Exclusive Album Premiere: Seluah: ‘Phase III’

Posted on by Andrew Plaskowsky

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Menacing.

Moody.

Unsettling.

Those three adjectives can be used to describe various situations, but in this case they perfectly describe the Louisville-based psych rock quartet Seluah’s sophomore record Phase III due out on June 2 via Karate Body Records.  And we’ve got the exclusive premiere below.

The group’s first record followed a decade after its debut EP and was acclaimed for showcasing the breadth of Louisville’s rock music scene. On Phase III, the band is able to pinpoint its focus on the elements of the first album that worked and further exploit them.

Lead single “Experiment in Horror” opens the record in a similar fashion to “We May Never Make It Home” off 2012’s Red Parole, with its lonesome guitar line and echoed vocals. Where it differs is the moment when the melody of the guitar is twisted downward. The lighter sounds of Christian Fredrickson’s viola meet the aggression in the bass line and ultimately serve as a foil for the record’s theme.

The second track “Nanon” picks up on the urgency of its predecessor with a foreboding rhythmic section that dominates the song in a manner similar to the dissociative obsession with murder in the lyrics. The attention to detail in this particular track is unsettling; both components of the song verge on psychotic as they loop and repeat a descent into madness.

Another standout, “The Killer” contains lush vocal melodies and an almost empowering electric guitar part towards the final minute. The song ebbs and flows like the outpour of emotions in the lyrical narrative which displays remorse for killing, but shows no indication of stopping.

Phase III will be released on vinyl and digital formats on June 2 via Karate Body Records.  You can pre-order the album here.

 

REVIEW: AthFest 2015 Compilation CD

Posted on by Kelsey Butterworth

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AthFest, Athens’ seminal music festival, is right around the corner (June 24-28) and with it comes another stellar compilation CD featuring highlights of the jam packed lineup. This year’s was the first ever to be produced by students of UGA’s own Music Business program, and let us to be one of the first to say they did a bang-up job.

The 21 track compilation has a clear theme, one that has naturally marked every AthFest but seems to be even more present this year: summer. Whether it’s the breezy Kokomo noodling of opener “Fools Like These” by Tongues or the lazy Sunday contemplation of WrennPop’s “Laundromat”, each hand-picked track perfectly encapsulates the slowed down pace of an empty campus and the heat of baking Athens asphalt. Even the obligatory Whigs song, “Hit Me”, is one of their substantially mellower tunes. Major kudos goes out to the MBUS kids for this superbly sequenced compilation. Each sampling flows evenly from one to the next, from bouncy pop to quiet, moody bedroom synth dreaminess; as befits any zen summer festival, nothing about this varied representation is misplaced or jarring.

The CD’s assemblers also made wise choices in including some lesser knowns of our local scene – of Montreal is headlining the fest, sure, but they don’t need to do much to get anyone to visit their sets. But for smaller indie bands like The Orkids and Playground Hero – and especially for oft-shafted Athens hip hop artists like Uncle Pizza and Showtime – this exposure ahead of the festival is crucial.

MBUS student and compilation project co-producer Kelsey Kirpich, along with fellow MBUS student Anna Reed, said a team of five students listened to all 150 submissions, eventually narrowing it down to the 21 tracks it features – a tough feat for most, but moreso for a group of music fanatics. “We kept narrowing down the submissions until we had a list we felt was a great representation of the diverse Athens music scene.” Kirpich said, “The Music Business Program at UGA is a community of passionate music lovers, so it made it a really enjoyable process for everyone involved.” MBUS director David Barbe was also an enthusiastic backer of the project, saying he “instantly loved the idea” of having his own students be part of the process. “[It’s] a great opportunity for students to see the nuts and bolts of a music release – selecting artists and material, mastering, manufacturing, promoting and distributing,” he said. With MBUS’ stature growing every year, it makes total sense to get UGA students more involved in AthFest, which more broadly serves the Athens community, one that is made up of so much more than academia and football.

The CD was produced by Russ Hallauer and is out June 18 on Ghostmeat Records (purveyors of the annual AthFest comp for the last 18 years) and available for purchase here or at the merch table on site. As with everything AthFest, it benefits Athfest Educates, so jump on this thing.

Click here to listen to select comp CD tracks!

