Red House Records recording artists and former Iowa City band The Pines are returning to the big stage at CSPS in Cedar Rapids on Saturday, February 4th. The Pines were here just last September as the third act to play the newly re-opened CSPS which had gone under a very extensive remodeling and updating over the previous year. The picture above is from that show. This time the band is back as part of a tour supporting the release of the band's fourth album Dark So Gold which came out this [...]
Though we don't get this fantastic show on Iowa Public Radio, Acoustic Cafe is an independently-produced 2-hour radio show hosted by Rob Reinhart focusing on a wide variety of music, but tending to center on the "unplugged" side of things. Acoustic Cafe also sponsors a tour, and for some of the dates on their evening tour Pieta Brown is joining the 2nd half of the run replacing Erin McKeown in the lineup with also includes Carrie Rodriguez (who Pieta toured with in 2011) and Kelly Joe Phelps . This is the [...]
The month of January was named after the Roman goddess Janus who had two faces. Like the goddess, January is the month of the year when we both look back on the previous year that is over as well as ahead to the year coming up. I just posted my favorite releases for 2011 - here is a list of releases that I'm looking forward to in 2012. The Right Now - sophomore release (April 21st) - The Chicago R&B group The Right Now has had a pretty great run since their [...]
Here we are in the final month of 2011 and it is time for the Top lists. I started this last year for the first time , and I think it was a pretty good exercise. 2011 for me personally was a time of change- I was laid off from a job I had for over 13 years and spent most of 2011 unemployed. As I write this, I'm happily employed, though I'm having to deal with the fallout of being unemployed for so long. If it wasn't for the friends and contacts I made through this [...]
If you're familiar with Daytrotter.com , it is probably because of the extensive coverage of the independent rock, folk and Americana scene. Daytrotter has established itself as one of the premiere tastemakers in this space, contributing to breaking bands like Dawes, Bon Iver, Mountain Goats and Deer Tick by featuring early sessions of the groups. What you might not be familiar with is the impressive coverage of Hip Hop and Rap by Daytrotter. These sessions get lost in among the more visible or "buzzworthy" sessions by the Fleet Foxes, Andrew Bird's and Timber Timbre's of the scene. [...]
Somewhere between Milwaukee, Rockford, IL and Chicago sits Whitewater, WI . Whitewater is home of the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater (alma mater of John Belushi if you believe Wikipedia) as well as folk/country/Americana singer-songwriter Jeffrey Foucault . Foucault has been spinning his particular yarns into song for going on ten years and has performed in support of complimentary artists like Greg Brown, Todd Snider and Chris Smither. His 2006 album Ghost Repeater was produced by Bo Ramsey and included a few of his regular sidemen- Rick Cicalo on bass, Steve Hayes on drums, as [...]
Photo taken by Tim Bugbee I feel like I've arrived at the party late. While I was familiar with the work of John Fahey and his proteges like Leo Kottke , until recently I didn't really look into the phenomenon that is generally known as " American Primitive ." Musicians I follow closely like Joey Burns of Calexico, and MC Taylor from The Court & Spark and Hiss Golden Messenger, and the guys from [...]
The dusty desert highway of Tuscon-native band Calexico's 15-year career is dotted with a notable collection of passionate Latin infused Americana (for lack of another general category to place them). While the band may not be familiar to most, their music shows up in many places- from interstitial music in NPR to movie soundtracks and in their many collaborations (including one fantastic album with The Iron and Wine ). If only for these works, Calexico will stand as one of the important and influential American bands. Along this [...]
Today it was announced that Garbage is back in the studio in L.A. after a seven-year hiatus following their 2005 studio album Bleed Like Me , which was their highest-charting album at #4 on Billboard Top 200 Album chart. As-yet-untitled, the album is projected to release in Spring 2012, and the band posted earlier that there should be a song coming out in October. They've been in the studio all summer in L.A. recording in a basement, and apparently at the infamous Western Recorders (now called EastWest Studios ). The progress [...]
Hiss Golden Messenger is the band name that former Court & Spark members MC Taylor and Scott Hirsch have been using since the dissolution of their previous band in 2007. Since then there have been four releases under this moniker: Live in Big Sur in 2007, Country Hai East Cotton in 2008 (which was re-released last year on Black Maps ), and in 2010 we saw Root Work which was based on live in-studio Country Hai tracks and [...]
