Greg Mullen has a release show for his LP The Hungry Ocean tomorrow at the Hallway Gallery in JP. I had the pleasure of catching Saintseneca at the Islington House last night and they are a wildly entertaining and goofy act. On top of that, The Woodrow Wilsons are always an amazing feast for the ears. The Hallway Gallery is a cool little venue on South Street, right off of Centre Street. It's literally a hallway and always has lovely art upon its walls. Check it out and pick up Greg's record. It's transparent green vinyl!!!
Get a taste: here.
myspace.com/welcometothelifeadventure
gregmullenmusic.com
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Greg Mullen record release show
Monday, March 22, 2010
Blastfest Photos!!!
The Whitehaus Family Record's Blastfest, assembled by the amazing Morgan Shaker, was last Saturday. Check out the photos below:
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Preview :: Greg Mullen - The Hungry Ocean
Download "Greg Mullen - Ten Thousand Years" (right click, save link as)
The Whitehaus-ian Greg Mullen just finished an LP of insightful, stomping, heartbreaking, pseudo-post-apocalyptic folk called The Hungry Ocean. He's having a record release show at the hallway gallery in Jamaica Plain on March 26th with Saintseneca and The Woodrow Wilsons. You can also pick up a copy of the 12" LP in advance this weekend at Blastfest!!!(which never seems right in type without at least three exclamation points.)
Greg's voice is unassuming and supernatural, talking about every day things that eerily seem to veil a deeper poignancy. 'Ten Thousand Years' has this seeping line, "We both had a hard time trying to decide what to be for Halloween. Said, 'I'll be a ship, you be a flying machine.'" Seemingly desperate to float in a vast, all-consuming ocean, like Dante climbing the wrong way out of Hades if his guide were Bob Dylan and Bukowski instead of Virgil. It all enters a fluid whirlpool of acoustic, trumpet, harmonica, harmonies and even a little aggressive electric in the song 'Telephone.' When the brushes hit the snare drum in 'They Looked Like Giants From Down There,' the rhythm is particularly infectious.
myspace.com/welcometothelifeadventure
gregmullenmusic.com
Greg's voice is unassuming and supernatural, talking about every day things that eerily seem to veil a deeper poignancy. 'Ten Thousand Years' has this seeping line, "We both had a hard time trying to decide what to be for Halloween. Said, 'I'll be a ship, you be a flying machine.'" Seemingly desperate to float in a vast, all-consuming ocean, like Dante climbing the wrong way out of Hades if his guide were Bob Dylan and Bukowski instead of Virgil. It all enters a fluid whirlpool of acoustic, trumpet, harmonica, harmonies and even a little aggressive electric in the song 'Telephone.' When the brushes hit the snare drum in 'They Looked Like Giants From Down There,' the rhythm is particularly infectious.
myspace.com/welcometothelifeadventure
gregmullenmusic.com
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Preview :: i can make a mess like nobody's business - The World We Know
Download "i can make a mess - Old Man........................... You're Not So Good at Talking Anymore"
(right click, save link as)
In 2004, a band named: 'i can make a mess like nobody's business' released a self titled CD. An experiment with folk, some digital elements, long song titles and sound collage. The lyrics were simple, yet oddly identifiable; personally specific yet in that introversion, applicable to anyone. Vastly overlooked and pigeon-holed into a genre which it didn't belong, the album did stuff for which hipsters canonized bands for years to come. It was mostly the side project of one fuzzy character, Ace Enders. And that's about all there is to that story.
Now, i can make a mess is releasing a follow up, six years later. It's called The World We Know and I'll be damned if it isn't one of the craziest ideas I've ever heard for an album. Although split into eleven tracks, the album is going to be only one song. Due out March 23rd on they're very own i can make a mess like nobody's business records.
What do you do when you're received your
freedom from a record label that's owned your releases for a decade (although they may have been good to you)? Ace's response is to release a something Drive-Thru Records probably never would've let him. It's a forty minute record that's only one song, that Ace is even hesitant about calling an 'album.' The most important thing about the record is that it's specifically engineered and intended to be listened to with headphones.
i can make a mess has always been a portal for Ace to return to the roots of music, start from scratch, and look at music in a fresh way. So, it makes sense that this project would don the moniker.
Apparently, this release will also be followed by two others in the same year, which is also unbelievable. Ace hasn't said this at all, but it'd be hilarious/amazing is the three albums were also just one song.
