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Est. 2006
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Thom Yorke forms a new a band and readies single The flurry of activity from Radiohead and more specifically Thom Yorke continues today with the announcement that he's formed a band to perform solo material and he has new single coming on October 6th.
Here's the details straight from Thom himself: hi in the past couple of weeks i've been getting a band together for fun to play the eraser stuff live and the new songs etc.. to see if it could work! here's a photo.. its me, joey waronker, mauro refosco, flea and nigel godrich.
at the beginning of october the 4th and 5th we are going to do a couple of shows at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. we don't really have a name and the set will not be very long cuz ..well ...we haven't got that much material yet! but come and check it out if you are in the area. we've also got locals Lucky Dragons playing. all the best
Thom Yorke - Feelingpulledapartbyhorses/The Hollow Earth 12-inch out Sept. 21 Digital single out Oct. 6
Dear Sir or Madam This is to inform you of the release of two more bits of work shortly. They are loosely under the Thom Yorke name this time, although these days its all getting kind of blurry. FeelingPulledApartbyHorses is written & played by Jonny and I and is a radical rework of an old tune that's been kicking around without a home since 2001? i think. The Hollow Earth is a bass menace that was born out of the Eraser period but needed a little more time. Both were produced by Nigel Godrich as ever. And mastered by Bob Ludwig. They are being put out on 12" with sliced sleeve by Stanley and Tchock. My sources tell me this will be available from the 21st of September if you're interested...On sale in the w.a.s.t.e part of our website (with a gratis download.) Or you can go buy it in a good record shop if you are lucky enough to have one near you. Then later on there will be like a normal download thing i think around the 6th of Oct through the usual channels.
And so it goes. all the best
Thom Ciao My Shining Star: The Songs of Mark Mulcahy was released today via Shout and the albums opening track is Thom Yorke's take on, All For The Best. Alongside Thom there are 20 other artists including Dinosaur Jr, The National, and Mercury Rev paying tribute to Mark Mulcahy's music as well as raising money to help him continue to make music and raise his twin three year old daughters after the death of his wife.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Colonial Drones
On Tuesday Boston's own, Hallelujah The Hills released their second album, Colonial Drones via Misra Records. Recorded sometime between the summer of 2008 and this past January at The Soul Shop in Medford. What the band hinted at on 2007's Collective Psychosis Begone is fully realized on Colonial Drones. The band has taken a big step froward by delivering a sharp and infectious pop record, anchored by Ryan Walsh's ability to balance his dark lyrics with moments of melancholy, sing-alongs, and guitar crunch throughout the album. My only problem with the album is that I can't seem to shut up about it, not much of problem really. Do yourself a favor buy Colonial Drones today, highly recommended.
We Dance Pavement Reunite I didn't see it coming, did you? Pavement the seminal indie rock band from Stockton, CA have reunited and will be touring in 2010. These are things we all have come to learn over the last few days. Like many of you I can hardly contain my excitement at the thought of seeing Pavement live again. The details are pretty much everywhere, at this point Pavement have announced three shows in New York City on September 21st, 22nd, and 23rd at Central Park Summerstage.
This news immediately took me back to the 1st time I saw the band live. It was way back in the spring of 1994 at the now defunct Venus De Milo. I was just young aspiring college disc jockey and I had the fortune to interview the band prior to them taking the stage that night. I really wish I could find that old cassette, but I think that must have been a casualty of the basement flood. At that point Pavement were still a young band and one that was quickly becoming royalty with the indie set with the release of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. When I think of all the shows I've seen in the clubs of Boston, that night in 1994 often comes to mind largely because the band were on fire.
We have a year to wait but I can do 365 days standing on my head waiting for the NYC shows, after all we've been without Pavement since the summer of 2000. Welcome back gentlemen. Feel free stay as long as you would like.
