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Bits: Patrick Sweany, Infantree, Shivering Timbers, Bill Withers, Empires

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  • Patrick Sweany was featured on Cleveland public radio program Around Noon this past Thursday. A lovely interview with a couple of wonderful live songs. Listen here.
  • Infantree will be re-releasing their album Would Work in a re-mastered version at the end of April.
  • Akron’s Shivering Timbers are venturing out beyond Ohio and will be playing Nashville, Tennessee – February 25 at the Basement and February 27 at the 5 Spot. Their album, We All Started in the Same Place, is now available on iTunes.
  • Still Bill, a documentary about the amazing Bill Withers is now airing on Showtime.

And, from Jennifer:

  • Empires, scrappy little band of my heart, has a shot at being the first unsigned band to be on the cover of Rolling Stone. They are from Chicago, and when I last discussed them on NTSIB , I described them as a “punch drunk love affair” and that description is still true. Their sound is big and raw and sexy and, basically, rock and roll at its finest.

    Please, NTSIBbers, go and vote for them here at Rolling Stone, and then feel free to pass the link around.

    This is a video for “Hello Lover”, their latest single:

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Craig Wedren: Are We

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Craig Wedren has long been a favorite of mine, both solo and in his game-changer band Shudder to Think, for always pushing his songwriting in new directions, and now he’s taking the same adventurous spirit into video. Wedren will be releasing a new album that will also have a companion interactive film, both titled Wand, in May. You can check out the 360-degree interactive video for the first single, “Are We”, at the link below.

www.craigwedren.com

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Rainy Day Saints/Frosting/The Godfathers at the Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH, 2.13.11

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Rainy Day Saints

When I had previously seen Rainy Day Saints, their sound mix was muddy, making it difficult to gauge anything but a beat. Sad to say, this night was more of the same. Even sitting at the bar situated at the back of the Grog Shop, the sound seemed to be mixed for some point 20 feet behind the back wall. They might be a great band, but if they don’t gauge their sound mix down a little, it’s going to be hard to tell.

Frosting

“This song’s on capo 1, everybody.”

Chicago band Frosting have a full complement of women and bald dudes and a good sense of humor. The group, led by a singer/guitarist who is not bald or a woman but does sort of look like a mashup of Doug Fieger and Mark Arm, powered through an upbeat set of guitar pop. A post-song comment from the singer gives a good idea of their sound: “I tried to sell that song to Matthew Sweet. He said, ‘No fucking way.'” An enjoyable set from a solid band with good stage presence and some nice harmonies.

The Godfathers

The fucking Godfathers, people.

As I’ve noted before, the Godfathers’ album Birth, School, Work, Death has been a staple for me since youth. In that previous post, I mentioned that I had never become a big enough fan of the group to pursue any of their other albums (which, in Ohio in the late ’80s/early ’90s, would have taken a good amount of effort), but seeing them Sunday night for their first show on American soil in over 20 years has changed that.

From the moment the Godfathers – singer Peter Coyne, guitarist Del Bartle, drummer Grant Nichols and a bassist whose name I did not catch, filling in for Chris Coyne who was detained in the UK as he’s apparently a threat to national security or something – stepped on stage, it was clear that there would be no fucking around. Peter Coyne still seems pretty pissed off, and the Godfathers’ music still carries the same intense energy. Still sharp in their pinstripes, the band delivered a punishing set spanning back to the Sid Presley Experience (the band from which the Godfathers formed in 1985) all the way up to brand new song “Back into the Future”, hitting some amazing high points in between: “‘Cause I Said So”, “Walking Talking Johnny Cash Blues”, “When Am I Coming Down”, “This Damn Nation” and on.

Coyne cuts as imposing a figure as ever, gripping the microphone like he’s going to shoot you with it, spitting lyrics with as much vengeance as he did 20 years ago, grazing the audience with his blue-eyed, hard-edge stare between snarls – though he was never anything less than gracious to the appreciative audience. “It’s been too long,” he told Cleveland at one point.

