Repping Austin, TX and Lawrence, KS, rapper/producer Spence returns with his second full album release, Planet Pluto.
The album draws inspiration from electro, drum & bass, and Bollywood with lyrics touching on music criticism, his Texas to Kansas migration, love, pressure and everything else.
Planet Pluto also features appearances from local Kansas favorites such as Marty from Cowboy Indian Bear, Steddy P,Approach and Ebony Tusks.
It is available for free download online and on an exclusive pressing of CDs.
I recently had a chat with guitarist Sam Halliday of up-and-coming Irish indie rock/pop band Two Door Cinema Club. The band was in New York City to do requisite press before getting ready for two shows in the city. Sam tells me about how much they enjoyed Austin (and their tasty food in large quantities) and the music festival experience, and we talk about their debut album Tourist History and their promo videos. Read on.
Mary Chang, PopWreckoning: Hello Sam. So how are you guys, where are you guys at the moment? And what are you doing? Sam Halliday, Two Door Cinema Club: Yeah, we’re good. We’re presently in New York City at our hotel in Manhattan. We have a bit of promo today, then we have a show in Brooklyn tomorrow and at the Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday. MC: So how are you enjoying New York? Is it your first time there? SH: No, it’s my third time. But the other guys [guitarist/lead singer Alex Trimble and bassist Kev Baird], it’s their first time. We arrived at about 2 a.m… MC: Oh wow…! SH: Yeah, and we went straight out to, sort of, go see Times Square. They’d never been here before so… MC: Excellent. So I guess you’re the globetrotter of the group then? SH: Yes, I guess, yeah! (laughs)
MC: So let’s talk about your debut album, Tourist History. I’ve been playing it a lot since it came out. It’s really fantastic. If you had to explain what you sounded like to an American who’d never hear any of your songs, how would you describe it? SH: Um, I think it’s not quite rock music; it’s not quite indie music; it’s not quite electro music. I think if you’re open to any type of music I think you might like it. It’s very accessible. You know, it’s a lot of upbeat [sound]. And you know, I mean, we love it, we think it’s a great album. We think it’s for everybody. We loved bands likeDeath Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse and Bloc Party; they’re kind of the bands that we agreed on early. We love all types of music but those were the bands we bond over most.
MC: So your name…back in February I sat in on an interactive chat with the Gigwise folks the three of you did in London… SH: Yes! MC: …during which you replied to an English fan that it came from the Tudor Cinema near where you lived in Ireland. SH: Yes… MC: I’m sure everyone’s asking you about the band name on this tour and where it comes from. (Sam laughs) Have you been back since to tell the proprietor of the Tudor Cinema that his theatre is now famous? SH: We went back [to Ireland] before we kinda became a bit big, we went back and recorded like a music video, for “Something Good Can Work.” This was a couple years ago. Just a friend did it with us recorded it over there. We moved off to doing different things and we can’t see him anymore, sadly. And then we kind of did the official one. Yeah, we haven’t been back as a band. Yeah, it would be good to go back, I think.
MC: The three of you are from Bangor, in Northern Ireland, right? SH: Yes. MC: But I’ve heard that you now call London home. SH: Ohhh…I wouldn’t personally call London home. MC: Okay, so it’s a temporary home then? SH: It’s more of a base. I call it a base. We have a band flat there. You know, it’s great because it’s easy to get flights from Heathrow [Airport] and things, it’s just very handy that way. And honestly, we have our management there, and there’s lots of press people in London. So it’s a good place to have a base. But you go home and have friends and family in Bangor. MC: What has been your family and friends’ reaction to all that’s happened to you guys so far? SH: They’re very supportive and very happy, yeah. In my experience, my mum would always be on our Facebook page and our Twitter page, paying attention and telling me before I read it what people are saying on things, read reviews. It’s very exciting [for her] I think.
MC: So it sounds like you’ve barely been able to take a breath with all the relentless touring. You’ve been around Europe and then America with Phoenix, and now are in the middle of your first headlining tour of North America. From what I hear, your shows have been going down great with the locals and you’re selling out most everywhere, so congratulations on that. SH: Thanks. MC: What’s been your most memorable show so far this year? SH: (whistles) Well, it was only last week, but I think one of the real highlights was when we played in L.A. last week. You know, the Troubadour show? It’s just crazy, because it’s kind of our first headline show of America. Having been from somewhere small and having never played here, and we’ve never come here before. It’s crazy that how well we were received! It’s just amazing, feeling like we’ve “gone” somewhere! It was cool. Other than that, since the album has been released, all the shows, you know, have kind of stepped up in attendance and it’s really been amazing, because people know more of the songs and they sing a bit more, because they enjoy the album. The [album] launches were great in Belfast, in London, and in Paris.
