Magic Marker Records Interview

January 29, 2009 at 11:46 pm | Posted in Birthdays, indiepop, mp3, Music, Portland | 2 Comments
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Happy Birthday Magic Marker

Headquartered down the I-5 in Portland, Oregon, Magic Marker is getting ready to turn ten years old.  Ten years may not seem like much, but for a record label it is no small feat.  Magic Marker is run by Curt and  Mark, two music obsessed gentlemen who have over the last  ten years built quite a fine little record label, consistently putting great record after great record.  I think they may have been a bit bewildered when I asked them what it takes to run a  successful label, but in the world of indiepop Magic Marker is one of the best.  Yeah, they’re not raking in the bucks and taking over the world, but  like their inspirations (Merge and K) they have developed a name you can trust by putting out stuff they truly like.  You know when you buy something from Magic Marker that it’s going to be quality pop.   Their longevity, consistency, quality packaging and general enthusiasm for music is something to truly celebrate.  They started out by putting out records from Portland bands like Galactic Heroes, All Girl Summer Fun Band, Dear Nora, Kissing Book,  and Boy Crazy and a few from other corners of the United States like Vehicle Flips from Pittsburgh, Walker Kong from Minneapolis.  In recent years they’ve gone international with excellent records from the Manahattan Love Suicides (UK), Faintest Ideas (Sweden), Bats (NZ), Minisnap (NZ) and newest signings Hello Seahorse (Mexico).  With all of the uncertainty surrounding the record labels these days, one thing is for sure Magic Marker aren’t throwing up their hands calling it a day. Last year saw records from Minisnap, Tullycraft and the Manhattan Love Suicides to name a few and this year I’m looking forward to a new record from Boat.

So in honor of the past ten years as the flagship indiepop label of the Pacific Northwest, Magic Marker is throwing  a party down in Portland next Saturday at the Someday Lounge.  It promises to be a hell of a lot of fun with an all-star line-up that includes Tullycraft and Boat,a reunited Dear Nora, and the Galatic Heroes.   Curt and Mark have also promised a few DJ sets for this all ages show as well as a very limited edition (200 copies) set of 7 inch records of Magic Marker bands covering each other’s songs that will be for sale.  I recently sat down with Curt and Mark over a keyboard and fiber optic wires for an interview about how they got started, how things have changed in Portland and what they’ve been up to.  Happy Birthday guys!

What the impetus for starting Magic Marker?

Curt: For me it was just finding another reason to get to know bands that I liked. I wanted to have something to talk about after a show.
Mark: I remember always being interested in what running a record label entailed.  I had a few friends at WIUS (Indiana University) who released some tapes and compilation cds. I went to a few Secretly Canadian meetings when they were first starting out, and thought, I can do this myself.  Of course mm never came to until Curt came on board.

What other record labels have inspired or influenced Magic Marker?
Curt:  I was very inspired by K records and Merge records. These two labels release music locally and globally and without a specific sound yet you knew you could trust their taste.
Mark:  At the time, Simple Machines was my favorite label.  They were the best DIY inspiration I could think of.  I am  currently still inspired by what Merge is doing.

It seems like a lot of independent record labels are started up by one person, Magic Marker is two people, how does that work?
Curt: Two seems the way to go. K Records: Calvin & Candace, Merge: Laura & Mac . I think you really need that other person to bounce ideas off of. I also think  you need the other person to help out on a lot of the work that needs to be done or help pick up the slack.
Mark: I think it’s important to do something like this with a partner. It’s easier to get excited about releases, showcases, etc. when you can share it with somebody who is equally involved.

What would you say that are the top one or two essential things you need to run a successful label?
Curt: Well that all depends on what you mean by “Successful” . I would say a huge fan of music and a discerning ear is essential. A large trust fund would be helpful as well (anyone have one they don’t need?)
Mark: Keep releasing music you love, and I think that is a success. The longer you can do that, the more successful you become I guess.

You guys put on a lot of house shows and documented them with A House Full of Friends double CD.  Are house shows in Portland a thing of the past or are you still doing them?
Curt: When we initially started putting on house shows it was to fill a need in Portland. There wasn’t an all ages club at the time and most bars either didn’t want our type of music or didn’t want to pay the bands. Portland has come a long way since then and not only supports many all age venues but most over 21 places are hosting bills of pop and wildly experimental music. I moved out the house awhile ago and we have only had one show at the new house since then which didn’t go so well with the neighbors so thats probably it for putting on house shows. I still attend them though.

