Fellow NYers Snowmine were certainly the wild cards of the night. Looking like they were fresh off the plane from 1980s Berlin (post-Wall of course), these guys oozed cool.
Brooklyn indie rockers Snowmine are back with a live video and some shop talk. We previously covered their CMJ 2011 performance at the Living Room NYC as part of the Paper Garden Records showcase. Well, the boys are hard at work composing new material and geeking out on hi-tech thingamajigs. Grayson Sanders and bandmates discuss the development of Colorbeast, an “interactive, gesture-based” iPad app that allows users to manipulate video in real-time. Get it? Watch the video below to see Colorbeast in action as well as an exclusive peak at new song “Plans.”
Lara makes her annual W♥M Radio appearance. In part one, she tells us about CMJ Music Festival that took place in October 2011. Read her full CMJ report here.
Things covered on the show:
Advice: Don't be so strict on planning
Thursday: saw Silver Swan
Friday: Failed show at Pete's Candy Store, some of Riot Media's bands were playing that night. We used Sea of Bees' music.
Saturday: "Lonely/Lovely Hearts Club" and "Paper Garden/Hearts Records" relationship. Lara's undying love/stalker/obsession for Team Genius.
Sunday: Day of rest, but there was that big Slate Magazine party that was tempting.
Disappointed that En Vogue didn't play CMJ
Dum Dum Girls - too cute and popular for this earth ... and CMJ (yet they played some shows).
CMJ pricing is way too ridiculous
Lara's advice: couch surf and pick free shows and loads of coffee! Don't forget to have fun!
Snowmine is one of Lara's top pick from CMJ.
Song of the show is Snowmine's "Curfews", which is available as a free download via wvmusic.bandcamp.com.
The College Music Journal’s (CMJ) annual showcase of rising talent in both music and film is a veritable wet dream for musicians and pop culture nerds alike.
CMJ Music Marathon Wrap-Up Day 2: Part II
Saturday, October 22, 2011
The Lovely Hearts Club showcase continued…
Let’s get right to it. Swear and Shake is a newly-formed band based out of New York. When I say ‘new’ I mean really new; like, still covered in afterbirth ‘new.’ The band debuted in 2010 and released their first full album, Maple Ridge, a year later. Within that period, they earned mega praise from notable sources including Newsday and The Deli, not to mention countless gigs at prime NY real estate like Arlene’s Grocery and the Knitting Factory. Not bad for a band trying to make good in a city of 8 million.
I’m glad I didn’t have this information on hand when I saw Swear and Shake perform, because often prior knowledge taints the experience. I was impressed by the band’s easy rapport, even more so after learning of their late bloom. While I wouldn’t call the music innovative—they don’t do weird things with electronics or whip out a didgeridoo on stage—I’d be hard-pressed to label them as ‘sweet,’ which is generally my sentiment when it comes to boy-girl folk pop. At its roots, the music fits comfortably within the boundaries of folk pop, yet perhaps it’s Kari Spieler’s smoky, wise-beyond-her-years voice that keeps her band this-side of twee. “Johnnie” sounded great live—at once heartbreaking and familiar; I especially love the lyrics “You could be the stronger man, to sleep between these sheets. But never with your lips sewn shut, I can only do so much.” Preach it, sister. Listen to a live recording of “The Promise” here.
Only in New York is a folk band followed by a super-hipindie pop outfit. Fellow NYers Snowmine were certainly the wild cards of the night. Looking like they were fresh off the plane from 1980s Berlin (post-Wall of course), these guys oozed cool. I felt cooler in their presence, which is a sad sort of reality. And okay, they’re not just a band of pretty faces; judging by the complexity of the live show, I’d say they are also major tech geeks. Frontman Grayson Sanders calls himself a “new-classical composer.” It’s difficult to type that out and not loathe his being, but actually, the title fits. The songs on Laminate Pet Animal contain intricacies that were probably not discovered by strumming a guitar in the coffee shop. Snowmine are very much 21st century musicians in that they mix multi-genre beats with stylized niches like electronica, funk/dance, tribal, classical; the result is highly schizophrenic, but they pull it off (listen to the fabulous “Beast in Air, Beast in Water” for example). Live, this was quite a spectacle to behold. Armed with a giant keyboard/mixer thing, Sanders, resembling something of a soundman gone rogue, dazzled the audience with his deft hands and psychedelic white-boy soul. Listen to a live recording of “Hologram” here.
“Take Me Home” is absolutely tits: snappy electro-funk-meets-downtown dance dive, as realized by a hip suburban jazz choir.
Finally, closing the show, were our friends in Team Genius. I’ve been following this band since their inception more than three years ago, but since they rarely tour and never respond to invitations for chili night at my house, this was the first time I saw them play live. What I love about these guys and gals is that they are truly skilled at the art of writing pop music, even if they pretend to be a clown-car full of buffoonery. Their latest EP, Pop Songs, contains a Ronald Reagan shout-out but is otherwise a mature effort. I think. Let’s just say, if they were only concerned with producing bouncy, synth-heavy dance tracks without attention to lyrics or meaning, they would be the J. Geils Band and have a downloadable ringtone. Of course, the music they make is always fun, and the Lovely Hearts showcase was a fitting venue to flaunt the positive group aura. “Ronald Reagan’s Cousin” was a proper party on stage; Drew Hermiller‘s falsetto on “Take Me Home” (from their self-titled 2008 release) was a proper balls outoccasion. Listen to a live cover of Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London” here (Chad on vocals!).
