Nashville’s Dead: Freakin’ Weekend+Pop up record store
March 2, 2011
The dudes at Nashville’s Dead have upped the ante this year for their Freakin’ Weekend… festival… for lack of a better term. Let’s just call it the Freakin’ Weekend from now on. If memory serves, last year’s was all house shows. This year however, they’ve “graduated” to full-on venues and the lineup is killer. They’ve taken over Exit/In, The End, and Springwater (and even an early show at Third Man Records) to bring you a nonstop rock n roll party that lasts 3 days this weekend- March 4th, 5th, and 6th. It’s safe to say that Infinity Cat acts such as JEFF the Brotherhood, PUJOL, and Natural Child are all “heavy hitters,” not to mention out-of-town acts like Ty Segall and Davila 666. For the full lineup and more info checkout ND’s post about it.
ND also has another treat for all the vinyl nerds out there: they’ll be doing a pop-up record store above the new Local Honey store on Belmont Blvd! It’ll be open from noon-5pm on March 3rd through 5th. They’ll have limited edition pressings and other hard-to-find stuff from Infinity Cat, Third Man, Nashville’s Dead, Turbo Time, Evil Weevil and more. For more deets checkout their blog post. Gonna be a good weekend y’all.
Chancellor Warhol is heading to Bonnaroo
March 1, 2011
Last night was a blast. From the folkwave of Courtney Jaye to the dude-rock shredfest of Tyler Bryant, it was a night to behold. Overall however, it probably won’t go down as one of the most memorable Road To Bonnaroo nights. There just weren’t as many theatrics as there have been at past RTBs, but the quality of the music certainly was not lacking. At the end of the night, though, Chancellor Warhol (who I hadn’t seen until last night) ended up taking the prize. Warhol jumped on stage in a very Kanye-esque outfit, and proceeded to own the crowd. This guy is a phenomenal performer, though his opening song was the only one that really stuck with me. I certainly can’t disagree with the outcome.
Other artists/bands who really caught my attention were Evan P. Donohue and Heartbeater. If EPD’s performance wasn’t enough to win you over, then you need to have your head examined. This kid is a class act and has just the right combination of stage charm and hooky songs to be a genuine star. Just wait.
Heartbeater have switched out guitarists and added a keyboard player, and I love where they’re headed. They’ve got some new material that demands more sonic textures and the keys are fitting the bill perfectly. Bravo, fellas.
I can’t go without mentioning Tyler Bryant. The kid’s guitar shredding style falls somewhere between Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen (in style, not skill, but maybe he’ll get there one day), and he’s what… 20? 19? Despite his age, he somehow filled the stage with more testosterone than I’ve seen there in quite some time. Except for when he tried to do those “yeooowwww” screams and his voice cracked & went into the register of a 12 year old girl. Speaking of 12 year old girls, dude looks a little bit like Justin Bieber. Sorry… had to go there. It’s true. Give JB a guitar and rough him up around the edges and basically you have Tyler Bryant. Seriously though, if this kid learns to write good songs and not turn each show into a total wankfest, he could do something I might be interested in. Otherwise he needs to be the lead guitar player in a speed metal band. Unfortunately it’s rare to find that kind of technical prowess and truly good songwriting skills in the same person.
Let’s hope the next two RTBs get a little more theatrical and/or intense.
Amazing footage of Discovery launch from plane/Road to Bonnaroo tonight
February 28, 2011
Some amazing and unique footage of Space Shuttle Discovery’s launch last thursday from an airplane window. The people on this plane got very lucky, as this is something rarely seen by the public. It’s one of those “right place, right time” deals. Be sure to pump it up to HD resolution.
(Via Bad Astronomy)
If you’re in Nashville and are a fan of local music, be sure not to miss tonight’s Road to Bonnaroo 8 off 8th at Mercy Lounge. This is the third year of RTB, and tonight’s lineup looks great. This event really brings out the best in these bands, as most will have some sort of trick up their sleeve. We’ve seen just about every type of gimmick you can think of at these events in the past two years. If you didn’t know, the bands’ scores are made up of 50% audience vote and 50% judge vote. Tonight’s lineup:
Evan P. Donohue
Courtney Jaye
Chancellor Warhol
Majestico
Heartbeater
Kink Ador
The Kicks
Tyler Byant
For more info on the bands/artists and sample mp3s, visit the Mercy Lounge calendar.
Shows this weekend in Nashville
February 25, 2011
Not a lot of time today. Here’s a quick roundup of shows I recommend seeing this weekend:
FRIDAY:
Honestly there’s not much going on tonight that I personally am very interested in. Check out the Cream for more listings.
