This Saturday- La Paz Late Night Presents: Tacky Holidisco
December 2, 2010
Remember last fall/winter when you could go to La Paz (now in Ombi Bar’s old digs on Elliston) and dance the night away with DJ Potamus and friends every Friday? Yeah, it was called La Paz Late Night, and though the former owner put the brakes on it after a few months, the new owner is all about some dance parties, so Potamus and I have brought LPLN back from the grave! We’re gonna be doing it on the monthly instead of the weekly, and the first party of the new era is THIS SATURDAY: Tacky Holidisco. We’ve enlisted the help of DJ collective/blog/party promoters Vitalic Noise as well, and between the three of us it should be a party to remember, every month. We’ll be spinning a smooth mix of classic disco, nu disco, french house, and electro. We also have some irresistible drink deals- $2.50 PBRs, $4 Margaritas, and a round of $2 jello shots at midnight. We will also have a special prize for the tackiest holiday get-up. As always, dark corner makeout sessions are encouraged. What more could you ask for on a Saturday night? Here’s the skinny, in case you didn’t feel like actually reading all that:
La Paz Late Night Presents: Tacky Holidisco
THIS SATURDAY DEC 4th at La Paz Mexican Restaurant: 2214 Elliston Pl.
FREE 10-11pm, $3 after 11, ages 21+ only
$2.50 PBRs/$4 margaritas/$2 jello shots at midnight
Disco/house/electro by DJs Potamus, Burgers, and Vitalic Noise
For a sample of what you’ll hear, check out my latest mixtape BURGERS Fall 2010 MIXXXX below, or tune into 91.1 WRVU tonight from 6-8pm, as I’ll be performing a mini-mix on Sam & Kelly Patton’s awesome show Penguin Parade.
And The Relatives: Green Machinery
December 1, 2010
And The Relatives just released their first full-length album Green Machinery via Theory 8 and YK Records. I’m no professional music critic by any means, so I’ll keep it short. Get this album. The band put a lot of time and effort into this record and it shows. I must disclose that these guys are friends of mine, but again, I don’t claim to be a professional music critic. ATR’s style has always been heavily influenced by early/mid 90s indie rock, and they wear that on their sleeve. This album is anything but derivative, however. They somehow manage to inject a sense of freshness in the songs that keeps them from feeling stale. You’ll hear a little Guided By Voices, a little Built to Spill, and plenty of clever guitar riffage. Top it all with Andrew Brassel’s mellow yet rough-edged voice and just the right dose of production and you have yourself a quality album. Production-wise it’s pretty much spot-on. It was recorded at bassist Eli Beaird’s home studio, and the sounds achieved perfectly match the songs. The artwork is worth noting as well- Micheal Eades, Kyle Scudder, and BOSS Construct did a great job on the packaging, and it’s well worth it to buy the limited edition vinyl to get the full effect. If you’re short on cash, have no fear though- you can pay as little or as much as you want for the digital version at their bandcamp. The standout track on the album is easily “Hammer Down,” and you can check out the video for it below.
The Naked & Famous: riding the Passion Pit waves
November 29, 2010
This band from New Zealand The Naked & Famous are making me pretty happy at the moment. Don’t have their full album yet but from the 2 tracks I’ve heard, they basically sound like a more epic, more robust version of Passion Pit. Basically those are the things that kept me from loving Passion Pit, so for me this band is almost perfect. I know they’ll get tons of Passion Pit references and will probably grow tired of it but it’s too obvious to just ignore- the similarities are there. What’s kind of hilarious is that Pashy Pit’s Angelakos is a dude, but his stratospheric falsetto is in the same register as TNAF’s vocalist Alisa Xayalith. Don’t get me wrong, I like both bands, but honestly TNAF is pretty much what I always wanted Passion Pit to be. I’d put money on them becoming one of the biggest indie sensations of 2011. Check out the video for their hit single “Young Blood”:
Powerbrrrd show tonight/William Tyler album/MAVS remix contest
November 16, 2010
Wow, there’s a lot of good stuff to report today.
First of all, let me say that this morning sucked. Quite frankly this started out as a bad day. But I found out that local guitar wizard William Tyler (who’s played with Silver Jews, Lambchop, and most recently KORT) has a new solo album out, and it’s streaming on NPR. I had no idea what to expect, but I started playing some tracks and my day immediately improved. The album is mostly instrumental acoustic guitar compositions with roomy, spacey samples and horn parts washed in here and there. A few tracks feature ambient sound effects with distant druid-like chants. It was one of those times where just the right thing happens to come along to set you back in sync. Good job Willy T!