Here's two great performances from Pavement, recorded live on Later with Jools Holland. VHS to Digital transfer so it's a bit grainy but it's worth your time, I promise.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The AGP Presents: An Interview with Brent Knopf of Ramona Falls and Menomena
As a long standing fan of Portland, OR's Menomena I was thrilled to hear that Brent Knopf had plans to not only release solo material under the name Ramona Falls, but that he would be taking the project on the road. Intuit, Brent's solo debut album is an excellent collection of off kilter pop that on first listen fits in nicely with his full time bands catalog, but over time reveals itself as something all it's own, a multi-layered opus. Thanks to Brent for taking the time to answer some questions from my little music blog. Here's how this interview came about. I sent Brent the questions via e-mail and he answered in front of his computer's camera and returned the answers via a quicktime video. I did my best with the transcription, I hope I did it justice. I'd also like to thank Grant McCallum at Barsuk for setting the whole thing up. Ramona Falls play Great Scott tonight with Brian Bonz and the Dot Hongs.
The Ash Gray Proclamation: Could you tell us how the recording of Intuit came about and how your many collaborators came to be on the album?
Brett Knopf: Well it became clear that the Menomena record was taking longer than we thought. So I began recording Intuit and I thought it was a good opportunity to ask some friends and people I respect, including my mom to make a guest appearance on the record. So I did that. I made two lists, one was things I thought the songs would benefit from in terms of different instruments. The other list was some people I wanted the excuse to ask to work with. I would look at the list and if I thought a song could use viola I'd e-mail my friend Lisa who plays viola and we went from there.
AGP:When you were writing these songs did you immediately know that you would end up releasing them as a solo artist and not with Menomena?
BK:Some of them yes and some of them no. A couple of the songs I sent to Menomena and never heard back, so assumed they weren't interested. A couple of the other songs I knew right from the get go that they wouldn't be interested.
AGP: Intuit seems to be an introspective record, especially the track Going Once, Going Twice. Did you feel any vulnerability releasing such a personal record?
BK: I'm not sure Going Once, Going Twice is about me. However I feel like there's a lot of personal stuff on the record. Yeah I definitely felt vulnerability, but if you're not be vulnerable what's the point, really. The records I respond to the most are the ones that are honest. I often feel vulnerable when I'm honest.
AGP: Now that you have a few dates under your belt with Ramona Falls, how have the shows been going so far?
BK: They've been great. I've been having a blast on the first leg of the tour and I'm excited for the second leg. The guys I'm touring with our excellent. The shows in San Francisco, LA, Portland, and Seattle have been really really fun. In the other cities too, but that's where we had a crowd, it felt bigger. We've played some smaller shows which have been fun as well.
AGP:What can fans expect from this tour opposed to your shows with Menomena?
BK: New music with a different feel, a different style, and me singing lead most of the time. It's a four piece in the U.S., Danny Seim the drummer of Menomena is playing bass, Paul Alcott is playing drums, and Matt Sheehy is playing guitar. It's really dynamic, lots of louds and quiets.
AGP: How has the process of writing and recording the new Menomena record been going?
BK: It's taken longer than I thought it would and I've been less able to move forward than I thought I was able to.
AGP: Can you explain the possible influence of Cher on the forthcoming Menomena album?
BK: Lets just say I believe in life after love.
AGP: What have you been listening to in the van on those long drives from city to city on the current Ramona Falls tour?
BK: A little bit of Mirah, D'Angelo, and Alice in Chains.
Los Campesinos! made their best attempt to upstage the fab four's release of their remastered catalog and video game, with an excellent new track from the yet to be titled new album, expected to be released sometime in 2010. The album was recorded in Stamford, Connecticut with John Goodmanson and has been described by the band as the dark second album, due to the fact the band doesn't count the limited released We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed as an official album. Gareth Campesinos commented via the bands twitter account: "I kind of feel like we've upstaged 'Beatles Day' putting out this new song today. Sorry Paul. [...] At least I didn't get 'Los Camp! Frogger' sorted in time. Would have really stolen the show then."
