Don't Wake the Scarecrow

Delta Spirit has a new video they just added to their myspace page. It’s for the song “People C’mon” from their album “Ode to Sunshine”. The video itself has a lot of references and shots of art with a few scenes of fighting and is apparently connected to the 1965 film Pierrot le fou. How? I’m not sure….but if you know please leave an explanation in the comments section.

When asked to describe their sound, band member Brandon Young stated, “We’re heavily influenced by a lot of old soul and Americana music. We’re probably going to have to pay royalties to Richard Swift, this amazing artist and friend of ours, ’cause it’s pretty questionable as to if we’re ripping him off or not. He’s absolutely genius.”

Buy the album “Ode to Sunshine” here

Read more of the interview with Young here.

The title is still unknown……but at least we have news about a tracklist, tour, and guest appearances for Wilco’s new album. The new record set for release sometime in late June and the band will be hitting the road for a number of dates throughout Europe and North America, including some festival dates at Bonnaroo and 10,000 Lakes. The album’s recording got started when the band was in New Zealand and finished up back at their loft in Chicago, and is sure to be a strong effort. Feist appears on the album in a guest role, supplying vocals on the song “You and I”. Wilco’s first full length concert DVD “Ashes of American Flags” was just released on record store day and has had strong numbers. Be sure to pick up the new DVD, CD, and also see the band Live.

Here’s a song from the new album called “One Wing”:

Tour dates are found here

It was just announced that David Byrne would be the first artist to “curate his own stage” at this year’s Bonnaroo Music & Arts festival in Manchester, Tennessee. What this means exactly isn’t entirely known, but from what most people can gather this will play out like this:

Friday, June 12th Byrne will get his own stage. Whether that means the which stage, one of the tents, or even a new stage is unknown at this point….but most seem to think that he will just sort of hi-jack a tent and the afternoon/evening sets will be played by artists of his choosing. Bonnaroo.com has stated that his list of artists include Santigold, the Dirty Projectors, Ani DiFranco, St. Vincent, and Katzenjammer. All of these artist are unique in their own way and some have begun collaborating with Byrne himself.

This news also brings up the fact that David will be playing his own set at a separate time…which like the rest of the schedule is unknown right now. There’s theories that he would play his set at the same time as Beastie Boys set (before Phish’s late night extravaganza). Speculation will arise and until the schedule is released we won’t know too much….but this is good news for any David Byrne fans out there.

of Friday, June 12 Byrne, who is performing the “Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno,” will host his recent collaborators Santigold and the Dirty Projectors, singer/songwriter and founder of Righteous Babe Records Ani DiFranco, former Polyphonic Spree member and Beggar’s Banquet recording artist St. Vincent and up-and-coming multi-instrumental all-female Norwegian alt/folk band Katzenjammer.

Having seen The Felice Brothers two times before, I had an idea for what I was in for. The band that hails from the Catskills played a headlining show at Webster Hall in New York City on Friday, April 17th 2009. They are currently touring to support their new album Yonder is the Clock, the second on the Team Love record label and fourth album overall. It’s always a treat to see the energy and soul that the brothers bring to the stage when playing a live show.

As a friend and I arrived early, I was happy to see James Felice mingling with the crowd members. Just about every time I’ve seen the band, I’ve also seen James among the audience members before or after the show. That’s one reason to see this band live -- their connection with the audience. Not only do they captivate with their lyrics and intensity, but they entertain with their comments and chemistry.

After getting a poster signed by James and purchasing the new album (on CD only….no vinyl release yet), we went to get a beer and secure a spot close to the stage. Webster Hall was a decent sized venue, with a lot of good bands that have swung through there. Apparently there are other floors and sections of the bar/club but we didn’t get to see them. We were planted in the main concert hall watching Willie Mason play a short acoustic set before The Felice Brothers took the stage.

The opener had some fine tunes, but it was clear that the growing audience was awaiting for the headliners. The band members began to slowly take the stage, one by one each playing a slow jam. Christmas, on bass came out and was joined by a different drummer than I was used to. Simone Felice, one of the brothers, usually filled that role but news of a solo project that he was going to focus a little more time and energy on created the opportunity for Jeremy Backofen to take over behind the drum kit. Jeremy, also known as “The Searcher”, produced the Felice Brothers albums and has worked with Simone on drums so he was more than a suitable replacement.