 

Club Crawl Info:

After the free outdoor shows, a $30 wristband grants access into more than a dozen Club Crawl venues Friday and Saturday nights, as well as discounts at AthFest affiliated events and into a VIP viewing area to the right of the stage.  40 Watt has a wristband-only show Friday night featuring Thayer Serrano, Cracker and The Whiskey Gentry, and Shehehe, Mind Brains and Warehouse Saturday night.  The Georgia Theatre has two nights of wristband-only shows featuring headliners Blank Range and Roadkill Ghost Choir Friday night, and Darnell Boys and Surfer Blood on Saturday night.  Other participating venues include Caledonia Lounge, Cine, Flicker Theatre, Go Bar, Hendershot’s, Little Kings Shuffle Club, Live Wire Athens, Lumpkin Street Station, The Foundry, The Globe, and The World Famous. Club Crawl line-up here.

No Room For Hate When You Give Back: Electric Forces at Electric Forest 2015

Posted on by Jacklyn Citero

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“Do not be afraid to live and smile more. Life is too short.”

“I remember how I felt, and I remember how beautiful everybody was and how I literally had gone from seeing existence as a curse to realizing it’s the most incredible gift that we have.”

It was in this moment at Electric Forest 2012 when Pat Hawco began his mental healing process.

On his final patrol as a minesweeper in Afghanistan, Hawco stepped on a land mine and lost his leg. Like a lot of veterans, he returned home with an anger that surrounded the fact that he would be handicapped for the rest of his life; a hurdle unto itself. While recovering from his injury in Southern California, Hawco had the opportunity to attend a music festival that boasted a lineup with some of the biggest names in electronic music today. From this experience, Hawco ended up falling in love with the electronic scene and the people he met, and he began using this music to replace his anger.

“Even before the military I was an angry person,” Hawco said. “I remember the years leading up to going into the military, I was this rotten angry person and I had never really given myself a chance to smile and be a happy person. There was some kind of block I had towards the ‘it’s better to be positive’ attitude.”

Hawco was still caught up in the mindset of Afghanistan, the ethos of the Marine Corps, and his own resentment when he accepted an invitation to join his friends at Electric Forest in 2012.

“I didn’t know what to expect. I showed up and literally those four days changed my life. It turned the entire idea I had towards humanity on its head. I entered with the anger and hate and left with love and compassion. It also showed me the appreciation for life that I was looking for.”

This self-realization, along with a chance encounter and interview with a reporter the following year at Electric Forest in 2013, opened the doors to the creation of Electric Forest’s Electric Forces Program. A collaborative effort, the Electric Forces Program is inspired and led by veterans with the support of members of the Electric Forest production team and the Electric Forest family. Launched in 2014, the program is a unique onsite festival activation where U.S. Military Veterans and Electric Forest festival-goers shared their stories of transformation and community in music.

When Hawco’s interview started gaining attention and made its way back to the Forest HQ, the team knew they wanted to do more for veterans.

“From the beginning, we got in contact with Pat and asked ‘what can we do?’” explained Electric Forest’s Plug In Program Director Lia Holland.  “His reply was that he and his fellow veterans wanted to serve the community, and we were taken aback that they flipped our question on its head and wanted to know what they could do for us!  Since then, we’ve been challenging our internal teams to find places for as many veterans as possible to join us to build and run the festival. This is a collaboration – as much as possible, we encourage veterans to speak for and represent themselves in their work on the event with the Electric Forces Story Project.”

The Electric Forces Story Sharing Initiative is returning for its second year and invites the Forest Family to share their tales of change and renewal through the festival experience on camera.  This year, StoryCorps, a nonprofit that has created the largest single collection of human voices ever gathered, will make all stories available to be digitally shared with friends, family, and the future. These stories will also be preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The dream of Hawco and StoryCorps is to capture the collective wisdom of humanity through this creation of oral history.

“Last year, it was more about me telling my story. This year, my goal is to let everyone else tell their story,” explained Hawco. “There is this big lesson you can learn from everybody and I want to take those lessons and transfer them to real life.”

While the festival activation itself is based on individuals and their stories, this year, in collaboration with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the program includes two new additional opportunities to involve even more veterans: The Electric Forces Workshop Program and The Electric Forces Veterans Building Crew. The workshop program invites veterans to share the inspirations and interests that have helped them in their healing process. From yoga to sustainable agriculture, a wide variety of interests are combining to offer opportunities for service and learning to all. A team of veterans will be of service behind the scenes of the festival as The Electric Forces Build Crew and they will join the Electric Forest community as builders and creators.

