Make-Out with Violence on Netflix/Bit Funk at Mai tonight/Vids from last Powerbrrrd show
January 27, 2011
If you have Netflix, I strongly recommend putting the phenomenal, Nashville-made film Make-Out with Violence in your queue right now. It just recently officially became rentable, so take advantage of that and get it. Seriously, go do it, here’s the link. I’ve mentioned this movie before, so you should at least have some clue about it if you read this blog somewhat regularly. If you’ve already seen it, at least go into your Netflix and give it a 5-star rating (or whatever you think it deserves) because these people deserve it. They deserve to finally start making some of their money back on this film. Also, Yewknee and We Own This Town report that the soundtrack is out now on vinyl. Clearly, the 40-something tracklist had to whittled down quite a bit to fit onto a vinyl LP, but from what I understand they kept the best of the best. Grab it here.
One of my favorite electronic producers/remixers is coming to town tonight at Mai. Yes, the amazing BIT FUNK will gracing Nashville with his slick, smooth, and funky style of nu-disco. Seriously, I flipped a lid when I first heard he was coming. It’s part of the monthly “VITAL” series hosted by my buds at Vitalic Noise. I heard there will be confetti cannons. And fog. And whatever else your disco heart desires. Seriously, be there. Robot Ears and Vitalic Noise DJs will open up. Starts around 10, only costs $6 to get in ($8 if you’re a young’n), and get this- 100% of the door money is going to Global Tribe, a very worthy cause. If you need more reasons to come, check out Bit Funk’s Soundcloud. I dare you not to dance.
*UPDATE* APPARENTLY BIT FUNK HAD TO CANCEL DUE TO THE SNOW IN NYC PREVENTING HIS TRAVEL. BUT JENSEN SPORTAG IS FILLING IN, WHICH IS A VERY FITTING REPLACEMENT.
Finally, just a quick mention that our friends in Diarrhea Planet were kind enough to take some video of the final Powerbrrrd show last friday at Springwater. Also, our friend at Dixie Downturn were kind enough to blog about it, so head over and watch them there. We love you, DD and DP!
POWERBRRRD probably playing our last show tonight
January 21, 2011
Tonight will probably be POWERBRRRD’s last show. We are playing with Bad Cop, Reid Magette, and the Devin Robinson Band. I say probably because you never know how things will go, but it will definitely be several months before we try to do anything again, if we do. We’ll call it an indefinite hiatus. Basically we just couldn’t keep the 4-piece lineup together due to people moving out of town, having other jobs that require them to tour this spring, etc… So we’re just gonna say “fuck it” and if a new bass player who fits us falls into our lap over the next few months, maybe we’ll play again.
Seth put up our EP “Good Job, POWERBRRRD!” on bandcamp yesterday, so if you want to, check it out. It’s totally free to download. We just wanted to get it out there.
There are lots of other good shows happening this weekend, but this morning I just don’t have the time to do my usual weekend rundown. So go check out the Cream’s listings.
This weekend: what to do
January 7, 2011
Sorry posting has been scarce this week. I’ve been busy at both work and at home. Here’s a quick rundown of shows I recommend seeing in Nashville this weekend.
FRIDAY:
Hands Down Eugene, Shoot the Mountain, and The Sleep-Ins @ the Basement. STM has a new drummer: Patrick Rodgers (Scene writer and drummer of And The Relatives). All-around solid lineup. 9pm, $5, 21+
John Carter Cash, the Early Evening, Shane Ownby @ the Rutledge. 8:30pm, 18+, I can’t seem to find a price anywhere…
SATURDAY:
If you’re in Nashville:
The Clutters 10-year anniversary show w/ Cheap Time @ the Basement. It’s hard to believe they’ve been bangin’ out garage-punk for 10 years now but it’s true. 9pm, $5, 21+
Ryan Truso & Family benefit show ft. Brandon Jazz & His Armed Forces, The Worsties, Cheer Up Charlie Daniels, Jesse Coppenbarger (of Colour Revolt) & more @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm, $7 min. donation. Mr. Truso is an excellent producer, recently shaping the sounds of Brandon Jazz, Dozen Dimes, and many more. He’s also an awesome dude in general. He recently became the victim of the housing crisis and applied for a fraudulent assistance program for middle-class homeowners called HAMP. Now they need $8,000 by Jan. 20th or Ryan and his wife & son will be forced out of their home.
If you’re in Murfreesboro:
Children of Spy, Powerbrrrd, Animal City, and Seth Moore @ the Boro. $3, 21+. I have to shamelessly self-promote for a moment… this show is the first time Powerbrrrd has played in Murfreesboro, and Children of Spy is Nick Naoti’s (of Zombie Bazooka Patrol) new band, who are getting back from a short tour. I know there are a few friends left down there, so please come out of the cracks and make your way to the Boro to see what Seth & I have been up to with this new(ish) band.