SATURDAY:
Heypenny’s A Jillion Kicks album release party @ Mercy Lounge w/ Natalie Prass, Action!, and Mikky Ekko. 9pm, $7 or $12 if you want the CD included.
For those of you in Murfreesboro, Ghostfinger and Heartbeater are at Grand Palace. Seems the ol’ GP is getting back into having shows every now and then. Good times indeed. Probably $5.
Lovedrug, The Kingston Springs @ The Basement, 9pm, 21+ $5
I should also mention that this coming Monday Feb. 28th is the first Road to Bonnaroo 8 off 8th at Mercy Lounge. Come out and vote for your favorite band and send them to Bonnaroo 2011! Lineup is Evan P. Donohue, Courtney Jaye, Chancellor Warhol, Majestico, Heartbeater, Kink Ador, The Kicks, and Tyler Bryant. It’s FREE and 21+.
Have a great weekend!
Credit: NASA
Space Shuttle Discovery is ready for launch later today (4:50pm Eastern/3:50 Central) on its final trip to space. This mission has been delayed extensively- it was originally scheduled to launch in November of last year, but fuel leaks and then tiny cracks discovered on the external fuel tank caused major delays. The shuttle had to be returned to the massive vehicle assembly building (VAB) for repairs that took several months. But so far all is good for the launch today. The shuttle is carrying an additional storage module (essentially a storage closet in space) to the ISS, along with an external logistics platform and a humanoid robot called Robonaut 2. Robonaut 2, known as R2 (ha!) is basically an experiment to allow engineers to determine how the robot will work in space, and how to best control it from inside the ISS. The end goal is to have a humanoid robot that can venture outside the space station and assist spacewalking astronauts with repairs and upgrades. The robot will be controlled by an astronaut inside the space station via some sort of virtual reality-like interface.
As I said, this is the last flight of Discovery. The only confirmed remaining flight is that of Endeavour, scheduled for launch in April. This mission will carry a very important piece of scientific equipment called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer to the ISS. The AMS will help physicists answer some of the most daunting questions in cosmology. An additional flight of Atlantis is likely, though not 100% confirmed. It would launch in June and be the absolute final flight of the Space Shuttle program.
VITAL tonight at Mai/New Aaron Robinson EP
February 24, 2011
Tonight at Mai is the 4th (I think) installment of VITAL, the monthly series at Club Mai presented by Vitalic Noise. This month the dudes are trying out a whole new idea for the event- live bands. Mai is traditionally a full-on dance club, with just DJs providing the entertainment, but the VN guys have constructed a special stage that can be moved and disassembled quickly, so for this night they’ve brought in 3 bands- The Pass, Cherub, and Boss of Nova. In addition, DJs Vitalic Noise and Myrryrs will be spinning. It’ll be a good night, so head on down to 12th for a completely new experience at Mai.
In other local music news, songwriter and former Imaginary Baseball League frontman Aaron Robinson just released a new EP via Bandcamp. The songs stay true to his mellow, earnest style, and his crooning is a smooth as ever. The EP is a pay-what-you-want deal, but I do know that he personally invested money out of pocket to make these recordings, so if you can, show the man some support! Also, I strongly urge you to read his hilarious account of one of his songs inadvertently ending up as the soundtrack to a porno… over at Nashville Cream.
Wicked Celtics: SPARKS (Come Back To Me Someday)
February 22, 2011
My day has been vastly improved by the existence of this new video from Wicked Celtics. Atom Andersen (formerly of Murfreesboro power pop stars Feable Weiner/Mondo Primo) moved to Austin, TX back in 2008, and shortly thereafter Wicked Celtics was born. It started as some lo-fi bedroom videos, but this just takes it to a whole new level. That’s some serious authenticity- the graphite-black guitar, the full-band pose in the creek, the douche-beard. But the thrusting longhorn belt buckle… I almost fell out of my chair. Be sure to watch in HD:
If you don’t get the joke, why are you reading my blog?
LPLN presents 90s Night this Saturday/other weekend shows
February 18, 2011
First and foremost, I must self-promote for just a moment. This Saturday night will be the 3rd installment of the new La Paz Late Night series hosted by myself (Burgers), Potamus, and Vitalic Noise. This month we’re doing a 90s theme and it’s going to be the most ridiculous night of unironic nostalgic pleasure you’ve seen in quite some time. We’ve got all the danceable jams you can imagine from the 90s, even a few “jock jams,” as well as lights and a projector that will be showing classic 90s films like Clueless and Reality Bites on the wall. We also have our usual cheap drink specials- $2 jello shots/$2.50 PBR tallboys/$4 margaritas. It’s a meager $2 to get in if you come in 90’s attire, $3 if you come in 2011 attire. DO IT.