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“The program has grown much larger in its first year than we ever imagined,” said Holland. “We received over 100 applications, and our crews scrambled to find more work with the festival so that we could invite every single veteran who applied to join a team.  After a huge effort on the part of our operations crew, we sent out job offers to all of the veterans to join everything from the medical staff to campground hosts. During this process, it was jaw dropping how skilled our veteran applicants are – I think we’re going to have the best crew ever this year with them on it!”

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Through these activations, Electric Forces aims to coordinate community building and bridge the gap between veterans and civilians through healing. “I want to melt the gap between everybody,” Hawco said. “I don’t want there to be anymore groups, especially veterans and nonveterans. I don’t want anyone to think about it like that anymore. I know there is that separation, but I feel like there doesn’t need to be as much as one as there is.”

“With each interaction that takes place between military and non-military Forest Family, so-called ‘veterans issues’ become problems that we share, and that we face together. We want to create as many opportunities for that connection as possible,” Holland explained.

Over the course of the festival weekend, Electric Forces will bring people together from all walks of life. Although these connections, along with all of the other opportunities for veterans and civilians, are the main focuses of the program, something greater is at work here. Beyond these new connections, beyond the collecting of stories, beyond the employment opportunities, this program will not only provide life lessons, but Electric Forces will ultimately change lives.

“The greatest lesson from this program is a lesson that life teaches every time you learn deeply about someone different from you – don’t make assumptions about people, their motivations, or their circumstances. Each person is unique, and what is healing for one may seem strange to another. We all have to find our own paths toward healing and happiness, and embrace our differences on that journey,” shares Holland.

Every single person has their own struggles. We all have our individual paths to walk down and we must find our own ways to discover healing and happiness. Hawco’s mental healing process began and continues at this music festival. It was here that his perspective on life changed and where he began to view his situation as a gift rather than a detriment. His work with Electric Forces has been an outlet for his own personal healing and he shared the insight that, “There is no room for hate when you give back.”

From a person full of anger and rage to an individual that loves life and has compassion, Hawco’s transformative story is one of hope. For anyone still searching for their new beginning in life, Hawco offer’s these simple words, “Do not be afraid to live and smile more.  Life is too short.” While this may be easier said than done for some, participation in this year’s Electric Forces has the ability to open the doors to personal healing.

Over the years, many Electric Forest attendees have experienced the pure magic of this festival; they have found comfort, healing, and protection within the Sherwood Forest, they have received unconditional acceptance from the Forest Family, and they have never been freer to be themselves. With Hawco has an incredible example, many who have walked through those festival gates have rediscovered their true selves and have been able to begin their own personal journeys towards healing from their festival experience.

Through her work with the festival, Holland has been fortunate to see how Electric Forest has evolved into not only one of the best music festivals in the country, but a place of healing: “Electric Forest has become a place of healing through the intentions of everyone who is involved with the event. Once a space is created to encourage strangers who share a love of music and art and life to slow down and find each other, relationships blossom. When that seed of connection was planted, and the space was created, the Forest Family itself became the greatest curator of the festival’s capacity to be a place of healing and inspiration. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve had the fortune to see.”

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Vinyl Mag would like to take this moment to thank and recognize all who have served our country. We honor the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in order to preserve our freedom and our way of life.

Show Review: Jenny Lewis at the Georgia Theatre 5/13/15

Posted on by Kelsey Butterworth
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Photos by Sarra Sedghi

Jenny Lewis, den mother of millennial hippies and all bespeckled in her sherbert rainbow pantsuit, made a triumphant return to the Georgia Theatre this past Wednesday night. Why triumphant? As Lewis noted in between divinely delivered pop geodes, the last time she played Athens – or tried to – the Theatre was going through some fire troubles. “The marquee was a melty ‘Jenny Lewis’ for weeks,” she joked. But thank goodness GATH was still standing this time around, because man, what a show.

Despite the highly anticipated Voyager-themed stage set, one Lewis described as “bronies on acid,” she played a pretty even mix of new material, old solo songs, and Rilo Kiley classics. Of course she played “Portions For Foxes,” but she also dug up older stuff like “With Arms Outstretched” and “You Are What You Love.” Every song was met with more rapturous applause and girlish (for some, guyish) screaming than the last. The audience, a near sold-out crowd, was in one of two modes: transfixed or Beatlemania-ing. It was like seeing their hero transported them back to the first time one of Lewis’ songs spoke to their souls (probably somewhere around their first breakup, but that’s just a guess), which is exactly what great music is supposed to do: act as a time machine.