How has the Portland music scene changed last 10 years with regards to indie pop?
Curt: When we started our label in Portland there seemed like a lot of like minded indie pop bands. Boy Crazy, The Crabs, Dear Nora, Kissing Book, All Girl Summer Fun Band, The Lookers, The Minders and New Bad Things to name a few. Most of these bands knew each other and would play shows together pretty regularly. Since then I don’t think we have been able to repeat that as a community.
Mark:  I was in California for a few years in between and I agree, the community of what we had here in the late 90′s is now different.  I don’t think it is necessarily a bad thing, but the close knit pop community we had here was pretty special.  There just seems to be so much music here in Portland that in a way it has lost some identity. I am not saying more music is bad by any means mind you, it has just been hard to get used to.

With bands from the US, Sweden, UK, New Zealand and Mexico, Magic Marker has a diverse roster, without giving away any secrets how do decide what you want to put out?
Curt: Its not a secret. I devour music. I listen to music all the time. I scour blogs and myspace pages to hear new music. A big help is bands we work with recommending us bands they have played with or are fans of. There is so much music out there that if something sticks with me it must stick out in some way as different or interesting. If we get a demo I listen to it once or twice and if I find myself going back to it I think it might be a potential Magic Marker release.
Mark:  The Internet has definitely helped with the ease of finding new music.  It’s funny to think about not too long ago all of the packages we used to get of demos.  Now it is just an email with a myspace link.  Makes sense though.

I’m so glad you guys put out the last Bats album and the Minisnap record, how did you connect with those two bands?
Curt: Sadly when The Bats decided to put out their comeback record ten years later the world had kind of passed them by. I think they were having a hard time finding traditional methods of finding a label.  Mark claims to have made contact with Robert via a Go-Betweens message board. I have to say working with The Bats was really a dream come true as they are one of my favorite bands even before we released that record.
Mark:  Well, that is true Curt.  It was very indirect though.  A fellow Bats/Go-Betweens fan mentioned something about the Bats finishing a record and was looking for US distribution and a label.  Through him, he gave Robert Scott our email and that was that. For me, releasing the Bats was one of those moments where I thought, “wow, this is a real record label.”  Haha.

How do you view the rise of the internet?  There is the prevalence of file sharing  vs. making it easier and cheaper to promote your label?  Has it made it easier or harder to sell records?
Curt: I like the internet. I hear a lot more music than I did before the MP3. Our band’s music is being distributed in the largest music stores in the world. While I still love a physical product and the craftsmanship that goes into it, I am happy that more people are able to find and hear music.
Mark:  I think for me it is all about adjusting to the times.  I know of other labels that are soon going to the all digital sales format, and it does make sense.  I have been stubborn about this in the past, but I am in full acceptance now.  Kids don’t really have record collections like we did when we were younger. Instead of walls of records and cds it’s how many gigs are in your lacie drive.  And from all of the times I have moved, I am so jealous.

Thanks Curt and Mark, and here’s to the next 10 years.  There are show details and some mp3′s after the click…

Continue Reading Magic Marker Records Interview…

Surefire Broadcast

January 25, 2009 at 11:25 pm | Posted in indiepop, Interview, Music | Leave a comment
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surefire broadcast
photo from Surefire Broadcast’s MySpace

In the most recent issue of Magnet there is an article on the magazine’s hometown of Philadelphia which pays tribute to the past and present Philly music scene.  As I read through the article I kept expecting to turn the page and see something about the vibrant DIY indie scene that currently inhabits the city which is touched on briefly below.  There was no mention of Surefire Broadcast, I like to think that it is probably only because they don’t actually reside in Philadelphia, because certainly the band’s pension for perfect low-fi pop songs should be getting alcolades from much less obscure places than this blog.  If  you read these pages regularly you are quite likely already familiar with Surefire Broadcast, since they were featured in my One Last Kiss recompile this past summer and also showed up in my favorite singles from last year.  The trio is based  in southern New Jersey about 30 miles from Philadelphia. The’ve just self-released a 7 inch with two songs they recorded out in Portland with Dustin Reske of Rocketship fame, and  have eight more songs ready to put out as a mini-album, which are available from their website (links below).   They have a fuzzy,  jangly sound that is easily reminiscent of many the great bygone bands of the mid 1990′s like the Blake Babies, Small Factory and Velocity Girl.  This past summer when I heard their heard their five song ep, Live From the AM, I was immediately a fan.  The boy-girl vocals and the bright, sunny, innocent pop are infectious and will brighten even your most dour mood.   There is a comprehensive interview that the Dagger zine did a few years back that you can read here.  It’ll bring you up to speed and ready for this little interview they were so gracious to do with me.

