REVIEW: Deadstring Brothers’ Cannery Row

Posted on by Kate Foster

Close your eyes and envision this: members from Ryan Adams’ The Cardinals, Willie Nelson’s band, Whitey Morgan and the 78s, and Poco get together to make an album. You’re probably drooling by now, right? Now, open your eyes, grab your keys, and go out and buy Deadstring Brothers’ newest album, Cannery Row. You’re welcome.

From the very first track, “Like A California Wildfire”, frontman Kurt Marschke’s voice paired with some very alt-country instrumentals draw undeniable comparisons to the Rolling Stones circa Exile On Main Street. Yeah, heavy compliment, but this is one group that’s earned it – by the time you get to the album’s title track, you’re hooked. “Cannery Row” is a slow, mournful tune that reveals Ryan Adams backbone whilst keeping a very “Wild Horses”, Rolling Stones sound. The female vocals really make this track pop, though – they’re a much-needed calm before the fun, danceable, country storm that is “Lucille’s Honky Tonk”. Trust us, you’ll suddenly feel like you’re in a saloon in the old west as you move and step to “I can hear her when she sings, and the beauty that it brings. Yeah, we’re swinging down at Lucille’s Honky Tonk.”

As you approach the end of Cannery Row, you’ll be struck by how White Stripes-esque “Talkin’ To A Man In Montana” sounds instrumentally.  It’s the perfect hit of country rock as the female vocals return once again to add dimension to the song. The record ends with “Song For Bobbie Jo”, a measured yet complex ballad in which Marschke croons, “I’m comin’ home for good, I’m comin’ down like no one ever should,” before escalating to nearly yelling, “You know, there’s times when I might need a friend.”

Cannery Row shares its title with a 1945 John Steinbeck novel set in California. Why is this even relevant? Well, yes, the album and the novel are both reminiscent of a very country-influenced era and region. More notable, though, is that, like Steinbeck’s novel, this Deadstring Brothers masterpiece will be put down in the books as irrefutably timeless.

Woods announces Spring/Summer tour and cover The Kinks

Posted on by Vinyl Mag

Woods release their cover of The Kinks “God’s Children” that can be streamed below:

They also announced new spring/summer tour with dates to follow:

Thu-May-9     Les Nuits de Botanique – Brussels (B)
Fri-May-10    Vera – Groningen (NL)
Sat-May-11    Pop Revo – Aarhus (DK)
Sun-May-12    Pustervik – Gothenburg (S)
Mon-May-13    Debaser – Stockholm (S)
Tues-May-14   Debaser – Malmö (S)
Weds-May-15   Stengade – Copenhagen (DK)
Thu-May-16    Comet Club – Berlin (D)
Sat-May-18    The Great Escape @ Pavilion Theatre(Uncut Stage)- Brighton (UK)
Sun-May-19    The Lexington – London (UK)
Mon-May-20    Indiestad @ Paradiso – Amsterdam (NL)
Tues-May-21   Le Point Ephemere – Paris (F)
Weds-May-22   Le Saint des Seins – Toulouse (F)
Thu-May-23    Primavera Sound – Barcelona (ES)
Sat-Jul-13    Boston, MA            TT The Bears *
Sun-Jul-14    Portland, ME            Space 538 *
Mon-Jul-15    Burlington, VT        Signal Kitchen *
Tue-Jul-16    Montreal, QC        Il Motore *
Wed-Jul-17    Toronto, ON            Horseshoe Tavern *
Thu-Jul-18    Cleveland, OH        Beachland Tavern
Fri-Jul-19    Chicago, IL            Pitchfork Music Festival
Mon-Jul-22    Louisville, KY        Zanzabar *
Tue-Jul-23    Charlottesville, VA    Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar *
Wed-Jul-24    Philadelphia, PA        Morgan’s Pier *
Thu-Jul-25    Baltimore, MD        Ottobar *
Sat-Jul-27    New York, NY        Bowery Ballroom #
Fri-Aug-16    La Route Du Rock Festival – St. Malo (F)
Sun-Aug-18    Greenman Festival – Powys (UK)* = w/ Parquet Courts
# = w/ Alex Bleeker and The Freaks

Review: Luke Winslow-King’s ‘The Coming Tide’

Posted on by Kate Foster

Thank God for Luke Winslow-King. In a musical era in which simple beats and perverse lyrics reign supreme, and enjoying quality music puts you in the minority, Winslow-King brings back a feeling long forgotten: the way your hips can’t help but sway in an almost instinctive way when early 20th century jazz blares from your speakers.