MC: Great. Do you have a worst moment? Or any funny tour stories you care to share? SH: Ooh…um… (laughs) oh boy…you know, everything’s been great, really. It really has. Touring with Phoenix was a great experience, they’re lovely, lovely guys. It was so great to tour with a band that was much better and more experienced. You learn so much, in terms how they act, how they play their sets. I can’t think of any stories off the top of my head…I dunno! (laughs)
MC: Before coming over to North America, how did you prepare for your first-ever shows on this side of the pond? SH: Oh, I dunno, I guess we’ve been so busy! Over the past year touring all over Europe. So we were really excited to go somewhere new. It’s always really great to go somewhere new. It’s great to go to places you’ve played before, but it’s somewhere new. It’s just real exciting. I think we’ve been playing together for long enough that we’re confident in our live show – well, I am. So we weren’t too nervous about the show, we were more excited to play to new people. MC: I think it was Fearne Cotton’s Radio1programme in February when you guys did a set and a short interview…she asked you what you were looking forward to, and this was far, far in advance of you guys coming over here. And one of you said visiting Texas. I know you guys have been to Texas now, and you were in Austin. I read on your Twitter that when you were in Austin, Kev got a tattoo and you bought a guitar…? SH: Haha, yeah, that’s right. MC: So what did you think of Texas? Did it live up to everything you thought it was going to be? SH: Yeah, it was brilliant. It’s just so different. Everywhere in America is so different between cities and states. But Texas was really cool. We got to spend a couple days in Austin in particular. Great weather, being able to sit in our dressing room, outside, in the late hours of the night. Just kind of laid-back atmosphere sort of a city. Yeah, um, obviously Kevin got a tattoo…(I laugh)…of the cat’s eyes from our album [cover]. And then we went to a pawn shop. We wanted to do a kind of typical American thing and so we would go around to pawn shops and picked around. And we went and found this amazing old guitar. I really wanted to get a guitar from this tour, to kind of have something to remember it by, so it was a great find. MC: That’s cool. SH: And we had some great Texas barbecue. MC: How does it compare to the food at home? SH: Oh, there’s a lot more of it here! MC: (laughs) That’s what most people [from outside America] tell me! SH: The portions are, very, uh, large. MC: Yeah, sometimes they last for days, usually. SH: Yeah! We actually have a competition, it’s quite sad. We have a competition, because we knew your American food was very tasty and very big. So we have a competition to see…we’ve documented each other’s weights, so we’re having a competition to see who put on the most [weight from the tour]. Whoever puts on the most has to take the person who puts on the least out to dinner. MC: Oh, okay. SH: I know, not very rock ‘n’ roll. (both laugh)
MC: So I’ve had a look at your very busy summer schedule. You’ve confirmed festival appearances at Glasto[nbury] (England), Hove (Norway), Benicassim (Spain), Summersonic (Japan), and Reading/Leeds (England) among many others. You played Glastonbury for the first time last year…what are your feelings on the summer festival circuit? SH: Ah, they’re so much fun, it’s kind of great, because you see so many bands. Like, being on tour all the time, you don’t get to see that many, unless you they ask you to tour with them. But being at festivals is amazing because…especially at Glastonbury, we’re spending the whole weekend there, so we’ll get to see loads of bands, which will be cool. We’re real excited to be doing all the European ones this year, and Australia and Japan, because you know, last year we only did one outside the UK. It was amazing, it was our favorite last year. It’s called Riga in Latvia. It’s a totally different kind of vibe than the European ones. So it’ll be great to experience all those.