Surefire Broadcast is based in Hammonton, New Jersey which is a small town. Small towns are usually not synonymous with indie pop unless they are college towns.  Do you feel exiled from the rock world? Do you guys ever play in Hammonton, or anywhere in South Jersey?

No, we don’t feel exiled because we live 30 minutes from the sixth largest city in  the US, a short car or train ride to be exact. We have played in Hammonton twice besides our annual pool parties that we host every summer. I think our parties have actually put Hammonton on the map for the indie scene. We have had bands from New York, Philadelphia, Sweden, Belfast, and Virginia to name a few. We sometimes play Atlantic City, but there doesn’t seem to be much of an audience for indie pop in South Jersey. We are trying to slowly change that.

With your proximity to Philadelphia, and the city’s amazing indie scene with so many great bands right now (Creeping Weeds, Brown Recluse Sings, Scary Monster, Ports of Call, A Sunny Day in Glasgow to name a few),  do you feel like you’re a part of, or have an affinity with that scene?

Absolutely. We have played the majority of our shows in Philadelphia and have made great friends with many of the bands. We really consider Philly our stomping ground since we are there most of the time.

Your songs have a sound and aesthetic that evokes the early 90′s indie pop scene of SpinArt and Slumberland. Are you guys fans of (and influenced by)bands from that era?

Yes. We have a wide range of influences amongst the three of us, but we all love the early 90′s indie pop. Our favorites of that era would be Henry’s Dress, Lily’s, Black Tambourine, Swirlies, Go Sailor, Holiday, Unrest,and of course Rocketship.

In 2005 you self-released a five song ep, and now a single this year.  What has happened between then and now and why so long between releases?

Well, we are very busy people, and all have careers. After recording five more songs in summer of 2006, we received the mixes in January of 2007 from Dusty and we weren’t sure what we wanted to do with the recordings. We were talking about recoding 5 more songs to put out a full length, but our careers put the project on hold. We finally decided to release 2 of the 5 songs on a 7 inch, and released it this fall 2008.

The new single is from a session you did with Dusty Reske (Rocketship) out in Portland. How did you connect up with him, and how was it recording with him?

Dusty and I (Lisa) met back back in the 90′s when Rocketship played a Slumberland showcase at the Frying Pan in New York City. We recently reconnected via MySpace and Dusty offered to record us. Being a huge fan of Rocketship, we were honored, and flew out to Portland for a short session. We recorded 5 songs and played a house party while we were there, and made time to visit with some friends. It was a lot of fun, even though it was extremely hot that week, and we had to stay cool by drinking lots of milkshakes and cold microbrews the whole time.

Up to this point you have put out everything on your own, is that what you plan to continue doing?

Yes, we will continue to put out our own recordings until a pleasing offer is made.

It seems like being in a band and while holding down jobs or going to school can be a delicate balancing act.  Does your daily life ever get in the way of being in a band?  Do you ever get frustrated because you can’t devote as much time as you would like to the band?

All of the time. Early mornings and late night shows seldom go hand in hand.  We wish we had more time to spend writing and touring, but unfortunately we all work a lot. It sort of comes with the responsibility of being homeowners. Lisa is a teacher and teaches dance at a high school full time and a college part time. “My schedule just doesn’t give me much free time, and it can be frustrating when we have to turn down shows because of my jobs”.

What do you guys have in store for 2009?  I heard you had a CD-R with new songs for sale at the New England Popfest.  Are there any album plans ahead?

