popwreckoning

As I mentioned yesterday in my Bumbershoot preview for Saturday, Seattle’s own Pickwick is amazing, fantastic, the next big thing. I haven’t changed my mind from yesterday, so I’ll elaborate.

Last weekend I saw Pickwick for the first time at KEXP’s Concerts at the Mural at the Seattle Center (it was free!) and I was flabbergasted. If you take one look at these guys, you wouldn’t expect the beautiful soulful jams that came from this group of white guys with great hair.

They’ve been all over local blogs like Seattlest, Sound on the Sound, Another Rainy Saturday, among many others.

The band started in 2008 when lead singer Galen Disston left Los Angeles and came to Seattle, and he established Pickwick as an alt-country band. Then spending the next couple years bringing themselves into the Seattle folk scene – finding dozens of like-minded artists. Needless to say, in Seattle, folk is the new grunge.

And it was when Disston began playing with his voice after hearing Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” that Pickwick made a name for themselves.

In the past year, they’ve been on the heels of the Head and the Heart, in terms of local buzz, and hopefully they can make their way to at least getting signed. It’s blasphemous to me that someone hasn’t picked Pickwick up yet, but I guess in Seattle that doesn’t really matter – seeing that they’re playing Bumbershoot with plenty of other unsigned artists.

Back to last weekend’s show. I cannot tell you how much my feet hurt at the end of their performance. I did not stop dancing. At one point they brought up several other local artists FROM THE CROWD and had a dance party on stage. There was even a little girl with a shaker dancing along to the effervescent soul beats.

I, for one, am glad that Pickwick found their current sound. It’s refreshing. I love the Head and the Heart and all, but we don’t need a dozen clones of them running around Seattle. We’re known for our innovation in this town, and sometimes the most innovative thing to do is to go back to our roots. And that is what Pickwick has done with their music.

One last thing, it’s come to my attention that Pickwick has posted something about “big news” today on my MySpace page. Once I find that out, you’ll hear it first from me.

Catch them at Bumbershoot on Saturday on the EMP Level 3 Stage tomorrow at 6p.m. You won’t be disappointed. And if you are, what’s wrong with you?

*EDIT* Here’s a video of one of my favourite songs from the KEXP Concert at the Mural last weekend.

Visit Pickwick on Bandcamp at http://pickwick.bandcamp.com/

Gardening, Not Architecture is a DIY/EIY solo recording project started by Sarah Saturday in 2003 in Baraboo, WI. The first official release under the “Gardening, Not Architecture” project name was a four-song EP in 2007, entitled “The First EP,” which was available for free on the G,NA website and in a limited run of 49 CDs in hand-sewn, numbered/signed paper sleeves. In 2009, Sarah completed her first tour as G,NA: 19 self-booked shows in 21 days on the west coast. In the fall of ’09, Sarah self-released the first full length album, entitled “First LP” — available on iTunes and in a limited first pressing of 500 CDs in hand-sewn screenprinted canvas fabric sleeves (now sold-out), followed by a limited second pressing of 1,000 digipak CDs. To support the release of her album, Sarah embarked on a self-booked 75-day US tour at the end of 2009. In 2010, Sarah went full-time with the project, moving into storage, couch-surfing, and playing nearly 150 shows including a Canadian tour, the entire Vans Warped Tour, and a solo North American tour over the course of ten months.

At the beginning of 2011, Sarah moved her home base from Los Angeles to Seattle, where she currently works two jobs to support both Gardening, Not Architecture and her not-for-profit music advice/resource website www.earnityourself.com.

Check out an excerpt from Sarah’s “About This Project” below and be sure to check out her Kickstarter page HERE.

I have the chance to go into the studio this fall with the incredibly talented Steve Choi, from Rx Bandits, to co-produce my second full-length album, which I’ll be self-releasing by the end of the year. But without a savings account to dip into, and without a full band of people working to save money in a hurry, I am at the mercy of either working the two jobs I currently have long enough to raise the funds — and who knows when that will be? — or trying to raise the funds on my own through something like Kickstarter.

I’ve hosted my own fundraisers on the G,NA website in the past, and I’ve always offered limited edition and/or handmade items as incentives for those donations. I have a running list of “Official Sponsors” on my website: people who have donated to the G,NA fundraisers over the past two years to keep me on the road and help me stay afloat. For this Kickstarter campaign, I’ve put together what I think is the most valuable collection of G,NA-related collectibles I could think of: limited edition merchandise, handmade items, exclusive new music, unreleased music, and even some memorabilia from my year on the road! I think that everyone who donates, new fans or old, will get something in return that they’ll be able to truly enjoy — not to mention my everlasting love and gratitude.

www.gardeningnotarchitecture.com

Chicago, IL pop-punk thrash combo So Many Ways have just revealed the cover art, track listing and release date for their Mightier Than Sword Records label debut. The self-titled album will be out on September 13, 2011 and is now available for pre-order in a variety of bundles at: http://store.mtsrecords.com/products/11935.