But the only person in the room even happier than the crowd was Lewis herself. Even though she tried to play coy by busting out her evident acting background – strutting around stage with her hand in her pocket like a self-important businessman, gingerly handing a fan a single rose, taking every opportunity to climb monitors like a conquering Athena. But eventually neither she nor her band could hide their sheer joy at every singing-along face. They were even good sports when humongous pink and blue balloons were unleashed, and certain audience members thought it apt to keep punching them onstage. When they closed out their pre-encore set with “A Better Son/Daughter,” it felt like a genuine call to arms for anyone going through a sea change (get it? Nautical puns?), and Lewis dedicated “Girl On Girl” to women in bands everywhere – a much appreciated dedication these days. After the band took their post-encore bows, it was implicitly clear that the Theatre’s comeback wasn’t official without a, er, metaphorical Jenny Lewis barnburner.

Bonus fun fact: Lewis’ favorite shoe store is Kum’s, for when she’s in need of mismatched Keds from the 1980’s.

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SETLIST:

  • Head Underwater
  • Silver Lining
  • The Moneymaker
  • The Next Messiah
  • With Arms Outstretched
  • Just One Of The Guys
  • Slippery Slopes
  • Close Call
  • Pretty Bird
  • You Are What You Love
  • The New You
  • She’s Not Me
  • Portions For Foxes
  • A Better Son/Daughter

ENCORE:

  • The Voyager
  • Girl On Girl
  • Love U Forever
  • Acid Tongue

4/5

Shaky Knees 2015 in Review

Posted on by Emily McBride
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Ponce de Leon stage at Mac DeMarco. Photo by aLIVE Coverage.

“Incredible.”  “Epic.”  “Unreal lineup.”  “Best festival I’ve ever been to.”

I heard all of these descriptions last weekend at Shaky Knees Festival, and I echoed them in spades.  No complaints whatsoever.

For a festival that’s only in its third year, Shaky Knees is already topping my list of favorite fests.

The lineup was absurdly impressive.  When it was announced back in January, I just stared at the screen in awe.  On Day One, I saw Surfer Blood (Vinyl Video coming soon!), Haerts, Jukebox the Ghost, Tennis, The Kooks, Mac DeMarco, Manchester Orchestra, TV On The Radio, American Football, Brand New, the Pixies, and The Strokes!  Seriously. That was just Day One.

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Day One was a perfect lineup all day, but we really have to talk about The Strokes.  They completely blew me away.  We were late (as in on time for them to start, late finding a spot to stand) getting to their set, because High School Emily had to finally fulfill the need to see Brand New live (apparently I’m not too old to mosh yet), so we were pretty far back.  Didn’t matter.  They were absolutely amazing live.  Playing for an hour and half – unheard of at a music festival – they kept it fresh and energetic the entire time.  Every time I thought I had gotten my fill and they had covered every song I wanted to hear, they would pull out another classic, and I would start jumping up and down and screaming along with them again.  From beginning to end, their show was a perfect setlist, excellent sound quality, and pure energy.  I’m already ready to see them again.

How freaking awesome does this look? #thestrokes #shakykneesfest @thestrokes @shakykneesfest

A video posted by Vinyl Mag (@vinylmag) on

 

Day Two was just as packed.  I walked in and immediately got up to the front at Kevin Devine & the Goddamn Band.  It was my fifth time seeing him and definitely not my last.  His shows are bare, with no bells and whistles.  No overblown light show. Simple and loud and without distraction, letting the music speak for itself.  His stage banter is off the cuff and often self-deprecating, with no pretense whatsoever.  Kevin is the most unassuming rockstar I’ve ever seen, but he’s a true rockstar.  His calming sweet singing is quiet, hushing the whole room before the inevitable breakdown that always comes, and he brings out the gravely screams and the violent, spastic guitar solos.  Barely noon, and I was already head banging.