Yes, we recorded 8 tracks. As soon as the mixes are complete and mastered we will have an official release. We brought some of the current mixes to Popfest to get the tracks out there. We are really hoping to record more songs in 2009 and play out as much as possible.

mp3: Surefire Broadcast – Stars Hang Bright (rough mix from the new 8 song mini-album)


mp3: Surefire Broadcast – Miles Apart (from Live from the AM)


Links: Surefire Broadcast website | Surefire Broadcast MySpace

Blood and Bullets at the Comet

January 24, 2009 at 11:40 pm | Posted in Comet Tavern, Gigs, mp3, Seattle, Shoegaze | 3 Comments
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Erik Blood and Magic Bullets at the Comet, Seattle | 22 January 2009

Erik Blood at the Comet

If you don’t live in Seattle, you might think all we listen to up here in the upper left hand corner of the United States is garage, grunge, and pastoral folk. Actually, the music scene offers much, much more than that, and one part of the scene that doesn’t get a lot of exposure, and really should, is all of the dream-pop and shoegaze influenced bands in this town. The Turn-Ons were one of the first bands in Seattle to really gain some attention while sounding very British. The Turn-Ons have recently gone on a short hiatus after releasing their fourth album early last year. The hiatus has given each of the band members an opportunity to record solo records (kind of like Kiss did back in the 70′s).  Drummer Will Hallauer has put out two records with his band the Little Penguins, singer Travis Devries has a record in the works, and Erik Blood is releasing his first solo record imminently.

Thursday night at the Comet was something something like a pre-release show for Blood’s album. It officially hits the streets on 3 March, but he had copies available on this night. The album is called The Way We Live, and is just about perfect.  If I had a ratings system it would get lots of stars.  The album is a blissful mix of shoegaze, dream pop, blue-eyed soul, but above all pure pop genius. Every song on it is so immediate, incorporating stuff from the 80′s like the guitar pop of the first two Wire Train albums, shoegaze from the 90′s like Chapterhouse or the poppier side of Swervedriver and on into the 00′s nu-gaze scene like Deerhunter and Brother Kite. If you liked the more structured pop songs off the Deerhunter’s Microcastle, or the Beach Boys harmonies mixed with shoegaze of Brother Kite, this album will hit you in just the right spot. My favorite song on the record is the blue eyed soul of Better Days. Blood’s smooth croon floats over top of a beautiful sting arrangement, that turns into a bit of blue eyed shoegaze for the chorus. I like to call it soulgaze (go ahead, roll your eyes). On paper you might not think this would work, but the results will have you reaching for the repeat button. It’s the perfect end to what is nearly a perfect album.

Better Days was egregiously left off the set, but with the pop dynamite of songs like The Way We Live, To Leave America, She’s Your Everything, Broken Glass, hell any other song on the  album were more than enough to pacify its conspicuous absense.  I nor anyone in the Comet was disappointed from his set.  His band, with two guitarists (three when Blood picks his guitar up), one of which is Corey Gutch of the Turn-Ons, ably creates a wall of sound as well as two and three part harmonies.  The place was full for his set and noticeably cleared out after it, giving me hope that people in this town are slowly catching on to how great these songs are. With an album this great, let’s hope Erik Blood doesn’t remain a secret of the Pacific Northwest for much longer.

mp3: Erik Blood – Better Days (from The Way We Live)


magic bullets at the comet

As I said, the place kind of cleared out after Blood’s set, but it was their loss, because San Francisco’s Magic Bullets are pretty damn good themselves.  If I didn’t know any better they I might accuse them of being English or Swedish, because their pop sensibilities obviously lie in countries across the Atlantic Ocean.  The obvious comparison for the Magic Bullets is the Smiths but so many bands get that get comparison for either the voice or the music, but with Magic Bullets it’s both.  Singer Phil Benson has a noticeable Morrissey affectation.  He bounded  around the room with aplomb, genuine enthusiasm and  flailing arms while belting out the songs.  Only once did he bound into someone, for which he sincerely apologized at the end of the song.  The rest of the band are quite competent as well, with the guitars evoking an intricate jazz-like style that reminded me of, not only, of that Smiths guitarist but Max Eider (of Jazz Butcher fame).  Add to that  potent singer-guitarist combination, one excellent drummer, and some a handful of adoring female fans and you have yourself  quite a delightful set.