Now for a brief moment of self-promotion. My band Powerbrrrd is playing a free show at the Exit/In tonight, along with Nite Nite, The Grayces, Little Viking, and Frank the Fuck Out. A good time is guranteed. We had a 4th Brrrd in line to make his debut tonight, but unfortunately he inured his wing and won’t be able to rock with for a few more weeks.
One more brief moment of self-promotion. Saturday I turn 29. To kick off my last year of being a coveted twenty-something, I’m hosting an 8 off 8th at Mercy Lounge next Monday, and it’s a grunge cover night. Yes, break out your flannel, ripped jeans, and chucks- it’s time to get filthy. The lineup is Eliza the Arrow (former members of Forget Cassettes), Foxcore (members of Take the Power Back), Anchor Thieves, Powerbrrrd, Sweet Tempers, Kelly Kerr, and Bad Press (Nashville Cream staff). There will also be FREE CAKE.
If you’re a music maker of the electronic type, or just a DJ who dabbles in production, you should head over to Makeup & Vanity Set’s website where can download stems for an official remix contest he’s hosting. The track being remixed is “Charles Park” off of Charles Park II. I really look forward to hearing some of these remixes, and tackling the remix myself. Whether I can come up with anything noteworthy remains to be seen, as my time is stretched thin…
Finally, I must warn that my posting may be limited to non-existent past today. Something blog-worthy may pop up tomorrow, but Thursday I’ll be having PRK eye surgery, and unfortunately there is a bit of recovery time involved, during which I may have be doped up on pain meds while my corneas heal. Most of you haven’t a clue how severely near-sighted I am, but suffice it to say that even though this surgery will only reduce my corrective prescription, that alone will be well worth it.
Slow weekend/Caitlin Rose’s album gets U.S. release date
November 12, 2010
Before we get to the sparse show listings for this weekend, here’s some long-awaited local music news:
Caitlin Rose’s debut album Own Side Now will finally see a US release on March 15 of next year. People state-side have been wondering and waiting for news as to the US release, since it’s been out in the UK and Europe for several months now. The release will be followed-up by what should be a pretty extensive US tour in the spring/summer months. Good news indeed, for a truly great album.
Wow. It’s a slow weekend in Nashville, rock show-wise. I honestly have nothing for you tonight. Nada.
TONIGHT:
I almost forgot about Black Mountain/Black Angels tonight at Mercy Lounge. But personally they are too jammy for my taste. So… meh.
Wooops. That show was actually last (Thursday) night.
SATURDAY:
Mashville ft. DJs Wick-It, Bitch Please, Mike Vulcan, and Bateman @ The End. 9pm $5
SUNDAY:
Codaphonic, Listen Like Thieves, Kat Jones, and StereoPhidelics @ the 5 Spot, 9pm $5
I must also mention that my band POWERBRRRD will be playing a Rock the Block at the Exit/In on Tuesday, along with Nite Nite, The Grayces, Frank the Fuck Out, and Little Viking. POWERBRRRD will be debuting our new 4-piece lineup, so make of that what you will.
Yeah! Have a good weekend!
If Harry Underwood’s art came to life…
November 8, 2010
This is probably what it would look like:
(Via Yewknee’d)
If you don’t know who Harry Underwood is, you need to learn. Thank me later.
In other news, the latest We Own This Town podcast is out and it contains some tasty new treats from Nashville artists both new and old such as Jasmin Kaset, Fly Golden Eagle, Tristen, and Relax With Fiction.
Tex vs. Basil Marceaux dot com/weekend shows
November 5, 2010
First off, here’s what I think is good this weekend:
FRIDAY:
The Features, Tristen, Bows & Arrows @ 12th & Porter. 9pm. I swear I read somewhere that this is some kind of benefit show, but I can’t find any evidence of that now. Regardless this is an AMAZING lineup. I need not say a word about the Features- we all know they rule the universe. Tristen has gotten better and better every time I’ve seen her the past 3 years, and just when I think she couldn’t possibly be better, she is. Speaking of getting better- Bows & Arrows are now totally awesome as well. (Not that they weren’t before, but now they’re really awesome.) I saw them last Sat. night at Grand Palace in M’boro and they totally blew me away. They’ve got a batch of new songs and have been slowly chipping away at a debut full-length with Alex at GP’s recording studio.