MC: So you have signed to the French label Kitsune Maison for your European releases and Glassnote Records here in America. How did the Kitsune people find you? SH: They were trying to put another one of their parties in Paris, and they were trying to find an up-and-coming UK band to bring over. And so a promoter in France told them about us, and then whenever they listened to us, I think they liked us a lot more than they thought they would, and [they] wanted to put out our single. And then our relationship just grew from there. And then they released our single and finally our album. It’s great. It all felt really natural. MC: What is it like being Irish on a French label? Did it seem weird that a British label didn’t come to you first, or another European one? SH: I mean, yeah, maybe it sounds a little weird. But for us, being from Bangor, we weren’t really connected to the London music scene all that much. We’d only played in London a couple times before we signed the record deal, and it’s just…it’s don’t really have a connection with that sort of scene. For us, we feel apart from that, just as much as we feel part from the Paris music scene. And they seemed like the right label for us, we didn’t want to go with a major label, and they were really passionate about working with us. MC: Have you been able to hang out with the other UK bands they’ve signed like Delphic and La Roux? SH: Well, we got a chance to tour with Delphic back in October in the UK. Yeah, we really hit it off with them, they were really great guys, into the same, similar stuff. So we formed a little friendship with them. We’ve seen them a few times since, they’re fun. Can’t really think of any other people…Kitsune is really good with DJs and things, some great people have remixed our stuff through Kitsune. That sort of thing.
MC: Going back to your debut album, Tourist History, is definitely one of my fave releases of 2010 so far, I really love the album. Loads of fun, poppy, peppy, and brilliant. How long did it take to record everything and put together? SH: The one thing we do, once we write a song, we would demo it ourselves, and kind of get it to the point where it’s not the best recording, but we know where all the parts are, of what we’d want to be in the song. So we had this whole album demoed ourselves, and then it was about getting to a studio and doing it professionally, you know, getting a producer’s point of view and things, and trying different things like. So then we went to the end of June then we finished tracking by the end of July, and it took a month to mix the album. Once that was finished, we had some further mixing done with Philippe Zadr [the producer of Phoenix's albums United and Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and a member of French house duo Cassius] in his studio in Paris, and for the songs that might be singles. It was great getting people’s different perspectives on our music and we respect their work, so it was amazing.
MC: Your promo videos. The “I Can Talk” video was actually the first videos of yours I ever saw. It was so frenetic, Alex’s head was coming off, clothes were flying around…whose idea was that? SH: That was a French team called Megaforce, that was from a suggestion of Kitsune’s. They came out with that. MC: It’s a real cool-looking video! SH: Yeah, it was the first proper video. And we shot it in a really crammed chateau in Paris. MC: Yeah, I was wondering about that. Because it has a very old-fashioned dollhouse kind of feeling, almost. SH: Yeah, you don’t really see a lot of it in the video.
MC: A while ago you guys released a newish video for “Something Good Can Work” [watch video here]. In this new one, you guys are at a fancy resort, the forest, the desert, an amusement park. Where did you go to film all the scenes for it? SH: We got to go to Gran Canaria [the second most populous island of the Canary Islands], and everything was shot there. Yeah, they’ve got a little different kind of scenes there, they have forest, and mountains, and nice beaches and sand dunes and things. MC: Hopefully you got some vacation time in then? SH: No, unfortunately we were only there for 2 days. MC: Only 2 days? Golly. Well I hope you get to spend some time there in the future, because it looked so beautiful on screen. When I first saw it in March, I was thinking, “this is the perfect summer song.” SH: We wanted to capture that kind of sunshine, the summery feel with it.
MC: I have Steve Lamacq to thank for playing “Something Good Can Work,” a long while ago it feels like, on his 6music programme. I have my own strong opinion on the subject, but what are your thoughts on the BBC’s proposed closure of 6music? [In early March, Director General Mark Thompson of the BBC Trust announced that BBC 6music, along with the Asian Network, may be closed due to budget cuts.] SH: Oh yeah, it’s awful. I mean, especially because Radio1 is kind of being taken over by r&b and just bland pop tunes. There’s really not a lot of room for up-and-coming or not commercially appealing bands. So yeah, and especially because we got our first airplay on 6music, and without it we wouldn’t have gotten so much attention.
MC: Speaking of the UK, have you been following the general election while you have been in America? SH: Yes, we have been, just on the BBC News website. I’m not really too involved in our politics. MC: Any of you endorsing any particular political party? SH: I think this is the problem, I don’t think anyone wants to be in government. Completely. I think that’s the problem here. I dunno, I don’t really know too much about it. MC: Neither do I, but it was interesting watching everything unfold real time on the website. SH: Yeah.