The Magic Bullets have just released a four song 12 inch.  Their 2007 album A Child But in Life Yet a Doctor in Love was good, but this new puts it to shame.  Get the vinyl while you can, which currently is only available by actually showing up to one of their gigs.  Here are the remaining ones:

Jan 24   Nick’s  – Chico, CA
Jan 25   Muddy Waters – Santa Barbara, CA
Jan 26   The Echo – Los Angeles, CA
Jan 27   Soda Bar – San Diego, CA
Jan 28   Modified – Phoenix, AZ
Jan 29   Zeppelins – El Paso, TX
Jan 30   Mohawk  – Austin, TX
Jan 31   VZDs – Oklahoma City, OK

mp3: Magic Bullets – The Book is Closed (from Lives Forever Romance)

Frozen in Time

January 20, 2009 at 11:52 pm | Posted in Birthdays, Brooklyn, Gigs, Mercury Lounge, mp3, Music, New York, Travel Log, Union Hall, Union Pool | 3 Comments
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cold

Not many people take a vacation to New York in January.  Actually, it’s quite likely no one does.  But my friend Bill was having a birthday, quite a significant one too, and…umm,  there were a bunch of good gigs coinciding with his birthday, so the trip was well worth any weather shortcomings.  My flight from Seattle touched down at JFK right about the time one was making an emergency landing in the Hudson River.  Oblivious to the events at hand, I deplaned and jumped in a cab to Brooklyn and Bill’s place.  The first thing I noticed exiting the airport was how numbingly cold it was.  Temperatures stayed well below freezing all weekend, dipping down to 8 degrees on Friday night.  Note to self, drinking large quantities of alcohol thins the blood and makes you colder.  At least it was sunny all weekend.

mp3: Warm Jets – Sunfreeze

Thursday night started off with a whole lot of Szechuan food somewhere in Chinatown.  I confess, every time in New York I pretty much have no idea where I’m at any given time since I’m with people who live there and know where they are going I tend not to pay much attention to how we get to and from places.  From the restaurant we walked over to the Mercury Lounge which wasn’t too far away, for night number one of Ida Maria’s two night stint in the city.  The Mercury Lounge is about the size of the Tractor here in Seattle, so it’s not that big, but it seems to get a lot of up-and-coming UK and european bands before they’re well known.  I remember seeing the Boo Radleys, Gene and Air Miami there many years ago.  This night they were hosting the Norse Goddess Ida Maria and the place was packed.  In fact it was more like some kind of red carpet paparazzi press conference than a gig.  We were pretty close to the front and I kid you not, just about everyone had a camera, camera phone, etc.  It was nuts, and distracting, but probably one of the best documented shows ever.  I’m guessing half the people in front had to look at the video and photos they took to remember what they saw when they got home. When they looked at their photos they probably realized they saw a pretty amazing show.  Ida was dressed in a short gold 20′s flapper dress that had what looked like tiny dangling golden ornaments that shook and sparkled when she moved (I feel like I’m describing the bride at a wedding here).  The set was short, but she played all of the highlights from her album like Louie, Queen of the World, but the highlight of the set was I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked where she got everyone to sing the chorus (not a difficult task). For the closer, Oh My God, she doused herself with water in an unsuccessful attempt to cool off.  It only seemed to fan the flames and that song’s enormous energy left her and every one in the Mercury Lounge exhausted, spent and very satisfied.

Friday we spent the day record shopping, because what better to do on the coldest day of the year, but traipsing around the city from shop to shop .  There are very few people who will go into a record store with me and thankfully Bill is one of them. We hit a couple stores in Williamsburg, Academy and Sound Fix and then headed over to Manhattan to  hit the Academy records near Union Square, Other Music and finally Kim’s Underground on St. Marks Place for it’s closing sale where everything was 5o% off.  Every place we hit, CD’s were cheap and records were expensive, just the opposite of 10 years ago.  I walked away from nearly every place with a handful of CD’s that were under $5, but somehow ended up spending too much money.   We also ate Ramen noodle soup at some point at Ippudo.  The salty pork broth soup hit the spot quite nicely.

