD 85512 b, is near the warmer edge of the habitable zone, which means there would have to be sufficient cloud cover to reflect some of the incoming radiation from its star, lest it have a runaway greenhouse effect that would make it very Venus-like (scorching hot and covered in dense, toxic clouds). This world is about 3.6 times the mass of Earth, but it was detected using the radial velocity method rather than the transit method, so we only know its mass, not its size. But if it’s a rocky world and its mass is 3.6 times that of Earth, it’s bound be a good bit bigger than Earth. Granted, we don’t know anything for sure about the atmospheric makeup of this exoplanet because we don’t have any instruments capable of detecting that yet. The radial velocity method detects planets orbiting a star by seeing the tiny gravitational wobble the planet exerts on its parent star. If we eventually aim a telescope such as Kepler at this star, and the planet transits the star, we’ll then know its approximate size and may even be able to make a better judgment on its atmospheric makeup. Until then, though, we have to rely on computer models to speculate what the air might be like. For more info see: Universe Today or National Geographic.
- You may recall Symphony of Science from back when Jack White’s Third Man Records released a 7″ vinyl single of the track “A Glorious Dawn ft. Stephen Hawking.” Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy mentioned in a post yesterday that John Boswell, creator of Symphony of Science, has put 11 tracks in a compilation on bandcamp for free (or name your own price). So go snag it now and throw the guy a few bones while you’re at it. It’s a pretty awesome idea, and I’m obviously a fan of anything that puts music and science in the same sentence.
New Jacuzzi Boys album next week
August 25, 2011
I love Jacuzzi Boys, and it’s high-time I wrote about them. What better time than now, leading up to the release of the new album Glazin’ next week? You can stream the whole thing over at Spin, so I recommend you do that because you’ll end up putting it on repeat all day long. Just like their last record No Seasons, this one is pure fun from start to finish. Every song just gives me what I want. It’s all very satisfying and digestible. Pure unadulterated 60’s-driven garage psych-pop. This record is your one-stop-shop for sockhop beats, slap-back vocals, jangly guitar riffs, and a fuzzed-out solo here and there. Be sure to catch them next time they stop through Nashville on Oct. 29th. I’ve no doubt the Nashville’s Dead crew have some awesome Halloween-related antics up their sleeves for this show. (Via Nashville’s Dead)
The video above, for the song “Milo Minute” by Grass Widow came about because of a project called Music for Animals. This fascinating idea is quite simple: have bands play shows for animals. Or just a solo acoustic performance. How cool is that? Aside from being cute and potentially of scientific interest, from a PR standpoint it’s pretty smart for the band/artist. This blog post is case in point.
If I get motivated enough and have the time I might even try to arrange something like this with a Nashville band at the Nashville Zoo. Any takers?
(Via The Fader)
Oh, and I must mention that Nashvillian Daniel Pujol… or just PUJOL as you probably know him, has signed to Saddle Creek records. Yeah- the Omaha label originally home to Bright Eyes, Cursive, etc… Honestly it’s a pairing I wouldn’t have predicted, but it’s awesome nonetheless. Yay PUJOL!
I’d heard rumors of Chromeo returning to the Nashville this year. They loved it here and were pleasantly surprised by the sellout last August, so it came as no surprise to learn they were probably coming back sometime this year. I waited around for the official announcement and it finally came, but with an extra-special added bonus: Mayer Hawthorne and none other than the legendary BREAKBOT are billed to open the show on Oct. 25th at the Cannery. I can’t even describe how awesome this billing is. It’s going be a looooong summer in anticipation of this show. The announcement came at the same time as Breakbot announced his new remix of Chromeo’s track “When The Night Falls” which you can preview below:
Meanwhile, Nashville’s own electro duo Jensen Sportag did a very sexy and very danceable remix of Memory Tapes’ “Wait In The Dark” which got them some serious love from The Fader. Good job, fellas. I can’t be happier to see Nashville artists seeing success making such traditionally “un-Nashville” music. Stream it below:
steve cross loves music and science 