SH: I’m being told I need to move on… MC: Okay, so one final question. Based on the crazy reception for your first tour of America, so when are you guys coming back here? SH: We’re going to come back in October. MC: Great. SH: Yeah, very soon. MC: Well, thank you so much Sam, I appreciate it, I know you’re very busy doing a lot of press. So enjoy New York and I will see you guys on Thursday [in Philadelphia]. SH: Brilliant, can’t wait! MC: Take care. SH: Thanks.
Two Door Cinema Club’s debut album Tourist History is available now from Glassnote Records. The band has several more dates in North America before their first headlining tour of our continent ends May 17 in Toronto.
Tour Dates
May 11 – Bell House / Brooklyn
May 12 – Bowery Ballroom / New York City
May 13 – Johnny Brenda’s / Philadelphia
May 15 – Great Scott / Boston
May 16 – Salla Rossa / Montreal
May 17 – Wrongbar / Toronto
Wednesday 10:00 a.m.
The alarm screams frantically for me to crawl out of the comfort of my studio hotel bed and drive downtown to collect the remainder of the PopWreckoning team working South by Southwest. I instead hit snooze nine times and let them fend for themselves.
Wednesday 12:47 p.m.
As I make my way down the halls of the Austin Convention Center with the immediate goal of collecting my staff, I become distracted by a small entourage near the pack of the level one expocentre. Of course, I do my best Nancy Drew impression, sneaking around tables and chairs to get to the bottom of the cluster. To my surprise, my detective work yielded not only my first, but also my second celebrity spotting of SXSW 2010. To my delight, both Erik Estrada and Verne Troyer, a.k.a. Mini-me, were gathered with their management, planning their campaign for the Starkey Hearing Foundation. I add their pair of earplugs to the fifty in my photography bag and move on.
Wednesday 12:35 p.m.
I sneak up the northern most staircase in the convention center, making my way to the third floor. This lobby, unlike the one on the first and second floors is empty. Its electrical plugs are unused and its lounge chairs are vacant. I grab and fill three just because I can.
Wednesday 4:17 p.m.
I make my way south to the PureVolume House forty-five minutes early in hopes of snagging free Taco Bell tacos. Instead, I receive a chance meeting with co-host of our ATN showcase and Big Picture Media president, Dayna Ghiraldi, who also was doing press for the PureVolume House. She walked me past the line waiting outside the venue where I was greeted by a fairly unimpressive forty minute set from Los Angeles, California-based Warpaint. I was kind of surprised to find myself apathetic to their music due to the fact that they possess several elements of music that I’m drawn to. I generally prefer female vocalists, Rough Trade Records and a good chunk of what Paste Magazine tells me to enjoy. However, I instead found Warpaint drab. The PureVolume House crowd, however, which consisted mostly of 14 and 16 year olds, seemed to disagree with me, eating up the group’s set like all the tacos they eliminated before I could get there. Following Warpaint, PureVolume hosted the wonderfully catchy Miniature Tigers. Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, the group brought with them the mood friendly east coast movement mixed with a witty, undeniable charm. The crowd seemed into it and this time I agreed.
Wednesday 5:30 p.m.
While exiting the PureVolume House, a concert goer young enough to be my daughter rushes through the venue door with the speed of an Olympic sprinter, arms flopping and her head spun backwards, focused on her friends outside. Her body, still in motion and facing forward slams into my camera at NASCAR speeds. Rather than stopping or apologizing, she mumbles “oh my god” and runs to the stage. I, however, spend the afternoon searching for a Wolf’s Camera.
Wednesday 6:40 p.m.
In tonight’s performance, the role of tacos will be played by buffalo wings. They however will not be free.
Wednesday 8:00 p.m.
I make my way to the Central Church across town to catch the epic cello playerZoe Keating. Her work with loop pedals allows her to build an orchestra by herself, using different pitches and levels to create depth, while clicking the bow against the cello body to design percussion. The natural construction of the church made the venues acoustics perfect for this sort of a performance, though the lighting left a little to be desired. While her performance was great, I bailed from my pew to catch the Brooklyn Vegan party across the street, where Dawes was halfway through their set.
Wednesday 9:15 p.m.