The Welsh collective have posted The Sea is a Good Place To Think About The Future for free download at their official blog and website. As far the song itself it's a beautiful slow building track complete with strings, but before you get all misty eyed, the band brings it to a chaotic and devastating end. A high recommendation to say the least.
You can also enter to win The Record Box Project at the bands site. It's essentially a box filled with a ton of cool 7" the band picked on their recent tour of America. Visit loscampesinos.com for entry info and to see the massive list of music that the band's forking over.
Friday, September 4, 2009
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Return to The Middle East
It's been quite a year for New York's The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Their superb self titled debut was released by Slumberland Records back in February and the band has been extremely busy playing shows,making there network television debut on Last Call With Carson Daly, and releasing singles throughout the past several months. One of the things I love about The Pains is there knack for releasing those singles, splits, and excellent b-sides much like those C86 bands they admire. I haven't heard a bad track from this band yet.
On September 22nd the band will release the Higher Than The Stars EP via Slumberland. The EP consists of four new tracks and it even includes a remix of the title track by Saint Etienne.
I was in attendance at The Middle East on a late February evening when The Pains of Being Pure at Heart took to the stage after solid sets by Pants Yell! and The Depreciation Guild and delivered a concise yet stunning set. Although the band at that point, had only a full length and a couple of singles under their belts, the material more than makes up for it in sheer quality.
Don't miss out when the new noise pop torchbearers return to Boston this Saturday night at The Middle East downstairs. The Pains will be supported by The Depreciation Guild and Cymbals Eat Guitars.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Zero to 99 [MP3]
Boston Spaceships return on October 6th with their third release, Zero to 99 out on Guided By Voices, Inc. The album is being hyped as "Robert Pollard's most relentlessly hook-laden, pop punk record since GBV's classic Alien Lanes".
I just had my first listen to a track just posted for download over at robertpollard.net. I'll try to temper my excitement and fandom of all things Pollard. All I'll say is that the above statement is spot on. Look for some rare tracks from the Suitcase releases to get the Boston Spaceships full band treatment on Zero to 99 as well as a wealth of new pop gems from Pollard, Moen, and Sluserenko. Trashed Aircraft, indeed.
Nick Diamonds' eccentric pop outfit Islands return on September 22nd with album number three, Vapors. The new album marks the return of original member Jamie Thompson who left the band shorty after the release of the bands 2006 debut, Return To The Sea. Vapours finds Islands returning to their classic pop sound complete with horns,synthesizers and big beats. The two tracks that the band has made available over the last few weeks are straight ahead pop nuggets. Another welcome addition to the must have releases of this fall. [MP3/Stream]Islands - No You Don't [MP3/Stream] Islands - Vapours
Track List: 01. Switched On 02. No You Don't 03. Vapours 04. Devout 05. Disarming the Car Bomb 06. Tender Torture 07. Shining 08. On Foreigner 09. Heartbeat 10. The Drums 11. EOL 12. Everything is Under Control
Islands play The House of Blues with The Psychedelic Furs and Happy Mondays on October 10th and then return for a headlining show at The Middle East , downstairs on November 4th.
On October 6th Sub Pop will release Losing Feeling, a new EP from No Age.The EP consists of four new tracks, all of which were written and recorded at their practice space and Infrasonic Sound Studios in Southern California. The EP will be released on 12" vinyl and digital formats, but not on CD.
The band just offered the EP's final track You're a Target for free download via the No Age blog.
I also recommend you head over to Sub Pop where you can hear the full EP stream of Losing Feeling, e-mail registration required. After hearing these four gems one thing is obvious, No Age are once again responsible for some of the finest music being recorded right now. I know it's only four songs so I'll try not to get carried away, but Losing Feeling is an impressive, albeit brief glimpse of what we can expect next from the L.A. duo.