As my time at CMJ came to an end, I realized I knew exactly what Joey Tempest felt when he boldly declared to the world of Swedish glam rock: “We’re leaving together, but still it’s farewell. And maybe we’ll come back to earth, who can tell?” I think he was saying “don’t be sad, college music fans. There’s always next year.”
The College Music Journal’s (CMJ) annual showcase of rising talent in both music and film is a veritable wet dream for musicians and pop culture nerds alike.
CMJ Music Marathon Wrap-Up Day 2: Part I
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Friday’s CMJ adventure was a bit of a bust. Riot Act Media presented a happy hour showcase at Pete’s Candy Store—a hip bar in Williamsburg, roughly the same size and shape as your average Williamsburg apartment. Unfortunately, due to popularity (which is not a bad thing), it was impossible to squeeze into the tiny backroom where music was happening. Instead, we bemoaned our defeat by sampling the “happy hour” portion of the evening. If you’re at all curious what was missed, check out the following musicians that were in attendance, or visit Riot Act’s website (linked above): Brooklyn crooner Patrick Bower; the moody, orchestral Gabriel & the Hounds; Julie Ann Bee’s whimsy project Sea of Bees; and the waltz-lovin’ Robin Bacior.
I missed Belgrave's first song. I’m hoping it was good but not too good, you know? I wouldn’t want to journey through life feeling as though I missed that one time when the clouds parted and God emerged to reveal some heavenly secrets (like why the Virgin Mary appears in pancakes but not breakfast burritos. Surface area?). However, if anyone could coax Him to play an encore, it would be Montreal natives Belgrave, as they specialize in the kind of soaring chamber pop that shoots for the stars, so to speak. “Tokyo” is a perfect example of a song with big dreams—rich, melodic layers, Trevor Boucher’s agile vocal chords, lovey lyrics; it all culminates with a head-thrown-back-arms-spread-wide chorus thatdelivers a romantic punch right to your cynical, beer-filled belly. How’s that for an out of body experience?
If Belgrave succeeded in transporting their audience to a Canadian dreamworld, Ann Arbor’s Gun Lake brought us back to earth in true Midwestern fashion. The beauty of Midwest music is that it always captures a certain mood that must be unique to the region; a strange brew of nostalgia, melancholy, reserve, and a pinch of self-deprecation thrown in for good measure. Not to be confused with the Pacific Northwest mood, which often contains more melancholy, less self-deprecation. However, they have mountains to dwell on; we have large areas of grass; let’s call it ‘topography psychology.’
I’m happy to report that Gun Lake met—then surpassed—all region-specificexpectations. Besides a knack for crafting interesting prose, every singing member has a voice like a rugged, Liberal Arts-educated angel. You know you’re in the presence of skilled musicians when they can jump from verse to flawlessly harmonized chorus without breaking a sweat (or breaking in pitch). Gun Lake provedfaithfulto this technique on their debut album Balfour; notably on the dusky ballad “Cliffhanger.” Live, the band didn’t really deviate from their pitch-perfect formula, and why would they? Highlights included “Cliffhanger,” which opened their set if I’m remembering correctly, and my favorite of the evening, “Trees,” a subtle waltz that almost reads as modern folklore. Listen to a live recording of “Trees” here.
Matt Pinfield recently let on that his friend and ex-Hüsker Dü frontsman Bob Mould will be playing Sugar's Copper Blue album in its entirety live. It's only fitting since this year (2012) is the album's 20th anniversary!
You can grab the first three songs ("The Act We Act", "A Good Idea", and "Changes") at official.fm. The live recording was done at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco at Noise Pop Festival (2/24/12).
Copper Blue tour:
06/01 London @ Shepherd's Bush Emp
06/03 Brussels, BE @ AB
07/03 Milwaukee @ Summerfest
08/04 Ireland @ Liss Ard Fest
08/06 Helsinki, FI @ Tavastia
08/08 Norway @ Oya Festival
08/09 Sweden @ Way Out West
08/11 Amsterdam @ Paradiso Grote
08/13 Italy @ Villa Mainin
08/15 Prague @ 02 Arena
08/16 Austria @ Frequency Fest
08/18 Belgium @ Pukkelpop Fest
09/21 Pensacola Beach @ DeLuna Fest
Update May 8th: ASIA 69 DVD and Bluray, features a special tribute to Việt Khang's two instant classic songs: "Việt Nam Tôi Đâu" and "Anh Là Ai" as performed by Đan Nguyên, Lê Quốc Tuấn, Hợp Ca Asia... and featuring five-year old drummer Ngo Minh Ky!
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