Ida Maria at Union Hall

On night number two we trekked from one Brooklynn neighborhood to another, Williamsburg to Park Slope and Union Hall for Ida Maria’s second night in New York.  Union Hall is a bar with a basement and in the basement is where the bands play.  Friday night was a much more low key affair (it was in a basement after all) and Ida Maria dressed the part.  Sporting flanel, jeans and high tops she looked a little more relaxed.  The Union Hall basement is tiny, holding maybe 100 people, and everyone there was more laid back too, at least fewer photographers which made it feel more like a real gig.  Her voice was pretty much shot, she could hit barely any high notes and she left many of the choruses to her band, but her charisma and energy persevered.  Even after breaking a string on her guitar, the band filed off stage while she played We’re all Going to Hell while her guitar string was being replaced.  It was a low key moment, but for me the highlight of this night’s show, but nicely illustrating the juxtapositions of the two shows.  Her record is coming out in April in the US, and I just saw she is re-releasing it over in the UK with three extra songs and new artwork, so there is no telling what version we will see over here in the new world.

mp3: Ida Maria – Going To Hell

After the Ida Maria gig we cabbed it over to Zebulon for Spacecamp.  Yeah I know that sounds like something out of Star Trek, but it’s a real band and a real venu.  Spacecamp saved their best four mod influenced songs (which are also on thier myspace) for last, everything up to that point sounded like a jam that wasn’t yet a song, but those last four were great.

comics plus bread equals yum

Saturday afternoon we headed over to Motorino for pizza, because I wanted to compare great NY pizza with the sorry excuse most of Seattle calls pizza.  They had a big wood fired oven where they cooked the pizza, the crust was excellent and a little bit thicker than Veracci, my current favorite Seattle pizza.  From there we went to a bowling alley that had been taken apart somewhere in Ohio, transported to Brooklyn and then reassembled.  Since it was freezing outside, everyone else had a similar idea and the wait for a lane was somewhere around three hours.  We had a pint instead and moved on.  A reassembled bowling alley…only in New York.  No record shops were entered into on this day. Wait I take that back, we did enter one over in Greenpoint but bought nothing, but we did spot Hammish Kilgour of the Clean and Mad Scene hanging out inside.

Saturday night we went over to friends Don and Kelly for some appetizers and drinks before the Soft Pack show at Union Pool.  Apparently Union Pool is some old swimming pool store or something of the sort.  Bands play in the pool house out in the back behind the bar.  When we got there, the pool house was packed and Those Darlins were on stage.  Those Darlins had opened for Ida Maria at the Mercury lounge a couple nights before, but we arrived too late to catch their set that night.   Their Union Pool set was a blast at the perfect setting for their Carter Family meets Freakwater style.  It almost felt out of time, with their authentic style evoking old country greats and the whoop-hollering crowd eating up every song.  They were selling a three song ep which I bought and promised an album sometime this spring.  They’re playing here in Seattle 10 March opening for Dan Auerbach at the Showbox. A band to certainly keep your eye on.

mp3: Those Darlins – Wild One

soft pack nee muslims

I had seen the Soft Pack (then known as the Muslims) this past summer here in Seattle and they were good, but Saturday in Brooklyn they exhuded some kind of  confidence that was nowhere in evidence this summer.  The band hit the stage with a big fuck-you attitude and totally nailed it.  Guitarist Matty McLoughlin played like a man possessed with clinched teeth and planted firmly in one spot, narely moving from it.  The band was completely on fire the entire set playing three new songs and blasting through favorites like Parasites, Beside Myself, Extinction and Call It a Day.  It was easily the best show of the weekend.  We hung out for a while after the show just talking and listening to the DJ who was spinning records.  At some point  the evening (d)evolved into a big dance party that kept us old folk out much later than was planned.  It was pretty much a blast, dancing, acting silly and that wasn’t even me, both Those Darlins and the Soft Pack were all over the dance floor busting moves that I haven’t seen since those early 80′s break dancing movies.  It’s lucky for me that 4:30am New York time equates to only 1:30 Seattle time. Happy Birthday Bill!

Let’s Groove to the Sea Lions

January 13, 2009 at 10:56 pm | Posted in indie 7", Music, Vinyl | 4 Comments
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Sea Lions

For some unexplained reason the indie scene in Oxnard,California is an embarrassment of riches.  How good is it you ask?  It’s so good it has people in Los Angeles begging the bands to move down the coast to LA.  Southern California has never really been known as a hotbed of indie pop activity but with the Matinee label in Santa Barbara and now the burgeoning scene in Oxnard, things are quickly  changing.  At the center of the Oxnard scene is  Yay! a label that is devoutly DIY.  They only put out records on old school 7″ vinyl, no mp3′s, no cd’s and no 8-tracks!  Last year Yay! put out only two records one by the Tartans and one by Catwalk, but both were amazing and made my list of best singles of the year.

