The Jayhawks are one of the most respected acts to come out of the early days of the alt-country movement. Led by Gary Louris and Mark Olson, The Jayhwaks won a legion of fans with their Byrds inspired jangle pop/country sound and their extremely tight vocal harmonies. The formula worked to perfection on three wonderful albums... 1989's Blue Earth , 1992's Hollywood Town Hall , and 1995's Tomorrow the Green Grass . Despite the band's success, founding member Olson left the group following the Tomorrow the Green Grass [...]
In college, Vetiver guitarist Kevin Barker became interested in the fingerstyle guitar playing of John Fahey and Bert Jansch. He began to write songs and recorded under the name "Currituck County" for Teenbeat Records, Troubleman Unlimited, and Track and Field Organisation in the UK. Later, he moved to Brooklyn, NY where he attended film school at Columbia University and began playing with Devendra, Antony, and Vetiver. His debut album, You And Me , will be released by Gnomonsong this January. The album was produced by Thom Monahan (Vetiver, Lilys, Gary Louris, Devendra Banhart), and features Pat Sansone (Wilco), Joanna [...]
All Work And No Play Makes Loft And Lost A Dull Boy All Work And No Play Makes Loft And Lost A Dull Boy All Work And No Play Makes Loft And Lost A Dull Boy All Work And No Play Makes Loft And Lost A Dull Boy So here we are again . Pretty much two weeks of constant work, with a special highlight of being called back into the office at 11pm and not leaving till nearly six hours later. Fun. Mind you, it's strange being in a [...]
The smiling creature seen above is my dog Deacon. He's a strange little Golden Retriever, Chow, Pekingese mix (we think). He's also my only company this week while my wife is out of town on a business trip. Hopefully, the two of us will manage to stay alive until she gets back. In the meantime... Notes. ***I'll start with a sad note I picked up over at Music Fog . It seems as though Levon Helm is [...]
Free label samplers at Amazon MP3: the 12-track Anti Sampler Fall 2009 album , including tracks by Neko Case and The Swell Season the 9-track Ryko: Flash Of Light Sampler album , including tracks by Gary Louris, Will Hoge, and more The Guardian's music blog remembers Jim Carroll's musical and literary sides. By the time Catholic Boy was released [...]
Free label samplers at Amazon MP3: the 12-track Anti Sampler Fall 2009 album , including tracks by Neko Case and The Swell Season the 9-track Ryko: Flash Of Light Sampler album , including tracks by Gary Louris, Will Hoge, and more The Guardian's music blog remembers Jim Carroll's musical and literary sides. By the time Catholic Boy was released it was 1980 and he was 30, already an [...]
What's a musician to do when he or she feels artistically tied? Take the often ill-fated solo path or hop out and jam with some friends, and perhaps record a record or two? Sometimes it works, most often it doesn't, but here are ten great offshoots and one-off groups that were worth "breaking up" or out for. 1. Derek & The Dominos Who knew that Eric Clapton's best work would come outside Cream and his own solo career? Oh yeah, that was Duane [...]
Minnesota and its cities and towns may not get the musical props of a California or New York, but the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have long and proud traditions popular music that date back to the early 1960s, when artists such as "Spider" John Koerner were the buzz in local coffee shops. Still home to many revered musicians who just never left the frozen north, I present 10 great artists from the Land of 10,000 Lakes. 1. Replacements The Replacements started as a sloppy punk band devoted to getting [...]
Given my non-linear view of world events, I would like to believe that the theory of punctuated equilibrium first occurred to Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould while out for a leisurely drive in Gould's beloved Corvair, listening to a Joe Henry mixtape lifted from Ernst Mayr's office. Might sound a little farfateched, but how else are we to connect the dots from the crooner of Shuffletown to the troubador of Kindness Of The World to the surrealist sage of Tiny Voices ? It's difficult to believe that, after [...]
Grant Hart , Mark Olson , Prince Rogers Nelson , and Paul Westerberg were all born within three and a half years of each other in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Hart, New York-born Bob Mould and Illinois-born Greg Norton stated the hardcore band Husker Du at about the same time as Westerberg and his Minneapolis-born friends Bobby and Tommy Stinson and Chris Mars formed The Replacements . The two bands even performed together and had somewhat of a healthy competition in the Minneapolis music scene. Although by the time that [...]