  #privatefirstclass @kevinpdevine #shakykneesfest #kevindevine @shakykneesfest   A video posted by Vinyl Mag (@vinylmag) on

Other highlights of the day included Speedy Ortiz (who, admittedly, could have worked on their stage presence a little), Viet Cong (bring the noise!), Palma Violets (one of the best of the entire weekend), Real Estate, The Devil Makes Three, The Black Lips, Built to Spill, Milky Chance, ZZ Ward, and, of course, Neutral Milk Hotel (yes, Avett Brothers headlined – sorry, just not my thing).  NMH was a long time coming for me, and I nearly cried as they nostalgically made their way through every Aeroplane song I’ve been dying to hear live for 10 years (I’m a youngin).

By Day Three, I was fully sunburned (with a super weird tan-line – thank you, off-shoulder crop top), and my feet were killing me.  Both problems I fully blame myself for, having forgotten sunscreen Day One and packed stupidly flat soled shoes.  Fortunately for me, I’m a trooper.  Plus, the instant I walked into the park that morning, I ran smack into Bethany from Best Coast who was gracious enough to pretend that she remembered me when I told her that I was one of the thousands of people she met for two minutes at South by Southwest.  And then I immediately found $10 and bought some tacos with it.  Hard to complain about anything after that morning.

A video posted by Vinyl Mag (@vinylmag) on

The best of Day Three for me was, of course, my darling Best Coast, as well as Diamond Rugs and Ryan Adams.  The Both was awesome and mellow live, though their awkward stage banter made it seem like they had never spent a moment together off-stage.

And then there was this @diamondrugs #shakykneesfest @shakykneesfest #diamondrugs

A photo posted by Vinyl Mag (@vinylmag) on

 

This year was flawless.  I can’t think of a single aspect of the fest that wasn’t perfectly planned out, from the helpful staff/volunteers to the location to the layout of the app.

Let’s talk about the app for a minute actually.  Best festival app I’ve ever used.  Of course it had the usual – radio, lineup, schedule, etc.  But the most helpful/genius parts were the food truck locator and the map – it’s a big park.

The festival producers had every base covered.  Even if you didn’t have the app, they had your back when you walked in, handing you a pocket-sized booklet complete with schedule, late night show details, and yes, the map, outlining a masterfully laid out fest (I know this is starting to sound like I’m being paid by Shaky Knees publicists, but I swear I was just that impressed).  Every problem they had last year – mainly, we just remember the lack of space – was solved with the location move to Central Park.  The stages were perfectly spaced out so that you could get from show to show without feeling like you were trekking through the Dead Marshes on the way to Mount Doom but far enough away that no stage’s music interfered with another.  Besides that, there would always be a good place to stand – thank Nature for tree shade.

Another huge – and literally refreshing – thing at this festival was the Free. Freaking. Water.  It’s a revelation.  Where five dollars is typically a generous bottle rate at fests, this is absolutely groundbreaking.  Buy or bring a bottle, and you get unlimited refills throughout the fest.  No more extreme dehydration.  No more weighing the opportunity cost of a fun beer or smart water.  Please let this be the new standard for festivals.

All in all, Shaky Knees completely nailed it.  Amazing lineup.  Excellent scheduling so hardly any of the bands I wanted to see overlapped.  Great app that I actually used instead of making my own schedule.  So many drink (and water) stations.  One of the best festival experiences I have ever had.  The lineup was enough, but the details and thought put into it put it over the top and made it effortless and stress-free for me.  Again, please let this be the new standard for festivals.

Our traditional lists:

Top 10 Shows of Shaky Knees:

1.  The Strokes

2. Neutral Milk Hotel

3. Diamond Rugs

4. Pixies

5. Palma Violets

6. Best Coast

7. Tame Impala

8. Mac DeMarco

9. Kevin Devine & the Goddamn Band

10. Brand New

Best discovery of the weekend: The Devil Makes Three

Crikey that’s a lot of pickin and grinnin @thedevilmakes3 #shakykneesfest @shakykneesfest

A video posted by Vinyl Mag (@vinylmag) on

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Day One – Surfer Blood

All photos by aLIVE Coverage.

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Boyfriend x Vinyl Mag

Posted on by Courtney Cooper Johnson
Boyfriend
Photo by Matt Lief Anderson

 

“I’m Boyfriend. That’s who I am fully now.  This is my job.  This is my identity.”

Boyfriend is a former school teacher turned rapper from New Orleans who preforms a cabaret-style strip tease during her sets and says “fuck” a lot. She introduces herself to me with a hug as we meet for the first time at Athen’s famous Clocked diner (Boyfriend asked me if I minded starting our interview and photo session there so she could fulfill her “chocolate milkshake Athens tradition”).