No Age are set to play All Tomorrows Parties on September 13th in Monticello, NY. Sorry to say, at this point that's as close as they'll get to Boston on this current batch of dates.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Mission of Burma's Listening Party and The Clean Introduce Mister Pop
This week we finally got what we were hoping for around here. Not one, but two Sonic Youth shows at the Wilbur Theater this fall. Not to mention that we learned that Mandy Moore might be a little cooler than we thought, with her declaration of being fond of Jandek. With those attention grabbers I wouldn't blame you if you missed or just plain forgot about some upcoming events and releases headed are way in the near future.
On October 6th Mission of Burma will release The Sound The Speed The Light via Matador and I for one am chomping at the bit with anticipation. Recorded here in Boston with Bob Weston last winter, the album has been described as a bit of departure from 2006's The Obliterati. The Matador press release describes the album as a more spacious and dynamic record with all of Burma's sonic trademarks still intact. The Sound The Speed The Light is divided into 4 three song suites with each suites examining a mood or color. Sounds kind of heady, right? Don't worry only Burma are capable of pulling off a recording so grandiose and utterly chaotic.
On Thursday August 27th you can hear the new Mission of Burma album at the ICA Harborwalk Shuffle Listening Party, admission is free. The Sound The Speed The Light will be played in it's entirety and as if that wasn't enough the first 50 people through the door will receive a free Mission of Burma 7" with secret treat inside. missionofburma.com Mission of Burma myspace
Legends of New Zealand's Flying Nun label and post-punk pioneers in their own right, The Clean are set to release their first recording since 2001's The Getaway. The seminal post punk outfit will release Mister Pop on September 6th via Merge. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a Boston show on the bands upcoming tour schedule.
Thanks to the fine folks at Merge you can hear the Mister Pop right now.
Califone will release their new long player All Our Friends Are Funeral Singers on the bands new label Dead Oceans on October 6th. The new album will serve as a companion piece to the film of the same name written and directed by Califone's Tim Rultili. During the upcoming tour the band will play the soundtrack Live along with the presentation of the film. In addition fans can expect to hear material from the bands stunning back catalog as well.
On October 22nd Califone will play Cambridge's Brattle Theater. All Our Friends Our Funeral Singers Trailer
I'm really looking forward to catching Japandroids when they play Great Scott on October 5th. The duo's debut LP Post-Nothing has been getting rave reviews since it was released earlier this summer. As always I was a little skeptical, but once I put Post-Nothing in the CD player and strapped my headphones on, my skepticism evaporated and my jaw was on the floor.
Check out these Japandroids Live videos reocrded on KEXP. Warning: After watching these you may have an overwhelming urge to purchase everything this young band has recorded, I know I did.
Ramona Falls is Brent Knopf of Memomena and Intuit is his debut solo outing. With the help of some 35 musicians in his hometown of Portland, OR and New York City. Brent wrote and performed the 11 tracks found on Intuit with assistance from members of Menomena, The Helio Sequence, Lock Lamond,Mirah, and Deer Reader. Intuit will be released by Barsuk on August 18th and Knopf will be hitting the road in support of the album the next day. The tour will start at Crepe Place in Santa Cruz on 8/19 and finds it's way to the Boston area on September 15th for a show at Great Scott.
Thanks to Barsuk you can hear the entire album right now before next weeks release. I'm confident that once you hear Intuit you will be running, not walking to your favorite record shop come Tuesday.
WWPJ recorded Live @ The Mill Edinborough, Scotland
Friday, August 7, 2009
Micro-news From Pollard's Suitcase to Bay of Pigs
I've been trying to find the time write all week but every time I was about to start, something would pull me away. Thankfully I've found some time albeit at the end of the week to share some news, opinion and MP3's.