Christmas and the Searcher were then joined by James and Ian Felice, each tuning up and beginning to form the opening song. The crowd cheered when Simone then emerged from the back, banging on a big bass drum and theatrically walking around the stage. While he wouldn’t be on drums the whole night, he was here to support his brothers and everyone was more than glad for it.

They launched into “The Big Surprise”, the opening song from the new album. The video is included below:

The show that followed just kept getting better and better. They mixed in new tunes like “Cooperstown”, “Run Chicken Run”, and “Chicken Wire” and also played some of their older ballads like “Ballad of Lou the Welterweight” and “Goddamn you Jim”. The floor felt like it was going to fall out from under us because of the foot-stomping that was going on. The band played what felt like an endless encore set….mainly because after every song they would announce “We’ve got one more song to play” that drove the audience wild each time. The show ended with violin/washboard player Farley launching himself into the drumset and joining the band for a final bow.

If you haven’t seen the Felice Brothers live…do yourself a favor and buy a ticket to the closest show near you. They won’t disappoint.

More videos will be added…..photos are located in the shows section.

On Saturday April 18th 2009, My Morning Jacket released a live EP to support Record Store day. This short album was recorded in the band’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky at a favorite record store of Jim James’s. I had to go to my local store to try and get my copy of these EP on vinyl. This was a limited release in the vinyl format and the record stores all across America were in short supply. The store I go to was only able to get 3 of them, and being a humongous MMJ and Vinyl Record fan I knew one of them had to be mine.

I awoke early that morning…..which was tough considering the night before was spent in NYC at Webster Hall watching The Felice Brothers almost destroy a building with their foot-stomping tunes. Anyway, I woke up and went to the store with high hopes and low expectations. I arrived an hour before opening and was surprised to see a lone consumer waiting by the door. Relief filled my body and hope entered my mind. I looked in the store and saw this vinyl right up front. Grabbed my copy minutes after the shop opened up and proceeded to shop a bit (also picked up The Dead Weather single “Hang you from the heavens” and Cold War Kids – Live at Fingerprints EP).

The music is stellar. My Morning Jacket thrive in the concert situation, and you can tell when listening to Celebracion de la Ciudad Natal that this show was no exception. It’s great to hear the crowd banter that Jim James has inbetween two songs when he talks about the record store and how he’s been buying records “since I was a tadpole”. The double disc Vinyl is definitely a treat, that comes along with a small poster/tracklist and a bonus copy of the EP in CD format. Hopefully you’re able to find a copy, but if not….look for the CD. It’s a great addition to any My Morning jacket fans collection.

 
go to : My Morning Jacket Official Site

The day before The Dead Weather’s debut show at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC, Jack White and company were interviewed by Matt Pinfield for his daily radio show on 101.9 RXP. The Matt Pinfield in the morning show is a pretty good show that airs on 101.9 FM from 6 to 10 a.m.. That’s a little early for me, so I usually catch the last part of his show on my drive to work.

Anyway, the Dead Weather were interviewed by Matt and they talk a lot about the debut album they recorded, how they formed as a group, and the songwriting process. There’s a lot of interesting stuff revealed in this 17 minute interview. I’ve broken it into two parts that you can listen to below.

Part 1 – Dead Weather Interview

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Part 2 – Dead Weather Interview

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UPDATE: NOW with links to download. (Right Click + Save Target As)

What can be said about Jack White? He’s a madman workaholic for one thing. Tuesday, April 14th 2009 marks the first full length show played by Jack’s new band The Dead Weather. The concert took place in New York City at the Bowery Ballroom, a small venue that provides for a packed crowd. Although tickets were unattainable for myself,  we at least have some videos from people who could attend.

The show seemed to have spark a lot of interest not just because Jack White chose to play drums in this group, but because everyone wanted to hear what this new band’s sound would be like. Besides Jack White, the rest of the band is made up of  Alison Mosshart on vocals and guitar, Dean Fertita on guitar/organ/piano, and Jack Lawrence on bass. The debut album, titled Horehound is due out sometime in June and the band stated they will be touring during the summer.