Hiss Golden Messenger is the band name that former Court & Spark members MC Taylor and Scott Hirsch have been using since the dissolution of their previous band in 2007. Since then there have been four releases under this moniker: Live in Big Sur in 2007, Country Hai East Cotton in 2008 (which was re-released last year on Black Maps ), and in 2010 we saw Root Work which was based on live in-studio Country Hai tracks and [...]
I've mentioned Talk Talk's final studio album before , but it has been a few years. Recorded in 1991, Laughing Stock and the previous album Spirit of Eden were a departures from the band's more pop efforts previously. These albums represented Talk Talk stretching their creative muscles by incorporating a less-synthesizer and more acoustic instrument approach, drawing from many music styles, but employing a very jazz-influenced approach. It's this overall ambiance and approach that confounded fans and caused a dramatic drop in sales. Much as albums from bands like Big Star and Velvet Underground [...]
Since my article which broke down the versions of The Rolling Stones Exile on Mainstreet was so popular , I thought it would be cool to do one for another essential release campaign- this time for the legendary Beach Boys SMiLE which is getting a massive box set treatment as well as a standard CD and vinyl release tentatively slated for November 1st if you believe Amazon.com. When news broke earlier this year that Capitol and the remaining members of the Beach Boys gave the long-awaited green light to dig into the Capitol Vaults to [...]
I made a quick run to Iowa City last week- mostly with the intention of picking up the August issue of Little Village Magazine so I could have a hard copy of the review I wrote for it (Rockygrass band Finnders & Youngberg's new album FY5 ). While I was there, I stopped into the Record Collector to see if there was anything worth picking up. Of course, there was. One great aspect about the Record Collector is that they have a pretty extensive used vinyl section that has a lot of 902s college rock in it! Like a [...]
This afternoon Ryan Adams posted the link to the preorder for his upcoming release Ashes & Fire to Facebook which is due out on October 11th on PaxAm Records through a distribution arrangement with Capitol Records. The album was recorded at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles and produced by Glyn Johns who produced albums from the likes of The Who, The Clash and The Rolling Stones among many others. Glyn happens to be the father of Ethan Johns who worked on Adams' Heartbreaker , Gold and 29 . [...]
Red House Records and Pieta Brown announced today that her new album titled Mercury - her second for the label will release on September 27th with an iTunes download of the title track available immediately . There is also a pre-order on iTunes with two-minute samples of every track on the 13-song album. At first blush the album continues the honey-drenched laid back bluesy folk sound that is her trademark sound. Pieta's first album on Red House Records, One and All [...]
In the last year or so it seems that a few groups that I follow have chosen as a template for their recent albums the genre-defining and game-changing 1969 Miles Davis album In A Silent Way . In the Davis oeuvre, In A Silent Way represents his first full-step into electric fusion jazz and the precursor to Bitches Brew . The album itself is two compositions- on the LP, one per side- which are made up of edits of a much longer recording session by legendary recording engineer Teo Macero. In 2008 musicians gathered [...]
Very soon on the heels of their self-released 2 LP and digital-only release of 2010 Hall of Fame that I reported on previously , Umphrey's McGee announced their new studio album! To be titled Death By Stereo , it will be released on September 13th. Death By Stereo marks the first release by the band since their move to ATO Records - home of Dawes , My Morning Jacket and Drive-By Truckers . While no explicit reason is given for the move from long-time [...]
Aside from the face-melting live performances delivered during their marathon touring schedule and the growing catalog of evolving studio albums, one aspect of Chicago band Umphrey's McGee that continues to amaze me is their ability to constantly keep their finger on the pulse of their fanbase and use that to deliver performances and products that are tailored to the fans. Back in March, the band asked the fans via a survey which songs performed during 2010 they should include in a "Hall of Fame" release. On Tuesday the band announced the results [...]
Over the long weekend, I was hoping to get in on some of the sales that were going on- specifically Guitar Center in Cedar Rapids, and the full-weekend 20% sale at Half-Price Books. While I didn't actually get over to Guitar Center, I did hit HPB, but also managed to see David Lowery and Johnny Hickman tape a Java Blend session in Iowa City with my friend Erik , which also resulted in a great trip to The Record Collector. I also visited Moondog Music in Dubuque on Thursday and picked up some "missing titles" and hit a Half [...]
Time to play b-sides
![Niki & The Dove - The Fox [OFFICIAL VIDEO]](http://cdn.elbo.ws/youtube/l2f6UbMnlq4_130.jpg)
Chromatics: “Into The Black”
Download: The Violet Lights - "Sex and Sound"
Sunday Means Eight Of The Best
Introducing a Mix of New Irish Music #10 Vantastival Special
