Archive
David Bazan on Daytrotter / Nellie McKay album cover
The few websites that aren’t RSS feed-able that made it to my “must check every day” list… Daytrotter is great, and they hit us on Monday with a live in the studio session with David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion)… it’s his second live session with Daytrotter…
Go here for the free music:
http://tinyurl.com/bazan-daytrotter2
1) Hard to Be 2) Curse Your Branches 3) Bless This Mess
Past Daytrotter Sessions I’ve blogged about and dug (links and free music not guaranteed on these old blogs): Copeland, Bad Veins, Nellie McKay, Clare and the Reasons, My Brightest Diamond #2, Damien Jurado, Talkdemonic, Aimee Mann, Ani DiFranco, Bad Veins #1, Kaki King, Holy Fuck… and David Bazan, My Brightest Diamond, Erin McKeown.
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Nellie McKay‘s upcoming album on Verve, Normal As Blueberry Pie, finally has an album cover…
(out Oct 13th, 2009)
Cute! It’s out on vinyl as well as CD (and digital copies). But with something out on vinyl, why settle for crappy lossy mp3s?
She’s also hitting the road. Dates are trickling in… she’s playing Seattle’s Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley the same night as Ben Folds with the Seattle Symphony (Oct 20). I’m up there for work, too. I’m totally in a quandary.
~Dan – np: Fear Factory – Obsolete
bike ride tours, any speed vinyl, the bqe, a van & streaming ‘deth
5 music news stories… Peter Mulvey, Holy Fuck, Sufjan Stevens, David Bazan/Pedro the Lion and Megadeth…
So, Peter Mulvey has toured all over the world. A few years back, he started also doing some bike tours within his own state. Well, he just embarked on his “Long Haul” Tour in support of his new, fantastic record Letters from a Flying Machine.
He’s riding 1,100 miles from Grand Rapids, MI to Northampton, MA on The Long Haul Tour, September 9 – 26. His friend, and presumably co-rider, Kathy Wittman will be blogging about it as it goes on. The daily blog will be HERE. Here’s his tour path, created via the Google based on his gigs along the route:
(click for larger)
He’ll be in Oregon (Portland and Eugene) in early November. Not part of the bike tour, but I’ll be glad to see him nonetheless. In fact, he might be less worn out from riding so much. Getting to see him twice in one weekend is gonna be fantastic… PS- go to PeterMulvey.com for info on the new record. Seriously, it’s good, folks!
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Next up… a vinyl you can play at either 33 1/3 or 45 rpm…
This one from Off the International Radar including a remix by fellow Toronto’ans Holy Fuck. I don’t know about the rest of the songs on “Hot Lips,” but the Holy Fuck collaboration features “Holy Radar” – which is a reworking of OTIR’s “E bowl of Iris.” Holy Fuck sped up the original recording on a record player in studio and then played along and added their own layers. So, at 33 1/3, you’ll hear OTIR with a slowed down HF; and on 45 rpm, you’ll hear HF with a sped-up OTIR. You can listen to the “as normally played” version of the song on OITR‘s MySpace page. There is also ordering links there as well.
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Sufjan Stevens‘ The BQE (as reported here) is coming out in limited edition vinyl (in addition to the CD/DVD combo). It’s now up for pre-order at the Asthmatic Kitty store and over at Amazon. Also, in the news, Sufjan will be playing his 2004 album Seven Swans in its entirety at ATP NYC this weekend. ATP = All Tomorrow’s Parties (festival).
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Help (Pedro the Lion) David Bazan buy a tour van… click the picture for more info…
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And to round it out with some metal… Megadeth‘s latest record, Endgame, is out next week (9/15/09). It’s streaming in its entirety on the MySpaces…
~Dan – np: The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band {mono}
no torrents or free downloads here
McKay, Porcupine Tree, Mulvey & Bazan news
Music news that I care about seems to be hitting often lately…
Nellie McKay‘s album that was supposed to be out “last fall,” will finally be out “this fall.” No album name, but we at least have a street date – October 13th. There’s not much more content over at the Direct Current Music website; so I hope they are right on this one… .COM, .NET, and .ORG have failed to provide any corroboration. I hope “this fall” doesn’t turn into “next fall“… yet again.
