Author: April

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A Good Read, a Good Listen, and a Good Drink: The Parlor Soldiers

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

The Parlor Soldiers’ album When the Dust Settles – with some songs that play like a wink, some that play like a punch, with all sorts of intriguing stories in between – has been one of the first real delights of 2012 for me. (If you haven’t yet, visit their Bandcamp site and be charmed by the album yourself. And check out their tour dates! The more shows you attend, the greater chance I have of seeing them up north sometime.) So, I’m very happy to have Alex, Karen and Dan participate in our series.

 

 

Alex Culbreth – Book: Post Office by Charles Bukowski (very funny novel from one of my favorite writers)

Album: John Prine (no album in particular, he’s a great songwriter and there’s lots to learn from him)

Drink: Gin & Tonic (because I love me some old man drinks!)

 

Karen Jonas – Book: Go Dog, Go – I used to read real books but now I have babies at home.

Album: Gillian Welch, The Harrow & The Harvest – I’ve been listening to this one for a few months, such great americana imagery.

Drink: Water with no ice – though the boys are always trying to get me to drink something else

 

Dan Dutton – Book: The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey; as the author says “enjoy, shipmates, enjoy

Album: 40 oz. to Freedom by Sublime because Eric can’t sing either.

Drink: Unearthly from Southern Tier Brewery because it brought me back to good beer.

 

The Parlor Soldiers – “Shallow Grave”

 

The Parlor Soldiers @ Bandcamp

The Parlor Soldiers @ Facebook

The Parlor Soldiers @ ReverbNation

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Wildlife: Sea Dreamer

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I caught Wildlife on the Daytrotter Barnstormer tour this past summer and was impressed, an easy highlight of the night. As the band says, “Every night we’ve played like it’s the last time we’ll be allowed onstage. Even Dean, after tearing his Achilles Tendon mid-concert and being ridden to a cast, hasn’t tempered the energy.” That was evident that night in a barn in Ohio.

I’m happy to be able to feature their new video for “Sea Dreamer”, off their debut album Strike Hard, Young Diamond.

 

 

You can stream and buy Strike Hard, Young Diamond at Wildlife’s Bandcamp site.

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Grandfather in Cleveland Tonight

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Grandfather is going to be part of a free bar show tonight at Now That’s Class. I wrote about them about a year ago when I was sucked in by their heavy, Steve Albini-engineered album Why I’d Try.

 

 

Showtime is 9 PM with Grandfather set to play at 10 PM. Come check them out. If you’re not in Cleveland tonight, they have a bunch more shows coming up around the country, including shows at SXSW.

3.05.12 – Cleveland, OH @ Now That’s Class
3.06.12 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups w/ White Wolves, Stella, Tenth Generation
3.07.12 – Akron, OH @ Annabelle’s w/ The Hobs
3.08.12 – Bloomington, IN @ The Gourley Hole w/ Otis and the Rufies
3.09.12 – Louisville, KY @ Spinneli’s Pizza w/ Otis and the Rufies
3.10.12 – Nashville, TN @ The Thunderdome w/Otis and the Rufies
3.11.12 – Memphis, TN @ TBA
3.12.12 – Little Rock, AR @ Super Happy Fun Land
3.13.12 – Denton, TX @ Violitionist Sessions
3.14.12 – SXSW in Austin, TX
3.15.12 – SXSW in Austin, TX
3.16.12 – SXSW in Austin, TX 3:30PM Show
3.17.12 – SXSW in Austin, TX 2:00PM Show, 7:00PM Show, 1:30AM Show (Pearl St. SXSSUX Show)
3.18.12 – SXSW in Austin, TX
3.19.12 – Houston, TX @ The Mink w/Giant Battle Monster
3.20.12 – New Orleans, LA @ TBA
3.21.12 – Pensacola, FL @ The Handlebar w/ The Helvetica Effect
3.22.12 – Birmhingham, AL @ TBA
3.23.12 – Atlanta, GA @ The BeAtlanta House w/ Big Jesus
3.24.12 – Knoxville, TN @ The Pilot Light w/ Mother Mange
3.25.12 – Charlotte, NC @ The Milestone w/ Herra Terra
3.26.12 – Richmond, VA @ TBA
3.27.12 – Washington DC @ The Velvet Lounge w/ Treble Lifter
3.28.12 – Baltimore, MD @ TBA
3.29.12 – Jersey City, NJ @ The Lamp Post
3.30.12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Motel Hell w/ Ladder Devils, Girlfight, Psychic Teens
3.31.12 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Shop w/ Psychic Teens + more.

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Don’t Follow Me (I’m Lost) to Premiere Next Month

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For those keeping tracking, there’s exciting news out of the Bobby Bare Jr. documentary camp.

We are VERY excited to announce that the WORLD PREMIERE of DON’T FOLLOW ME (I’m Lost) will be at the NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL in APRIL! Stay tuned for all the details!

Can’t wait until April? Check out an EXCLUSIVE WORK IN PROGRESS SNEAK PREVIEW of the film at LA FILM & MUSIC WEEKEND MARCH 23rd – 25th!!
AND opening for us is the short film ONE BIG HOLIDAY – a behind the scenes look at MY MORNING JACKET!

Tickets for the preview can be ordered here.

 

Don’t Follow Me (I’m Lost) Official Website

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The Far West Play the Louisiana Hayride

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Obviously that headline is a complete fabrication, but it made you look, didn’t it? If you don’t already have this great little song stuck in your head for all of eternity, here’s your chance! The brand new video for “Bitter, Drunk and Cold” from the Far West.