Track Listing:

1. Take It To The Limit
2. I’ve Made A Huge Mistake
3. Sleep Mask
4. Murf’s Life Hints
5. 37 Chambers
6. Oak Island
7. Dirtfoot

Since their formation in January 2009, So Many Ways has had their fair share of lineup changes. After recording the Real Talk EP with Jay Maas (Defeater, Bane) at Getaway Group studios later that summer, the band played a few shows together before parting ways with their then-bassist, drummer, and keyboard player. Not soon after the departure of those members, guitarists Jason Milbank, Murphy Welch and vocalist Colin Corley found themselves with a brand new rhythm section. After traveling to Florida to play a short string of shows, the band recorded their Floridian EP with Chris Hiser (Away With You). Floridian hinted at SMW’s heavier influences, but only showed a glimpse into what the band would become. After saying goodbye to yet another rhythm section later that year, So Many Ways welcomed drummer Keith Dow into the mix. The band recently added bass player Chris Catterson (ex Nightlights and Away With You) to the lineup and is ready to hit the road this month in advance of the EP’s release.

Tour Dates (with Major League and Carousel Kings):

Aug 8 Parkersburg, WV @ Radar’s Music Venue
Aug 9 Winston, NC @ Eliot’s Revue
Aug 11 Marietta, GA @ Swayze’s
Aug 12 Melbourne, FL @ Little Reggie’s
Aug 13 Orlando, FL @ Hoop’s Taven
Aug 14 Arad, Alabama @The Arabian Theater
Aug 18 Cookeville, TN @ Amps And Ramps
Aug 20 Chicago, IL @ Pancho’s  (also w/ Stay Golden and Late In The Playoffs)

http://twitter.com/smwftw
http://mtsrecords.com

Koo Koo Kanga Roo is all about dancing, yelling, and bringing the party. Founders Bryan and Neil won’t be satisfied until the entire room has joined in on the fun. Think the Beastie Boys multiplied by Sesame Street plus the driving dance beats of Daft Punk and the live show antics of the Flaming Lips.

Performing in an indie rock band was fun…for a while. Then the constant lugging of gear, half an hour sound checks, and an audience who was only ever half interested in the music they were playing began to take its toll. Bryan and Neil agreed there was more to being in a band than just playing music for their fans. The goal was to create the most fun interactive live show that no one had seen before. The tools to accomplish that goal were; a giant roll of paper (to cover their dorm walls with ideas), a few sharpies, their super weird imaginations, and no rules. A few months later, with those goal accomplished, a dance duo was formed, and that duo was Koo Koo Kanga Roo.

Koo Koo Kanga Roo’s new EP Midnight Slushie will be released on September 13^th and features a guest appearance by Justin Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack. 

Koo Koo Kanga Roo have just launched a “Bestest Friend” cover contest and the winner gets a Koo Koo Kanga Roo show at their house. The band wants you and all of your friends to cover their new song “Bestest Friend” off their new album Midnight Slushie which comes out September 13. Click here for the song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wGcmW5A5CI

 It’s only 3 Easy Steps:

 1. Video Tape a One Take, Single Shot Video of you and all your friends covering “Bestest Friend” live on your instruments and stuff. (No Edits, use your computer camera, etc.)

2. Post on Youtube with the Title (Koo Koo Kanga Roo “Bestest Friend Cover” – Name of your group)

3. Email the link to your video to kookookangarooparty@gmail.com 

Here’s a link to additional info and a message from the band: http://kookookangaroo.com/bestest-friend-bestest-cover-contest.

Jack’s Mannequin is gearing up for the release of People and Things on October 4th, and the new album is now available for pre-order.  There are three pre-order bundles available- all include 4 bonus tracks that will be delivered digitally on release day along with the full album and an instant download of the first single “My Racing Thoughts ” (currently streaming on jacksmannequin.com  and available for purchase on iTunes.) The deluxe pre-order bundle also includes a limited edition autographed artbook and a postcard set featuring photos taken by Andrew McMahon on the road.