Almost as a counterpoint to Coyne’s ever-serious demeanor, Nichols’ drumming was almost gleeful, backing the songs with on-point propulsion. Bartle’s guitar playing is so precise you wouldn’t know he hadn’t written the lines himself (he played in the Sid Presley Experience and joined the Godfathers in 2008). And the low end was more than competently held down by the bass player.

It was a gratifying show on a number of levels, not least of which was being able to shout along to “Birth, School, Work, Death” and have it feel just as vital now as it did when I first heard it 20-some years ago. This is no nostalgia act. This is goddamn rock ‘n’ roll.

(And while I don’t usually do this, I feel so strongly that you should see the Godfathers live, here’s a list of their remaining U.S. dates:

Feb. 15: Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ
Feb. 16: Johnny D’s, Somerville, MA
Feb. 18: Black Cat, Washington, D.C.
Feb. 19: Frankie’s Inner City, Toledo, OH
Feb. 20: Double Door, Chicago, IL
Feb. 21: Club Garibaldi, Milwaukee, WI
Feb. 22: Off Broadway, St. Louis, MO)

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Benjamin Riley Band/Cassie Morgan and the Lonely Pine/Patrick Sweany at Off Broadway, St. Louis, MO, 2.10.11

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To continue Patrick Sweany Month here at NTSIB, we are pleased to have a guest review of Patrick’s recent CD release show in St. Louis by our friend Nate Burrell, along with some wonderful photos by Nate and another talented photographer, Kate McDaniel.

On a cold and icy Thursday evening in south city St. Louis, music fans braved the elements to go out and see an absolutely stellar 3-band bill at Off Broadway – our city’s premier music venue. With the stage lights beaming down, headliner, Nashville-based rhythm and soul rock-n-roller, Patrick Sweany grabbed his pale green guitar, stepped to the mic and shouted out “All right, St. Louis, how ya doin’?” and immediately started into a hot set that melted the stage and unthawed the ears of anyone unfamiliar with his signature sound. Backed by an extremely tight bassist and a drummer with metronome like precision, Sweany burned through a few numbers from early in his catalogue before unleashing live versions of tracks from his recently released 5th album That Old Southern Drag. Showcasing his commanding guitar work and his beautifully raspy, soul-filled voice, Patrick stomped, shredded, and howled out tune after tune for 75+ minutes, leaving the crowd wanting more. With an applause that could be heard three blocks down, Sweany played one last song before stepping off of the stage and into the masses, where he began handshaking, talking eye-to-eye with every approaching fan, and thanking the out-of-town crowd that he had just won over.

Opening the evening and warming up the stage were St. Louis-based indie folk darlings Cassie Morgan and the Lonely Pine. Morgan, whose song craft is as brilliant as anyone in the industry today, and her band mate, the endlessly talented Beth Bombara, played a delightfully beautiful set of original tunes that held the room at a captivated stand-still. With songs formed around Morgan’s eerily delicate vocals and outstanding use of space in her guitar playing, while Bombara sang in deliciously on-point harmony as she laid down layer after layer of percussive accompaniments, these two multi-instrumentalists were able to let their uniquely organic sound breathe a melodic breath, that was warmly welcomed by their appreciative hometown crowd.

Rounding out the evening was the ever-energetic Benjamin Riley. With a five-piece band backing him, Riley took control of the center stage and absolutely let loose. Belting out a series of upbeat songs, Benjamin let his gritty soul-soaked vocals do the rolling, while he and his band did the rocking. At one point, Riley and bassist Kit Hamon were so into the moment that they were literally stomping and playing in unison – completely awesome to see. Just as they did for the Sweany, Morgan and Bombara, the crowd showed their appreciation and respect to this up-and-coming St. Louis band.

Three bands. Lots of people. One kick-ass venue. All coming together for an excellent night of live music.

St Louis music photographers Nate Burrell and Kate McDaniel were in the front row capturing it all as it went down. See the show as they saw it – both in black & white and color. And when you are done with the visual stimulation, go get the sounds of each band at their website. You’re sure to be a fan when it’s all said and done. Rock on!