You'd think with a blatant Johnny Cash-referencing name like Mud, Blood & Beer (" kickin' and a-gouging' in the mud and the blood and the beer " - "A Boy Named Sue"), not to mention the longhorn skull on the album cover, that this New York band would fall easily into the alt country area of musical definitions (which is basically what I spent 3 years in the late 90's listening to exclusively). For the most part they do fit that profile - there are plenty of two-steppin' drum beats, the kind of guitar playing that sounds like [...]
My friend Tony headed up to the Twin Cities to the Basilica Block Party for The Hold Steady. But to his surprise, he got a bit of a treat on Friday. The hometown boys, The Jayhawks, headline the main stage. Throughout the evening, I kept receiving texts telling me how great they sounded. The last text of the evening said..."Blue with a full choir....amazing." [...]
Couldn't resist getting a copy of The Jayhawks " Music from the North Country " the deluxe version includes two CD's and a DVD, with essential tracks taken from the bands studio releases on CD one, rarities b-sides and demo's on CD two and some official videos on the DVD along with a couple of live track performances. The tracks in today's post were taken from the pilot broadcast of "Lost Highway Radio Hour," the show was hosted by a celebrity Jayhawks [...]
C'mon, you know EVP is not clever. If we're going to namedrop The Refreshments ' "Banditos" in another article, you can bet even money we're going to exploit it for The After Life. "Banditos" is the quintessential nerdy music of the 90s--the sort that broke the mold for the alternative scene. Granted, the case is made everywhere that if it weren't for Weezer, the nerd rock niche during the mid-90s would have been rather lifeless; probably just Pavement and even their accrued dork cool couldn't fill such an empty void. What The Refreshments do deserve [...]
MUSIC NEWS - Often citied by critics and fans as one of the inventors of the alt-country music genre that rose up in the 80s/90s, the Jayhawks have returned with original line-up, appearing together for the first time together since 1995. Co-founder Mark Olson left the Jayhawks in 1995 but has returned to the lineup with co-leader Gary Louris (and bassist Marc Perlman, drummer/-vocalist Tim O'Reagan, and Karen Grotberg on keyboards and vocals). The re-united band played several music festivals in Europe and are booked to play their first USA show this Friday in Minneapolis at the Basilica Block Party (8:45 - [...]
Frank Yang It's a long way from CBGBs in New York to Massey Hall in Toronto - geographically, stylistically, even temporally. The former defined by its role as the primordial ooze from whence punk rock first emerged, the latter known largely for the legendary folk and jazz artists who graced its stage. CBGBs was a place to begin, Massey a place to arrive, but the path between the two is one that's been trod by few acts. As of this past Tuesday night, Sonic Youth became one of them. At first, [...]
Mark Olson & Gary Louris - Turn Your Pretty Name Around (MP3)Mark Olson & Gary Louris - Saturday Morning On Sunday Street (MP3)Le reste sur Daytrotter[MySpace]
Today's free and legal mp3 downloads: Aeroplane Pageant : "I Remember I Think" [mp3] from Even The Kids Don't Believe Me other Aeroplane Pageant< posts at Largehearted Boy Black Heart Procession : "Rats" [mp3] from Six (out October 6th) other Black Heart Procession posts at Largehearted Boy Bloodkin : 2009-06-27, Athens [...]
Mark Olson & Gary Louris of the Jayhawks had a Daytrotter session posted today. Check it out here , along with the new album, Ready For The Flood , out now via New West . Tracks 01. Chamberlain, SD 02. Turn Your Pretty Name Around 03. Saturday Morning On Sunday Street 04. When The Wind Comes Up [Myspace] [...]
Here is a list of 2009 album releases which I have very much enjoyed so far this year. They are in alphabetical order per how they appear on my crappy Zune. So far, I think I that the Justin Townes Earle album Midnight at the Movies is my favorite, but we still have a lot of good music to get through before the end of the year. Ben Nichols - The Last Pale Light in the West.mp3 Buy: The Last [...]
new music from vampire weekend – cousins + music video
Beach House: Norway
No Curve Allowed (Grading This Week's New Tracks)
Friday Five: Surf Songs
