W♥M

Said the Whale at 400 Bar, Minneapolis (11/08/12)

Read More Said The Whale The last time this Vancouver band was in Minneapolis, they had a hip hop support and previously, they had a jazz band open up! So what's in store for this Juno Award-winner band this coming November 8th at the 400 Bar? ...

Vancouver's Said The Whale just kicked off their fall tour last night at the 400 Bar, in Minneapolis.

As you can see from the setlist, they didn't stick to the same one from their 4/20 show, dropping off "We Are 1980", "O Alexandra", and "Big Wave Goodbye." Instead, it would seem that they are testing out new songs.

Outside of the new songs, half their set is from Little Mountain ("The Reason", "Loveless", "Big Sky, MT", and "Hurricane Ada") with the other half from their debut album, Islands Disappear ("Black Day In December", "False Creek Change", "Camilo (The Magician)", "Hurricane Ada", and "Goodnight Moon").

Highlight of the show was their encore, a cover Fruit Bats' "When Ü Love Somebody." They've never played the song live before, so it was a real treat to hear this Whale vs Bat song.

Said The Whale is currently on tour; look for a new album in 2013 from Hidden Pony Records.

Nov 9 - Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL
Nov 10 - Vaudeville Mews - Des Moines, IA
Nov 11 - Firebird - St. Louis, MO
Nov 13 - White Rabbit - Indianapolis, IN
Nov 14 - Howler's Coyote Café - Pittsburgh, PA
Nov 15 - The Saint - Asbury Park, NJ
Nov 16 - M Room - Philadelphia, PA
Nov 17 - Pianos - New York, NY
Nov 18 - TBC - Boston, MA
Nov 20 - Beachland Tavern - Cleveland, OH
Nov 29 - The Vera Project - Seattle, WA

Said the Whale at 400 Bar, Minneapolis (11/08/12)

vu () ♥ saidthewhale.com

W♥M050: Welcome Back Ryan

W♥M050 [download (79 min, 36mb)]

Please visit our website for more information, podcast.weheartmusic.com.

The White Stripes - Hello Operator

Welcome back Ryan to the W♥M team. Celebrating the 50^th episode of W♥M Radio, we talked about a few things: Gary McKinnon, an overview of the podcast, music & tech: Twitter and Spotify, what we're listening to, The White Stripes, Fruit Bats, Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill", M Ward, Modest Mouse's King Rat, etc.

The show is long, split into two parts: the organized topics section and the random "just two guys talking" segment. The long run time also means extra large file size, so I had to compressed the file to just mono and at 64kps. It sounds OK to me - but if you want a higher stereo quality, send me an email and we'll have to do a file-transfer or a yousendit kind of thing. The stereo file is over 70mb, the mono file is 36mb.

Ryan compiled is a list of musicians/music-related websites on Twitter:

colinmeloy, fruitbatsmusic, monstersoffolk, subpop, BBC6MusicNews, guardianmusic, rufuswainwright, theboyhimself, hypem, pitchforkmedia, IndyMusic, EOTR, Dominorecordco, portobrien, forfolkssake, realdaytrotter, asthmatickitty, easystarallstar, greenmanfest, TheWordMagazine, TheDandyWarhols, BeardedMagazine, THE_EELS, and heymanchester

Since I had problems with the previous (free) audio recording software, we used a new one called Powergramo, which seems to work out just fine. I may have to pay for the "professional" version as the "basic" version is quite limited (to just recording skype to skype). If you have any good suggestions for a free Skype (usb mic) recorder, please let me know. I would prefer to not pay, but it looks like all the skype software costs money.

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Archive of this show at archive.org. More information on mypodcast.com

08/10/2009 09:16:30?♥ vu () ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com