Links:
Bands
www.patricksweany.com
www.cassiemorgan.com
www.benjaminrileymusic.com

Photographers
www.flickr.com/natebnate or www.beforetheblink.com
www.flickr.com/kate_pequeno

Who Kate and Nate often shoot for:
www.kdhx.org

Venue:
www.offbroadwaystl.com

Label:
www.ninemilerecords.com

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Patrick Sweany: Coming Soon, Baby, to Your City

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It’s Patrick Sweany month here at NTSIB (check out the interview we did with Patrick if you missed it). Patrick kicks off a series of CD release shows for his latest, That Old Southern Drag, starting tonight in St. Louis at Off Broadway (check his website for more dates – more dates coming). To see why you should not miss the opportunity to see Patrick live if he’s coming to your town, check out the videos below.

Here’s Patrick playing the hell out of “Hotel Women” – and blessing a sneezer in the audience without missing a beat – from his album Every Hour is a Dollar Gone at Merlefest 2009.

From the same album, “After Awhile”, filmed at the Old Rock House in St. Louis in December, 2010.

And for the players, here’s a video of Patrick leading a workshop at Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch Guitar Camp, teaching Papa Charlie Jackson’s “Shake That Thing”.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKmnzIfPmBU?version=3]

Patrick Sweany Official Website

Patrick Sweany @ Bandcamp

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Grandfather: Down to the Dirt This Time

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The line of separation between “That sounds interesting” and “I must listen to that again RIGHT NOW” can be a wide one. But after my first listen through Grandfather’s debut album Why I’d Try, that line was so thin it was practically invisible. I found myself hitting the “play” button again before my brain had even had the chance to fully grasp the music, to file it under a tidy banner, as brains are wont to do. The heavy, compelling rhythms, guitar that sounds a range from attack-dog machine-gun barking to high jangly space ambience and almost delicate melodies bore quickly and directly into some sub stratum in my brain, making my understanding of the music a bottom-up process instead of the usual top-down (“We’re a [genre] band”, “RIYL: [other bands that may or may not sound like this band]”) method. It was not unlike my initial experience with a band that went on to become one of my favorites: Shudder to Think, with their changed-the-game-for-me album Pony Express Record (a band Grandfather has been compared to based on their favoring of off-kilter time signatures and unusual melodies).

Grandfather – Tremors

How the end product of Why I’d Try came to be is an interesting story and an effective calling card for Grandfather – a three-piece made up of Michael Kirsch on guitar, Jonathan Silverman on bass and Josh Hoffman on drums and vocals. After messing around with their digital home recording equipment to the point where they didn’t feel they could trust their own ears any longer, they decided that the most freeing option would be to take all those digital options away. They would hand the engineering reigns over to someone else and record their album in an analog studio. And there are few more qualified to take those reigns than Steve Albini (and if you don’t know who Albini is – oh, honey – check out this list of albums Albini has engineered, including those by his own bands Big Black, Rapeman and Shellac).

Grandfather – It’s Good Enough Now

Decision made, Grandfather sold off their digital recording equipment, set up a Kickstarter campaign to make up the difference and booked time with Albini’s Electrical Audio studio in Chicago. In three days, Why I’d Try was recorded and mixed by Albini and mastered by Albini’s Shellac bandmate Bob Weston. (Michael Kirsch wrote a series of posts about the process and experience for SonicScoop that are well worth a read.)

Grandfather – Blood Theme (From Dexter) / Tremors from Big Ass Lens on Vimeo.

With the money spent and the hard work finished, Grandfather proceeded to give the album away for free (go to the official site link below for the full download). The trick of it is, once you hear the album’s sonic richness on mp3, you’ll want to hear it again on vinyl for the full experience of highs and lows and textures. Lucky for you that they had a limited number of LPs (and CDs) pressed to fulfill that need. All it’ll cost you is a ten-spot (and some shipping if you’re ordering online – I already have mine on order).

Grandfather Official Website

SonicScoop | How Grandfather Made A Record With Steve Albini In Three Days

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Over the Rhine: We Try to be Tender with All of Our Might

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A confession: this is the first time I’ve really listened to new Over the Rhine material in over a decade. When I first heard OtR, they were a four-piece (with Ric Hordinski on guitar and Brian Kelley on drums), Linford Detweiler had long hair, Karin Berquist was shy and Karin and Linford were not yet married. My ex and I were going to a show to see the Choir, and as we stood in line outside the club before doors opened, we fell into conversation with others in line that went something like:

Us: Who are Over the Rhine?
Several other people in line: Who are the Choir?