1. Sleep Means Sleeping
2. My Hands Hurt
3. Old Man...........................
4. You're Not So Good At Talking Anymore
5. Rosary
6. No Idea Where I'm Going
7. Stop Smoking Because It's Not Good For You
8. 100 Dollar Bills
9. Baby Steps
10. Light Voices Long Rides
11. Telling Me Goodbye
myspace.com/icanmakeamesslikenobodysbusiness
Now, i can make a mess is releasing a follow up, six years later. It's called The World We Know and I'll be damned if it isn't one of the craziest ideas I've ever heard for an album. Although split into eleven tracks, the album is going to be only one song. Due out March 23rd on they're very own i can make a mess like nobody's business records.
What do you do when you're received your
freedom from a record label that's owned your releases for a decade (although they may have been good to you)? Ace's response is to release a something Drive-Thru Records probably never would've let him. It's a forty minute record that's only one song, that Ace is even hesitant about calling an 'album.' The most important thing about the record is that it's specifically engineered and intended to be listened to with headphones.i can make a mess has always been a portal for Ace to return to the roots of music, start from scratch, and look at music in a fresh way. So, it makes sense that this project would don the moniker.
Apparently, this release will also be followed by two others in the same year, which is also unbelievable. Ace hasn't said this at all, but it'd be hilarious/amazing is the three albums were also just one song.
Ace has also apparently moved on from rakes to shovels:
The World We Know: ..........................2004...................................................................................................2010
1. Sleep Means Sleeping
2. My Hands Hurt
3. Old Man...........................
4. You're Not So Good At Talking Anymore
5. Rosary
6. No Idea Where I'm Going
7. Stop Smoking Because It's Not Good For You
8. 100 Dollar Bills
9. Baby Steps
10. Light Voices Long Rides
11. Telling Me Goodbye
myspace.com/icanmakeamesslikenobodysbusiness
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Whitehaus :: Blast Tease
TONIGHT!! At the Whitehaus there is a Pre Blast Blast Blast as a teaser for Blastfest happening this Saturday.
8pm TONIGHT ALL AGES!!!
Those playing include:
DEBBIE & THE BULLETS
TURTLE AMBULANCE
MANNERS with THE WOOLVES
PLUM UNION (CHI)
STATE SCHOOL (PA)
Monday, March 15, 2010
Preview :: The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt
The lone fingerpicking Swed Kristian Matsson is at it again with is sophomore release The Wild Hunt. Due April 13th on Dead Oceans.
It doesn't seem that much has changed from his debut home-recorded, Shallow Grave. The album cover looks very similar to his first. They both had the blushing cloudy sky, at least this time we're grounded a bit. Looks like a photo from the window of the tour van. The songs seem to be the same straightforward guitar and vocals as well. But, Shallow Grave was amazing, so this isn't too much of a problem.
You can catch The Tallest Man on Earth at The Middle East Downstairs on April 21st.
The Wild Hunt:
01 The Wild Hunt
02 Burden of Tomorrow
03 Troubles Will be Gone
04 You're Going Back
05 The Drying of the Lawns
06 King of Spain
07 Love Is All
08 Thousand Ways
09 A Lion's Heart
10 Kids on the Run
myspace.com/tallestmanonearth
Monday, March 15, 2010
Preview :: Japandroids - No Singles / Art Czars
"Japandroids - Darkness on the Edge of Gastown" (hosted by pitchfork)
"Japandroids - Art Czars" (hosted by stereogum)
"Japandroids - Art Czars" (hosted by stereogum)
Before Japandroids released their debut Post-Nothing, they released a couple of EPs: 2005's All Lies and 2007's Lullaby Death Jams. The band is re-releasing these in one compilation called No Singles. They've got a knack for these clever little album names. No Singles may have no radio tunes, but hopefully it'll be packed with pre-studio experimentation that you could only get from a couple of kids who weren't on a label yet. Seriously, how can a song called "Sexual Aerosol" be anything but amazing? Due May 11th on Polyvinyl.
Still even more exciting news is the fact that they're keeping up the trend by releasing a singles series of five 7" that will feature a post Post-Nothing jam and a cover tune. Art Czars will be the first, on clear vinyl, with the B side a cover of Big Black's "Racer X". You can hear the duo fooling around with the cover on their Daytrotter session. Out April 13th on Polyvinyl.
You can catch Japandroids with local sensation Girlfriends! at the Middle East Downstairs on March 31st.
