New Bad Cop video from Seth Graves/Chrome Pony is good
June 20, 2011
My friend and former bandmate Seth Graves just keeps crankin’ out rad music videos. His latest is probably his best work to date, and it’s for local garage-punkers Bad Cop. This is a music video as it should be- its own work of art. (Make sure you watch in full HD!)
In other Nashville music news, I recommend checking out the two demos from a brand new band called Chrome Pony. All I know about them is that drummer extraordinaire Jerry Pentecost is involved (I’m assuming on drums, but he’s a talented dude and might play something else). These two songs are both quite infectious, and dare I say “Rock N Roll” is capable of being the anthem of the summer for Nashville indie rock. They’re playing a surprise last-minute house show this Wednesday at a new-ish house venue called The Parsonage with Diarrhea Planet, Big Surr, and ri¢hie. ri¢hie is a new project from Richie Kirkpatrick of Ghostfinger. Details can be found at the facebook event here.
Happy Monday.
Weekend shows/New Breakbot video
June 17, 2011
Here’s a quick rundown of good shows I recommend seeing this weekend in Nashville.
FRIDAY:
The Spits, TV Ghost, Cy Barkley, Diarrhea Planet, Hans Condor @ The End. 9pm $8.
Chubby & The Dots w/ Brown Chicken Brown Cow String Band @ The Basement. 9pm 21+ $5. I’ve no idea about the latter, but the C & the D’s feature members of the Non-Commissioned Officers playing the swingin’ sounds of the 30’s and 40’s.
SATURDAY:
White Denim w/ Ghostfinger and ??? @ The Basement. 9pm 21+ $8
Shoot the Mountain w/ Chrome Pony @ the 5 Spot. 9pm 21+ $5
KORT in-store performance @ Grimey’s. 5pm- FREE
Breakbot is a DJ/producer from France and is signed to Ed Banger Records. It should come as no surprise that I’m an avid fan, since his tracks or remixes have appeared in just about every mix I’ve made as DJ Burgers over the past couple years. His latest track “Fantasy ft. Ruckazoid” is an instant floor-filler and the video for it just hit the interwebs. Scope it out below. Dare I say it’s not quite as awesome as the one for last year’s jam “Baby I’m Yours,” but it’s entertaining and fits the song perfectly.
Have a great weekend!
Miami Horror tomorrow night at Mercy Lounge
June 15, 2011
Miami Horror at Beauty Bar Backyard, SXSW '11. Photo by Steve Cross
Tomorrow night (6/16) Miami Horror makes their first Nashville appearance at Mercy Lounge, with How I Became the Bomb and Cherub opening. I’ve been hoping for at least a year that Miami Horror would come through Nashville, and it’s finally happening. They come from the land down under, but I’ve heard rumors that they’re making a move to the states. Their debut album Illumination was one of my favorites of 2010, and I caught their live show at the Beauty Bar Backyard at SXSW this year. It was easily one of the best shows I saw the whole festival. They have impressive stage energy and showmanship which easily brought the crowd into a sweaty dance-frenzy in no time.
This show at Mercy will be easily as good, if not better, than the SXSW show because they can flesh out their set and do it “their way” instead of having to setup quickly and rush through their set like bands usually have to do at SXSW. The openers are perfect for the bill, and at a mere $12, this is a really good deal. The band is also doing a DJ set later that night at MAI for the official afterparty. Seriously, get your tix now! Why pay more at the door or risk missing it entirely because of a sellout?
Download:
Miami Horror-Holidays (ft. Alan Palomo)
Listen:
Miami Horror-Holidays (DCUP Remix)
I’ve been waiting since the end of May for this:
(Click to enlarge) Credit: NASA/Paolo Nespoli
THAT is something that has never been captured on film before. It may not seem like a big deal, but the opportunity to to photograph a space shuttle docked to the ISS from space has never happened before, and never will again. The schedules happened to line up so that a Russian Soyuz capsule undocked from the ISS carrying three astronauts home while Endeavour was still docked. This gave astronaut Paolo Nespoli the opportunity to take photos of the shuttle/ISS combo from the window of the Soyuz capsule as they floated away. They paused the Soyuz some distance away and the space station actually performed a “flip” maneuver to allow for more angles. Please click through to the NASA image gallery and see the rest of these amazing images.