Now for some other stuff to do this weekend:
FRIDAY:
Doug Stanhope w/ The Mattoid @ Exit/In. 9pm, $20
Jimmy Eat World w/ David Bazan @ the Cannery. 9pm, $25 adv./$27 DOS BUT I’M PRETTY SURE IT’S SOLD OUT.
SATURDAY:
Well duh. You’re coming to La Paz Late Night.
BUT, if you just can’t do unironic nostalgia thing, you could go see Cheap Time, D. Watusi, Slammers, and Fox Fun at Glen Danzig’s House. That’s only $2 and starts at 7pm.
Have a great weekend, but first enjoy this extremely dorky but hilarious video/song “Tonight I’m Frakkin’ You”. (Tip to the producer of the song: your vocals are way, way too loud in the mix.)
(Via io9)
FAMN DAMN/Jensen Sportag/Slayer
February 16, 2011
Whoa. Did I really just mention those 3 bands in a row?
Cody Blaine has been making music in Murfreesboro for a good few years now in various incarnations. As most artists do, he’s changed, grown, and honed his skills quite a bit along the way. His latest project is called FAMN DAMN, a scaled-down version of his previous project Cody Blaine & The Whole Famn Damnly. That band involved drums, bass, keys, and a horn section. Needless to say, managing rehearsals for such a sizeable undertaking can take its toll on one’s willpower, so the new incarnation is much simpler- Cody Blaine sings and plays keys while drummer Mikey Lieberman caresses the skins. It’s nearly impossible not to compare Blaine’s vocal style to that of Tom Waits, but along the way he’s honed it so that it’s not as derivative. Stripping the instrumental aspects of the songs down to such bare components was also a good thing. The result is his first release on vinyl- the “Honey, Come Pull On My Tie/Borrowed Time” 7″ single. The single is currently being pressed for an unspecified release date. *Disclaimer- I did the photography and cover art for this release, so I’m not completely unbiased here.*
After debating which track to post, I landed on the B-side “Borrowed Timem,” as I slightly prefer it over the A-side.
In other news, Jensen Sportag‘s EP Pure Wet is officially out. Stream and purchase via their label Cascine. Like said before: SEXY. This EP could just as easily have been titled Pure Sex. No joke.
Via the A.V. Club– Slayer’s guitarist Jeff Hanneman had to back out of a few upcoming shows for what has to be the most metal thing ever: He got a case of flesh-eating bacteria from a spider bite. Thankfully he’s fine and currently recovering from surgery. Seriously, that’s one of the most metal things I’ve ever heard. And Slayer is probably the most metal metal band ever, because the singer also recently injured his neck and back from headbanging. Somebody needs to give these dudes a trophy.
Science funding standoff/solar flare headed for earth
February 15, 2011
Credit: NASA
First of all, I must make the point that these solar flares and coronal mass ejections we’re talking about will NOT harm us. At most, these can cause disruptions with satellite communications, but nothing more. On Sunday the sun belched forth an M-class (medium) solar flare with earth in the crosshairs. The stream of charged particles from the eruption is expected to reach earth sometime late tonight, and could create auroral displays visible as far south as the great lakes area. The sun is capable of flares much more powerful, that would create auroras visible all the way down here in TN, but they’re rare. I do expect there to be one or two of that magnitude in the next few years, however, as the sun is climbing toward its next period of maximum sunspot activity, known as solar maximum. It is possible that tonight’s flare could be more powerful than expected, and the resulting aurorae visible this far south, but it’s highly unlikely. If you’re in Canada or the northern US, however, I recommend going outside and looking north tonight. You just might get a treat. (Via space.com and spaceweather.com)
UPDATE: Apparently this same sunspot region produced another, more powerful flare last night. This time it was an X-class flare, though still not powerful enough to cause aurorae visible this far south. (Via Bad Astronomy)
Obama’s proposed budget for 2012 is basically in direct opposition to the Republicans’ ideas. The biggest area of contention will no doubt be science and education spending. Obama wants to boost funding for most everything science-related, which I applaud of course. But of course, Republicans want to make huge cuts in most everything science-related. It’s incredibly sad that most Republicans these days take such anti-science, anti-reality stances on issues. These proposed budgets are simply the beginnings of what will likely be a long, knock-down drag-out battle between the White House and Congress, and I hope there can be some concessions that will allow us to continue to grow in the areas of education and technology without vastly increasing the national debt. Granted, even a modest cut in the defense budget would probably take care of all these problems, but will that ever happen? Hell no. (Via NewScientist) Also, check out this nice infographic created by LiveScience.
steve cross loves music and science 