Menu Content/Inhalt
Home
Bremerton B.A.M. Tumbles Down with Mike Herrera and Crew
Reviews - Album Reviews
By B.A.M. from Bremerton   
Thursday, 25 June 2009

tumbledown_thumb Tumbledown: A new, pop-punk-a-billy sound from MXPXer Mike Herrera
Thoughts on the Bremerton band's debut full-length


I sat down to write about this album — the self-titled debut full-length from MXPX front man Mike Herrera's new side project — at least ten times. But it didn’t feel right until I had a beer in hand.

That's not just because all writers are drunks. Nor is it some schtick or means of “bearing the unbearable.” There's just something about the taste of a good beer that fits right in with the texture of Tumbledown.

Then, of course, there's the first song — "Let's Drink." Following that carousing, though somewhat somber, ode for drinking 'til you fall down, there's the drinkin' and fightin' in track 7 (“Came Here to Fight”), and, later, Jon Snodgrass' slurred backup vocals on song 10 (“Son of a Gun”). Then, there's "sitting alone at the bar, drinkin' for two;" "drinkin’ cause there’s nothing else to do;" "because you got a plan that just can’t lose: drinkin' all the booze at the Kitsap County Fair."

It's an appropriate album to come out of a heavy-swillin' town like Bremerton.

Though Herrera said most Tumbledown songs came from the road, the band's hometown is somewhat of a “tumbledown” itself, with all its rough edges, eye sores and long periods of uninterrupted boredom. It's where the album was born, recorded and produced – at Herrera's Monkey Trench Studios, an old two-story house-turned-pro studio in the heart of the city.

I remember when I first heard word of the MXPX front man's country project, featuring the guys from the Rocky Point All Stars. At first I couldn't believe it. I half expected Herrera to slap a whiskey-drenched western twang on top of the distinct sound he'd wielded all these years with MXPX. But, while undoubtedly bourbon-flavored, he keeps it straight ahead and sticks to his signature storytelling style — both in singing and, perhaps even more so in songwriting.

Read Article..
 
(Wo)Men at Work: Sam's Back with Her Latest Look at the Aussie Scene
Live - Music
By Sam George-Allen   
Thursday, 04 June 2009

And to think, thy almost called themselves, "Whateve Hipster Hat is Especially Hip Right Now," but it wouldn't fit well on a CD case.Dead Letter Chorus/Skipping Girl Vinegar/Skinny Gean
Live @ The Troubadour
Brisbane, Australia
May 15, 2009

Hey, folks, how's it? Been some time since I've reported on the goings-on "Down Under", as we will insist on calling it, but believe me, goings-on there have been!

Yes, all is not lost on the Australian music front, as testified by the swingin' gig I scored a ticket to just the other night. Imagine my delight: my favourite venue, a cloudless evening, and a truly inspiring outfit. All signs pointing to rock and roll.

Brisbane favourites Skinny Jean are in full swing when we arrive at the Troubadour, and I'm reminded why I tell everyone about this band.
Read Article..
 
Songs Say it All on Earle's Townes
Reviews - Album Reviews
By Kasey Anderson   
Friday, 29 May 2009

earle_thumb Steve Earle
Townes
New West Records (2009)

By now, anyone who has followed the career of Steve Earle with even a modicum of consistency has heard or read several dozen stories about his relationship with the late, great Townes Van Zandt. Part friendship, part apprenticeship, Earle and Van Zandt forged a relationship that stood the tests of time and mutual substance abuse until Van Zandt passed in 1997 (which Earle promptly acknowledged with the poignant, heart-wrenching "Fort Worth Blues").

While the details of any story involving Van Zandt are certainly debatable (as is the case with most anyone who has been lionized to Townes' degree), the quality of the body of work he left behind is not. And who better to honor that body of work than Steve Earle? After one listen to Townes, Earle's tribute to his friend and mentor, the answer is clear: nobody. Nobody could interpret these songs any better than Steve Earle.

Read Article..
 
The Acoustic Coal Mine takes over the Mars Bar... a Conversation with Herman Jolly
Features - Interviews
By KOZ, Contributing Writer/Booker Extraordinaire   
Tuesday, 26 May 2009

herman_jolly1Acoustic Coal Mine @ The Mars Bar
Herman Jolly Interview

I recently sat down with Herman Jolly to discuss the migration of his Acoustic Coal Mine series to the Mars Bar. The shows now take place one Thursday per month at this Eastlake hideaway after moving from a tiny bar in Georgetown.