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Porcupine Tree just put their newest one, The Incident (due out 9/15 in the U.S.), up for pre-order. Much like Steven Wilson’s Insurgentes, this one has a deluxe edition that would make the Pope curse. It looks freakin’ gorgeous (and huge)…
On the pre-order page there’s a video of PT frontman Steven Wilson talking about what’s to be included. Oh, it’s a’spensive, but it makes sense if you’ve ever read this “1,000 True Fans” article by Kevin Kelly. Not to say that only the “true fans” will buy it, but, well… anyway, the article is a good read…
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One of my favorite singer-songwriters Peter Mulvey is coming through the PacNW in November. One Portland date that I may try to make, and one Eugene date that I will make. He’s also got a new one coming out (in September on Signature Sounds). It’s called Letters from a Flying Machine…
(click for larger)
Here are his 2009 tourdates (as of now):
- Mon 08/10/09 – Saugatuck, MI – Saugatuck Center For The Arts
- Wed 09/09/09 – Grand Rapids, MI – Wealthy Street Theatre
- Thu 09/10/09 – Kalamazoo, MI – The Strutt
- Fri 09/11/09 – Lansing, MI – Creole Gallery
- Sat 09/12/09 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
- Tue 09/15/09 – Buffalo, NY – 9th Ward
- Sun 09/20/09 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Caffe Lena
- Thu 09/24/09 – Cambridge, MA – Lizard Lounge
- Fri 09/25/09 – Cambridge, MA – Passim Folk Music & Cultural Center
- Sat 09/26/09 – Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall
- Sun 09/27/09 – Norfolk, CT – Infinity Hall
- Fri 10/09/09 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater
- Sat 10/10/09 – Evanston, IL – SPACE
- Thu 10/22/09 – The Hague, Netherlands – Transvaria
- Fri 10/23/09 – Bakkeveen, Netherlands – De Slotplaats
- Sat 10/24/09 – Bemmel, Netherlands – Top
- Wed 11/04/09 – Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern
- Sat 11/07/09 – Portland, OR – Alberta Street Pub
- Sun 11/08/09 – Eugene, OR – Sam Bond’s Garage
- Thu 11/12/09 – Felton, CA – Don Quixote’s Int’l Music Hall
- Sat 11/14/09 – San Diego, CA – Acoustic Music San Diego
- Fri 11/20/09 – Burlington, VT – UVM Recital Hall
- Sat 11/21/09 – Framingham, MA – Amazing Things Art Center
- Tue 12/01/09 – Fairbanks, AK – College Coffeehouse
- Wed 12/02/09 – Fairbanks, AK – College Coffeehouse
- Thu 12/03/09 – Tok, AK – Fast Eddy’s
- Sat 12/05/09 – Anchorage, AK – Snow Goose Theatre
- Sun 12/06/09 – Palmer, AK – Vagabond Blues
- Tue 12/08/09 – Kodiak, AK – Golden Anchor
- Fri 12/11/09 – Denver, CO – Swallow Hill Music Association
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(photo by Ryan Russell)
no, the Office’s Jon Krasinski is not hitting the road with Mr Bazan
And as reported earlier, indie-rocker David Bazan is hitting the road with a band (but not to be mistaken as a “Pedro the Lion reunion”). Announced yesterday on db.com (but unofficially announced at the Eugene house show the other day), he’ll be in Portland in November (the day before Peter Mulvey, actually). Anyway, here are the Bazan band members and tour dates. Eric Elbogen: guitar (Say Hi), Andy Fitts: keyboards + guitar (Aqueduct), Casey Foubert: drums (Richard Swift, Sufjan Stevens), and Blake Wescott: guitar (long-time Bazan collaborator).
- 10/01 – San Francisco CA – Independent
- 10/02 – Costa Mesa CA – Detroit Bar
- 10/03 – San Diego CA – Casbah
- 10/04 – Los Angeles CA – Troubadour
- 10/05 – Tucson AZ – Solar Culture
- 10/07 – Austin TX – Mohawk
- 10/08 – Denton TX – Dan’s Silverleaf
- 10/09 – Memphis TN – Hi-Tone Café
- 10/10 – Murray KY – Lovett Auditorium / Murray State
- 10/11 – Birmingham AL – Bottletree
- 10/13 – Orlando FL – The Social
- 10/14 – Atlanta GA – Drunken Unicorn
- 10/15 – Chapel Hill NC – Cat’s Cradle
- 10/16 – Washington DC – Black Cat
- 10/17 – Philadelphia PA – Kung Fu Necktie
- 10/18 – New York NY – Bowery Ballroom
- 10/20 – Cambridge MA – TT the Bear’s +
- 10/21 – Montreal QC – Il Motore
- 10/22 – Toronto ON – Lee’s Palace
- 10/23 – Pontiac MI – Pike Room
- 10/24 – Chicago IL – TBA
- 10/25 – Champaign IL – Highdive
- 10/27 – Madison WI High – Noon Saloon
- 10/28 – Minneapolis MN – Turf Club
- 10/29 – Iowa City IA – The Picador
- 10/30 – Lawrence KS – Jackpot Saloon
- 10/31 – Omaha NE – Slowdown
- 11/01 – Denver CO – Hi Dive
- 11/02 – Salt Lake City UT – Kilby Court
- 11/05 – Vancouver BC – Media Club
- 11/06 – Portland OR – Mississippi Studios
- 11/07 – Seattle WA – Neumos
all dates with Say Hi
+ TW Walsh in Boston
Yep… this is gonna be one packed fall of music for me. Yippie!