And by the end of the show, I was also asking “Who are the Choir?” having fallen in love with the charming four-piece from Cincinnati who opened for the Choir. Over the next few years, OtR’s music became integral to my marriage as we travelled to several shows, adopted “Paul and Virginia” as one of “our songs” and became friendly enough with Karin and Linford that, before we moved to California, we spent a pleasant afternoon with them in Cincinnati. Their 1997 release Besides was the last OtR album I spent any considerable time with before drifting away (not just from them but from most new music in general).

The first thing that stood out to me upon listening to their new album, The Long Surrender, was how Karin’s voice has become a confident, unique instrument. While always capable of great depth and power, self-consciousness seemed to keep her from using that power more than sparingly. Hesitancy is clearly no longer an issue.

Over the Rhine’s musical arrangements have gained confidence, as well. While the jangly, sepia-toned sound of those early songs still remains at the core, that sound is now plumped with strong jazz, classical and country tones, even dipping into some classic R&B;, soul and gospel at times.

The stand-out song for me is the torchy epic, “Infamous Love Song”, mining the smoky vein previously tapped with 1994’s “My Love is a Fever”. The way Karin’s voice warmly, languidly oozes over the words, it’s easy to imagine that this is the kind of song she was born to sing. Other stand-outs are “Undamned” in which Karin’s sweet voice pairs companionably with Lucinda Williams’ scratchier one, “The King Knows How” with its hip-grooving, deep bassline, “Rave On” with its building intensity and the heartbreaker of an opener “The Laugh of Recognition”.

While early OtR albums called up visions of rainy, late-summer afternoons, The Long Surrender is a late night groove, dark and close. Put it on, turn the lights down and pour a glass of bourbon…

Over the Rhine – The King Knows How

The Long Surender, produced by Joe Henry, drops February 8, and Over the Rhine will begin touring in support of the album in March (with a February 16 date at the Folk Alliance in Memphis, Tennessee).

March 25 РBoston, MA @ The Red Room @ Caf̩ 939 (Berklee)
March 26 – New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
March 27 – Alexandria, VA @ Birchmere Club
March 29 РPhiladelphia, PA @ World Caf̩ Live
April 1 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Small’s
April 2 – Akron, OH @ Musica
April 5 – Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark
April 7 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
April 8 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
April 9 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theater
April 10 – Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center

Over the Rhine Official Website

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Rock ‘n’ Roll Photog: Video Grab Bag

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This week, Jennifer shares some music she’s excited about right now, along with visual accompaniment.

Here (In Your Arms), Hellogoodby, from evilp8intpro922

Hellogoodbye put out their first record, Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! in 2006; I stumbled over it in 2008 and promptly bought it because of the seriously irresistible title. The track in the video above is one of my favorites, and indicative of their then sweet synth-poppy sound. After some wrangling with their now ex-label, they have put out a new record, entitled Would It Kill You? (less synth-y, but still poppy; also still delicious) and are hitting the road with, among other people, Gold Motel. That link back there leads to a free-for-Tweet-or-Facebook-Like tour sampler, which I highlight and heartily encourage you to check out because it includes a Gold Motel cover of Here (In Your Arms) which I cannot stop listening to, and much more besides.

The Black Apples – Where the Wild Things Go (Live at The Echo, Los Angeles, 2010-11-08) by lineinla

And then hopping over a couple of genres, for the psychadelic surf-rock fans in the audience, I bring you The Black Apples, who recently released a vinyl LP into the wild. You can find digital excerpts on bandcamp and the full LP on iTunes. Why I like it: They have TWO drummers and a lot of sweet grooves. In my collection, they occupy the “sounds like Scooby Doo” category with MGMT, but their sound is heavier – big solid drums and crisp guitars, as opposed to candy-colored dreamy noodling. They are having a record release party this Friday, January 28 at 7 PM Origami Vinyl in Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA, and, special note to Colorado and New Mexico, they will be headed your way in early March!