Coming out of the gates early and strong, Yay! are just about to release their first single of 2009.  It’s the debut slab of wax by another Oxnard band the Sea Lions and from what I’ve heard it will very likely appear on my 2009 list of singles. The Sea Lions have a sound that is part surf, part garage and part indiepop.  Adrian Pillado’s voice has deepness to it that reminds me a little of Calvin Johnson, but his phrasing sometimes makes me think of Kevin Seconds.  The music is revved up garage rock that jangles and twangs in all the right places.  It’s got elements of Heavenly, and the Clean, but also contemporaries the Crystal Stilts.  This single is so good, I find it hard to believe it’s their first!  You can listen to a couple songs from it, one is posted on Yay!’s MySpace and another is up on Yay!’s website, both will have you plunking down your hard earned cash for this slab of wax.

Sea Lions Yay! Single

Have a listen to Good Feelings from the upcoming single here, or Beautiful Day over at Yay!’s MySpace.

Pre-order the single from Yay!

Greased Lightnin’

January 11, 2009 at 10:14 pm | Posted in Big Music, Chop Suey, Gigs, mp3, Seattle | 2 Comments
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Glasvegas and Carl Barat at Chop Suey, Seattle | 10 January 2009

Glasvegas at Chop Suey

Last night while waiting for Glasvegas, the best new band in Britain (man, how many unfortunate bands have been tagged with that line?), I guessed that the band must have hand picked every song played over the PA with the intention of giving us a history lesson, or at least a connect the dots of the many bands, who have influenced Glasvegas.  There were songs by girl groups like the Crystals and Shangri-Las, a few surf instrumentals, the Cocteau Twins‘ Heaven or Las Vegas, House of Love, Slowdive, Raveonettes, Jesus and Mary Chain and Julie Cruise to name but a few.  Conspicuously absent from the mix was any of the ‘big’ music.  Listening to Glasvegas, it’s hard to ignore the big music because it’s what they do. It’s huge in a way that makes you want to run to the top of some Scottish mountain, pump your fist and shout to the gods.  You know, the way that Big Country, Simple Minds, the Waterboys, the Alarm and U2 used to make you want to do.

Security was noticeably tighter last night, in the wake of last weekend’s shooting at the club.  Everyone entering was being patted down for weapons.  Last weekend’s violence didn’t seem to keep anyone away though, the place was packed. This was really no surprise because the band have gotten loads of press.  Their debut album was only just released in the states this past Tuesday, though it has been available digitally since last fall.  All that means I guess is that fewer and fewer people buy physical records anymore.  As we waited for the band chants arose of here we, here we, here we fucking go which is the refrain from their song Go Square Go.  As the lights dimmed we all donned our earplugs (and sunglasses) in preparation of the sonic assault and (powerful light show).  Both were needed, but did little good.  The wall of sound created by James Allen and his cousin Rab was truly formidable.  While Allen stayed close to the mic, Rab and bassist Paul Donoghue were whirling around behind him trying not to run into one another amid the chaos of the flashing spotlights and myriad of strobes. Glasvegas have a stand up drummer (this seems to be a growing trend these days) who was barely viewable, tightly wedged in between stacks of amplifiers.  The band create a huge sound that tends to bet a bit too much when listening to the entire album, but it’s James Allen’s high, and highly Scottish accented voice that makes Glasvegas songs so special.  It’s actually quite feminine sounding, hence all the 60′s girl group comparisons.  He sings like he’s constantly and totally heartbroken, lost all his money and his best friend, but the music soars to such great heights that you’re planted firmly in his corner.  They band sounded great easily reproducing the highs from the record, but I thought the overpowering light show distracted from the music at times, they really don’t need it. No one else seemed to be too bothered by it. With crowd firmly in hand, the band left it to the audience to do the chorus of Daddy’s Gone.  Though not quite what U2 induce with 40, punters were pretty into it.  They’ll probably be playing arenas soon enough.

mp3: Glasvegas – Geraldine (buy the record)


Opening the show was a pleasant surprise. Carl Barat of Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things did a solo set of just him and an electric guitar. He played a handful of Libertines songs that a got everybody singing along to him. I think he may have done one or two new songs as well. You would probably get a better review of his set from one of the many women front and center singing along to every one of his songs. I realized this night the women dig Carl Barat. Why not, he’s a good looking dangerous kind of guy in a Jud Nelson, Breakfast Club kind of way. After his set all the women at the front left. I though that Barat might reappear for a song or two in the Glasvegas set like he did a last week in Glasgow, but no such luck.