Think the idea of humans boarding a massive spaceship headed into the cosmos for 100’s or even 1,000’s of years (a.k.a. real-life Star Trek) is completely in the realm of science fiction? Think again. Last fall DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), the highly secretive experimental arm of the Department of Defense who happened to invent the internet, released an official Request for Information regarding a “100-year starship plan.” Basically, they want people to come up with a fully thought-out plan for forming a team of researchers/engineers/scientists to investigate the technology necessary to build such a spaceship. Needless to say, this is one tiny baby step in a project that could cost many billions of dollars and require decades of advances in propulsion technology, but it’s still rather amazing that there is real, serious effort being put into something that has always seemed so far out of reach for humankind. As pointed out in their RFI, there will no doubt be unanticipated discoveries and technological advances as a “side-effect” of this research. So the actual spaceship itself is not the only purpose of this initiative. It really makes me happy to see something like this happening because I think manned space exploration has been quite stagnant for the last couple of decades. We need this kind of spark to really push forward the technology needed to extend our presence beyond low-Earth orbit. (Via Universe Today)
Ok, that’s really it for this week. Probably. I can’t fathom any more posts because tomorrow morning I will be heading to Manchester with the rest of the Scene/Cream team to photograph Bonnaroo. Keep your eyes on the Nashville Cream for updates on our shenanigans, and to see some of my photos.
91.1 WRVU sold to WPLN- my opinion
June 7, 2011
*Disclaimer: The following statements are my personal opinion and in no way reflect the views or opinions of my employer Vanderbilt University.*
The news broke today that Vanderbilt’s student radio station WRVU had its FM broadcast license sold to Nashville Public Radio for $3.35 million. The governing body for WRVU is Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC) which is a separate entity from Vanderbilt. VSC was created long ago so that the student media could be editorially independent from the University to avoid possible conflicts of interest, though VSC is still financially tied to the University. The sale was first mentioned back in September 2010, and VSC stated that it was “exploring the possibility” of selling the broadcast license and going to an online-only format. They solicited public comments and opinion on the possible sale. The full timeline of what transpired can be found at savewrvu.com.
I have stayed mostly silent on this issue, just watching, and supporting the efforts of the Save WRVU campaign, which is now an official non-profit organization. I can no longer be silent. They way VSC handled this was downright wretched, vile, and disrespectful to the students, the DJs, and the Vanderbilt community in general. They had been secretly working out the details of this deal with Nashville Public Radio all along, and according to a comment from WPLN President Rob Gordon tweeted by the Nashville Scene’s Steve Haruch, a letter of intent for the sale was signed in March of this year. The VSC board held its final meeting of the 2011 spring semester and claimed they’d made no final decision on the sale and also stated they would not be making any decisions over the summer. Well, they lied. To everyone. And to make matters worse, they basically ignored the fact that almost all of the solicited public opinion on the sale was in support of keeping WRVU as it was. Today they simply cut the station off the air without giving the DJs or the listeners any warning that the deal had been done. This is possibly what hurts me the most about this horrible situation- the fact that many good DJs never got a chance to give a formal goodbye or have an official last show. As a former college radio DJ on MTSU’s student station WMTS, I can’t imagine how horrible it must be to have your beloved show ripped out from under you with no warning. The move was also disrespectful to the students, because they did the deed during summer, while most of the students are away. I am literally appalled by how VSC handled this, and they should be ashamed. Save WRVU is going to do everything they can to fight this, and I applaud their efforts. They’re an official non-profit, though I have no idea what means that gives them to fight this. They’ve said themselves that it’s not over. I’m no legal expert so I’ve no idea what options exist at this point, but I’ll keep an eye on savewrvu.com to see what they’re up to.
While I’m devastated that this sale happened, after reading the press release, the outcome is honestly the most tolerable circumstance I can think of. If it had to happen, this is probably how I would want it to happen. In a nutshell, 91.1 FM is now owned and operated by NPR and will be is an all-classical music station with the call letters WFCL, and WRVU will remain on the air via WPLN’s HD3 channel (and remain online as well). Honestly I don’t know that much about HD radio, but it does seem like a viable option for WRVU to remain on the air. The problem is not many people have HD radios. I just don’t know if HD radio is really going to catch on unless the FCC forces it like they did with HDTV broadcasts. But that’s a whole separate issue. The fact is, this deal is not nearly as bad as it could have been. I still hate it, but I hate it less than I ever thought I would.
