Illustration of Timothy Showalter of Strand Of Oaks by Johnnie Cluney for www.daytrotter.com At the turn of the New Year, the folks at NPR Music contacted WXPN and asked us to pick the "next big band to break out of Philly." Other stations, like The Current in Minneapolis, KUT in Austin, Seattle's KEXP, OPB (Oregon Public Radio), two New York stations (including WFUV at Fordham University and WNYC), and KCRW in Los Angeles were also approached. We were each challenged with the same job: pick one band, one song, and write three or four [...]
BAM! Bet you were expecting a Best of 2011 list, yeah? Well I don't got time for that (YET)! No...this is where I acknowledge all the great stuff I missed in 2010. 'Cause it doesn't get any more rock n roll than to talk about shit that's over a year old. Write that down in your How to Be Rock N Roll notebooks. Anyway, the last time I wrote this list , I spent quite a while talking about how there isn't enough time in one year to listen to all the potentially great releases and put [...]
I caught Wilco's Austin City Limits taping last night. Some of my Instagram pics here and here . Was a great set that had them digging back into their catalog as much as they gave attention to their new album, The Whole Love . The highlight of the night was Nick Lowe's guest appearance for an collaborative jam on his own " Cruel To Be Kind " to close out the evening. Heartless Bastards will release their new album, Arrow [...]
Eric Bachmann brought 'Armor' to the Casbah // Follow Owl and Bear on Facebook and Twitter for contests, MP3s, and links that don't make it onto the blog.
Date Thursday, December 1st Location Mohawk Doors 900 pm Tickets $10 from Frontgate As the year draws closer and closer to wrapping up, we've all got to take advantage of the great traveling shows that are trickling into our town. Thursday night's show over at the Mohawk isn't just a show to attend because it's one of the last of the year; it's [...]
It's the always eerie night before Thanksgiving and I'm already seeing double. This time we cannot blame the Wild Turkey. San Francisco's Ian Fays include twins Lizz and Sara, older sister Lena (on triangle, tambourine and more!), Lizz's husband on drums plus "a friend" on bass. It is, as they announce, "a family affair". Lizz and Sara don't appear to be identical twins, but in their matching outfits it's still quite a spectacle. There is something incredibly powerful about sibling bands. From the Jackson 5 to the Strange Boys, The Brothers Johnson to the [...]
Our Black Friday show specials: ► Crooked Fingers , the long-running project of Archers of Loaf singer Eric Bachmann, headlines the Echo behind their sixth album (and first since 2008) "Breaks in the Armor." Strand of Oaks and Graham Lindsey support. ► L.A. indie-pop quintet Walking Sleep , joined by the Shirley Rolls , play the Satellite in a show that will be headlined by a special guest. Who? Well, it's somebody who hasn't played live in a while, and it'll be a nice surprise. Admission is $5 [...]
Eric Bachmann plans return to San Diego // Follow Owl and Bear on Facebook and Twitter for contests, MP3s, and links that don't make it onto the blog.
Mason Jennings covers Bill Withers "Lean On Me" for The Voice Project . Another new song from James Blake hit the internet. Listen to "At Birth" at Stereogum . Golden Coins remixes Strand of Oaks' "Last To Swim." Sean Hayes releases a digital album of Outtakes & Alternatives . Fleet Foxes release a new video today for " A Shrine/An Argument ." World Cafe sessions with Paul Simon [...]
Friday night, the 25th, Aquarium Drunkard presents Crooked Fingers and Strand of Oaks at the Echo in L.A. We have three pairs tickets for AD readers. If looking to go, leave a comment below with your name and an email in the address field (its hidden from the public) we can reach you at. Winners [...]
CROOKED FINGERS, STRAND OF OAKS, SHELBY EARL ( Mississippi Studios , 3939 N Mississippi) Read our article on Strand of Oaks . SONS OF HUNS, OLD JUNIOR, HOOKER VOMIT ( The Know , 2026 NE Alberta) Old Growth is dead—long live Old Growth. Well, perhaps Old Growth is not entirely dead, but with bassist Luke Clements living in LA, the future for one of Portland's best, riffiest [...]
Listen to Feist's full session From KCRW at NPR . The Milwaukee Journtal-Sentinel interviews Eric Bachmann of Crooked Fingers . Milwaukee friends, don't miss their show with Strand of Oaks and Testa Rosa supporting at the Cactus Club on Saturday, November 12th . Pitchfork interviews Bradford Cox of Deerhunter/Atlas Sound.
Frank Yang So, let's see. Crooked Fingers were just here back in July - yeah, covered that . Oh, but in the interim, they also released a new album in Breaks In The Armor ; covered that too . So was there really anything new to report out of Tuesday night's show at the Drake Underground? Actually, yes. To begin with there was opener Strand Of Oaks , who definitely merit discussion. I'd been familiar with the project of Pennsylvania singer-songwriter Tim [...]
There is a nice free digital mix currently available from American Songwriter that features some of MM's favourites including Deer Tick, The War On Drugs, Cass McCombs and Real Estate . Here are a couple of our favourites from it - the sultry folk of the Smoke Fairies and Strand Of Oaks aka Timothy Showalter's outrageous elegy for John Belushi from a certain Ghostbusters star . Alternatively just click here to go and get the whole thing. Download Strand Of Oaks [...]
October means we're happily knee-deep in baseball, surrounded by seasonal pumpkin ales, and, regrettably, wrist-deep in the slimy insides of jack-o-lanterns. Music has been my quiet oasis. I figure it's high time I stop futzing over my autumn mix and share it already. The fall mix is one of my favorites to make. In addition to being generally hyperaware of everything around me in life, especially subtexts and undercurrents, I notice an acute sharpening of my senses every time the seasons change. It's why I make you guys these seasonal mixes: as everything in the natural world [...]
I caught Wye Oak last night at the Parish in Austin. The band's 2011 release, Civilian remains one of my favorites of the year. Thanks to a request the band returned for a encore to perform their cover of Danzig's "Mother," which first appeared here . Grantland (my new favorite website) premiered the new video from Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks . My Old Kentucky Blog shares a great new video from EMA [...]
For anyone that has browsed the MM 2010 Top 10s page you will have seen Strand Of Oaks appearing with their superbly surreal tale of the giant Alex Kona . Just by chance we happened upon this cover by purveyors of ethereal, dream pop Bad Temple on Soundcloud. Its not new, but for anyone who hasn't heard it, it is well worth a listen. It can also be found on the compilation GRRRIMIXXX - 02 . Download it for free from here . [...]
Bert Jansch British folk singer and songwriter Bert Jansch has passed away at the age of 67. Jansch, a leading figure in the British folk movement (and founder of the band Pentangle) died of cancer. He influenced many musicians. The Guardian noted: "Those he influenced included Jimmy Page, Nick Drake, Graham Coxon, Donovan, Bernard Butler and Paul Simon. According to fellow guitarist Johnny Marr: "He completely reinvented guitar playing and set a standard that is still unequaled today … without Bert Jansch, rock music as it developed in the 60s [...]
Lately I've been spending a lot of time listening to Strand of Oaks' brilliant second LP, Pope Killdragon , so I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Timothy Showalter recorded a few covers for Aquariam Drunkard recently. And while you're at it, do yourself a favor and check out Pope Killdragon . It was one of the best records of 2010, and you can preview the entire thing at bandcamp.com . But to get you started, here's Showalter performing one of the album's highlights, "Sterling," at the edge of a pier: [...]
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