There more photos and the Glasvegas setlist over at my flickr page.

A New Duke of Uke

January 7, 2009 at 8:36 am | Posted in mp3, New Music, Ukuleles | 2 Comments
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dent with uke

At the start of every year I always have a list of records I’m looking forward to, and usually more than half of them end up being disappointments. So you won’t find any posts around here that list out a bunch of records I’m anticipating. Instead let’s talk about what’s in hand. Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele live up their name in both respects. They are a ukulele band and also pretty magnificent. You might think that Dent comes from that London nu-folk scene centered around the Duke of Uke ukulele shop, but in fact he’s from Mississippi. What’s a guy in Mississippi doing playing the ukulele? The same thing as Londoners, writing and playing uke pop songs.

Where the Londoners lean towards folk, Dent is more interested in crooning sunny pop numbers that incorporate 50′s do-wop, tropicalia, and tin pan alley. Dent may not look like the coolest guy around with his thick coke bottle glasses, but he’s got a voice that make the ladies weak in the knees. His songs are all catchy as a center fielder, funny and topical too. God Loves You Michael Chang tells the story of Chang’s victory over Ivan Lendel in the 1989 French Open and College Town Boy berates those people who linger around in their college towns long after graduation with dent singing College town boy get off your ass and do something. He’s also wiser than his years with the knowing You Can’t Force a Dance Party, even when you play all your favorite records. Dent and his ukulele remind me of a lot of people. He’s got a sunny demeanor like the Legendary Jim Ruiz Group, or Jonathan Sings era Jonathan Richman, throw in a some Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Poi Dog Pondering, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and, oh yeah, a ukulele.

The story goes that Dent was ‘discovered’ by Animal Collective while they were recording Meriweather Post Pavilion in Oxford, Mississippi last year. Though he was likely familiar to ukulele enthusiasts before now and even a few indie kids who attended Pop Fest last summer in New York where he shared the bill with the Cannanes, Hermit Crabs and Cats on Fire. Animal Collective dug him so much they’re putting out his record The Good Feeling Music of Dent May on their own Paw Print label in February. It was recorded with Rusty Santos down in Mississippi in a double-wide trailer, as opposed to just one of thos regular one apparently to accommodate the entire band. I have a feeling if Animal Collective hadn’t been in Mississippi to snatch up Dent and his double wide, a few other labels would be chomping at the bit to put this record out. A.C. Newman must be a fan, since Dent will be opening for all of Newman’s dates in February and March. This should provide the opportunity for a lot more people to get get the full on uke experience.

mp3: Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele – 26 Miles (from The Good Feeling Music of Dent May, out 3 February)

mp3: Dent May and His Magnificent Ukulele – When You Were Mine (Prince cover)

2/20 Vancouver, BC The Biltmore Cabaret *

2/21 Seattle, WA Neumos *

2/22 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge *

2/24 Sacramento, CA Harlow’s *

2/25 San Diego, CA Casbah *

2/26 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour *

2/27 Santa Barbara, CA SOho Restaurant and Music Club *

2/28 San Francisco, CA The Independent * (Noise Pop)

3/01 Eugene, OR John Henry’s *

3/02 Boise, ID Neurolux

3/05 Minneapolis, MN 400 Bar

3/06 Chicago, IL Schubas

3/07 Pontiac, MI The Pike Room @ The Crofoot

3/08 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom

3/10 Ithaca, NY Castaways *

3/11 Toronto, ONT Lee’s Palace *

3/12 Montreal, QC Il Motore *

3/13 Providence, RI Club Hell *

3/14 Boston, MA Paradise *

3/15 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom *

* Opening for AC Newman

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