I'd be remiss if I didn't start with the news of the forthcoming release of Guided By Voices' third volume of their Suitcase series, the treasure trove of demos and outtakes that Robert Pollard keeps in, well a suitcase. Suitcase 3 Up We Go Now will be released on November 3 via Guided By Voices, Inc. I am particularly looking forward to Disc 4 which features the classic GBV line-up of Pollard, Greg Demos, and Tobin Sprout with all songs being credited to Dayton's favorite sons between 1994-1995. To be fair this information was posted over at Pitchfork yesterday. What they didn't tell you that Suitcase 3 credits Pollard best band name to date: History of Well Hung Men for an early version of Smothered in Hugs. 100 Songs over 4 discs, sign me up.
Make plans to celebrate with Drug Rug and Mean Creek this Saturday night at The Middle East. Although Paint the Fence Invisible (Black and Green Records), the new release from Cambridge's own, Drug Rug was released last week and the forthcoming release from Boston's Mean Creek, The Sky(and The Underground) (Old Flame Records) won't be officially released until October 13th the dual release party is set for tomorrow night. A special evening awaits you from two of our cities finest and like minded bands. A hootenanny, if you will.
The announcement of a new Radiohead song caught me off guard this week. Just in case you were trapped under something heavy or traveling in another hemisphere, Radiohead have posted Harry Patch (In memory of) to their Waste UK store for a small fee with all proceeds going to the British Royal Legion. The song is tribute to the last British survivor from World War I, he died last month at the age of 111. You can listen to the track below via the BBC, but please go to the Radiohead site and pay for the download. It's a somber and beautiful track in my humble opinion.
I just heard the title track from Destroyer'sBay of Pigs EP and my head is spinning. This is a good thing. When I first heard Dan Bejar was experimenting with ambient disco I was, well I was plain scared. Those fears were misguided because I just heard over 13 stunning minutes of electro pop and one of Bejars' finest lyrical compositions. Please don't take my word for it listen for yourself. Thanks to the good kids at Sterogum for posting this. The Bay of Pigs vinyl EP will be released on August 18th. The EP is limited to 1000 copies, and it comes with a digital download code. Check out Merge for more details and ordering information.
When I heard Mary Timony's new project, Soft Power had scheduled a show in town I was more than a little excited. Then I heard the two tracks that are posted on the bands myspace page, and I'm down right giddy at the prospect of catching this band Live. Soft Power is Mary Timony, T.J. Lipple (Aloha), Jonah Tagaki, and Winston Yu. Timony has returned to familiar territory, but this is not a Helium retread. Soft Power deliver smart angular rock not unlike her beloved former band, but there's added elements of psych and kraut rock thrown in, the results are more than impressive.
Don't miss out when Soft Power play TT The Bears Sunday with support from Dave Derby's, (x-Dambuilders) Gramercy Arms.
With albums credited to Circus Devils, Boston Spaceships,Cosmos, and a solo album already released this year it looks like Robert Pollard is just getting warmed up because on August 11th he'll unveil his thirteenth album under his given name. Elephant Jokes comes via Guided By Voices, Inc. and is comprised of 22 songs that clock in just over the 46 minute mark. The two tracks that I've heard are fantastic, and dare I say classic Pollard. Expect big guitar riffs (provided by Pollard himself) and smart pop hooks. Coming to a record store near you to satisfy your late summer rock and roll fix courtesy of The Fading Captain.
