A Few Good Shows: 5/11/12
May 11, 2012
Another busy weekend is getting started. Not much time today but here’s a quick rundown of what I find interesting.
FRIDAY:
Cherub, Ghosthouse, DWNTWN @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $10 adv/$15 DoS.
Honey Locust, Cuddle Magic, Paper Lantern @ The High Watt. 9pm $5
Heavy Cream album release show w/ Cheap Time and Fox Fun @ Zombie Shop. 8pm $7
Fancytramp and Kill Baby Kill @ Dino’s. 9pm Free
SATURDAY:
Natural Child, Birdcloud, Ri¢hie, King Karl @ Zombie Shop. 8pm $5
Rock for Kids Benefit & Art Show @ 12th & Porter ft. local art and 7 bands: Auto Defiance, Scale Model, Frances & the Foundation, Lazar Lazar, Static Revival, The Notion, and Tell Tale Nights. Proceeds go to Project Help MTSU and Pediatrics Division of Neonatology at The Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Check out the facebook event page for more!
That’s all I’ve got- have a great weekend!
The Features present “Still Lost: Volume One”
May 10, 2012
This one kinda took me by surprise… I hadn’t a clue that The Features were about to release a compilation of b-sides, outtakes, and demos. Still Lost: Volume One is a fantastic collection of rare Features gems. If you’re a die-hard fan and have been since “the early days” you have probably at least heard all these songs at some point, but there are some alternate mixes and versions on here that you may not have heard. The best part of this is that it’s totally free. So go grab it now via NoiseTrade. You have no excuse!
(Via We Own This Town)
Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp announces WANDA JACKSON as guest performer for 10 year anniversary
May 4, 2012
I’m sure you’ve heard me mention the awesome non-profit group Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH) here before. That organization started 10 years ago with the first annual Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp. This year to celebrate their 10-year anniversary they’ve really pulled out the big guns, so-to-speak. They’ve just announced that one of the guest performers at this year’s SGRRC will be none other than the queen of rockabilly: WANDA JACKSON. I’m floored. Talk about knocking it out of the park… can you imagine being a teenage girl and getting to spend a week making new friends, learning to play a rock & roll instrument, forming a band, AND getting to see one music’s greatest female legends perform AND getting to ask her questions at the end?!?!? My mind is officially blown. Katie, Rachel, Lizzie, Kelley, and everyone involved- well done.
This is as good a time as any to say that if you have any time or talent to donate, this is the most worthwhile cause I can POSSIBLY think of. I’ve volunteered almost every year for the past 6 years and I promise it will change your life. I can sit here and go on about how awesome it is till I’m blue in the face, but you just have to do it to truly understand. So go to the YEAH website and sign up to volunteer. There are summer camps and after-school workshops/activities in both Nashville and Murfreesboro.
Doug and Steph (frontman and drummer from the Clutters) have a new side project called Mystery Twins. It’s just the two of them, stripping rough, unsophisticated garage-pop down its bare elements: rhythm and melody. Essentially it’s a different approach to songwriting than The Clutters’ material, but if you like The Clutters you’ll like Mystery Twins. Their debut EP “Love Is Strange” comes out May 8th, and you can stream it below. They’ll be celebrating the release with a show at the High Watt (adjacent to Mercy Lounge) on May 10th, along with Jasmin Kaset, The Ultras S/C, and Codaphonic.
You may be wondering, “are The Clutters on hiatus? What’s up with them?” A quick email to Doug revealed that The Clutters are in fact still quite active, have another record up their sleeve, and are planning a summer tour. So worry not, Clutters fans, this really is a side project in the most traditional sense- they just wanted to start something new and different. Stream the entire EP via a clever video put together by Doug below:
Buy the EP at their bancamp– if you pre-order you’ll get 2 of the tracks immediately, and the full package on May 8th.
Another local release I’ve mentioned a few times before is Uncle Skeleton’s new album All Too Human, which is out today via YK Records. Their official website is your one-stop shop to buy or stream the album. I promise the double LP will be worth it, as the talented Michael Eades is behind the artwork and design. His work never disappoints.
As you should know, this Satuday is National Record Store Day. Record stores (you know, the places you can actually walk into and touch a real album and buy it… imagine that) across the nation will be having huge special sales, and labels and artists across the nation have pressed limited edition vinyl releases, usually 45s, that will only be available at a record store, on Record Store Day. There are tons of awesome happenings here in Nashville, the biggest being Grimey’s “big ass outdoor sale.” They have a killer lineup of live music slated for the parking lot, and they always have tons of used records and CDs on sale for super cheap. Check out grimeys.com for the full lineup and schedule. East Nashville’s The Groove also has a killer lineup of bands playing on their backyard stage, and you can get most if not all of the official RSD exclusive releases there as well. Check their website for the full lineup and schedule. Those are the only two doing performances that I know of, but The Great Escape might be doing some sort of sale. There’s no mention of it on their website, however. Third Man Records will of course have lots going on in the way of sales and limited releases, etc… however they do not have live performances this year. (How can they possibly top Jerry Lee Lewis last year?)
