One snowy Sunday night in October, I sat at my kitchen table after tucking my little one into bed and realized that Glen Phillips of Toad The Wet Sprocket was playing at that very moment right up the road with his new band Works Progress Administration , and I had completely missed it. After listening to their bluegrass-laced toe-tapping goodness, I started looking up other tourdates and noticed they were playing in December in Nashville, where a dear friend lives. And thus, this [...]
Next Thursday morning I'm boarding a plane bound for Nashville. That sounds like the first lyric of a good song. I'll be visiting one of my favorite people in the world, and together we are going to cram in a good deal of musical fun into four days. On Friday night we're heading to the Exit/In ( this show happened there , among others, which makes it some sort of hallowed ground) to see the newly-birthed supergroup Works Progress Administration . This civic-mindedly named band is an " expandable collective [...]
With the word "collective" bringing images of hippies and the faint scent of patchouli to mind I wouldn't normally jump on a band that defines themselves as such however if you start tossing around names like Glen Phillips and Sean Watkins I start putting aside preconceptions and take notice. Tell me they just released an album and you'll get me excited. Well that's just what's happened. Works Progress Administration has released WPS. I can't figure out how to describe Works Progress Administration so I'll just them do it in their own words: [...]
he Works Progress Administration is not quite a supergroup (well it, is but...), instead they claim that it's an expandable collective, centred around Glen Phillips of solo and Toad the Wet Sprocket fame, Sean Watkins from Nickel Creek, and Luke Bullett who was a member of Lyle Lovett's large band. The WPA also features many other performers, including Sara Watkins (fiddle), Benmont Tench (piano), Greg Leisz (various), Pete Thomas (drums), and Davey Faragher (bass). The self-titled album also features some of the best album art/liner notes I have ever seen. Here is what frontman Glen Phillips had to say about [...]
The original Works Progress Administration was part of FDR's 1939 New Deal initiative which put millions of people to work in the darkest part of the Great Depression. This spirit of community and creativity is carried in the philosophy of a band that takes its name. Works Progress Administration is a supergroup of sorts- an "expanding collective" according to the band's website. At its core it is Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket and solo, Sean Watkins formerly of the excellent Nickle Creek and Luke Bulla [...]
Glen Phillips made a name for himself as founding frontman for Toad The Wet Sprocket , a high school rock band made good; if you're a child of the eighties like myself, or just a fan of retro alt-rock radio, you've heard his distinctive voice plenty of times, most notably on cultural staple Walk On The Ocean . Indeed, my own personal experience with the artist, now pushing forty, is restricted to a single lawn-seat glimpse at a mid-nineties H.O.R.D.E. festival, an event most memorable for being the first and last rock concert which [...]
Glen Phillips' brand of Southern California folk-rock has always flirted on the edge of its bluegrass and country and western roots. In the years since Toad the Wet Sprocket closed up shop his songwriting has danced closer and closer to those roots and with 2000's Mutual Admiration Society - pairing Phillips with members of Nickel Creek - it seemed to come to the forefront. Taking that collaborative spirit to the next level, Works Progress Administration consists of Phillips and his MAS cohorts Sean and Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek, Fiction Family) with Luke Bulla (Jerry Douglas [...]
Once I hear about a new Glen Phillips project, I'm sold. WPA (Works Progress Administration) consists of some of the most accomplished and legendary musicians in today s American music scene. Founding members Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket), Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek), and Luke Bulla (Jerry Douglas Band, Ricky Skaggs, Lyle Lovett) have teamed up with Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek), Benmont Tench (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers), Greg Leisz (Joni Mitchell, Wilco, Sheryl Crow, Beck), Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello and the Imposters, Randy Newman), and Davey Faragher (Elvis Costello and the Imposters, Cracker), and long-time acclaimed producer [...]
As we've previously reported, Gov't Mule will be spending Halloween at Philly's Tower Theater where all signs - and posters - point to a night of Rolling Stone covers. The Southern jam-titans have also added a handful of other October dates leading up to their All Hallows Eve performance in the City of Brotherly Love, with roots-blues-rocker Jackie Greene providing support for most of the brief run. While Jackie won't be opening for Mule on the 31st, he'll sit-in with the band throughout the night. In [...]
Described as an "expandable collective" of musicians, modern Americana band Works Progress Administration arose at L.A.'s noted Largo club where Nickel Creek's Sara and Sean Watkins began a residency that drew upon an amalgam of like-minded players and songwriters. At the core of the WPA are Glen Philips (Toad the Wet Sprocket), Luke Bulla (from Lyle Lovett's band) and Sean Watkins with additional backing support from Sara, Benmont Tench (Tom Petty's Heartbreakers), Pete Williams and Davey Faragher (both from Elvis Costello's Impostors) and Greg Leisz (Lucinda Williams). [...]
WPA I suppose I could have also titled this one "Attention Nickel Creek Fans" or "Attention Toad The Wet Sprocket Groupies", but bumpershine is pretty much Elvis country, so when in doubt, you go with what you know. The WPA is a musical collective that (most likely) owes its genesis to 2004's The Mutual Admiration Society album and the ensuing tour with Pete Thomas . This 2009 version of this "admiration society" known as Works Progress Administration or WPA is set to release [...]
The music collective known as Works Progress Administration is heading out on tour to support their self-titled debut, which is to be released on September 15th. At the core of Works Progress Administration (or WPA , for short) is the trio of ' Founding Directors' Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket), Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek, Fiction Family) and Luke Bulla (Jerry Douglas Band, Lyle Lovett). In addition to the base is the group of ' Executive Board Members' consisting of Sara Watkins [...]
As you read this, I am in California! I should have gotten off the plane in San Diego about an hour ago, and have hopefully made a dent in my NaNoWriMo project- which I have fallen gravely behind on (I should be near 12,500 words by Saturday)! All this vacation prep and writing leaves little time for sorting through all the newsfeeds, emails, music, etc., but I hope I've put something you'll all like here. Of not, come back next week, I'm sure there'll be something then. In the meantime, enjoy this week's Friday Mixtape, [...]
I AM FUEL, YOU ARE FRIENDS
Nine Bullets
Swear I'm Not Paul
Time to play b-sides
Cover Lay Down
IckMusic
Hidden Track
Direct Current
Bumpershine.com
SquirrelFood.net
The Hood Internet “When The Night Knows (Whitney Houston x Chromeo)”
Mash Up: The Hood Internet – “When The Night Knows (Chromeo vs. Whitney Houston)”
Jay-Z & Kanye West – N*ggas In Paris (Eliot Lipp & Cru The Dynamic Remix) : Sick New Electronic / Live Drum Remix [TSIS PREMIERE]
Skrillex Uses Satanic and Homosexual Influence to Win Grammys
