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.
A Few Good Shows: 4/6/12
April 6, 2012
A pretty impressive few days of music have shaped up this weekend in Nashville. Here’s what I think is worth checking out:
FRIDAY:
Memetic Society Showcase ft. Fly Golden Eagle, Faux Ferocious, Majestico, and Justin & The Cosmics @ The Basement. 9pm $5 21+
Evan P. Donohue, The Weeks, What Up, English?, and Orbit Funeral @ Exit/In. 9pm $7
Pontiak, Luke Roberts, Ascent of Everest @ The End. 9pm $10
Kansas Bible Company, Magnolia Sons, The Lonely H, and Peter Terry & the City Profits @ 12th & Porter. 9pm $5
SATURDAY:
The Ettes, Diarrhea Planet, Guntherdoug, and Couched @ Zombie Shop. 8pm $7
The Coathangers, White Mystery, Thelma & The Sleaze @ The End. 9pm $7
SUNDAY:
White Denim w/ Hundred Visions @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $10 adv/$12 dos
That’s it- have a great weekend!
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*
A Few Good Shows: 3/30/12
March 30, 2012
Obviously after yesterday’s post, the beer festival will be a large part of my weekend, but there are also plenty of good shows to be seen this weekend… here’s what seems cool to me:
FRIDAY:
Parachute Musical (final show), Winter Sounds, Baby Baby @ The 5 Spot. 9pm $5 21+
The Danberrys w/ Kelsey Waldon @ The Basement. 9pm $5 21+
SATURDAY:
By Lightning! w/ Wax Fang and Poly @ The Basement. 9pm $7 21+
Couched, Youth Camp, New Pleasure, Reid Magette @ The End. 9pm $5
Quintron & Miss Pussycat w/ Nashville’s Dead DJs @ Third Man Records. 7pm $7
SUNDAY:
Jesco White (The Dancing Outlaw), with Beitthemeans, Pick Up The Snake, and Roger Alan Wade. 9pm $15
On completely separate note, I wanted to direct you to a brand spankin’ new blog just created by my girlfriend- Old Red Boots. It’s centered around fashion and other girly things, and I’ll be taking most of the photos for it, so check it out.
Also, have a great weekend!
A Few Good Shows: 3/23/12
March 23, 2012
This weekend has some quality show offerings, especially of the local variety, so get your ass out there and see some good local bands!
FRIDAY:
Ponychase, Evan P. Donohue, Jasmin Kaset @ the 5 Spot. 9pm $5
Spongebath Night ft. Seth Timbs Thing, Jason Moore (of the Katies), The Hellens, Marc Scibilia, and Cory Chisel @ The Basement. 9pm $5 21+
Gardens & Villa, What Up, English?, and Hanzelle at the High Watt (in Mercy Lounge). 9pm $5
SATURDAY:
Red Bull Music Academy’s Nashville session ft. Eliot Lipp as guest speaker. 4-5pm @ 12th & Porter. FREE
Boom Bap ft. Rob Swift @ the 5 Spot. 9pm $10 Yes THAT Rob Swift.
Y2K ft. Kidsmeal, Coach, Hands off Sam, and Handi-Snacks @ the High Watt. 10pm $3(21+) $5(18+) Girls 21+ free till 11. The High Watt is the new home of DJ Coach’s immensely successful DJ night Y2K. Come out and help them celebrate the a new era!
Scale Model, King Arthur, Mize & The Drive @ Wall Street (in Murfreesboro). 9pm $5 Yea, this one’s down in the ‘Boro but my band is on it and I gotta shamelessly self-promote, dig?
SUNDAY:
Mind Spiders, Cy Barkley & The Way Outsiders, The Cannomen @ The End. 9pm $5
That’s it. Have a great weekend!
My pal Joseph over at Nashville Nights has been working with Red Bull to promote one of their awesome Red Bull Music Academy sessions, which is happening this Saturday at 12th & Porter from 4-5pm. It’s totally FREE, and the guest speaker is none other than Eliot Lipp. This is very unique treat to have here in Nashville, and I suggest checking it out. It’s free so what have you to lose? It’s to promote the 2012 Red Bull Music Academy, taking place in New York Sept. 30 – Nov. 2. If the full-on RBMA is something you’re interested in, and you’re from Nashville, then you simply must check this out. It’s a very cool idea: kudos to Joseph for getting involved.
steve cross loves music and science 