OK Go, Those Darlins, Samuel @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm, $15. I’ve not a clue about Samuel, but I can promise you’ll hear almost all new material from Those Darlins (which I deemed fantastic while I was on tour w/ them for a week), and a fun, crowd-participatory experience from OK Go. I saw most of their set at Bonnaroo this past summer and while the last album or two hasn’t impressed me, they did put on a helluva live show.
SATURDAY:
Milktooth, XPIA, the Zut Alors, and Flashbulb Fires @ the 5 Spot. 9pm, $5.
Turbo Fruits, Big Surr, Deadbeat Beat, D. Watusi, Reid Magette @ Glen Danzig’s House, 7pm, $5.
SUNDAY:
Fang Island, Delicate Steve, Sleeper Agent, and Bad Cop @ The End. $10, 9pm.
And now here’s some footage of the one and only Tex Rambunctious interviewing the one and only Basil Marceaux dot com:
(Via Nashville Cream)
Hipster Runoff makes fun of Caitlin Rose’s NME mention
October 21, 2010
Ok, first of all, let’s be really proud of Nashville’s own Caitlin Rose, who got a spot on NME’s “The Cool List 2010.” Granted, she’s way down at #73, but that’s 2 spots above Rivers Cuomo, who came in dead last! So, way to go, Caitlin! It’s safe to say you’re officially a star in the UK. But sadly the way I found out about this was through my Hipster Runoff RSS feed. In this post from yesterday afternoon he makes fun of the NME cool list and describes Caitlin as “sounds like a girl who sad behind u in Algebra class who got preggers by senior year.” At first glance it’s a little insulting, but seriously, this is Hipster Runoff we’re talking about here. It’s kind of an honor to be made fun of by Carles. And if you take anything on that blog seriously you’re missing the point altogether. ❤ U Caitlin. U rule forevs.
Lots of good things happen tonight
October 6, 2010
Before I talk about the nerdy television shows which will be on tonight, I must mention that Nashville rockers Heartbeater released their debut album Slow Waves yesterday. I totally forgot to mention it. Hell I’ve only heard a couple of the songs, but I know it’s an awesome record because I’ve seen them live many times, and they are just that good. The main strongpoint is the amazing chemistry between the two guitar players whose parts are almost always playing off each other and harmonizing. Check them out at heartbeater.net or their label’s bandcamp.
Now for some serious nerding-out.
- Obama finally got a clue and is having solar panels installed on the White House. It’s about fucking time!
- Tonight is the season premier of Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel. The myths their testing tonight both involve dogs, so this will surely be an adorable episode.
- Of course, directly following Mythbusters will be the 2nd episode of Phil Plait’s Bad Universe. This time he will be studying the realities of alien attacks and the overall existence of extraterrestrials, as well as the grim realities of interstellar travel. Two of my favorite things back to back=me having a nerd-out. Here’s a sneak peak at tonight’s episode:
Jasmin Kaset: Get her debut album
October 5, 2010
I’ve known Jasmin Kaset for quite a few years now. Until recently she’d played various small, solo acoustic shows, sometimes with a few friends accompanying her on various instruments. She moved back and forth between Nashville and Australia a time or two. It seemed that she might have been holding back a bit, waiting for the right time to step into the spotlight. That time has come and she’s officially made a strong statement in Nashville’s “other” music scene, the good one. She teamed up with studio wizard and Non-Commissioned Officers founding member/producer Jordan Lehning, and I must say it’s a match made in heaven. He took her sweet acoustic ditties and ballads and turned them into soaring majestic masterpieces fit for a king. (Well, some of the songs are still simple acoustic arrangements, but the standout tracks can most certainly be described as “majestic.”) My only reservation with Jasmin was always that the Phonetic styling of her voice was usually a little too sweet and somewhat childlike. That child of a voice has now matured and her performance on this album simply demands your attention and respect. She still sounds distinctly like Jasmin, but she’s singing more robustly these days, and I absolutely love it. Some of these songs will no doubt draw comparisons to Regina Spektor, but honestly in my humble opinion I think Jasmin’s songwriting simply eclipses that of Ms. Spektor.
The album is short, but it’s worth every penny of the $5 you will spend to purchase it directly through her website. The artwork is worth mentioning as well- a delight for your eyes.
steve cross loves music and science 