We find seats at the high-top counter, and almost immediately our conversation mimics that of two friends who haven’t seen each other in a long time. Boyfriend patiently fills me in on the few details I couldn’t gather about her on the internet, and after a few minutes I realize she is not at all what I was expecting her to be. She’s relaxed and open, noticeably comfortable in her own skin – there is an edge to her but also a gentleness that makes you lower your own guard. “Do you have any regrets?”  I asked pointedly. After a brief pause Boyfriend looks at me, “My gut instinct is ‘no,’ because you learn from everything. I have mistakes but not regrets.”

Early on in her career, Boyfriend chose not to reveal her real name to keep her private and personal lives separate and has chosen to stick with the alias since leaving her double life behind. “Initially I was working with kids and didn’t want those two lives to intertwine, but now that it’s started, why should anyone know my name?” she says with conviction. “I’m Boyfriend. That’s who I am now fully, now that I’ve quit that job.  This is my job.  This is my identity.”

I also discovered how much of a role Boyfriend’s English contributes to her writing. “With rap, especially, all of the pressure is on the words. A regular song is like a pistol, and a rap song is like an AK-47, because you have so many more words in a three-minute period than you have in a basic song. There’s a lot more that you can pack in. You’re also using a lot of English literature tools in it, like alliteration or internal rhyme. When I talk about rap songs, or music in general, I use the same terms. I think about songs as stories with the same narrative structure, with a main character, with a voice, either first person, second person. Typically rap is in first person. Also, I think of the hook of the song as the main idea. If the song is an essay, then the hook is a thesis, your statement that everything points back to. If the song veers off and doesn’t stay true to that hook, then it’s not as strong, to me. I like to look at songs as tightly packed nuggets of information and stories. Also, I don’t play an instrument, so I’m not a ‘musician.’ I deal with words, and I’m trying to expand that part of myself a little bit more. I do incorporate melody and syncopation and rhythm, but I don’t sit down and play the drums or play guitar. I approach music as concept, idea, theme, what do I want to say philosophically. Then employ instruments to help get that across, whereas other musicians would approach it the exact opposite way. They build something out of sound and find what words match the sound, whereas I do it the opposite.”

In the end “the work,” as she refers to her rap career, is to empower women, even though Boyfriend doesn’t box herself into the role of a “feminist rapper.” “There’s this semi-famous story that William Faulkner was writing, not fantasy but really ‘out there’ short stories that had nothing to do with his history. One of his peers was like, ‘Write what you know.’ That’s when he started writing some of the greatest southern literature of all time, because he was writing what he knew about. For me, I know what its like to be a woman, so that’s where I speak from.”

Even though sometimes speaking from that place lands her in awkward situations. “What I want to do is to create a safe atmosphere during my shows. It’s about breaking down this invisible fourth wall between who is on stage and who isn’t and making connections. I make eye contact. I spend my whole set trying to build a connection with people in the audience, so when they come over to the merch table afterwards and offer to fuck me, I can’t get that mad.  Because I just spent all this time trying to make them feel comfortable, so it’s really just about boundaries. It doesn’t freak me out or make me feel uncomfortable. The only thing I am not okay with is someone touching me without permission or following me, and that’s not ever happened. If anything, it opens up a dialogue, and that’s good because so often people are afraid to just talk…at the very least that’s kind of what I’m going for – for people to just not be so scared…I’m the type of girl that high fives a dude that comes onto me with a bad line. I might not be interested in banging, but that took balls, dude! Bring it on.”

Boyfriend
Photo by Matt Lief Anderson

 

Boyfriend
Photo by Matt Lief Anderson
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Photo by Courtney Cooper Johnson

 

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Photo by Courtney Cooper Johnson

 

15 Beachy Songs to Add to Your Summer Playlist

Posted on by Kelsey Butterworth

One of the most important components to any beach trip is the playlist. Laying out in the sand and surf demands a special collection of vibey tunes, and we’re here to make sure you have those tunes at your disposal. Here are 15 songs you definitely need to add to your summer playlist – 2015 is already heating up, so grab your gear and hit the shore.

The Best of Ted Leo (So Far)

Posted on by Kelsey Butterworth

Ted Leo, widely regarded as the cool uncle of punk rock, has been around the scene for a while. It makes sense given that he spent his formative music years in the hardcore scenes of New Jersey and New York, and in the late 1980s and early 1990s that was the place to be. Despite his musical output, he had a pretty unpunk upbringing – after graduating from Seton Prep, he went on to get an English degree from Notre Dame.