It’s not difficult to realize how out of shape you are at SXSW. I come to this conclusion on my 1.5 mile walk to the Belmont for a rooftop meet and greet surrounding our showcase. While I understood the need to be there, I could not be more bored. Realistically, I have no one to meet or great. I do my 45 minutes and head for someplace more entertaining.
11:00 p.m.
For the second time in two hours I walk a little over a mile to catch an event. However, this time my final destination lands me two rows back from Jenny Owen Youngs, the spunky female artist who also happens to be one of my favorite musicians. Seeing her in the 18th floor lobby of the Hilton continental hotel was interesting. While her performance was spot on her normal range of entertainment and sarcasm, her sound levels were rocky, thanks in part to a shady combo of an iffy sound man and playing in a hotel lobby. But, regardless of technical difficulties, her set still was the crowning moment of my Wednesday. I headed back to my hotel content to crank out reviews.
Monday 4:37 p.m.
I know I’m going to forget something. I always do. Regardless of the fact that I’ve managed to fill the entire backseat and trunk of the beat up mercury cougar waiting in the driveway, I’m certain that once I get past that “Welcome to Texas” sign, something will dawn on me. I’ll have 15 different vintage shirts, but no laptop cord. Ugh.
It’s not as though I haven’t made checklists. Hell, I have been waist deep in South by Southwest– planning and reevaluating with Dayna, president of Big Picture Media, since mid-December. The festival itself is still more than 24 hours from reality for me, but I couldn’t be more ready for it to be over. Well, in theory at least.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. Well, I’m not complaining much.
I understand that I’m blessed to be in the position I am. As a music journalist, I get to see the industry in a way many casual fans never will. I’m lucky to do so and am certainly not implying I’d rather be staying home in Kansas City. However, I am ready for the prep work to end. I’m whole-heartedly looking forward to moving past the rsvping, showcase planning and alignment, beyond the backlining and sound check arrangements, to the moment where the lights go down at the PureVolume House and seeing Neko Case and Jakob Dylan remind me there is a reason I jump through these hoops.
Super early Tuesday 12:43 a.m.
I can’t begin to imagine how bands do this for a living. I’m two hours and three red bulls into my tri-state venture to Austin, Texas, home of South by Southwest and boredom has already begun to settle in. Southeast Kansas is truly the epitome of nothingness.
I can’t believe that I came from here. Tulsa, Oklahoma: 88 miles.
Tuesday 4:50 a.m.
Upon the realization that I have to pay a two dollar toll to get off Highway 75 to pee, resulting in my paying a seventy-five cent toll to get back on, I stop downing Red Bull like it’s water. While this stops the endless nagging need to find the nearest Kum and Go gas station restroom, it also results in my body’s realization that it desires sleep. After forty-five minutes of questioning its decision-making processes, I concede.
Tuesday 11:00 a.m.
As I wander around McAlester, Oklahoma in search of a mocha that hasn’t be created by running hot water through processed powder, the realization dawns on me that almost every Oklahoma town looks alarmingly similar. It almost seems like there is a unified checklist required to become a township, similar to the way that Johnson County communities in Kansas require your grass remain at a certain length or your house a certain color. Here however, the rules seem drastically different. For example, every town seems required to have at least one casino and bingo hall. Secondly, every town must have a parking lot full of vintage mustangs. The places provided to eat also all to be very sneaky. The Whataburger we thought we’d located turned out to be a Watsonburger. Must be a fluke, right? Nope. The corner Waffle House was a Waffle Shoppe. No deal. I’ll wait until Dallas.
Tuesday 12:23 p.m.
Oops. 67 in a 55. Hello 145 dollar speeding ticket. Goodbye coffee fund. Tuesday 2:36 p.m.
After watching cars zoom past me in excess of 200 miles per hour in the Diamond Lane to my left, I come to the realization that there are enough persons in my car to drive in that lane. I had previous thought I needed three bodies, when I in fact needed only two. Huzzah! In hopes that this will answer my prayers for an end to the Dallas gridlock traffic, I weave around the cones and step on the gas hitting 75 for the first time in two hours. This lasts roughly, 45 seconds before the carpool lane also comes to a dead stop, where we’ll sit for another 25 minutes.
Tuesday 6:10 p.m.