Marc Woodworth, Author of Bee Thousand (33 1/3 Press) did a bang up job writing the press release for Elephant Jokes : I’m sick and tired of all you backward-looking crybabies. You know who you are: "If only it were 1994..." The present is the new past! So lay down the terrible burden of your quest for perfection. Inspired spontaneity is what you truly want! And there’s an abundance of the real thing on Elephant Jokes, a record released this very year by Robert Pollard who rocks and cerebrates and cuts up through 22 songs in 46.1 minutes. 1994? Were you even alive then? How alive? Not as alive as Robert Pollard is right now—working the boards, finding the words still jump when he says jump and the guitar chimes when he forms the chords on the 6-string with his honest-to-God DIY, home-made calluses. A clutch of these songs started out live in the studio, with Mr. Pollard on guitar, and they buzz with the charge of on-the-spot generation. All the secret ingredients go into the mix—even Mr. P’s brother, the estimable outside shooter Jimmy Pollard returns to tweak a few knobs—and the result is music that comes alive with that sui generis Dayton grit and sparkle. Check out the needling, obsessive riff on the intro to "When A Man Walks Away"—no mistaking the Pollard touch there—or the distortion-drenched start of "Epic Heads" where you can fairly smell the heat rise from the solid state circuit board. You want nostalgia? OK, here’s some nostalgia. Think music as real and unselfconscious as anything since Same Place the Fly Got Smashed or songs alive with Alien Lanes’ aesthetic but even hookier and smarter ("Stiff Me"? Are you kidding? Pure gold). Music that sounds just like friends playing for the fun of it in the family basement (so the family’s grown up and moved away, it’s a different house, and it’s not exactly a basement anyway, but I defy you to hear the difference). On Todd Tobias’ playground, everything’s possible, same as it ever was. Ocarina and kiddie chord organ on "Jimmy" with a drum beat as pared down as Hot Freak's trusty old 4/4? Check. A turn on guitar by Tim Tobias, GBV '99 -’03. Uh Huh. A verbal landscape where angels look like hell and Cyclops calls for his perverted eyelash? Did you expect anything less? If Bob playing guitar and getting new songs down with that kind of freshness and variety is your idea of a good time then I want to have a couple of beers with you and sit around telling Elephant Jokes all night with the volume up so loud all we can see is our mouths making the shapes of unbridled laughter. - Marc Woodworth, author, Bee Thousand (33 1/3 Press)
Elephant Jokes track listing: Things Have Changed (Down in Mexico City) Johnny Optimist When a Man Walks Away Parts of Your World Symbols and Heads I Felt Revolved Epic Heads Stiff Me Compound X Accident Hero Tattered Lily Hippsville (Where the Frisbees Fly Forever) Newly Selected Dirt Spots Jimmy Pigeon Tripping Spectrum Factory Perverted Eyelash Cosmic Yellow Children Blown Out Man Desiring (All You Need) to Know Architectural Nightmare Man
Thanks to Rich Turiel for his assistance and for putting up with all my questions.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Show Alert Wilco with Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band Saturday brings what just might be the show of the summer to the area. Wilco continue on their tour of minor league baseball stadiums when they play Lelacheur Park in Lowell, otherwise know as home to The Lowell Spinners. The AGP staff will be on hand to witness our first rock show in a baseball stadium and I for one am looking forward to hearing the excellent new material found on the bands just released Wilco(The Album).
The pairing with Conor Oberst as the opener is an added bonus to say the least. Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band will open the show with their multi-textured Americana folk. The band is on tour in support of their sophomore album Outer South (Merge).
Gates open at 5:30 with the show scheduled to begin at 7PM Tickets are still available through Higherground/Frontgatetickets
From the NPR Archives:[MP3/Stream] Check out this performance and interview culled from the NPR archives from 2005 shortly after Wilco picked up two Grammy Awards for A Ghost Is Born Wilco on NPR's Talk of The Nation with Neal Conan 02/24/05
Show Prep Wilco- One Wing Is it too early for some pre-show hype? I certainly hope not. We'll have an official show preview tomorrow but this will do nicely until then. Recorded last year when Wilco played Lollapalooza in Chicago. A still in the works early version of One Wing which you can now find on Wilco (The Album).
Friday, July 3, 2009
New (American) Music
The fireworks have been acquired, the grills are ready to be lit, and the coolers are overflowing. However before I head out to enjoy this years Independence Day festivities I thought I'd take the opportunity to share some new tracks from some of Americas finest. Spoon have just released their first recording since releasing Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga back in 2007. This past Tuesday Brit Daniel and Co. released Got Nuffin, a three song single via Merge. Be sure to check out the title track below and good luck not getting it stuck in your head for the next two days. Spoon are set to play their own festival, SpoonX3 in Austin as well as Merge's 20th anniversary festival, XXMerge later this month.