~Dan – np: Drain STH – Freaks of Nature
REVIEW: David Bazan [Pedro the Lion] @ House Show (Eugene, OR – 7/25/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
I last saw David Bazan [former Pedro the Lion frontman] in Eugene almost two years ago (with J. Tillman @ the Indigo District). I have had a few chances for Portland gigs since then, but they never meshed with my schedule. The chance to see him at an intimate house show couldn’t be passed up.
I’d heard about house shows / house concerts for a while. I went to one many years back, but it was friends / local Cincinnatians; so I didn’t really count it as a “real” house show. Well, this was my first experience with a “national artist” doing a house show. How it works for David’s booking is 1) the host provides a place for 30-100 people, 2) tickets are sold only online via David’s website, 3) doors at 7:30 / show starts at 8 / people out by 10pm, 4) no sound system needed (just a chair or stool to sit on), and 5) no outside advertising is done.
I was one of 30 or 35 people who got in on the Eugene house show deal. It was fun to hang out with people before the show. There was a great spread of food, and I got to talk with the hosts a bit and some wonderful gents who drove down from Vancouver, BC. The show was BYOB, but they also had some Ninkasi Quantum on tap (or should I say Quant-yum).
David came up a little before 8pm and announced a friend, Blake Wescott, who came up and played 4-5 songs (about 15-20 minutes). Blake Wescott has worked in the studio with David Bazan / Pedro the Lion, Damien Jurado, Aaron Sprinkle, Denison Witmer, and others. He’s also toured as a backing musician for R.E.M and Crystal Skulls. His sound was great, a gentle singer-songwriter. He mentioned that he played the four songs from his MySpace page: Dreams in Twos, Live Here with You, My Way Home, and Carry On… plus I think he threw in another one. Great set, I’d see him again if he comes through town!
David went on about 8:10 or so and played and chatted until right about 9:30pm. He played mostly newer stuff, but threw in a few Pedro the Lion tunes as well. I mean, he was the driving force of the band. Afterwards, there was more discussion on the back patio. It was good to hear him further expanding on some of the “Q&A” discussions from the show. Anyway, here’s what he played…
Setlist:
- Hard to Be
- Please, Baby, Please
- Priests and Paramedics
- Q&A #1
- Harmless Sparks / Fewer Moving Parts
- June 18, 1976
- Q&A #2
- Cold Beer and Cigarettes
- When We Fell
- Q&A #3
- Transcontinental
- Curse Your Branches
- Options
- Q&A #4
- Bearing Witness
- Of Up and Coming Monarchs
- Bless This Mess (aka Weeds in the Wheat)
- Q&A #5
- In Stitches
Great experience… I need to try to convince my wife to let me host one sometime at our house. I think we could handle it for someone like David Bazan, Derek Webb, or Bill Mallonee. Oh, maybe Michael Kelsey (though it would cost more, as he doesn’t get out here… ever). Hmm… oh, a Secret Chiefs acoustic Xaphan show in our living room would allow me to die a happy man. Yeah, I think I’m dreaming.
David announced that the 5-piece band would be coming through Oregon (and elsewhere) again in the Fall, but it will all be officially announced on August 5th. Yay!
As reported last week, David’s got his solo debut coming out on September 1st. It’s called Curse Your Branches. It is now available for pre-order on Amazon now, but will be available through David’s site on August 5th (maybe hold out for that, as he may have some special goodies).