This pretty-boy moved to New Orleans by chance in 2001, a fact that is quite tangible when you listen to his newest release, The Coming Tide. Jazz, Delta blues, Southern gospel, and folk collide in this 11-track masterpiece, which combines both earth-shaking LWK originals and creatively reworked covers.

The first track on the album, “The Coming Tide”, ardently displays Winslow-King’s talent in working with an undeniably gospel slide guitar. In addition, fellow singer Esther Rose’s harmonies add the final, perfecting touch to the track and the rest of the album – it’s as if you don’t even realize the music is missing something until her Lucinda Williams-esque voice leaks into the mix. “Let ‘em Talk” is another of our favorites. The sweet, melodious trumpets are the ideal contrast to LWK’s defiant words: “Let ‘em talk, I don’t mind. Don’t make a difference to me.”

You can almost taste Winslow-King’s and Rose’s affection for New Orleans in the Ida Cox cover, “I’ve Got the Blues for Rampart Street” – it’s an homage to their beloved town in both lyrics and musical style, from start to finish. Just a few tracks later, we hear the duo’s soft, breezy take on love with “I Know She’ll Do Right By Me”. Listeners are immediately transported to a more classically romantic era as Winslow-King croons about his favorite girl, who is “so fair, treats me right, she gets home by the end of the night.”

The Coming Tide concludes valiantly with a cover of the 1960s track made famous by George Harrison, “I’ve Got My Mind Set On You”. It’s classic yet entirely reworked and inspired, much like Luke Winslow-King as a musical force.

SXSW with Hunters

Posted on by Emily McBride

Hunters was my last interview at SXSW, and I have to say, I couldn’t have asked for a better one.  Because it was the last day after a long week of running around frantically like a headless chicken, I was feeling a little fried, and forming full coherent sentences was getting a little complicated (more than usual).

Fortunately for me, Izzy Almeida and Derek Watson – Hunters – are two of the chillest, most conversational interviews I got all week.  To cut to the chase, these dudes are just plain cool (cheesy? Deal with it).  It was one of those interviews that felt like just hanging out rather than firing questions and receiving formulated answers.

We found ourselves a quiet little place to sit and talk, and we had ourselves a nice little chat about their SXSW experience, their influences, and what is next for them.

If you haven’t listened to Hunters, you’re in for a treat.  Be sure to check them out.  The duo has just signed to Mom+Pop and announced a tour with Bleached.  So check out this interview, check out their tunes, and then be sure to hit up their tour.

VM: So, [how has it been at SXSW?].

Izzy: I’ve been having a lot of fun, even though I’m super sick – I have horrible allergies, I can barely breathe and I have no voice. But I’m still having a lot of fun!

VM: How has the audience response been?

Izzy: It’s been great, actually, yeah. I think it’s been a good opportunity to meet more people and see a bunch of bands. And it’s nice out and we’re coming from New York – it’s so cold there, so I’m enjoying it.

Derek: We’ve been running into friends in other bands, you know, all playing in one place…

Izzy: And you play some pretty weird shows, like playing after a rap group, and it doesn’t make any sense, but somehow the crowd’s into it and you’re like, ‘okay, cool!’

VM: It’s a really mixed crowd, but it’s fun.  It keeps you on your toes, you know? So do you have a favorite venue or show that you’ve played so far?

Derek:  I think maybe Mohawk.

Izzy: That was fun, yeah.

Derek: I’m trying to think what else… it’s kind of all a blur… oh, no! The Gypsy! That was the best one.

Izzy: Oh yeah, the Gypsy was awesome; it was like a house party. It was really cool. It was really packed and small, really cool. It was really fun; I didn’t really have a voice, but it didn’t matter.

Derek: Yeah, there was one monitor, and it wasn’t really working, so we couldn’t really hear ourselves, but it made us feel comfortable. You know, it made us feel like we were doing something we always do, so yeah, that was probably the best one.

