Thursday, May 23, 2013
Cream Third Man Records to Release Posthumous RockFire Funk Express 7-Inch and Rare Underwear Heads EP
Posted by Adam Gold on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 3:42 PM
Now, in keeping with that tradition of musical resurrection, and with reverence for J-Dub’s other hometown of Detroit, TMR today announced a pair of oft-unsung Motor City-centric Nugget-errific archival releases.
The first is the lone, posthumous, heretofore-unreleased 1973 two-song 45 by Detroit proto-funk-punkers RockFire Funk Express, the band that would later become Detroit’s Death, which a post on TMR’s official site aptly describes as “a cause-celebre in the punk community as early progenitors of the style.” Indeed. Learn more about Death (and by extension, Life) by watching this trailer for a documentary about the band.
Moving Pictures Los Colognes at Music City Roots; Holly Williams' Attic Session; Evan P. Donohue at American Songwriter [Vidsy Bits]
Posted by D. Patrick Rodgers on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 2:26 PM
* As I've mentioned before, Los Colognes sound to me like a combination of latter-day Grateful Dead and latter-day Wilco. Now, personally, that's a combination that should send up a red flag for me. If you were to tell me that there's a band with a minimalistic sort of sweet and mildly corny song about getting along with your significant other and it sounds like a combo of "Touch of Grey" and "Sky Blue Sky" ... well, you'd think I'd say "thanks but no thanks." And yet, here I am enjoying the hell out of Los Colognes' "Working Together." See their recent Music City Roots performance of the song above, plus a couple more performance vids after the jump. By the way, Los Colognes will celebrate the release of their debut LP next week at The Stone Fox, and Goose wrote a pick about that one.
* Earlier this year, Holly Williams — a Williams of the Williams clan, you understand — released an album called The Highway. Not too long after, she stopped in over at War Memorial Auditorium to do one of WMA's Attic Sessions. Well, specifically, it's a little bonus video that the Memorial folks call an "Attic Extra." See that, in which Williams performs her "Waiting on June," after the jump, and catch her this Sunday, May 26, at 3rd & Lindsley — read Jewly Hight's Critic's Pick for that one.
* And finally, Cream fave Evan P. Donohue recently stopped in at American Songwriter's HQ to test out some sort of Line 6 P.A. (go to town, gear nerds). He played his tune "Tell Me, Sara," and in typical EPD fashion, it melds all sorts of rock 'n' roll, New Wave and Americana tropes into one distinctive approach. Watch after the jump.
Creamtastic Best Local Rock Songs Ever, Part 19 [Astronaut Pushers, Bad Cop, The Zut Alors, Magic Wands, Oblio]
Posted by Joe Baine Colvert on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 12:35 PM
At the very beginning of 2010, I discovered that my radio show was one of the first of many to be cancelled. As we all now know, The Man soon pulled the plug on WRVU, killing one of the purest and most diverse media outlets of any major city. Once my anger and frustration with the situation subsided, I realized just how grateful I was to have been given the chance to DJ at the station. I was exposed to some truly amazing music that otherwise would have never tickled my earholes. Much of these tunes either flew under the radar of our city’s music scene or have been collecting dust in our collective memory. Combing through the old WRVU playlist archives (here and here) brought back so many great bands and songs that I had completely forgotten about. It wasn’t easy to pick just five, but nonetheless, here's my contribution to the Cream's Best Local Rock Songs Ever series — some of the Best Local Rock Songs Ever that you’ve possibly never heard.
Cream Calendar Gladiator w/Take the Power Back and Cio Cio San and the Half-Japanese Girls Saturday at Exit/In
Posted by Sean Maloney on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 9:52 AM
You know what would be awesome? A Half Japanese cover band. Somebody get on that. And while we're waiting for that to happen, let us indulge our other '90s obsessions at the Exit/In this Saturday. Cream cohort Chris Crofton is fronting Gladiator, a Jesus Lizard cover band, and we killed a few trees to tell you about it:
You know, the “get people to cover songs” thing isn't as easy as you might think. Sure, you can get bands to play A Popular Song of the Era or A Universally Acclaimed LP, but what if you want to hear a band play something that's actually, you know, cool? It's harder than a week-old cat turd. And finding enough people to perform An Obscure Indie Footnote is almost impossible, which is why we wigged out like a beer spout when we heard that local comedic provocateur, Nashville Cream podcaster and world-class curmudgeon Chris Crofton was fronting a Jesus Lizard cover band. A Jesus Lizard cover band! It takes incredible chutzpah to tackle one of Austin's most aggro purveyors of noise rock, but we can't think of anybody else more suited for the job. —SEAN L. MALONEY
Cio Cio & Co. do Weezer covers, and Take the Power Back is of course Nashville's finest all-female Rage Against the Machine cover band. We also heard a rumor that there is going to be an extra, super-duper secret special guest . I'm going to wager good money that it's Glen Frey — cause he and Crofton go way back— but your guess is as good as mine. Anyway, I'm sure it will be exactly like the video above — from the muy excellente Club DVD, filmed in 2009 at Exit/In — crossed with, oh say, Trash Humpers. Artist's rendition of the event after the jump.