People and Things is Andrew McMahon’s third studio release as Jack’s Mannequin, following 2005′s Everything in Transit and 2008′s The Glass Passenger.  Jack’s Mannequin will be previewing a few new songs from People and Things on a couple of dates on this year’s Vans Warped Tour followed by a month-long co-headlining tour with Guster starting August 7th in Baltimore. Additionally, Jack’s Mannequin just announced their fall headlining tour with Motion City Soundtrack, and a full list of dates can be found below.

1. My Racing Thoughts
2. Release Me
3. Television
4. Amy, I
5. Hey Hey Hey (We’re All Gonna Die)
6. People, Running
7. Amelia Jean
8. Platform Fire
9. Hostage
10. Restless Dream
11. Casting Lines

Tour Dates:

Exclusively from Buzznet:

We know you’re excited about Blink-182′s album coming out on September 27th, and today we’re unveiling the first glimpse of a piece of the album cover art exclusively on Buzznet!  You can see another piece of the album cover tomorrow via Idolator and Absolutepunk will have the final masterpiece up on Thursday, along with other exciting news!

You can view the album cover teaser exclusively on Buzznet today at http://buzznet.com/~5cdb087

Acclaimed singer-songwriter, Rachael Yamagata, will release Chesapeake, her first studio album in three years on October 11, 2011. The album, produced by John Alagia, producer of Yamagata’s Happenstance album as well as albums from Liz Phair, Dave Matthews Band and Jason Mraz, will be self-released on her very own Frankenfish Records. Twelve days following the release of Chesapeake, Yamagata will hit the road on an extensive tour of the United States starting on October 24th in Portland, Maine at the Port City Music Hall and wind down on December 22nd in New York City at City Winery.

For Chesapeake, Yamagata recruited her “dream team” consisting of Victor Indrizzo (Sheryl Crow) on drums, guitarists Mike Viola (Candy Butchers), Michael Chaves (John Mayer), and Kevin Salem, (Dump Truck, Yo La Tengo), cellist Oli Kraus (Sia, Duffy) and Tom Freund on the upright bass. The result is an eclectic collection of songs projecting Yamagata’s new-found optimism and hopefulness, showcasing her sultry and smoky voice, rich, layered harmonies, striking ballads and soulful grooves.

Listeners can get a taste of what’s to come by downloading the song “Starlight” by visiting http://snd.sc/n6ajQf.

Praised by critics for her intimately confessional songwriting and arrangements, Rachael released her last album, Elephants…Teeth Sinking Into Heart on Warner Bros. Records in October of 2008.   Entertainment Weekly called her delivery “gorgeous” and Rolling Stone said her “soulful, cigarette-scratched voice and melancholy lyrics recall Fiona Apple and PJ Harvey.” She toured extensively in support of the album playing to crowds throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. The New York Times hailed “With a deep, melancholy, breathy alto and a fondness for slow, sparsely chorded songs, Ms. Yamagata has a lot in common with Fiona Apple, Norah Jones and Sarah McLachlan. And in her upbeat moments she can sound like a fuller-voiced Liz Phair or a less volatile Chrissie Hynde.” Songs from the album appeared in various television programs and films including Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Brothers and Sisters and more. She also made an appearance in the season finale of 30 Rock in 2009.

Tour Dates:

OCTOBER

24th - Portland, ME - Port City Music Hall

25th - Burlington, VT - Higher Ground Lodge

27th - Ithaca, NY - Deliah’s

28th -  Northampton, MA - Iron Horse

30th - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall

31st - Philadelphia, PA - World Café Live

NOVEMBER

1st - Washington, DC - Birchmere

2nd - Baltimore, MD - Sound Stage

4th - Brooklyn, NY - Knitting Factory

5th -  Pittsburgh, PA - Club Café

6th - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom (Small Room)

7th - Detroit, MI - St Andrews Hall

8th - Chicago, IL - Logan Square

10th - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Ballroom

11th - Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line

12th - Davenport, IA - Redstone Room

14th - Kansas City, KS - Record Bar

16th - Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge

18th - Salt Lake City, UT - State Room

20th - Spokane, WA - A Club

21st - Vancouver, BC - Media Club

22nd - Seattle, WA - Crocodile

23rd - Portland, OR - Doug Fir

25th - San Francisco, CA - Slim’s

27th - San Diego, CA - Casbah

29th - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour

30th - Tuscon, AZ - Crescent Ballroom

DECEMBER

2nd - Austin, TX - Parish

3rd - Houston, TX - Fitzgerald’s Upstairs

4th - Dallas, TX - The Loft

5th - Tulsa, OK - Cain’s Ballroom – 2nd Stage

7th - St. Louis, MO - Blueberry Hill

8th - Nashville, TN - 12th and Porter

9th - Birmingham, AL - Work Play

10th - Atlanta, GA - Vinyl

12th - Charleston, SC - New Brookland Tavern

13th - Charlotte, NC - Visulite Theatre

15th - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506

16th - Charlottesville, VA - The Southern

17th - Louisville, KY - Headliners

18th - Columbus, OH - The Basement

20th - Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell’s

21st - New York, NY - City Winery

22nd - New York, NY - City Winery

www.rachaelyamagata.com

“Born in a small house in the country” of Oxford, Miss., Young Buffalo released their first EP, Young von Prettylips, on July 19.