I check into the studio apartment that will be my home for the next 7 days. I must confess, I’m almost willing to not leave. The couch in the living room is rather comfy and will serve as a nice late night resting place to write reviews from. There is also a nice balcony overlooking I-35 South, which has now become cluttered with future concert goers.
However, half begrudgingly, I grab a quick shower and a plate of tortilla soup before joining them on the road to downtown.
Tuesday 8:12 p.m.
I arrive at the Austin Convention Center to grab my press credentials to the surprise of no line. I’m kind of okay with this considering the previous year’s wait of four hours to get our badges. A quick shift to the left got me to the camera check in, where my Nikon D90 found itself tagged and cleared for venue use. With that, we’re all set. Sxsw 2010 is go.
I cross Trinity Street and walk toward 6th, making my way to the PureVolume House. Here, I catch Joshua James, Johnny Flynn and Jakob Dylan and Three Legs (which consists of Neko Case). Before pushing my way through roughly 500 people to an area accessible to the stage for cameras, I grabbed one of my free complimentary drink.
Wednesday 12:30 a.m.
After grabbing some Toni’s Pizza and Boone’s Farm wine from the Walgreens down the street, I headed back towards my hotel room to crank out the reviews from the prior day.
I began writing this report from the lobby of Austin’s downtown Hilton Hotel where gangs of lanky, skinny jean wearing music aficionados prepared to storm the well-worn streets of Austin for day one of SXSW 2010. As I sat there among all of the bloggers uploading like crazy, I couldn’t help but think about how much things have changed for me since my first go-around. If you happen to remember my SXSW diary from last year, I took to the festival like a true punk, i.e.: without any credentials, aimlessly wielding a flimsy point and shoot, and alternating crash pads between an air mattress and a dog hair-infested couch. Despite the less than official digs, I still managed to charm my way into enough private showcases and late night parties to make the trip a win. This time around, I hoped to have the same sort of magic, but with a lot more game. With some official credentials, a penthouse crash pad that I got to share with a few of my favorite people, and at long last, a legit camera set-up, Southby this time around was nothing short of mind-blowing.
Scrolling through the hundreds of shows I had scheduled on my fancy SXSW iphone app (note: last year I still rocked a flip phone) I tried to narrow down my picks by making a little pact with myself: try to see bands that I don’t get to see all the time. She and Him and Broken Bells will hit New York soon enough. It’s the smaller, fledgling unknowns who tour tirelessly, backpack and conversion van style for months on end that should be my focus, right? SXSW is about discovering new music and from what I learned last year, to find those gems, you have to drop the schedule once in awhile and be spontaneous. So, on that note, I christened my second Southby by checking out Cocoon, an adorable French folk duo, Mark and Morgane, from Paris, who create a warm hybrid of sweet, airy folk-pop. With aspirations to be folk music’s answer to Jack and Meg White, Cocoon signed to French indie label Sober & Gentle in 2006. If you’re interested in a comparison, the band claim artists like Devendra Banhart and CocoRosie as American peers. Cocoon nestle nicely into the new canon of folk, one that honors it’s earthy past while incorporating contemporary sound and sentiment.
While contemplating the endless lines snaking Austin’s famous 6th street, it didn’t take long to break my new festival rule and I soon ended up at the closest Tigercity show that I could find. Remembering what I learned last year about good times bringing good music, I felt a Tigercity drive-by was in order. My New York City go-to band for funky, electro-pop doesn’t get the attention they deserve. There’s something to be said for having the ability to inspire the kind of intergalactic dance party that TC is known for. I quickly dropped my rigid schedule and let Bill Gillim’s shaman spirit show me the way.