The Appropriate Linkage:
- David Bazan’s webpage
- David Bazan on MySpace
- Pedro the Lion on MySpace
- Headphones on MySpace (another of DB’s bands)
- Blake Wescott on MySpace (opener)
- Barsuk Records
- Suicide Squeeze Records
~Dan – np: Dave Douglas – Keystone
BLAKE WESCOTT &
DAVID BAZAN PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
upcoming David Bazan & a Sufjan senior project
Pedro the Lion’s David Bazan is finally releasing his full-length debut. It’s not his first release under his own name. He had an EP out in 2006 (Fewer Moving Parts) and has released a few iTunes EPs/singles and some 7″ vinyl releases since Pedro the Lion’s last “band” record, Achilles Heel (in 2004). David’s album comes out September 1st (on Barsuk Records CD/LP/mp3)… it’s called Curse Your Branches…
1. Hard To Be
2. Bless This Mess
3. Please, Baby, Please
4. Curse Your Branches
5. Harmless Sparks
6. When We Fell
7. Lost My Shape
8. Bearing Witness
9. Heavy Breath
10. In Stitches
Keep your peepers here or on davidbazan.com for info as it shows up.
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Also, as reported on All Good Naysayers, student Jax de León did a senior graphic design project on Sufjan Stevens‘ 2005 album, Come On Feel the Illinoise, called Illinois: Visualizing Music.
Check out more about Illinois: Visualizing Music (link).
Speaking of Sufjan, Asthmatic Kitty is trying to call Osso’s upcoming album a Sufjan Stevens’ release. Ha!!! We’re on to you guys… come on, when is Suffie’s real next album coming out!? :)
OK, I know… Osso’s Run Rabbit Run album is a “real” album… and it’s gonna be rad as hell… but you know what I meant.
~Dan – np: Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy – On Stage: 6/18/09 (early set)
Latest: Noctaluca, Puscifer/Lustmord, David Bazan’s Xmas
In order of awesomeness…
Noctaluca, one of my favorite Cincinnati-based rock bands (and quite frankly, one of my favorite rock bands regardless of local flavor) just put out their newest CD, Still the Wicked Rest. I ordered it the same time as their Live DVD, and somehow thought that the new CD was just a live thing, too. Well, when it showed up, I was all like, “hmmm… this looks like a legitimate studio CD.” And, well, it is a new studio CD. And it’s awesome. Think two-guitar hard rock (with a sound that’s equal parts Led Zeppelin & early Alice in Chains) with a strong singer-songwriter core, powerful vocals, and lyrics for the Rage Against the Machine set…
Noctaluca is fronted by singer-songwriter Jason Ludwig. His solo debut, PeLL MeLL, was one of my Top 10 from 2003. Right after he got a lot of local acclaim for this, he ditched gigging by his name and started gigging his new band, Noctaluca. In 2003, I snagged a copy of of the “Monkey Moon” radio single they had at a table at the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards. This was the only recorded Noctaluca until 2006’s long-awaited Towering the Sum. Towering the Sum was in a good group of favorite local CDs that year, as well as being in my Top 10 vocal CDs in 2006, too. All this to say that I LIKE NOCTALUCA. Being surprised with a new studio CD is well, awesomes…
And they start the new Still the Wicked Rest CD off with a re-recording of “Monkey Moon“… natch. It deserved to make its way onto an official CD… finally.
Check ’em out!
http://www.noctaluca.com/
http://www.myspace.com/noctaluca
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Next up in awesomeness… getting endless mileage out of the same songs, there’s a new download-only dub mix of Puscifer songs by the dark & ambient Lustmord. Puscifer is Maynard James Keenan (from Tool & A Perfect Circle). Lustmord has had his hand at remixing the Melvins, Puscifer music previously releases, as well as maybe A Perfect Circle song(s). My mind fails me, and I’m too lazy to check at this point. :) The new album is 53 minutes, 8 songs… and fits in with the Puscifer album as well as a darker dub sound. I’d recommend it if you like Maynard’s music, Lustmord’s music, dark dub, or remixes…
It’s available only at Puscifer’s store for now:
https://store.puscifer.com/
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Next up in awesomeness… still awesome, but it is Christmas music (of which I usually don’t like); so it gets last billing. David Bazan of Pedro the Lion put out another holiday-themed 7″ vinyl – a split of melancholy Jingle Bells & All I Want for Christmas. This was the first one since I’ve lived on the West Coast. The East Coast people got a 3 hour jump on the overnight email he sent out, and they snatched them all up… except for a few on Suicide Squeeze‘s website. I scored one… but barely.