In the end I have a much bigger problem with the way VSC handled the overall situation than I do with outcome of the sale itself. This is my opinion given what I know right now. If I learn something new regarding either side of the issue, my opinion may change slightly.
Next Big Nashville becomes Soundland- my thoughts
June 7, 2011
If you’re a Nashvillian and even remotely connected to the music scene, you’ve probably heard by now that the annual Next Big Nashville festival/conference has changed their name to Soundland. Or at least Next Big Nashville Presents: Soundland. Click that link to visit their website, and you’ll notice that most everything still includes “Next Big Nashville” in the name, and the old logo is on the banner in the new logo. The event will become somewhat more focused on one area of the city- 8th Ave South. That means Mercy Lounge/Cannery/Third Man Records/The Basement/Grimey’s, but also 12th & Porter, MAI, Station Inn, Public Square Park, and others, with “fieldtrips” and artist-led workshops/seminars. There will also be a larger-than-ever outdoor main stage. All that and more can be found on the website’s FAQ.
All of what they’re doing sounds great- it’s exactly where the festival needs to go IMO. But I’m not sold on the name. Soundland sounds like a game to me. More specifically, a board game. I guess that’s because of Candyland. It just doesn’t sit right with me. Don’t get me wrong, I love this festival and city/music scene and will support them/work with them however I can. And I hope I’m wrong about the name… but I just can’t say “Yes, Soundland is a good name for this event” at this point in time. I look forward to the announcement of more details, especially the lineup. Make sure you follow them on twitter and Facebook for the latest updates.
Oh, and apparently Jay-Z is a fan of JEFF the Brotherhood.
As usual, I will be photographing this year at Bonnaroo for the Scene/Cream, so I will not be posting this Thur.-Sun. I may or may not have something worth blogging about tomorrow, so we’ll see. If not, I bid you adieu until next week.
Shows to see this weekend
June 3, 2011
Here’s a quick rundown of shows I recommend this weekend in Nashville:
FRIDAY:
Lambchop at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens. This is strange but awesome juxtaposition of outdoor fun, art, food, and music. The event starts at 5pm, but Lambchop plays at 9pm. For more info checkout Cheekwood’s website.
Quichenight, A Country Gentleman, Rock City Birdhouse @ the 5 Spot. 9pm $5
SATURDAY:
Times New Viking, D. Watusi, Big Surr @ The End. 9pm $10
… That’s about it for stuff that piques my interest.
I simply can’t go without posting this awesome video created by director Chris Abbas that combines a plethora of amazing imagery from the Cassini spacecraft (which has been orbiting Saturn for many years now) with the track “2 Ghosts I” from the album Ghosts I-IV by Nine Inch Nails. As the name of this blog implies, I’m obviously a huge fan of both music and science, and when they come together to create something beautiful like this I’m a happy man. If you can’t enjoy this there is something wrong with you. *HINT: If you’re viewing this post in an RSS reader, the Vimeo video below doesn’t show up, click through to actually view the blog page to see it!*
Have a great weekend!
MoogFest returns/The Rosebuds have a new album
June 2, 2011
The Rosebuds have been around since 2003, and were one of those “awww it’s a husband/wife band” bands. Little did I know that they’d been going through relationship issues over the past couple of years… in fact, Kelly Rosebud packed up an moved to Brooklyn, NY alone. Amazingly, they put their personal issues aside and made a record, which is coming out June 7 on Merge, called Loud Planes Fly Low. I caught the band opening for British Sea Power at Mercy Lounge several years back… 2008 I believe… and I remember it being a pretty good show. Good enough that I checked out their album Night of the Furies. You won’t find any soaring disco anthems like “Get Up Get Out” on Loud Planes Fly Low, but how could one expect that given the circumstances under which this album was made? These songs are much more honest and emotionally charged than ever before, and all in all the album has a more earnest feel than Night of the Furies. But I can’t compare it with other albums because I only have a few tracks from the rest of their discography. Overall this is a good album. Here’s the track “Come Visit Me”:
The Rosebuds – Come Visit Me (download)
MoogFest is back in 2011, and the lineup is absolutely phenomenal. I wanted to go last year because A) the lineup was awesome, B) the whole idea was awesome, C) Asheville is a pretty cool town. This year, I just don’t see how I can miss it. All efforts will be made to attend. I mean, just look at this freaking lineup:
Consider me there.