VM: So I read you met at your job, and then you never went back.

Derek: It was a horrible job.  It was one of those things were you’re in New York and you have to get a job quickly.

Izzy: It was definitely a temporary job, like, ‘okay, I’ll do this for now, and then I’ll go find something else,’ you know, but then we found each other. That’s really cheesy.

Derek: Wow. You should write Hallmark cards.

Izzy: I do actually, that’s what I do on tour!

Derek: That’s her next job! She just comes up with different cards and then sends them into Hallmark (laughs).

VM: So, did you find your sound the first time you ever played together?

Izzy:  No, it was really weird and easy for some reason. I don’t know why.  Well, I think the reason why is we had an adventure, playing together…we had talked about music before and had a lot of similar tastes and backgrounds.

VM: You’ve been compared to the Stooges and Sonic Youth. Do you like that comparison – do you think that’s accurate?

Derek: I don’t know if it’s accurate, but it’s nice. I mean, those bands are awesome.

VM: Izzy – I read that you’d had a bunch of bands in your head since you were a kid. Was it always the same genre?

Izzy: Oh, when I was way younger, it was really cheesy stuff, like…it’s embarrassing. But then when I started getting more into rock and stuff, that’s when I started trying to write rock songs, but they were really bad because I was really young. I still remember them because, wow, they were awful. They’re going to the grave with me (laughs).

VM: No sharing?

Izzy: No way. It’s definitely one of those secrets you have to keep.

Derek: And I think maybe the Sonic Youth thing comes up, because we use tunings for our guitars and stuff, so maybe in that way I could hear it. And, you know, since it was a guy and a girl, I think people gravitate toward stuff like that automatically. In that way it makes sense.

Izzy: The Stooges and Sonic Youth were definitely a big influence for me, especially coming from Brazil where it was hard to find out about bands. So for me finding out about the Stooges and Sonic Youth was already a huge thing, like, ‘oh my God, I found it!’ And there was a scene in Rio that knew about those bands, but I wasn’t part of it. Like, my brothers and sisters were listening to stuff that’s just not good, and I was just trying to find stuff out on my own, you know?

Derek: Yeah, and they’re really good intro bands, bands that you can start to dig with.

VM: So how did you get put in touch with Nick from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to mix you?

Derek: We just knew him from around, and the timing was just such that they were on a break – like they had just finished touring, and they were kind of taking a break to sort of regroup and have a little time for themselves – and he was down; he was like, ‘oh, I’m kind of interested in doing stuff with you.’ And we didn’t have any money, so for someone to offer to do it for free was kind of, you know, from the heavens. No matter who would’ve asked us we would’ve said yes, to be honest. It was just a really lucky situation. And he was super cool about going back and forth with mixes and stuff like that, so that worked out really well.

VM: Wow, that’s awesome. So, [Izzy] what was it the Village Voice said?  Did you read that? They said that when you’re on stage, you’re the world’s most rhythmic stroke victim.

Izzy: I feel like that makes sense actually, because sometimes when I see a video of a show or something, I feel like I’m just not even in rhythm, like I don’t even know what’s happening. I think it’s funny; it’s cool. I don’t care.

VM: So I know we’ve talked about your favorite show, but who’s your favorite person that you’ve seen at SXSW?

Izzy: I haven’t been going to that many shows, because I’ve been so sick!

Derek: Wow, I’ve seen a bunch.  Believe it or not, I think Riff Raff was kind of awesome. I wasn’t expecting that. I wanted to see the dude from Hawkwind – he was doing Space Ritual, but I couldn’t go – I think we were playing at the same time. That was kind of a bummer. We saw Pangea and FIDLAR – that was good. We saw like a song of Bleached.

VM: Aren’t you touring with them?

Derek: Yeah, almost as soon as we get back we’re leaving.

Izzy: Yeah, we’re recording and then we’re going on tour.

Derek: It’s hard to say though, I feel like you just see so many things here. I might wanna see Waka Flocka tonight, if that’s possible. It’s like a guilty pleasure.

VM: Do you wanna see JT (laughs)?

Derek: Oh, is that tonight? I didn’t have any plans to do that, but that could be kind of funny. Where is that?

VM: Is that that MySpace secret show or something?