A 1,000 quantity pressing may not be enough, bro.
~Dan – np: Tesla – Forever More
Holy Fuck’s Daytrotter Session -Free EP-
Holy Fuck‘s Daytrotter Session has finally been released (it was mentioned in a Daytrotter email, like, 2 months ago)… :)
http://www.daytrotter.com/article/1266/holy-fuck
Latin – a relatively new song. It hasn’t been released on anything yet and we’re not sure what will become of that song yet. We’ve been trying out different things on this one during this tour, and it’s starting to take shape!
Daytrotter does in-studio performances, and has MANY artists on their webpage. Some of the ones I’ve dug recently are My Brightest Diamond, David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion), and Erin McKeown… (and more, like The National, Death Cab for Cutie, et cetera)…
The Holy Linkage
http://www.myspace.com/holyfuck
http://www.holyfuckmusic.com/
~Dan
REVIEW: David Bazan [Pedro the Lion] @ Indigo District (Eugene, OR – – 12/13/07)
Ah… the out-of-place statues, randomly sticky floors, quite decent beer selection and open room with a stage right by the kitchen makes the Indigo District a perplexing place. It’s got great things, weird things, bad things, and ambivalence on top of great music. I’d only been here once before, and that was for the 25th anniversary shindig for Eugene Weekly to which my wife’s boss invited us. First time for a concert… I’m sure it won’t be the last if they get artists like David Bazan coming through more often. But it is an odd place… I just can’t put my finger on why. Eh… it’s gotta be the statues.
I showed up at 8:15 or so. I thought I was going to be late (ie- halfway into the opener’s set). Apparently the artists were late getting out of San Francisco from the night before; so they weren’t on schedule. I had a pint of Deschutes’ Black Butte Porter (sidenote: “butte” is pronounced like the beginning of “beautiful”). It’s fantastic, and it travelled only 2 hours away from Bend, Oregon to get to my mouf. Anyway, as I was sipping my beer, I hear a familiar voice… it was David Bazan ordering a pitcher of Blue Moon for he and his tour mates. The bartender was doing too many things at once and started pouring a pitcher of Blue Moon, then stopped, did something else, then started filling the rest of the pitcher with Pabst Blue Ribbon. Oy! Luckily David and Co. didn’t end up with that concoction. Blech.
Before the music started, I ran into David again in the facilities. After handwashing pleasantries, I asked him if he came through Eugene often, as I just moved here from Cincinnati. To which he said that he liked to stop by here, but it was the first time at this venue. Then we had a small exchange about the Southgate House (a quaint indie rock venue in the Cincinnati area).
By this time, the opener J.Tillman was playing. He played about 45 minutes. He was quite pleasant. His voice was what I’d call smooth, yet right on the edge of raspy… but not raspy. I don’t know. I was trying to characterize it last night, but just couldn’t. I enjoyed his set… check him out on MySpace sometime…
Next up came David Bazan… who has also recorded under the monikers of Pedro the Lion (indie rock) and Headphones (electronic). Perhaps his music can be described as indie rock or electric-fuzzy singer-songwriter fare. I dig him mainly for his poignant lyrics. His lyrics are witty, against the grain, many times religious in a somewhat skeptic slant, and usually full of sarcasm or what people want to say but never do. I also love David’s down-to-earth persona. His banter via the “Q&A” breaks in the set really connect the audience to the performance… and the answers are usually funny.
He only played about an hour, as the venue had a time limit (they had dance time after the show) and David and J got off to a later start than planned. It was just David, an electric guitar and a microphone. Oh, and an amp.
Here’s the setlist:
Cigarettes and Beer
When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run
(No Name) per David [new]
Please Baby Please [new]
Transcontinental
Of Minor Prophets and Their Prostitute Wives
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (with add’l Bazan lyrics)
Harmless Sparks / Fewer Moving Parts
Foregone Conclusions
Curse Your Branches [new]
(something with “look the other way” in the lyrics) I didn’t recka’nize it
Hallelujah [L.Cohen]
Great show. Short, but good nonetheless. I’m glad he still plays “Foregone Conclusions.” The 2nd verse has some of my favorite lyrics of his ever.
If’n y’all want to hear some music from this tour… the show in Asheville-NC is posted here for free download >> hardtofindafriend.blogspot.com <<
Well, that’s all for now…
~Dan – np: Rob Price Quartet – I Really Do Not See the Signal
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
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