Moustache May: the Final Cut/music tidbits
June 1, 2011
If you didn’t know already, I participated in the final (probably) chapter of Moustache May, the annual celebration of the follicle curated by local web design wizard Michael Eades (aka Yewknee). It was bittersweet to see such a ridiculous and awesome thing come to an end, and honestly I’m torn between shaving mine off and attempting to grow it out longer just to see if it can be tamed into a nice handlebar. That could possibly take another month or so of growth, so we’ll just have to see if I can hold out. To be quite honest, a lot of people stigmatize an ordinary moustache as “creepy” or otherwise undesirable. But I feel that a well waxed/curled handlebar sets its bearer apart as much classier. The above video is a mock movie trailer created by several of the “core” MM participants… or at least those around Nashville who have been a participant for many years. It’s quite hilarious and well worth a watch.
A few random music tidbits I felt like mentioning:
–SebastiAn just released his first full-length album, titled Total. I hate to make this comparison but it can’t be avoided- if you liked Justice’s 2008 album Cross, you will like this album. It’s really fucking good. Thick, juicy, sexy, filtered-French-sample-funk/electro.
–Stacked is a mix by Royal Sapien that somehow crams 300 tracks into one hour. I had it going in the background for a bit and it’s just that- very background-y. But the feat of fitting/mashing 300 tracks into one hour alone is worth mentioning. (Via Harder Blogger Faster)
-Speaking of DJ-related things. I may or may not have mentioned on here the fate of my La Paz Late Night series. Basically I’ve decided that space is cursed. No restaurants can seem to find success there and neither can any DJ nights, despite its great location and swanky interior. I don’t have the means to promote a huge multi-sponsor event and that’s what the owner wanted. So, I’m talking to some people involved with a thing that seems like it’ll be pretty badass, but I don’t want to jinx it, so that’s all I’m saying for now. Stay tuned.
What’s up this weekend?
May 27, 2011
My Moustache May photo from May 19. Believe me, I'm just as terrified of this as you are.
This weekend is pretty rad when it comes to show offerings in Nashville, as most are.
FRIDAY:
First at little self-promotion: Night of The Living Cover Bands Pt. II- Electric Boogaloo @ Walnut House in Murfreesboro. This a benefit for the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp, and I’m playing in a Weezer cover band for it. Rest of the cover bands: Guided By Voices (members of Those Darlins)/Fugazi (members of Gentlemen Divers & Apollo Up)/Sleater-Kinney (members of Take the Power Back & Heavy Cream)/Radiohead (members of Ascent of Everest & Protomen)/They Might Be Giants (members of Kelly Kerr & the Distractions)/The Replacements (members of HP Witchcraft & Skybox) Starts at 9pm!
Annual Moustache May Finale ft. Kindercastle and Roy Ira @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $7 (As a proud participant of Moustache May, I wish I could go to this, but see: above.)
SATURDAY:
Third Man Records Fan Appreciation part 1: The Ettes, Dex Romweber Duo, Jacuzzi Boys, White Buffalo Woman, and The Turncoats. (No, not Linwood Regensuburg’s Turncoats, another Turncoats with whom I am not yet familiar.) @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $12
Open Lot fundraiser @ The Zombie Shop, 506 6th Ave S. Ft. The Cherry Blossoms, Denny & the Jets, Natural Child, Plex Plex, and many more. For a full lineup and schedule check out Open Lot’s website. The Open Lot now has a new location downtown on Hermitage Ave. in the SoBro area, which is currently under quite a bit of “urban development.” This place is gonna start kicking some ass very soon, so keep an eye on it. *This event was originally slated to happen at Open Lot but has been moved due to construction at Open Lot.*
Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs w/ Tristen and Reid Magette @ The End. 18+ $10 9pm.
SUNDAY:
Thrid Man Records Fan Appreciation part 2: Henry & June, PUJOL, The One Through Tens, D. Watusi, and The Grayces @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $12
*Two-day passes to the Third Man shows can be obtained for $20.*
steve cross loves music and science 