San Diego's,The Black Heart Procession will deliver their new album on October 6th. The band will release Six through their new label Temporary Residence and return to the economical approach to naming albums. They released One, Two, and Three earlier in their career. Earlier this week the band posted the track Rats and I have to say it sounds pretty great.
I was taken by surprise earlier this week when Matador announced the release of The Reel Feel, the new release from Pavement's Scott Kannberg and his first proper solo album under the Spiral Stairs moniker. The album was recorded in Seattle and features his old band mates from Preston School of Industry as well Ian Moore, Jon Aur (The Posies), and Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene). The Reel Feel hits stores worldwide on October 20th. Maltese Terrier was posted on the Matador site earlier this week and it couldn't have come a better time. It's nice slab of summer pop goodness. Welcome back Spiral.
An Interview With Andrew Kenny of The Wooden Birds
Over the past couple of months I've been singing the praises of Magnolia, the first release from Andrew Kenny's new project, The Wooden Birds. In fact it's going to be hard to top as my favorite album of 2009. So imagine my excitement when Andrew agreed to take some time to answer a few questions from The Ash Gray Proclamation via e-mail.
Andrew is best known as the creative force behind The American Analog Set. However with the sparkling and downright beautiful indie pop found on Magnolia, you can add The Wooden Birds to his already impressive resume.
Thank you to Grant MacCallum at Barsuk for his assistance and especially to Andrew Kenny for his time.
The Ash Gray Proclamation: After the end of Amanset you worked with a handful of bands including Keven Drew & Broken Social Scene, can you tell me what led to the forming of your new band The Wooden Birds?
Andrew: After the AmAnSet stopped touring I was really depressed for months. When I started playing bass with Ola Podrida, it was a great opportunity to not be "the guy" and just have a good time performing music that you like. That definitely put some wind in my sails so when Kevin asked me to join his tour for a while I was ready to start traveling again. They also kept an acoustic guitar on their bus where I finished up a few of the songs on Magnolia. When I left the Broken Social Scene, I knew I was ready to put something of my own together.
Andrew: I've been a DCFC fan since the first time I saw them in 1999 so Barsuk has been on my radar for a decade. We'd spoken a few times over the years about the AmAnSet and so I knew they were aware of me as well. I was happy to hear from them too! I think The Wooden Birds are a good fit here.
AGP: When you starting writing for Magnolia what were your expectations for the sound of the record?
Andrew: I used to demo songs by pounding out beats on my guitar top and then playing along. It was always my way of explaining the feel of each song to Analog Set drummer, Mark Smith. Over time I started liking the way those beats sounded on their own.
When I started putting songs aside for Magnolia I chose songs that would take advantage of those kinds of beats. It will be the next Wooden Birds album that I will get to write a few new songs specifically for and I'm really looking forward to that process.
AGP: I've read that the new record was inspired by heartbreak, can you tell me why that theme seems to keep creeping into your music?
Andrew: I'm not special. Like everyone, I have a lot of heartbreak to write about. These days I'm happily married so I'm mostly writing about things that happened in my past. Eventually I'll run out of sad things to write about though, huh? Maybe 2030 or 2035. The 90's were tough.
AGP: The Other One sounds like it could have been an Amanset song, speaking of your former band, can we expect to hear any Amanset material when you play Boston?
Andrew: There are a few songs on Magnolia that began as AmAnSet demos but maybe didn't make sense on an American Analog Set record. I presented The Other One as a song for Set Free in 2004 and everyone said, "Um.. you already have one Aaron and Maria, you need two?".
We're playing a few AmAnSet songs on this Wooden Birds tour. We play Kindness Of Strangers. And yeah we play Aaron and Maria as well which is a lot of fun because The AmAnSet never did!