Derek: Oh yeah, doesn’t he do MySpace now or something? They’re like revamping it or something?

VM: Yeah, every time I hear about MySpace now it’s associated with him.

Izzy: Maybe it’s an urban legend or something, because I don’t know how I found out about that, but that’s all I hear.

Derek: Yeah, it’s like I think of them together, which is weird, because I haven’t thought about that website in so long.

VM: So, you’re touring, and then are you coming up with anything new?

Derek: Yeah, we’re finishing our record as soon as we get back.  We’ve got a bunch of days where we’ll finish up everything. I think we record the day after we get back, so we’ll be nice and refreshed for that, right (laughs)? But yeah, we record for a bunch of days, and then we leave a few days after that to go on tour with Bleached, and then we’re out with those guys until the end of April… and then we’re back, and then we have another tour after that.

VM: And you’re coming to Atlanta?

Derek: Yeah! Are you gonna come?

VM: Yeah, I’m from Athens, which is right there.

Derek: Oh, that’s pretty close?

VM: Yeah, it’s like an hour, so we’ll be there.

Derek: I’m not sure where we’re playing but…

VM: The Earl.

Izzy: Oh, I’ve been there before, it’s fun, I like it!

Derek: Oh, that’s cool. Yeah, we played the Drunken Unicorn there once, and the Masquerade.

VM: Did you play upstairs there, or…?

Izzy: Yeah, upstairs.

VM: Yeah, the Masquerade has Heaven, Purgatory, Hell…

Derek: So we were Heaven-sent? But the backstage was like Hell. It felt like jail, like a holding cell…

Izzy: It was like a green room, for real – everything was green.

Derek: Yeah, it had a high ceiling, but there were no windows, and there were these really weird, greasy chairs. It was fine. I mean, it was actually really funny. I actually liked the stage there.  You could really get to the audience.

VM: Yeah, that’s cool. The floor though, if you’re in the audience, I always feel like I’m gonna fall through. It freaks me out every time.

Derek: Yeah, that’s kind of scary.

VM: Well, cool, we’ll see you in Atlanta then!

Vinyl Mag’s Guide to SXSW

Posted on by Emily McBride

South by Southwest.

Indescribable.  But here I am, about to try to describe it.

SXSW was intense, exhausting, physically painful at times, and overwhelming.  But it was also arguably the best week of my life.  I’ve never had so much productive (and thoroughly professional at all times, of course) fun in my entire life, and I’m already ready to go back.  Seriously…is it next year yet?

It is important to note that, more than being the X Games of music festivals, SXSW is also a conference and an incomparable networking opportunity.  Most of the day for me was spent attending parties and exchanging business cards American-Psycho-style, making connections and building mutually beneficial business relationships (such a hard life).

This was my first year at SXSW (and definitely not my last), so I had a lot to learn.  Like…a lot.  And fortunately, I had the presence of mind to take notes so that I could share my knowledge with you – and so I would be prepared the next time around.  So here it is.  My rundown of SXSW 2013:

Favorite venue: Mohawk.

Least favorite venue: The Belmont (too crowded; unless you get there four hours early and wait to be in the tiny pit, anywhere you stand provides a pretty unimpressive view of the stage).

Favorite discovery: Ginger & the Ghost.

Favorite day parties: Spotify, Yard Dog Gallery (both of which required some serious Frodo-and-Sam-style trekking, but were well worth it).

Favorite food: Taco N’ Madre food truck (I don’t know what the sauces are, but don’t ask questions and just put all of them on your tacos — you’re welcome).

Favorite live performance: Still is (and may always be) Diarrhea Planet.  They make me act stupid and get sweaty, and I appreciate that.

Favorite line-up: Sirah, Charli XCX, Icona Pop, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis all played at The Belmont on Night One.  Pretty epic.

Favorite app: Hail A Cab Austin (this saved me countless times when I was trying to get to an interview.  Wish I’d discovered it Day One.  Kind of wish I hadn’t told you guys about it.  If I can’t get a cab next year, I’m blaming my readers).

Biggest show I sort of made it to (but more like listened to from far away): Flaming Lips at Auditorium Shores Stage.  So crowded I would have gotten the same experience watching it on TV.

Earliest bed time: 3 a.m.

Latest I slept in: 8:30 a.m.