No Singles Tracklisting:
01 Darkness on the Edge of Gastown
02 No Allegiance to the Queen
03 Sexual Aerosol
04 Lovers/Strangers
05 Lucifer's Symphony
06 Couture Suicide
07 Avant Sleepwalk
08 Coma Complacency
09 To Hell With Good Intentions
10 Press Corps
Art Czars Cover:
I'm constantly reminded by No Age any time I think about Japandroids. Besides both being noise pop guitar/drum duos, No Age did something similar to what Japandroids are up to now. The first thing No Age did was hand out five 7" & 10" vinyl singles and EPs while they were messing around in the concrete hallway that is LA's The Smell. These eventually became Weirdo Rippers. A record that should never be lost to time and stands exceedingly well as an album rather an a compilation. Maybe its just the kind of thinking that experimental punk bands have. If I had a suggestion for these four guys, it'd be a No Japandroid Age supergroup.
This photo is radsauce:
polyvinylrecords.com
japandroids.com
myspace.com/japandroids
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Preview :: Bright Eyes & Neva Dinova - Two Jugs of Wine, One Vessel
Download "Bright Eyes - Happy Accident" (right click, save link as)
Conor Oberst has said that 2004's One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels is his favorite recording that he's ever made. Listening to it, you can sort of hear why. It's ripe with the studio experimentation of two guys doing whatever they wanted. For a split EP, the two artists collaborated to the blending point. It's an unbelievable surprise that Bright Eyes and Neva Dinova are revisiting the EP to add four new tracks (and it's still called One Jug of Wine, Two Vessels by the way). Out March 23rd.
First impressions are harsh, as they usually are for devoted fans. The nagging feeling is that these songs just don't sound like they fit with the old ones. Conor Oberst's voice even sounds different. Maybe just older. However, the songs probably need to given some time to outgrow biases, because the demolition of the track at the end of "Happy Accident" just inspires giddiness.
After he's been off gallivanting with Monsters and identity, hopefully this is a gesture of returning to his favorite old stomping grounds is a sign that the upcoming final full length this fall will still be the old Bright Eyes everyone knows and loves. Or at least that they're trying.
Here's a little teaser video:
1. Rollerskating*
2. Happy Accident*
3. Someone’s Love*
4. I Know You*
5. Tripped
6. Black Comedy
7. Poison
8. I’ll Be Your Friend
9. Get Back
10. Spring Cleaning
*new tracks
thisisbrighteyes.com
myspace.com/brighteyes
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Preview :: Woods - At Echo Lake
The freakfest psychadelia of their last release Songs of Shame was a gloriously confusing bit of silly folk and uncontrolled electric that sat together uncomfortably well. A phenomenal balance of songwriting and improvisation. The art is just perfect for their sound too. At Echo Lake will mark the band's fifth full length release on Woodsist Records. It's out May 11th.
At Echo Lake:
01 Blood Dries Darker
02 Pick Up
03 Suffering Season
04 Time Fading Lines
05 From the Horn
06 Death Rattles
07 Mornin' Time
08 I Was Gone
09 Get Back
10 Deep
11 Til the Sun Rips
Before they were gone, they wrote "I'm Not Gone," which is quite the poppy tune for these fellas. I decided to include it so as not to lose it to the sands of time. Maybe it can help one figure out whether Woods is really here or not.
They've also got an EP coming out called I Was Gone. It should be a crazy thing as side A is described as a 'tape collage/head scratcher' dubbed "Days Gone By." It's out March 16th.
myspace.com/woodsfamilyband
woodsist.com
At Echo Lake:
01 Blood Dries Darker
02 Pick Up
03 Suffering Season
04 Time Fading Lines
05 From the Horn
06 Death Rattles
07 Mornin' Time
08 I Was Gone
09 Get Back
10 Deep
11 Til the Sun Rips
Before they were gone, they wrote "I'm Not Gone," which is quite the poppy tune for these fellas. I decided to include it so as not to lose it to the sands of time. Maybe it can help one figure out whether Woods is really here or not.
They've also got an EP coming out called I Was Gone. It should be a crazy thing as side A is described as a 'tape collage/head scratcher' dubbed "Days Gone By." It's out March 16th.myspace.com/woodsfamilyband
woodsist.com
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Preview :: Manners - Look Into, Look Unto 7"
Today! Manners and the Woolves release a 7" called Look Into, Look Unto. With six tracks, who knew you could fit so many songs on a 7"?? The front is a full color photo taken by Manners on a recent tour and the back is letter pressed for that homemade individuality. You'll also get a download for two bonus songs.
Manners is the man Greg Beson, sometimes called Beesun Greggy, The Son of Bees, or Honey Photosynthesis. He plays with The Woolves, which are a pack of friends, many of whom are from the Whitehaus.