NadaMucho.com:  What inspired you to start Acoustic Coalmine?
Herman Jolly: This will sound totally self serving, but basically I just wanted to play a show every week. I got a night from a little bar called the Squid & Ink in Georgetown and invited my musician friends out to play acoustically. I thought it would be a great way to force other musicians to display their solo talents, without their full bands behind them.

Read Article..
 
Seattle's Secret Weapon: Red Lehman Interviews Kimo Muraki
Features - Interviews
By Red Lehman   
Friday, 22 May 2009

kimo1Q&A with Kimo Muraki

Kimo Muraki is a Seattle rock star whose name may not be familiar to you. Like many good musicians, he lends out his talent to a multitude of projects that pique his interest. You see, Kimo is the secret weapon who gives bands an extra edge. He's the dude in the corner of the ring who tells the boxer which punches to throw.

Thanks to his mastery of several instruments and on-stage charisma, he's managed to land gigs with local bands as diverse as the Super Sonic Soul Pimps, Bre Loughlin, Shawn Smith and Michael Vermillion.

Read Article..
 
Branden Daniel & Everybody Gets Laid - Self Titled
Reviews - Album Reviews
By Matt Ashworth   
Sunday, 17 May 2009

brandendaniel2Branden Daniel & Everybody Gets Laid - Self Titled
Flotation Records
Buy it Now!

Branden Daniel & Everybody Gets Laid is one of Seattle's few unabashed rock n’ roll bands. No pretense, no bullshit. They've teamed up with longtime proprietors of loud, guitar driven local rock Flotation Records for their third (and best) release – a five song EP they call "Self Titled."


Read Article..
 
Patrick Watson: Montreal's Latest Musical Export
Reviews - Album Reviews
By Aaron Burkhalter   
Monday, 11 May 2009


Image Patrick Watson
Wooden Arms
Secret City (2009)
By Aaron Burkhalter

Finding a competent, enjoyable and eccentric musician in Montreal these days is like finding a liberal in Seattle who refuses to shop at Walmart. The vast collection of musical Canucks are not so much riding on the coattails of the first breakthrough Canadian acts — say, Arcade Fire — as they are swept in a massive outpouring of music that North America consumes with glee.

While similar movements have their standouts and spokespeople — your basic Nirvanas being the definer of a sound — I mostly find myself overwhelmed by the sheer amount of musicianship coming out of Montreal these days.

For the musician it must be more difficult. Patrick Watson's sophomore release "Patrick Watson and the Wooden Arms" will likely suffer broad strokes of comparison to his compatriots. The tragedy is people won't see the leaps and bounds the musician has made between the reasonably adept but all too Beatles-esque "Close to Paradise" and this more mature and textured second album.

Watson coats his music in messy, three-dimensional globs of paint. By splattering too much paint onto the canvass, he eliminates the canvass altogether through dense, lush and eccentric orchestration, implementing every type of instrument to backdrop otherwise minimal piano compositions.

Read Article..
 
A Mediocre Rage: Gabe on The Hold Steady's Live Album
Reviews - Album Reviews
By Gabe Baker, Esq.   
Monday, 27 April 2009

The Hold Steady, A Positive RageAlbum Review
The Hold Steady - A Positive Rage

I've never seen a Hold Steady show, but I'm relatively confident that most nights it's way more fun than A Positive Rage would suggest.

Don't get me wrong, there are a few outstanding tracks. The closer, "Killer Parties," gets the full-on '78 Darkness Tour treatment. Just like "Prove it All Night" from those Springsteen shows, "Killer Parties" starts with a lengthy rhythm intro, a guitar solo, and a story and then stretches out. It's here that Hold Steady front man Craig Finn spits out his now familiar "there is so much joy in what we do up here" spiel. And, yes, even with his admission that he says it every show, it sounds just a little bit cheesy and manipulative. But in the context of the song itself it is true; there is so much joy in that track.
Read Article..
 
South by Soutwest Recap Part II: Julie Andrews versus the Mosh Pit
Live - Music
By Dan Lurie   
Thursday, 16 April 2009

sxsw_parentheticalgirlsSXSW 2009 in Review
Installment Two

We kicked things off Friday at Habana Calle 6, lured by the false promise of free drinks. Portland’s Parenthetical Girls took the stage at noon and unleashed their moody brand of experimental pop on the small but attentive audience.

I’m still not sure how I feel about frontman Zac Pennington’s singing voice. It’s a bit of a mixture between Morrissey and Julie Andrews, which can be hard to swallow. I do appreciate his commitment to character though. Sporting a patterned sweater vest over a mint green button-up shirt, Pennington had no qualms hopping off the stage and skipping through the half-awake crowd as if prancing through hills alive with the sound of music.

Read Article..
 
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next > End >>

Results 1 - 29 of 153