Brett Detar, It’s Only The Night from Tocy777

Brett Detar formerly the lead singer for The Juliana Theory, has recently launched a solo career. I found him and his new record when I was noodling around on Facebook one evening and, ladies and gentlemen, if you enjoy old-fashioned country, you need to get yourself over to his website right now and check out his tunes. My favorites: It’s Only The Night, Cocaine, Whiskey & Heroin, A Miner’s Prayer and This City Dies Tonight.

Panic! at the Disco, The Ballad of Mona Lisa lyric video, from Fueled by Ramen

And finally, I leave you with the lyric video – as in, video composed solely of lyrics – for Panic! at the Disco’s new single, The Ballad of Mona Lisa from their third record, Vices & Virtues, which is expected later this spring. I am a tiny bit of a typography nerd and so I must tell you I am all a-flutter because they are using new and different (and lovely!) fonts here and in their other promotional materials. I do also like the song; they would appear to have left behind the ’60s stylings of Pretty. Odd. and jumped back into the present with both feet, and I can’t wait to hear the rest of the record.

— Jennifer

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Bits: Juniper Tar, Mike Watt, Sebadoh, Fugazi, The Black Keys, Sonic Youth, Jon Walker, Michael Runion

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  • The good guys in Juniper Tar will be taking part in the Pablove Benefit Concert at Turner Hall Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this Saturday, January 29, 2011. The show, “a special evening to improve the lives of children with cancer”, kicks off at 5:30 PM and also includes Cory Chisel, Fitz & the Tantrums, an acoustic set from Brian Aubert and Nikki Monninger of Silversun Pickups and more.
  • Stereogum has a free download of “Arrow-Pierced-Egg-Man” from Mike Watt’s latest, an opera called Hyphenated-Man.
  • Sebadoh’s Bakesale is being reissued with bonus material on April 4, 2011. In support of this, Sebadoh will be touring the United States beginning in February (including a stop at the Grog Shop in Cleveland on April 2 – coincidentally, just days after J Mascis brings his acoustic tour through the Grog ).
  • The Fugazi documentary Instrument will be screening at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, on February 27, 2011. Director Jem Cohen and members of Fugazi will be on hand for the screening.
  • If you missed it, the Austin City Limits Sonic Youth/Black Keys split episode can now be viewed at the PBS website. Long live PBS.

Additionally, Jennifer reports:

  • Jon Walker (The Young Veins, Panic[!] at the Disco, 5o4 Plan) has put out a solo record. Recommended tracks: Sun and Moon and Growing a Beard.
  • Michael Runion has revamped his website and there are a couple of new songs available as free downloads. He has also started a new band, The Chances, and they are playing an acoustic show at The Standard in West Hollywood, California, on January 26, 2011, at 7:30 PM at the Cactus Lounge.

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Deep Blues Festival Returns! To Cleveland!

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From Deep Blues Festival organizer Chris Johnson:

“You heard the rumors and the rumors are true! After a one year hiatus, Deep Blues Festival rides again. This time around, Deep Blues Festival is a totally artist driven one day event in Cleveland, Ohio at the infamous Beachland Ballroom on July 16 2011!

So what is Deep Blues Festival? It is the biggest outsider blues festival in the country. If you like your blues music to involve creativity, originality and proof that this is still an immensely vibrant musical form…then this is the festival for you.

DEEP BLUES FESTIVAL 2011
Sat July 16 2011 5pm-1:30am
THE BEACHLAND BALLROOM
15711 Waterloo Road – Cleveland, OH
12 BANDS – $20.00!!”

Past Deep Blues Festival performers have included straight-up blues artists like T-Model Ford and CeDell Davis on through to blues-influenced acts like Scott H. Biram, Patrick Sweany, Black Diamond Heavies, Radio Moscow and Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers, to name just a few. So, you’d be well-advised to block out your calendar for this one and keep your eye on the Deep Blues Festival Facebook page.

Check out T-Model Ford laying it down at the 2009 festival.

**Update**
The Deep Blues Festival ’11 site has launched, line-up announced.

Thanks to Chuck Auerbach for the information.