Have a great weekend!
Weekend in Nashville/snowpocalypse redux
December 10, 2010
As always, I must shamelessly self-promote for a minute. Tonight my band POWERBRRRD is playing at The End along with Big Surr, Diarrhea Planet, Evan P. Donohue, and Casa Castille. 5 bands? Yes, 5 bands, BUT rest assured that every band on this bill has a setlist of 30 minutes or less. In fact, POWERBRRRD’s set will probably barely crack 20 minutes. This show will be a conglomeration of insanity, I promise. And it will only set you back 5 bones. Also, Joaquin Phoenix will be there. (Oh, and sorry, Michael Eades. At least we advertised all 5 bands from the get-go!)
Now for some other shows that I recommend:
FRIDAY:
Ok, if you MUST go to something else tonight, my pick would be Howlies, with Oblio and Field Days at the Basement. 9pm, 21+ $??? Also, there’s an afterparty for that show at Mercy Lounge.
SATURDAY:
Natural Child, Ex Humans, The Cannomen, Foster Care, and Cy Barkley at Glen Danzig’s House. $5, 7pm
SUNDAY:
Cold War Kids at Third Man Records. I can’t find a time anywhere but it’s probably something like 7pm.
AXWY, Shoot the Mountain, Tallest Trees at the 5 Spot. 9pm, 21+ $5. (AXWY is an bloopy, glitchy, Postal Service-esque project started by Ryan Malina about a year ago. He put out an album that was quite good, but to my knowledge hasn’t played the material live until now.)
It’s also worth noting that the Scene has posted their yearly local Rock ‘n Roll Poll. The “outtakes and extended jams” is worth a read too.
You may have heard that Nashville is supposed to get a little snow this weekend. I’ll throw my official weather nerd opinion in the hat: DON’T FREAK OUT. It’s not going to be #snowpocalypse2010redux. What they’re forecasting is maybe an inch late Saturday night into Sunday morning. I’d say Nashville itself will get a dusting at best. This is one of those systems where the low pressure is well to the north of us, and the cold front is swinging around to the south, hitting us. There will rain/warmer weather ahead of the front as it pushed west-to-east, but very little moisture behind the front. I’d say the rain will change to snow late Saturday night as they predict, but again, no more than a dusting in Nashville. I hope I’m wrong, as I’m actually a fan of snow, but history says to take official forecast amounts with grain of salt. (Haha, get it? Salt melts snow. Haha…)
Have a great weekend!
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.
Dixie Downturn 8 off 8th tonight
October 4, 2010
Next Big Hangover. Next Binge Nashville. I’ve heard it all. But it’s over. It was awesome and everyone had a blast, but it’s time to move on with the regular Nashville rock and roll grind. Going out and seeing another show is probably not high on your list of things to do tonight, but if there was ever a lineup capable of changing that sentiment, it’s the Dixie Downturn 8 off 8th tonight at Mercy Lounge.
What’s Dixie Downturn? Oh, they’re just the greatest blog in the universe. Well, 2nd greatest blog… obviously this blog is the greatest in the universe. J/K. Seriously though, they are brand-spankin’ new and they are already rocking my world, mainly because they said this about my band Powerbrrrd:
Powerbrrrd are three goofy mofos that play sloppy, infectious rock ‘n’ roll music in the vein of Superchunk and Guided by Voices. They also have a video that reenacts the opening sequence from The Adventures of Pete and Pete. They are obviously in the running for greatest band in the universe for that fact alone.
But also because they put together this utterly amazing lineup for an 8 off 8th tonight- Spanish Candles, Powerbrrrd, Action!, Diarrhea Planet, Heartbeater, Fake Brad, Big Surr, and one more that I haven’t heard about yet. All these bands are bands that we love to play with and who love us, and now we love DD, who also loves us, and and and there’s just so much love.
Massive love aside, keep an eye on Dixie Downturn y’all- they’re all about the free shit, and that’s alright with me. Here’s a link to their post about tonight, and here’s a link to the facebook event. As always, it’s FREE, 21+, and there are $2.50 Yuenglings.