The sounds center around meditative guitar and Greg's whispery-as-the-wind vocals. It's spiritually nostalgic like deja vu in reverse, the music already familiar with you. The Woolves build it up to an orchestra while maintaining the minimalism of the music.
'Breath of Your Heart' and
'Knives' are both tragically beautiful. The latter having the shivering line "I wear a coat of knives. Try and hold me." Although, It's good to know that if you're ever out a need a knife, you can always get one from Greg's coat.The additional tracks 'Meah' and 'Greta' are more upbeat and boarder-line happy for Manners. They're like old folk songs passed down through generations, you can't remember who wrote them anymore. I was fortunate enough to meet the real-life Greta once at a show once. Once at the Whitehaus, Greg played 'Meah' and during the breakdown moments he asked everyone to imagine the ocean and fill the void with whatever noises came to you. It made for a playful and spooky moment, the whole room swishing like the ocean with a few stray bird calls.
Manners and the Woolves will be playing all around the Boston area, so you can pick up this thing in person if you want. They'll also be playing at Blastfest III!!!
myspace.com/mnnrs
sunofbees.com
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Ambitious Tugboat :: Download Full In Studio Set
Bands In Boston is a treasure I've only recently discovered. They just recently did a "Flophouse" session with locals Ambitious Tugboat. The five piece has some little folk songs that trade jokes and wisdom for your ears and are addictive to listen to. It also includes the man, the myth and the legend: Sam Potrykus on bass. This session is an awesome thing to have until the band can put out a proper release.
Check out Ambitious Tugboat at Blastfest III on March 20th!!!myspace.com/ambitioustugboat
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Preview :: Kingsley Flood
Kingsley Flood is a five to six piece playing new age Americana. Beside the regular instruments they throw in a mandolin and fiddle. And an old Christians & Lion's chum fills the arrangement out with trumpet, melodica, triangle, and, of course, kazoo.
It's a little steam-punk in that they're trying to take modern events and personal situations and sonically place them in an earlier time of America. It's like a collection of stories from when you could go out to play stickball in between classes at the university, and the hobo on the corner, filling his spindle with pickle sandwiches, was just your neighborhood buddy. Imagine yourself now, with whatever personal strife and struggle, placed in a time where people broke out into jigs and square dancing right in the street, around the cats wearing tall hats with the top popped through and there was never a short supply of overall wearing bands that had at least one washboard and also played a clay bottle with XXX on it. The only thing you had to worry about was the devil, who was seemingly hiding behind every tree, desperate to offer that spread in Time magazine you've really wanted in exchange for your soul.
Kingsley Flood is playing in studio on WERS on March 23rd. Their full length Dust Windows comes out April 3rd.
And they have tea parties in dumpsters!
myspace.com/kingsleyflood
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Girlfriends :: Digital 7" for Free
Girlfriends just put out a digital single, Good to be True B/W The Day I was a Horse. Free to download and stream from Ampeater Music.
"Good to be True" is a re-recording from their Our Very First Cassette with beefier vocals. The second track is a Vaselines cover, which wouldn't be complete without the spontaneous laughter.
Ampeater's got quite a nice comparison up there: "The jagged guitar lines and off-the-cuff vocals are tossed off like the mad strokes of an action painter in full frenzy, while remaining confined within pop art superstructures. Imagine Jackson Pollack, drunk on corn whiskey, trying to copy Warhol’s soup cans." Hooray for fine art metaphors.
Prepare yourselves for a real 7" this spring.
girlfriendstheband.com
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Blastfest 3!!! Are you unfreakable?!
The annual festival from the Whitehaus Family Record is fast approaching!!!
Blastfest III
March 20th, 2010
Cambridge YMCA, Central Square, MA
11am-11pm
$5-10 (it's a 'sliding scale' apparantly. But seriously, who else would accommodate you to choose your own price? The yes wave welcomes you, CHIMAY!)
Go even if you can only stay for an hour. Surely, your mind will be blown into a fine melty glass piece. Besides music, other highlights include:
The official release of the Whitehaus Family Record Family Record!!!,
a zine fair from the Papercut Zine Library,
a comic jam on the wall (no idea what this is! Ooooh, mystery and intrigue. Guess you'll have to go to find out),
crafty tablers,
Free PB+J's!!!!!!!!!!(un-surmountable)!!!!!!