I ended my first night in Austin with a huge score by catching the super crowded, highly anticipated Miike Snowset from the photo pit at The Galaxy Room Backyard, home to some of the best line-ups that the festival offered this year. I was curious to see how the elusive Grammy-toting Stockholm quintet, best known for producing pop hits for artists like Britney and Madonna, would translate their masterfully produced synth-pop to the stage. No worries, folks. I can, without a doubt, say that Miike Snow absolutely destroyed my expectations in the best way possible. Putting on one of the heaviest sets I’ve ever heard, the boys, clad in matching black silk bomber jackets and rocking Cheshire cat-sized grins as they beasted over their keyboards and mixers, took electronic music to a new and avant level; one that’s faster, more intense, and sonically expansive. Citing Aphex Twin, Peter Gabriel, and Kate Bush as influences makes perfect sense. The combination of American lead singer, Andrew Wyatt’s infectious falsetto and Swedish producing duo Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg, a.k.a. Avant and Bloodshy, is actually less hipster and more art than you might think. At it’s core, Miike Snow makes dance music for metal heads, which should really come as no surprise considering that some of the best metal I’ve ever heard (what’s up Katatonia?) comes from Scandinavia. If their keyboards could scream, they’d look like Lemmy. That’s all I’m saying. Despite their commercial success, this wasn’t “ipod music” by any stretch. They were far better. In fact, Miike Snow put on a set that left my skin buzzing for hours.
Alyse Black has done it again…play another amazing show, that is.
This perpetually traveling artist has graced SXSW this year with a single, yet poignant performance in the heart of Austin, Texas. Deciding to play to us scalawags at Treasure Island, she illuminates the dingy room with a stunning grayish cotton dress she found at a thrift store while playing in Seattle, Wa.
“Bomber Girl,” a tune she penned that is quite simply one the prettiest and revealing of her long repertoire, is literally melting from her lips as gazers from outside the bar are lured in. She’s not taking herself too seriously though, she knows her job–keep them engaged–and that she does.
As Miss Black begins to speak, I know what’s coming. I’ve seen it before in other towns with her and it always works. She entices the crowd to sing along to a cover, but won’t say the name, only that the incentive is to just be surprised. The bass player starts rolling in with quite a genuine representation of the original score and the drummer follows suit. As Black’s hands lace the keys, we are all ready to sing EVERY word of “Come Together,” made famous by the Beatles!
It’s a sunny hot day and it gets hotter as she loses herself completely into the conjoining rhythms of bass and drum, only accenting with keys, and of course, we all sang along.
Once she has fully mastered her crowd, which is a regular occurrence when attending an Alyse Black performance, she continues by letting us in with not just the music, but also with stories behind them. She laughingly asks, “Have you ever given so much too someone that you literally lopped off whole pieces of yourself in the process…?” Yes or no, now there is theme music to accompany how we relate to heartache and triumph over it.
Black can be found on the social networks, FaceBook, Twitter and ReverbNation. but with her ability to inspire, it’s even better to find her at the venue she is soon to perform at in your town.
If you’ve ever read the site on a repetitively regular basis, you’re probably aware of my unquestionable preference for female fronted bands…This is because, in my humble opinion, women in music have a far more difficult time collecting and sustaining respect in the industry for their musicianship. They often get pushed to the front for all the wrong reasons (i.e. breasts) instead of their musical credibility. However, in rare occasions women in the industry are the exception not the rule.
Here in Kansas City, we have one of those exceptions. Lauren Krum, the front woman of The Grisly Hand, might honestly possess the most powerful pipes in the Midwest. She helps propel her extremely talented band to the level of exposure they deserve.
South By Southwest is that level for sure. Today at the Canvas Bar, as part of the Midwest Music Takeover, they owned their Austin, Texas debut. With a sound concreted in the “Sun Records” sound, the group brings to Austin something outside of the city’s normal style. Their harmony vocals are as strong as I’ve seen on the national circuit. The same can certainly be said of their instrumentation, which is hard to find in a group as large as Hand. But this six piece never steps on each other. They honestly compliment each other very well.
If you haven’t already jumped on the wagon train for this band, you should. Regardless of what city you’re in they should be on your radar, because if (when) a label like Bloodshot Records gets a hold of them, you might not get near them again. I expect big things.
Set List:
Paris
Black Coffee
Distraction
Cherry Mash
Roll On
Pickin’
Losing You
Sound checks rarely entice one to listen to the full set. Granted if you came for the band anyway, it’s likely you will know the sound check is a test.
However, when Dreams are for Rookies‘ cellist Steven Garcia is placed directly in front with a stern, but warming look, you just can’t resist your curiosity what sort of sound this band will bring. By the time that lead singer Adam Chiarelli sings barely the notes, you’re hooked. All of a sudden, a sound check becomes a leaf cover to a book, explaining the adventure all are about to embark on. You can tell they care and will pave a way for you to care as well. After sound check however, all bets are off.