But given the material he’d later put to tape, one wonders if he was actually doing undercover research for his eventual anti-capitalism reportage. It would take a hot minute to cull his entire discography, so here are some particular highlights for Leonine novices.

Chisel – 8 A.M. All Day (1996)

Chisel’s excellent debut set the precedent for what Leo would do with the Pharmacists a few years later, featuring his signature yelping and hypocrisy-shaming lyrics. The record is a lengthy 14 songs long, unlike the usual tracklisting brevity of the group’s contemporaries. Only the uber catchy “The Dog In Me” clocks in over four minutes. The power-punk sound, occasionally interspersed with dissonant guitar licks, is well-rounded thanks to recording help from Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto and his home studio. (This D.C. connect would come in handy later.) The record was released on New Jersey’s Gern Blandsten Records, also home to the Van Pelt (Ted’s brother Chris’ band) and eventually the Pharmacists. Their 1997 followup Set You Free was darker, less hook-focused, and more polished (plus ever so slightly dub-informed). After their supporting tour ended in May, so did the group, which gave way to Leo’s next project.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – The Tyranny of Distance (2001)

Ted Leo’s Pharmacists work began as a post-Chisel 1999 solo project, based in D.C. His first record tej leo(?), Rx / pharmacists was a heady collection of stream of consciousness sampling, and 2000 saw the five song EP Treble in Trouble. But The Tyranny of Distance was the band’s first ensemble effort and bears little resemblance to the half baked stuff preceding it. If anything these songs are overcooked, if you’ll forgive the extended kitchen metaphor. They’re longer, jammier, and more thoughtful. Though not as honed as what was to come (as with most bands), this record is a road map for what they were trying to do – creating a sonic scrapyard where punk could mix freely with classic rock riffs and lengthy pop narratives, and the political could be personal.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – Hearts of Oak (2003)

Hearts of Oak is TL/Rx’s requisite weird album. Given the group’s D.C. headquartering, it makes sense that they would emulate Q and Not U at some point, like the eponymous “Hearts of Oak”. “The Ballad of the Sin Eater”, perhaps named in remembrance of Leo’s previous band the Sin-Eaters, is a fuzzy drone spazz punk number that may be the only other song besides Wilson Pickett’s “Land of 1000 Dances” to reference the Watusi. None of this is to say it’s not a worthy record. It’s full of as many catchy musical ideas as any of their other albums – it just comes with a heaping side of experimentation. It’s also where the group’s rhythm section begins to come into its own, the final variable in their fresh equation.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – Living With The Living (2007)

To be sure, 2003’s Tell Balgeary, Balgury Is Dead and 2004’s Shake The Sheets were fine releases. But they tended more toward straight punk than the quintessential Pharmacists sound. Living With The Living was a return to form and an ambitious, perfectly-executed anti-war concept record. It also continued to showcase Leo’s pro-unity, anti-colonialism sentiments in songs like the filler opener “Fourth World War” and “La Costa Brava”. On the dark end of things are martial tunes like “Bomb. Repeat. Bomb.” and “C.I.A.”, which would sound like paranoid ramblings in the hands of someone less intelligent and clearheaded than Leo.  For such heavy lyrical material, it somehow plays like a beach roadtrip playlist, and it’s all catchy as hell. But what else would you expect?

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists – The Brutalist Bricks (2010)

This critical and fan darling of a record plays like a Ted Leo Greatest Hits collection. It starts with a bang on “The Mighty Sparrow” and doesn’t let up in intensity or brilliance. Like Living With The Living, there are dissenting liberal opinions slathered all over each verse and chorus. “Mourning In America” is a pretty brutal assault on historical revisionism, “Ativan Eyes” sort of promotes communism, and the phrase “red, white, and bruised” gets tossed around. More broadly, “One Polaroid A Day” calls out the absurdity of experiencing life through a smartphone lens. The Brutalist Bricks cements Leo’s reputation as a chord progression genius and an underground voice for the discontented majority.