Cream Calendar Jenny O. In-Store Tonight at Grimey's
Posted by Stephen Trageser on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 9:38 AM
I can sympathize with Jennifer Ann Ognibene about shortening her name for professional use. I can also get along with the groove she and her band lay down — "some cross between The Lovin' Spoonful and Nick Lowe" as The Spin aptly put it after seeing her open for Rodriguez at the Ryman last week. If you didn't make that show, swing by Grimey's tonight to catch Jenny O. and band kick out some jams from their debut full-length, Automechanic. The record was produced by Jonathan Wilson, a West Coaster whose recent adventures include working on Father John Misty's Fear Fun and Dawes' 2011 album Nothing Is Wrong. The team effort of Automechanic does a fantastic job of showing off Ms. O's songs and her voice, in which I hear touches of Joanna Newsom's quaint curlicues (minus the "medium from Poltergeist" affect) and a bit of Norah Jones' breathiness.
As always, the show is free, and it kicks off at 6 p.m.
Liner Notes Best Coast, Nashville, Steve Martin, Night Beds, Shannon McNally and More: Inside This Week’s Music Section (and Elsewhere)
Posted by D. Patrick Rodgers on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 7:35 AM
Nashville Plays Itself: The real drama at ABC's Nashville starts as the season stops
Banjo Schmo: On his latest effort with Edie Brickell and the Steep Canyon Rangers, Steve Martin further proves his prowess (Playing Wednesday, 29th at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center)
Beds and Beyond: Winston Yellen and his Night Beds deftly navigate the art-commerce tightrope (Playing Friday, 24th at Mercy Lounge)
The Voice: How Shannon McNally got her Zen back, with Dr. John's help (Playing Thursday, 23rd at 3rd & Lindsley)
In The Spin: The Breeders w/Deerhunter at Cannery Ballroom
Plus Critics’ Picks on Vandaveer, The Lonely Wild with Little Bandit and Banditos, the Jammin’ at Hippie Jack’s Festival, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Toubab Krewe, JoJo, Snakehips, Gladiator (Jesus Lizard tribute), Face to Face, folks doing Beck’s Song Reader at The Basement, Josephine Foster, Taj Mahal, Fake Surfers with Dirty Dreams, Down, Peter Frampton, Pretty and Nice, Los Colognes and more
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Cream Calendar John Prine to Play the Ryman Oct. 25 and 26; Leon Redbone and Steve Earle to Open
Posted by D. Patrick Rodgers on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 5:08 PM
Well, road-worn country/folk troubadour John Prine has already made a pretty noteworthy Music City appearance this year — you may recall that he provided a rendition of Cowboy Jack Clement's “Ballad of a Teenage Queen” at the "Honoring a Legend" tribute at War Memorial in January. That was something special indeed, but it turns out that Prine will get not one but two nights of his very own on our fair city's most revered stage this fall. The Ryman has just announced that the legendary songster — whose records have been produced by Steve Cropper and Sam Phillips, among others — will make a two-night stand in October.
On Friday, Oct. 25, eccentric ragtime specialist Leon Redbone will open for Prine, while on Saturday, Oct. 26, Prine's fellow outlaw crooner Steve Earle will provide support. Tickets will run you between $49.50 and $59.50, and those go on sale Friday, May 31, at 10 a.m. via this link.
Cream Calendar International Noise Conference Comes to DJ's Pub and Grub This Friday
Posted by Stephen Trageser on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 3:47 PM
- from Bleeding Palm
The first INC went down in 2003, curated by one Frank Falestra, better known as Rat Bastard. A pro audio engineer and musician based in Miami, Bastard has produced some interesting projects — groups like The Mavericks and Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids, who are familiar faces now, but virtual unknowns at the time. As you might guess, RB is hungry for new sounds — things that aren't boring — so he's been experimenting with electronic music and devices throughout his career, both with noise-terrorism outfit To Live and Shave in L.A. and with his latest amorphous ensemble, Laundry Room Squelchers, who have served as the core of all INC events in the U.S. for the last 10 years; Numerous INCs have been organized in other nations.
Curated by someone familiar with the experimental music scene in every town on the tour, the rules are simple:
- Everyone gets 15 minutes to do their thing.
- No laptops, mixers or droning.
Moving Pictures U2 (Kind of) Performs 'The Wanderer' at Vanderbilt [Golden Nugget]
Posted by Adam Gold on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 2:07 PM
During U2’s unforgettable, fiery 2011 Nashville spectacular at Vanderbilt Stadium, Bono — accompanied by The Edge’s campfire chords and a comically semi-committal-gravel-voiced-Johnny Cash-impression — crooned the first two verses and choruses of “The Wanderer,” U2’s 1993 Zooropa-closing, Brian Eno-meets-Cowboy Jack Clement duet with Johnny Cash, a top-shelf deep cut the band had never before played live.
The sparse, minute-and-40-second performance fostered a debate in the U2 fan community: Was the truncated rendition of “The Wanderer” long enough to consider it the song’s live debut, or was it merely an extended snippet?
Moving Pictures The Silver Seas' 'I'm the One' [Fresh Vid]
Posted by D. Patrick Rodgers on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 12:40 PM
In the immortal and transcendent words of Yung Joc, meet me in the mall — it's going down. What's going down? Why, only the latest music video from Nashville-based songster Daniel Tashian and his laid-back pop outfit, The Silver Seas. The video — which you can see above — is for the song "I'm the One," and it looks to have been shot at Opry Mills Mall. I know that Johnny Rockets, by God.
Anyhow, "I'm the One" is an easygoing, earworm-y little adult-alternative-pop-rock number taken from The Silver Seas' forthcoming album Alaska. Alaska — the Seas' fourth LP — is slated for release in early July, and you can see the good-lookin', Sam Smith-illustrated cover art right here.