Secondly, the flyer above is for a show that includes my band, thus a bit of shameless self promotion:
Come see Scale Model, Anchor Thieves, Century Club, and The Goldroom at The End Saturday night after all your RSD shopping/festivities! Anchor Thieves are releasing a free CD single, and Nashville’s own Griffin Technology will be giving away free RSD themed iPhone 4 cases. Find out more about Scale Model, the Goldroom, and Century Club (ex-Carter Administration) at their respective bandcamp pages. RSVP on Facebook here. Cover is only $5, show starts at 9:30pm, and the beer is cheap. Come party with us!
Absurdly awesome videos
April 19, 2012
Two videos which share a common theme of absurdity and awesomeness. Absurdly awesome? Awesomely absurd? You decide.
Exhibit A: Ridiculous/dumb/terrible things happening in super slo-mo. As in, 2500 frames per second slo-mo. It never ceases to amaze me how super slow motion can turn just about anything, no matter how gross or messy, into a captivating and beautiful spectacle. My favorite is the rocket-powered clothes drying rack. Why didn’t I ever think of that? Seriously though, this is one that simply MUST be seen in full HD, so set that shit on 1080p, pop it on fullscreen, and sit back. (Via Devour)
Exhibit B: The new video for Diarrhea Planet’s “Warm Ridin’.” This is a band that is not afraid of over-the-top absurdity or awesomeness, and this video is all of the above. Complete with rooftops, bare chests, flaming guitars, American flags, and jumping jacks. These dudes know how to party. If you haven’t checked out their debut album on Infinity Cat yet, go fix that right now. And if you can’t get around the name, you’re just missing the point altogether.
Burgers Spring 2012 Mixxxx
April 16, 2012
All I can say is- better late than never. I normally get my seasonal mixes out pretty close to the beginning of each season. My life has been pretty busy this spring and this is mostly a hobby for me, so things are running a little behind. I’ve been pretty obsessed with everything Gigamesh has touched lately, so of course he makes an appearance… I also was feeling a bit more housey than usual, so you’ll notice a few distinctly house-influenced tracks in there. And how could I not include Viceroy’s sun-drenched, poolside-ready remix of Mark Morrison’s 90s hit “Return of the Mack” ??? Enjoy/download:
A Few Good Shows: 4/13/12
April 13, 2012
This fine Friday the 13th weekend is shaping to be a good one for shows in Nashville. Take a gander at my picks:
FRIDAY:
Colour Revolt and Sleeping Bulls @ The 5 Spot. $8 9pm 21+
Diarrhea Planet, Couched, Guntherdoug, Linear Downfall @ The End. 9pm $5
RR Release party ft. D. Striker, Little Bandit, The Tendoor, and Roy Ira @ The Basement. 9pm $5 21+
SATURDAY:
Night Beats, D. Watusi, and Ranch Ghost @ The End. 9pm $5
Sparkle City DJs at the 5 Spot. 9pm $5 (Ft. Jonas Stein, David Bermudez, and some others… I think…)
Tour De Fun, Murfreesboro. This thing was totally kick ass last year, so I hear. Kinda wish I could go this year but I’m an old man. You ride your bike around Murfreesboro going from house show to house show, seeing a bunch of bands and drinking a lot of beer. Pretty cool idea! Bikes! Bands! Houses! Beer! FUN! Check out Lance Conzett’s critic’s pick on it in the Scene.
Formed by former members of We Were The States, Echo Group is a new band poised to take Nashville’s music scene by storm. I’ve listened to their free EP Chalktalk Record Collection several times and simply can’t get enough of it. (If you haven’t already, hit play on the player above. Go ahead- DO IT. Then download it for FREE at their website.) It’s perfectly produced with just the right percussive touches and liberal yet tasteful use of reverb to give everything a Spector-esque 60’s-throwback tinge. I simply can’t get enough of the triumphant horns on “Supra” and the sexy sax on “Don’t Don’t Don’t.” They’re also releasing a split 7″ via Right Nice Records with local noise rockers Mom & Dad which features the track “Work It.” Mom & Dad are already creating some good buzz around town, though I’ve yet to see them live. While I can appreciate the intent of the noised-out/heavily distorted production value of their recordings, it’s honestly a little too noisy and distorted for my taste. I’m quite positive I’m going to love these guys live, however, because they have some seriously awesome songs under all that fuzz.
They are celebrating the release of said split 7″ this Thursday at the brand new High Watt stage in Mercy Lounge. My band Scale Model opens the show, so of course I STRONGLY urge you to come and come early! The show will start promptly at 9pm and is only $5 to attend. We all have short sets and promise to get you home in time for bed on a weeknight. 🙂
RSVP here on Facebook.
Two major things to mention (or re-iterate, since you may have already seen this):
Photographer/filmmaker Joey Ciccoline has been hard at work on a very cool-looking short film titled 88:88 and my pal Matt Pusti aka Makeup and Vanity Set did the soundtrack. Awesome in every possible way. Here’s the trailer:
You can also download the trailer and free mp3 of “The Cross” at the MAVS bandcamp. There will be a full soundtrack album released in the future as well.
Uncle Skeleton released another (the third and final) teaser single from their upcoming album All Too Human. “The Well-Tempered Albi” is available for free download on their bandcamp, along with remixes from DPAUL, Makeup and Vanity Set, and Shaboi, as well as 2 unreleased b-sides.
What a treat to have all of these great projects originating right here in Nashville. *warm fuzzies*
steve cross loves music and science 