The Both – The Both

Leo’s most recent project is the Hüsker Dü-influenced The Both, a wonderful pop collab with Aimee Mann, the rad indie aunt to his cool uncle. They released their self-titled debut in 2014 to general acclaim. Crunchy guitars, jaunty drums, and funky bass ensue, but the real star is their blended vocals. Aimee has a lower voice than the average gal, and Ted has a higher voice than the average dude, so their duetting is pretty compelling. Both have been involved in a crap ton of projects and it’s quite evident how much respect and love they have for each other, and the record is just utterly enjoyable to listen to – especially its lead single “Milwaukee” which takes the approximate beat of “Reelin In The Years” and puts an anthemic Cheap Trick spin on it (which, incidentally, bears a striking resemblance to TL/Rx’s “Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone”). But this time Leo isn’t quite as political incensed, instead playing on themes of reflection and reminiscence.

The Both are gearing up for a (short) string of tour dates over the next couple of months. Check out their dates below!

Tour Dates:

5/10/2015    Central Park    Atlanta, GA
5/11/2015    Cat’s Cradle    Carrboro, NC
7/18/2015    The Crocodile    Seattle, WA
7/19/2015    Project Pabst Festival Portland, OR

Shaky Knees 2015: Xavier Rudd x Vinyl Mag

Posted on by Connor Beitel

xavierrudd

If you’ve kept up with the festival circuit at all in the last decade, you have undoubtedly heard of solo instrumentalist Xavier Rudd. The native Australian, through his proficiency in a variety of culturally unique instruments, creates truly impressive albums that blend world music with vocals reminiscent of the artists that have inspired him, such as Ben Harper and Natalie Merchant.  Rudd has toured as a solo act for more than a decade and is noted for his eclectic assemblage instruments, including didgeridoos, djembes, organettes, and others as he captivates crowds with his outward-emanating charisma and talent.

With his ninth studio album, Xavier Rudd has pieced together a band under the moniker “The United Nations” composed of nine musicians hailing from various locales around the world in what he deems his “dream project.” The album, Nanna, employs a heavy reggae tone, making it no surprise that it was mixed by Errol Brown, known for his work with Bob Marley. In the lyrics, Rudd blends this reggae with calypso and polyphonic sounds. Strong themes of harmony and togetherness resonate throughout the album to bring about a hopeful dream for what the future may hold if we can all just get along.

Vinyl Mag: The members of The United Nations all have very eclectic heritages as well as musical backgrounds. How did The United Nations come to be, and what effect do you perceive that diversity to have had on the recording process and resulting sound of Nanna?

Xavier Rudd: The UN came together very organically, feels like our ancestors had a cup of tea and decided to put us together. Everybody has a different story and a different background, and when the musical influence of everybody’s stories come together, they created a very eclectic and interesting record.

VM: You seem very connected to your Aboriginal heritage, being proficient in yidaki and other native instruments, and many of your songs seem to promote discussion on the subject. With music being such an integral part of the Aboriginal culture, how do you interpret your connection between that culture and your own music?

XR: Sometimes our ancestors choose music to guide us or challenge us. I feel my music is oftentimes just me holding space for the spirit to come through. I don’t judge this or involve my ego in trying to analyze it. I am content in saying that it’s not for me to know.

VM: There is a very fluid message of togetherness and harmony throughout the album. You seem to have a strong vision for the future. What would you say is the backbone of your philosophy?

XR: Patience. Humans have become very accustomed to a fast paced society that doesn’t resonate with our natural progression in our natural place in creation. Patience has become extra hard for human beings so much so that I think we have almost lost touch with what that really means.

VM: You grew up in a very small town in Australia [Torquay, Victoria >7,000 pop.]. What strikes you as the most notable memory to have stuck with you from growing up in a small town?

XR: Space, time alone, and being in the bush.

VM: Erroll Brown has a quite a musical history in the reggae world, working with notable acts such as Peter Tosh, Rebelution, and the one-and-only Bob Marley. How was the process having him involved in the creation of Nanna? What most drew you to him as a musical engineer?

XR: Erroll’s involvement was very organic also, he appeared at the right place at the right time, and was presented to mix this record. It really was a perfect match.

VM: How does it feel being out in front of the audience instead of playing behind the (super-cool) instrument command-center-set-up you have?

XR: It feels groovy. I am having a great time.

VM: What is next for Xavier Rudd, and what does the future hold for Xavier Rudd and The United Nations?

XR: Not too sure; I don’t plan much of anything really.  We will let the spirit guide this amazing project and see where it lands.

 

Be sure to catch Xavier Rudd and the United Nations playing the Boulevard Stage at Shaky Knees this Sunday at 6:45 p.m.!