This band is no ordinary band. Bass player Adam Goff walks to the stage with a cane much like Hugh Laurie traverses a room: with power and a clear destination.
My server, Ashley Heer, a distinctly unique and happy soul, asks me if I need another, while smiling at the sound check. It seems to ignite her senses.
As the true set begins, music, pure tones and other reliable and familiarly-pleasing sounds fill Beale Street Tavern in Austin, Texas like a dense fog fills a cold morning. It wakes you up and forces you to move with it, but with most foggy mornings, you can’t help but wonder what comes next, so you just go. And it all comes. Technical difficulties, possible amp failure and high frustration. But it doesn’t fade away. Drummer, Raymond Dreamquist continues to fill as they work it out.
Isn’t that what music is anyway, one trying to work it out, or through it? With soothing Americana in the air, Adam sings through it as lead guitarist Tyler Vann Yager acts as scientist and repairman.
Goff looks young, but as he mouths the words to each song, probably not even noticing it, you can see a depth that more than likely comes from a place only music could make apparent. As the set proceeds, so do more and more difficulties, but it seems that some things in life happen as they should. I got to shake Adam Goff’s hand and thank him for doing what he does. They didn’t finish the set, but maybe that wasn’t the purpose of this one, maybe it was to make deeper connections with music and people.
Looking back, I learned a few things from my time in Austin, Texas as a rookie journalist at South by Southwest in 2009. After standing in line for roughly four hours last year, I arrived in Austin early, hoping to get all the paperwork and non-specifics out of the way. Dodging the Wednesday crowd really seemed to help, as I got my band and photo creds in ten minutes, leaving time to make my way over to pick up my entrance pass to the Purevolume House to catch a few bands.
By the time I got into the venue, Joshua James was finishing up his set. I shuffled through the drink line for a water before making my way to the front to set up for Johnny Flynn’s 10:00 p.m. time slot.
Flynn and company had literally just stepped off the runway of Austin’s International airport and onto the stage of the venue for this set. It honestly doesn’t get more rough than that. Hailing from London, their bodies were left shaking off the feeling of jet lag equaling a 4 a.m. start time. Regardless of fatigue, the guys stayed the course, presenting me with a quality jumping off point for my 2010 SXSW.
Somewhere between Ryan Adams and The Swell Season, Flynn’s set showed his diversity as he wielded multiple duties between acoustic guitar, mandolin, trumpet, vocals and charm. With sweet alt. country songs and lyrics written with talent and depth, I expect big things from Flynn. I walked away from the stage a fan. I honestly plan on catching them again before I leave Austin, this time with all of their energy intact.
Following Flynn, Jakob Dylan of both Wallflowers and solo fame was set to take stage. Ironically, Dylan happened to also be the first band I caught at Austin City Limits in 2009. However, this time around his cast would be a little different. His band, Three Legs which features Neko Case, would be playing for the first time in front of a crowd. It doesn’t get much more exciting than that.
However, it does lead a person to wonder how anyone managed to get Neko Case to stand in the shadows of a project. With a presence on stage that borders on being bold and commands attention I think there are a number of musical personalities who would shy away from sharing the stage with Case. They might worry about the spotlight shifting slightly to stage left. However, in this situation, the combination would work flawlessly. Dylan shows his humility playing with a star that might honestly be a bigger name than he, while Case stands calmly by his side, performing her role as one of the legs of the band instead of trying to be the spine.
That spine is Dylan. Of all his projects, this one is the strongest. His voice is mature and wise, reminding me at times of the protest singer style that his father dawned. However at times a little Johnny Cash can be found in him as well. Beautiful slide guitar riffs fill the stage as he sings about sadness.
RT @KevinDevineTwit: 'She Stayed As Steam' EP is #7 on iTunes singer/songwriter chart. That's crazy. Thank you. Let's see how far we can go. 3 weeks ago
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MC: Before coming over to North America, how did you prepare for your first-ever shows on this side of the pond?
MC: I have Steve Lamacq to thank for playing “Something Good Can Work,” a long while ago it feels like, on his 6music programme. I have my own strong opinion on the subject, but what are your thoughts on the BBC’s proposed closure of 6music? [In early March, Director General Mark Thompson of the BBC Trust announced that BBC 6music, along with the Asian Network, may be closed due to budget cuts.]