AGP: Can you tell us how Hard To Find, the newly released Amanset rarities compilation came about?
Andrew: There was a tour only 12" called Everything Ends In Spring that we took with us on our last tour in 2005. It contains a coupe of my all time favorite AmAnSet moments and as an EP, I couldn't be more proud of 30 min of AmAnSet music. We'd always talked about making that EP available in some kind of digital format. And then other songs emerged as moments that were special for some reason. A 7" that was never released.. Hard To Find b/w Make It Take It. Another 7" that sold out quickly... New Equation. I love that version of Sharp Briar that Matt Pond sings on. And for years we opened every show with the slowed down version of Promise Of Love that we called, Stoney Chariots, though we never made it available officially. It just made a lot of sense to sequence them all together and make them downloadable.
AGP: Magnolia has been called your best work by your new label? How does that statement make you feel?
Andrew: I've written a lot of music over the years. It's a dangerous cycle to fall into to think that you have to top yourself somehow every time you write or record. My goal has always been just to make music that I believe in and when I get to share it with people, it's a wonderful feeling. So is the bridge on Never Know better than the moment when the vocals kick in on Continuous Hit Music ? Are the lyrics on Hometown Fantasy better than She's Half ? Aaron & Maria and The Other One are really similar songs but is one better? I'd rather think of myself as the guy that over the last 10 years wrote all 6 of those songs and many others and might have a few gems left in him. (I hope more than a few!)
AGP: What is the status of your other career as a biologist?
Andrew: Oh gosh. It's something that I think about every day, but resuming my career in science is going to be a major undertaking. I'd be a clumsy menace in a laboratory right now. It's in my future though. Laboratory science is the only thing I've ever done in my life that I've ever felt good at. I'd like to have that satisfaction resume someday.
AGP: Do you write on the road or do you prefer to focus on playing the songs you've just recorded?
Andrew: That's come up recently. I have a few bits of music recorded on my little cassette recorder and so I think about lyrics a lot while I'm driving. But as for the whole band, we're still working on making our set / show better. that's our #1 goal.
AGP: Here's question I like to ask all touring bands, what have you been listening to in the van?
Andrew: I'm never the van dj, but when I get a little backseat headphones time I've been listening to the newest Phoenix album which is absolutely going to be my favorite record of 2009. I also like the Land of Talk record that came out late last year. Also Grand Archives and Night Control. I've been enjoying a renewed interest in the House Of Love lately. I also just got a mix cd of Li'l Flip freestyles that I'm 'bout 'bout.
AGP: Four years have passed since you released Set Free, please tell us we won't have to wait another four years before we get the next Wooden Birds album?
Andrew: Ha, ha, right? The Wooden Birds is what I'm doing these days. I've been on tour for almost 3 months so when I'm home I'll need to spend at least that long proving to my wife that I'm worth putting up with the hassle of absentee husbandism. And then I'll start working on the next round of Wooden Birds songs. I'd like to keep my album cycles a little tighter with this project. We'll see.
The Wooden Birds-Seven Seventeen Recorded on the streets of Valencia, Spain 5/6/09
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Return of The Starlight Mints
Oklahoma's archetypal popstersThe Starlight Mints have returned with their new offering Change Remains via Barsuk. The album was released to digital shops on June 9th, with the bricks and mortars release set for July 21st. Over their previous three releases The Mints have honed their unique brand of psyche-pop and with Change Remains they've taken another step forward towards making the perfect oddball pop record. Barsuk is throwing in the digital version of Change Remains when you pre-order prior to the albums official physical release date.
01. Coffins 'R' Us [01:49] 02. Natural [02:41] 03. Paralyzed [03:51] 04. Zoomba [03:34] [MP3/Stream] 05. Black Champagne [03:24] 06. Power Bleed [03:25] 07. Gazaretti [02:48] 08. Sesame (untie the wrath) [03:49] 09. Snorkel with a Turtle [01:53] 10. 40 Fingers [03:46]