 

 

Nice threads, guys!

 

The Far West Official Website

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A Good Read, a Good Listen, and a Good Drink: Nate Burrell

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

Inaugurating the series is photographer Nate Burrell. An Ohio boy who now makes his home in St. Louis, Nate takes primo shots of exceptional musicians, sometimes as they work the stage and sometimes away from the stage, in more relaxed moments. Regular readers will have seen some of his shots of mr. Gnome and JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound, as well as his personal favorites of 2010, graciously shared on this site. Nate has his own site, Before the Blink, featuring some of his beautiful work.

And he’s just a hell of a guy. Take it away, Nate…

 

Good Read:
The Tao of Wu (by RZA) — a really solid read that has a unique way of telling a story page after page that is some parts philosophy, other parts autobiography, with a healthy dose of street knowledge, interpretations of clarity, and tales of everyday life from an extremely talented and insightful man who has certainly walked both sides of the line.

 

Good Listen:
I’m Gonna Live Anyhow Until I Die (various artists from the 1959-1960 Southern Journey Field Recordings by Alan Lomax) — Alan Lomax, who is one of the most important preservationists of American Music, turns in an absolute gem on this 15 song LP. With an extremely raw sense of capturing the soul, love, pain, and yearning from the instruments and voices of folks ranging from Pentecostal choirs to farm hands to prison groups, this album also includes the first known recordings of Fred McDowell, and also documents the first time that field songs were recorded in stereo. The quality is superb, the music is honest, and the feel of the record is timeless. Just a wonderful listen from start to finish.

 

 

Good Drink:
you can’t really go wrong with a nice and simple Whiskey & Ginger poured with a heavy hand into a rocks glass with a few ice cubes; I mean…it’s good in the summer and even tastier in the winter, so it’s got to be okay, right?

 

Photo credit: Corey Woodruff

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Cold Specks: Holland

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Take a listen to this voice.

 

 

Cold Specks is gearing up to release their full-length debut, I Predict A Graceful Expulsion, on May 22, and it sounds like this will be an album worth keeping an eye and ear out for.

Here is Cold Specks performing “Old Stepstone” and “Lay Me Down” on Later… with Jools Holland.

 

 

Check out Cold Specks on tour.

March 13th-18th – SXSW – Austin, TX
March 21st – Co-operators Hall at River Run – Guelph, ON
March 22nd – The Music Gallery – Toronto, ON
May 1st – Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
May 2nd – High Noon Saloon – Madison, WI
May 3rd – Cedar Cultural Centre – Minneapolis, MN
May 4th – West End Cultural Centre – Winnipeg, MB
May 6th – McDougall United Church – Edmonton, AB
May 7th – Central United Church – Calgary, AB
May 8th – Southminster United Church – Lethbridge, AB
May 9th – The Royal – Nelson, BC
May 11th – The Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC
May 12th – Alix Goolden Hall – Victoria, BC
May 13th – Tractor Tavern – Seattle, WA
May 14th – Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
May 16th – The Independent – San Francisco, CA
May 18th – Troubadour – Los Angeles, CA
May 19th – The Compound Grilll – Phoenix, AZ
May 20th – Club Congress – Tucson, AZ
May 22nd – The Prophet Bar – Dallas, TX
May 23rd – Stubb’s BBQ (Indoor) – Austin, TX
May 24th – One Eyed Jacks – New Orleans, LA
May 25th – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA
May 26th – Grey Eagle – Asheville, NC
May 27th – Rock and Roll Hotel – Washington, DC
May 28th – Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA
May 30th – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
May 31st – Middle East Downstairs – Cambridge, MA
June 2nd – The Music Hall, Toronto, ON

 

Cold Specks Official Website

Cold Specks @ Facebook

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Rebirth of the Cool: I Fought the Law

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I first heard “I Fought the Law” by the Crickets as I first heard many of the oldies: travelling in the car with my parents. Much of the foundation of my music education was laid while sitting in the back seat of the car as we drove to family gatherings, listening to the only radio station – WMJI Majic 105.7 – that my mother, father and I could agree on.

 

 

Sonny Curtis wrote the song and brought it with him when he joined the Crickets after Buddy Holly’s death, releasing it in 1965. The song was covered in 1966 by the Bobby Fuller Four and did well for them (though Fuller’s tremolo warble makes me want to punch him), but I’m going to take a wild guess that the majority of people reading this are most familiar with the Clash’s 1979 cover.

 

 

You’ll notice a couple of small lyrical changes from the Crickets’ original. For instance, the narrator of the original is robbing people with a zip gun, while, starting with the Bobby Fuller Four cover, he began robbing people with a six-gun. Though, of course, the biggest change implemented by the Clash took the narrator from merely missing his baby (or, as Fuller had it, leaving his baby) to killing her, making him much more of an outlaw than he started out. But, you know, at least he feels bad about it.

The lyrics of “I Fought the Law” seem to invite people to mess with them, and nobody messed with them more than Jello Biafra as he rewrote them to comment on the murders of San Francisco mayor George Moscone and city supervisor Harvey Milk for the Dead Kennedys’ 1980s re-working of the song.

 

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Saturday Matinee: Reality Never Applied to Me

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This is a fabulously entertaining mini-documentary about Akron-native Chris Butler who has played with local legends 15 60 75 (The Numbers Band), Tin Huey (which was also the springboard for Mr. Ralph Carney), and was, of course, the creator of and guitarist for the Waitresses.