Two Powerbrrrd shows this weekend + a BURGERS DJ set
August 27, 2010
First of all, I must espouse how amazing last night’s Chromeo show + afterparty was. Oh. My. God. Of course it could never top seeing them with Daryl Hall (and his silvery flowing mane blown by TWO leaf blowers) at Bonnaroo this year, but still, last night was fucking heaven. I must congratulate How I Became the Bomb for BOTH of their amazing sets of Hall & Oates covers. I saw both and was blown away. Russell Hanberry (their moustachioed guitarist) had clearly been analyzing every John Oates dance move from the H&O music videos, because had that shit down. Chromeo’s set was of course amazing, and after going through my pics, which can be seen at the Cream (review will be up sometime later today), I have developed a bit of a man-crush on Dave Macklovitch. Especially after briefly meeting him backstage after the afterparty with HIBTB. Watching Jon Burr throw down some good convo with one of his favorite bands of all time was pretty… endearing? Awesome, definitely.
Now for the good stuff:
I apologize to other bands with shows this weekend, but I must do a bit of shameless self-promotion here. My band Powerbrrrd has two shows this weekend, and you should definitely come to at least one of them.
TONIGHT: We are playing at the End with Diarrhea Planet, Lewd Minx, and the Dirty Streets (from Memphis). It’s only $5 and we promise you a good time. The bands we are playing with are rad, especially Diarrhea Planet… seriously they’re one of the funnest live shows in town. You don’t wanna miss this!
SATURDAY NIGHT: We are playing a house show at 1805 Rosebank Ave., east Nashville. Spanish Candles and Frank the Fuck Out round out the bill, and they’re both perfect house show bands. Rowdy party punk in the best way possible. I will be doing a DJ set as BURGERS following the bands, and after last night, there will doubt be a few Chromeo tracks/remixes in there. There’s a $5 cover that gets you in, and all the beer you can drink because we have 2 kegs to float! Be sure to park along the road, in the proper direction, and don’t get wasted and act like a dumbass in the front yard because that shit pisses off neighbors and gets the cops called. Don’t be a douche.
Please do come out to one of these shows! You won’t regret it.
I’ve put together a little post-July 4th show for you tonight. The folks at Exit/In asked me to host another Rock the Block sometime this summer, and this is it. It’s FREE, and there’s nothing else going on, so come out for this awesome lineup. You partied hard over the weekend. You probably had yesterday off to recover. Now you’re ready to party again. This is not chillwave, this is rock and fucking roll.
POWERBRRRD “Bottle Rocket” music video
June 28, 2010
We’ve been sitting on this one for several days now, but the time is finally here. I apologize for all the shameless self-promotion as of late, but fuck it. Here it is, the feel-good hit of the summer in two-thousand WIN, Bottle Rocket by Powerbrrrd. It’s available in full 1080p HD if you click on through to the youtube page.
Good job, Powerbrrrd.
New Burgers and Powerbrrrd material/weekend stuff
June 18, 2010
Just a couple of quick self-promotional updates…
I’ve got some new material coming down the pipe from my DJ/Electronic music project Burgers. I just completed the “Burgers Summer 2010 Mixxxx” and it will hit this blog and everywhere else this coming sunday. I’ll dedicate a post to that sunday or monday. I’m also working on the first official Burgers remix. It’s the Armed Forces track “Vultures (You Never Shut Up),” and it’s really fun, but also a pain in the ass, as I haven’t used any electronic music software in a few years and I’m almost having to learn it all over again. I have no idea when I’ll be done with that, but hopefully sometime this summer…
My band Powerbrrrd has been working on some new recordings, and those should be release in one format or another sometime this summer. We’re also making a music video this weekend, which will end up on this blog sometime next week no doubt. We also have a show tomorrow night at Springwater… (more on that below).
Be sure to head over to Nashville Nights and check out part 1 of Joseph’s Bonnaroo review. Pretty good stuff if you ask me, and I’m looking forward to the rest.
Speaking of Bonnaroo, check out this Fader video interview with Chromeo: (Via Fool’s Gold)
Now for the weekend stuff:
Tonight there’s a pretty bizarre/interesting show happening at the End: Most Amazing Century of Science/Lazer Slut/Brown Swarm/Meth Dad/Cunningham. I have a feeling 4/4 time signatures will be hard to come by at this one…
Saturday the obvious choice is of course, Powerbrrrd, Look What I Did, Thelma & the Sleaze, and The Grayces @ Springwater. But if you’re totally crazy, you could also check out “The Queen is Risen: A Tribute to The Smiths feat. Mother/Father, Nite Nite, The Armed Forces & more at Mercy Lounge,” or De Novo Dahl, Majestico, Fly Golden Eagle, and The Mattoid @ Exit/In. That last one is a benefit for the return of the Bat Poet. More on that via Sean Maloney’s Critic’s Pick in the Scene.
That’s all I have time for right now. Have a great weekend!
steve cross loves music and science 