Fruit Bats - The Ruminant Band

Fruit Bats - The Ruminant Band Fruit Bats Tour Dates 08/15/09 Kelowna BC--Sturgeon Hall 08/18/09 Victoria BC--Lucky Bar 08/19/09 Vancouver BC--Media Club 08/20/09 Seattle WA--The Crocodile 08/21/09 Seattle WA--Mural Amphitheater 08/22/09 Portland OR--Doug Fir 08/24/09 Gundlach Bundschu Winery 08/25/09 SF, CA-Amoeba FREE INSTORE 08/25/09 SF, CA -- Independent 08/26/09 LA, CA--Spaceland 08/27/09 Tucson AZ--Plush 08/28/09 Santa Fe NM--Corazon 08/29/09 Denver CO--Larimer Lounge 08/31/09 Oklahoma City-Guestroom 08/31/09 Norman OK--Opolis 09/01/09 Dallas TX--Good Records 09/01/09 Dallas TX--The Loft 09/02/09 Austin TX--Waterloo Records 09/02/09 Austin TX--Mohawk 09/03/09 Houston TX--Walter's 09/04/09 Baton Rouge LA-Spanish Moon 09/05/09 Oxford MS-The Lyric 09/06/09 Atlanta GA--The EARL 09/07/09 Nashville TN--Grimey's Music 09/08/09 Nashville TN--Exit In 09/09/09 Knoxville TN--Square Room 09/10/09 Chapel Hill NC--Local 506 09/11/09 Washington DC--Black Cat 09/12/09 Philly PA--Kung Fu Necktie 09/14/09 Brooklyn NY--Williamsburg 09/15/09 Cambridge MA--TT's 09/16/09 Buffalo NY--Soundlab 09/17/09 Newport KY--Southgate 09/18/09 Louisville KY--Zanzabar 09/19/09 Madison WI-Orpheum 09/20/09 Chicago IL-Reckless Records 09/20/09 Chicago IL--Schubas 09/21/09 Chicago IL--Schubas Discography [2001] Echolocation [2003] Mouthfuls [2005] Spelled in Bones [2009] The Ruminant Band [2004] Another Christmas Gift For You... (Various Artists) Read More The Shins http://weheartmus... The Shins are an American indie rock band comprising singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Russ...

"He always has smokes and he always gives buckets of love"

I’ve been told that I like a certain type of music; quirky, offbeat vocals, jangly guitars and reflective, out-there lyrics. In the two years I’ve been writing for  W♥M, I can honestly say I have never been more excited by an album.

If you are looking for a laid back collection of summer tracks then I suggest you look no further than The Ruminant Band by the Fruit Bats.  Eric D. Johnson, singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist, led me on a journey to the heart of the summer. It is only fitting that I write this review with the sun beating on my back as this album radiates a fuzzy warmth and joy. If you are suffering from the recession blues, down on your luck then maybe you have just stumbled upon your cure.

The Fruit Bats began life as a side-project for Eric D. Johnson, and while band members have come and go, he has remained at the heart of the band. This album is very much about the band. While I haven’t yet been able to land an interview with the band for the podcast, you’ll have to settle for a quotation lifted from a recent interview with Reverb magazine:

“Previously, when I did those other albums, I think I set rules for myself. This time I didn’t try to go by the book so much… I played very little on this record – I wrote the songs and the vocal arrangements, and played some piano, but for the most part everything else is the band. That trust is something that comes with time… My band is really talented, so I wanted their voices to be heard.”

- Eric Johnson, Reverb Magazine Interview, August 4, 2009.

I hate comparisons but they have a similar vibe to Vetiver and, understandably, The Shins (Eric Johnson is a member of The Shins). In my opinion, two great bands to sound like. What makes the Fruit Bats stand out in my Songbird library is the fact their sound remains, without a doubt, uniquely the Fruit Bats.

Like most modern bands. the Fruit Bats have a website, they have a myspace page, they tweet, they blog and, for the photography geeks, they have some pretty amazing photos (by Annie Beedy).

The tracks to own are ‘The Ruminant Band’, ‘Singing Joy To The World’ and ‘Hobo Girl’.

The album is already available in the USA and is due out in the UK on 24^th August 2009. The Fruit Bats have supported Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine and others. There is a chance you may already know them. Before this week, I did not, so I am enjoying my discovery. Their North American tour is listed above. Their UK tour is due to been announced any day now. Guaranteed, if they are in Manchester, I’ll be there.

What do others think? Uncut described the album as 'Delicately constructed an skillfully executed' and Mojo said 'The best love songs are those where the end is nigh. Fruit Bats frontman Eric Johnson evidentially knows this, even his sunniest, most hopeful sounding songs have an implied sense of loss. Lovely though' 4/5.

This isn’t deep philosophical music; it is easy and care-free folk pop and I love it! Enjoy your summer, enjoy the Fruit Bats.

Sincerely,
Ryan

 08/09/2009 15:09:42 ♥ ryan () ♥ fruitbatsmusic.com ♥ myspace.com/thefruitbats ♥ twitter.com