Best public place to regain strength, charge your phone, use the bathroom, and lay on the floor and complain about how much pain you’re in: Austin Convention Center upstairs (surprise, surprise).

Favorite street: Rainey Street.

Favorite celebrity sightings: Standing in line behind Pauly Shore at Iron Works BBQ, meeting Perez Hilton at the VH1 Cafe, and being too scared to go talk to LeVar Burton at the Sennheiser + Paste Interactive Studio & Lounge on Rainey Street.

Favorite fan-girl moment: meeting Icona Pop at the VH1 Cafe and acting extremely uncool about it (sorryI’mnotsorry for creeping).

Favorite score: Generous Unknown Girl came up to me while I was sitting pensively on a bench and asked me if I wanted the free red American Apparel skirt she got because she didn’t feel like carrying it around.  If only she had a backpack (see Lesson One below).  Thank you, Generous Unknown Girl.  I am forever grateful to you.

Biggest rip-off: Wu Wu Fest advertising “free Wu Wu sushi” at their party if you RSVP/”Like” them on FB…what they should have said was “one tray of six pieces of free sushi to be passed around once every two hours so you probably won’t get any unless you hang out by the kitchen, suckers”…I’m bitter, yes, but I was really hungry.

Most pointless “secret show”: Justin Timberlake at Myspace.  It’s not a secret show if it’s plastered all over the wall of the building in giant letters.

Now that I’ve shared my high and lowlights with you, let me move on to the valuable lessons I learned…

Lesson One: Don’t wear new shoes, stupid.  Wear the most comfortable, walkable shoes you can find.  I don’t care if they are Crocs (actually, I take that back —  Crocs are inexcusable), but in this case, style is secondary to practicality.  I seriously have blister scars on my heels from these stupidly adorable mint Oxfords that I thought were a good idea.  Damn my vanity.

On that note, go with a backpack instead of a purse.  Hands-free is where it’s at.  And throw a sweater in there.  It gets a little chilly at night.

Lesson Two: Let some things go.  You will never be able to stick to the uber-strict time-crunch schedule you have made for yourself, so allow yourself to go with the flow, always have a Plan B, and remember to leave yourself some time to stumble upon some new discoveries.  That’s part of what SXSW is for.  It’s not just a festival to see your iPod playlist come to life (did that reference date me? Should I have said Spotify or Drinkify playlist?).

Lesson Three: Bring your phone charger with you.  Bring a portable charger.  Trust me.  You’re gonna be InstaTweetVining the crap out of this thing, and your phone can only handle so much.

Lesson Four: Don’t wait in line for any band for more than 15 minutes.  It is a waste of time.  You are missing too much of the goings-on around you, and chances are the band you are impatiently waiting for will be playing an unofficial show tomorrow at 2:00.  Which brings me to…

Lesson Five: Do not rely strictly on the official SXSW show schedule.  Now, don’t get me wrong, this schedule is THE BOMB, and the SXSW app on your phone that allows you to make your own schedule kept me from running around like a headless chicken (more than I already was, anyway), but chances are, your must-see-or-it-was-all-for-nothing band is playing either a day party you don’t know about or an unofficial showcase somewhere.  Look up your priority bands on their Twitters and websites, and chances are you’ll be able to track them down.

Lesson Six: Stalk Twitters and RSVP to absolutely everything you plan on attending well in advance.

There you have it.  Now let’s do that again.

SXSW with PEACE

Posted on by Emily McBride

You’ve probably heard of PEACE by now.  This British quartet are making serious waves in the music world, and we can’t get enough of them.  They’ve been called the future of indie rock – although, as you’ll see in this interview, they don’t consider themselves to be “indie.”  Either way, they are “the future of something.”

I was able to catch up with them for a few minutes after a morning showcase at South by Southwest to talk a little bit about what drives the music, their boredom, and who they enjoyed most at SXSW.

They are men of few words, but honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.  They are the perfect caricatures of true rockstars- they give the impression that they genuinely don’t care, and it’s not a facade.  They prefer to let their music speak for them.  PEACE is a group of musicians, and they don’t feel the need to be anything else.

Their album, In Love, just dropped yesterday, and we’ve already run through it several times.  Be sure to check it out right after you check out this interview.