More info
The lineup is as follows:
Avi Jacob,
Gregory J Mullen,
Manners,
Shai Erlichman,
The Needy Visions,
Duck That,
The Woodrow Wilsons,
Wolf Woolf,
Tulsa,
Ambitious Tugboat,
Concord Ballet Orchestra Players,
Debbie and the Bullets,
Casey Rocheteau,
Apollo Sunshine,
Rene,
Boy without God,
James Lindsey,
The Great Valley,
OH!OH!MINTS!,
The French Cops,
Girlfriends,
The Meadowlarks,
Turtle Ambulance
and more!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hosted by the inimitable Simone Beaubien.
commence freakout.
whitehausfamilyrecord.com
Friday, March 05, 2010
Preview :: Quilt
I just found out that Anna Rochinski, of fame for her Whitehaus act: Anna Fox Rochinski, is a part of the recently minted Quilt. They've got a self-titled cassette out now!!!
She's one part of the trance pop three piece. Bluesy electric riffs and psychedelic guitar that are sometimes complimented by banjo, ricochets in deep caverns and from the end of long tunnels. Swirling, enchanting vocals are distilled from each member, building a hypnotic ethereality.
Pick up the cassette from Breakfast of Champs Records or on their myspace!!!
myspace.com/quilt
Friday, March 05, 2010
Preview :: Thick Shakes - Ooh Mommy
Check out Thick Shakes ghastly overdriven eight song EP "Ooh Mommy."
The trio plays fuzzy, fluffy and hairy out-of-the garage-fi punk. The male and female vocals are an excellent mixture that for some reason calls to mind a bubbling cauldron, blending into the instruments. There's moments on this thing where it seems like they're channeling the noise and nonsense of the early 90's. Sometimes the songs are even reminiscent of Bikini Kill or the Riot Grrrl movement. They even squeeze in a Magnetic Fields cover of "Underwear" from 69 Love Songs.
You can download the whole EP for free on their site. But why would you want to have a bunch of headless mp3's when you could get a highly collectible cassette? Do it!!!
thickshakes.net
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Just Married :: Live Nation and Ticketmaster
You’re in a band. You want to get your tickets to your fans so they can see you’re show. Simple, right? With online ticketing, for the past year or so you’ve basically had two options: Ticketmaster or Live Nation. The above photo is an actual plot for world domination made up by Live Nation in 2007.
With these conglomerated ticketing corporations, fans will often sit in front of a computer, refreshing the page since an hour before the sale time, only to find that not even ten seconds after they’re released, they’re sold out. Ticketmaster and Live Nation have long been suspected of payola. Essentially meaning that tickets are given out to everyone and anyone they see fit, in exchange for promotion or payment, ensuring that the general ticket consuming public does not get their tickets. If by the grace of the ticketing deities a fan does somehow make it to the payment page, they then have to face a slew of fees. Venue fees, ticketing fees and even charity fees (which defies the meaning of ‘charity’). In addition to these issues, most contractually obligated bands selling through these companies are barred from playing any venues that aren’t hosted by the ticketing agencies.
It’s about to get more complicated.
With the musical landscape changing and becoming more and more fragmented due to digital mediums, fewer bands can fill up entire stadiums. The result, Ticketmaster and Live Nation are merging. If you’re worried about it being more monopolistic than it already is, the Department of Justice has your back. They’ve allowed the merger, but on the condition that they license their ticket selling software and sell a division of Ticketmaster, essentially creating two competitors, AEG and Comcast-Spectator. The latter will deal mostly with college sports. If Live Nation Entertainment controls all those arrows in the middle of that photo up there...I wonder if ticket prices will go up? And because smaller venues and shows have smaller fees, the new company, called Live Nation Entertainment Inc., is focusing on large arena concerts, which will most likely leave those smaller acts and venues behind.
But what are you going to do? It’s not like you have any other options.
An interesting alternative to this system might be found with a company called Brown Paper Tickets. They call themselves ‘the first and only fair trade ticketing company’ and profess that they are a ‘not-just-for-profit’ group. Any artist or venue can sell tickets through the website for free and buyers will always pay a flat fee. Under ten bucks is .99 cents and over ten bucks is $1.99. And they donate 5% of their profits to charity. The tickets are secure, complete with holographic foils, black light imaging and bar codes, and they even have a print at home option. There’s no contract, so you’re not bound to anything. The company will even print you extra tickets if you decide you want to sell them through your website or another service. There’s also a bunch of services available to every artist or event producer, including marketing.
If more bands and venues start working with Brown Paper, the ticketing world could have its first fair trade rival.
brownpapertickets.com
Published in Performer Magazine, April 2010 issue.
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