And from this debut, it’s clear this two-year-old band is anything but small town.

They are currently on tour in the U.S. and Canada – opening for the Arctic Monkeys on select dates – and signed to Fat Possum Records, which houses bands like Band of Horses, Dinosaur Jr. and The Black Keys.

While they may not take album or track titles (and probably themselves) too seriously, their music is another story.

As a three-piece band, they each play guitar, bass and drums, and they all sing, a talent that they exploit on all five tracks by stacking harmonies on top of more swelling harmonies.

And they constantly keep the energy alive, even on the slowest track of the EP – the opener – “Only We Can Keep You From Harm,” which starts out with a more simple guitar and low chanting vocals that lead into a schizophrenic layered vocal pattern and guitar riff that I swear gets so stuck in my head, I’ve heard it in my dreams.

They sustain this same building effect over blended various styles, one never standing so far out from the others that you can pinpoint it. They list their genre as “Soul Vibez” – meaning, “If this doesn’t sum it up, you’re thinking too hard.”

So don’t think – just enjoy this assortment of surf rock, pop rock, indie rock – and all of the other little glints below the surface that make Young Buffalo indefinable.

Visit Young Buffalo at Facebook.com/YoungBuffalo.

Track Listing:
1. Only We Can Keep You From Harm
2. Speak EZ
3. Full Metal Whacket
4. Catapilah
5. Bury Me

Jack’s Mannequin have released a trailer for their new album, People And Things out October 4, which can be viewed below.

Death Cab For Cutie have announced a fall tour to start September 30th in Cincinnati and go through the end of October. Support includes Telekinesis, The Hold Steady, Explosions In The Sky, and The Head And The Heart. Furthermore, DCFC will also be among the headline acts appearing at Sunrise, Florida’s annual Langerado Music Festival on October 8^th and San Francisco’s Treasure Island Music Festival on October 16^th. Below is a complete list of tour dates. For more information please visit www.deathcabforcutie.com.

AUGUST

1                      Boston, MA                           Bank of America Pavilion

2                      Brooklyn, NY                        Williamsburg Waterfront

5                      Philadelphia, PA                  Mann Center for Performing Arts

6                      Pittsburgh, PA                      Stage AE

7                      Columbia, MD                      Merriweather Post Pavilion

8                      Cary, NC                                Koka Booth Amphitheatre

10                    Nashville, TN                       Bridgestone Arena

11                    Alpharetta, GA                     Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre

12                    New Orleans, LA                 Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena

13                    Grand Prairie, TX                 Verizon Theater

15                    Phoenix, AZ                          Comerica Theatre

16                    La Jolla, CA                           RIMAC Arena

18, 19              Los Angeles, CA                  Greek Theater

20                    Las Vegas, NV                      The Pool

22                    West Valley City, UT          Maverik Center

23                    Morrison, CO                        Red Rocks Amphitheatre

25                    Chicago, IL                            UIC Pavilion

26                    St. Paul, MN                          Roy Wilkins Auditorium

SEPTEMBER

30                    Cincinnati, OH                     PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music

OCTOBER

1                      Champaign, IL                      University of Illinois-Assembly

2                      St. Louis, MO                        The Pageant

5                      Memphis, TN                       Mud Island Ampitheatre

6                      Birmingham, AL                  Alabama Theatre

7                      Jacksonville, FL                    Florida Theatre

8                      Sunrise, FL                            Langerado Music Festival

10                    Houston, TX                         Verizon Wireless Theatre

11                    Austin, TX                             Austin Music Hall

15                    Santa Barbara, CA                Santa Barbara Bowl

16                    San Francisco, CA                Treasure Island Music Festival

18                    Boise, ID                                Taco Bell Arena

20                    Portland, OR                         Portland Memorial Coliseum

21                    Vancouver, BC                     Rogers Arena

22                    Seattle, WA                           Key Arena at Seattle Center