Hostage Calm Release Pay-What-You-Want Digital Compilation / Show at MHOW in Brooklyn on 9-26 with Saves The Day and Into It. Over It.

Hostage Calm have announced the release of Tonight, They Won't Take Me Alive, a digital collection that charts a course through the band's storied career. Featuring various live and acoustic performances, the compilation also includes all of the group's non-album tracks and some highlights from each of their three critically acclaimed LPs and debut Demo 7”. Tonight, They Won't Take Me Alive is more than an outline from a varied back-catalog, it's the manifestation of Hostage Calm's 6-year narrative of challenging the status quo at each junction they cross.

The band is offering the collection for 'Pay What You Want' download on their band camp page, with all proceeds are going towards helping to pay for their new tour van (http://hostagecalm.bandcamp.com/album/tonight-they-wont-take-me-alive). "Whether this release serves as an introduction to the band or a chance to explore new and different material, we hope you enjoy listening to the music as much as we have enjoyed creating and living it." - Tom Chiari, guitar

Tonight, They Won't Take Me Alive Tracklist:
1. Brokenheartland (Live @ Audiotree)
2. The 'M' Word (Nervous Energies Session feat. Jon Simmons of Balance and Composure)
3. Olly Olly Oxen Free (from Split 7" w/Anti-Flag, 2013)
4. Don't Die On Me Now (Live @ Warped Tour, 2012)
5. Affidavit (Acoustic, Alternativ News Session Live in Paris, 2011)
6. The 'M' Word (Mixed Signals Compilation, 2011) from Please Remain Calm (2012)
7. Woke Up Next To A Body
8. Patriot from Hostage Calm (2010)
9. War On A Feeling
10. Young Professionals
11. Donna Lee (from War On A Feeling 7" Single, 2011)
from Lens (2008)

12. Interchangeable Parts
13. Gaslighting
from Demo (2007)
14. Grayscale
15. One Face



Hostage Calm Tour Dates:

Hostage Calm only
08/29 Keyser, WV @ Clancy's


w/Into It. Over It.

08/30 Indianapolis, IN @ Hoosier Dome

08/31 Kalamazoo, MI @ Audiotree Music Festival (early set)

08/31 Toledo, OH @ Frankie's *Citizen Record Release* (No IIOI)

09/03 Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress


w/Saves The Day, Into It. Over It.

09/04 Pomona, CA @ Glass House

09/05 San Francisco, CA @ Slim's

09/06 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater (Music Fest Northwest)

09/07 Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore

09/08 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon

09/10 Salt Lake City, UT @ Club Sound

09/11 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre

09/12 Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theatre

09/13 Minneapolis, MN @ Mill City Nights

09/14 Iowa City, IA @ Blue Moose

09/15 Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest

09/17 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick

09/18 Columbus, OH @ Skully's

09/19 Pittsburgh, PA @ Altar Bar

09/20 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop

09/21 Syracuse, NY @ Lost Horizon

09/22 Toronto, ON @ The Hoxton

09/24 Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club

09/26 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
*Show Sold-Out

09/27 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer

09/28 Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom

09/29 Washington, DC @ Black Cat

09/30 Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle

10/02 Jacksonville, FL @ Roc Bar

10/03 St. Petersburg, FL @ The State Theatre

10/04 Orlando, FL @ The Social

10/05 Atlanta, GA @ The Loft

10/06 Nashville, TN @ Exit/In

10/08 Austin, TX @ The Belmont

10/09 Dallas, TX @ Trees

10/11 Scottsdale, AZ @ Martini Ranch

10/12 West Hollywood, CA @ Troubadour

10/13 San Diego, CA @ The Irenic

Links:
Hostage Calm

AlunaGeorge (UK Electronic Music Duo) Sign to Vagrant / First US Tour in Sept. Includes Stops At Music Hall of Williamsburg and Bowery Ballroom

I'm generally not much for dance music but I've been getting into the minimalist trip-hop glitch meets R and B/soul sound of London duo AlunaGeorge.   I like the quote from the BBC which describes the band as "strik[ing] a rare balance between dancefloor legitimacy and pop nous."

The band just signed with Vagrant Records and their debut disc, Body Music, will be released July 30th. The band is also kicking off their first US tour at the end of August at Chicago's North Coast Music Festival and are making their NYC debut with shows at Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg on Sept. 5th and 6th.   At both shows, AlunaGeorge is supported by Chicago's Supreme Cuts. Tickets for each show (Bowery Ballroom, MHOW) are $15 in advance and $18 DOS; each of these shows start at 9PM.



Taking the boom of British bass culture and marrying it to the sweet slickness of classic American R&B, AlunaGeorge – aka Aluna Francis and producer George Reid – are excited to announce the details of their eagerly awaited debut album Body Music, released on July 30th via Vagrant Records.

Body Music – Track List:
1. Outlines
2. You Know You Like It
3. Attracting Flies
4. Your Drums, Your Love
5. Kaleidoscope Love
6. Bad Idea
7. Diver
8. Lost And Found
9. Best Be Believing
10. Superstar
11. Just A Touch
12. Body Music
13. Friends to Lovers
14. This is How We Do It (bonus track)

In the 12 months since their first release went viral, AlunaGeorge’s DIY video for “You Know You Like It” has clocked up over 2 million views, the band were crowned the most blogged artist of 2012, they sold out a European tour, performed at Moschino’s catwalk show during London Fashion Week and made the top 3 for both last year’s prestigious BRITS Critics Award and the BBC Sound of 2013 (#2). On top of all of the above, scored a #2 single in the UK with their Disclosure collaboration “White Noise”.





Links:
AlunaGeorge

Two Gallants - "The Bloom and The Blight" CD Review (ATO Records)

After an extended period of inactivity, San Francisco duo Two Gallants is back with their first album in five years – The Bloom and the Blight – which also serves as the band’s debut for ATO Records. Wikipedia refers to the band as a “folk rock duo” but there is an explosive record whose lineage is equal parts 90’s grunge (Meat Puppets and/or Dinosaur Jr. are immediate points of comparison) and gritty alt-country with only a slight element of Dylanish folk thrown into the mix. The aptly titled The Bloom and the Blight is a meditation on past and present – melodic fury matched with the eloquent, confessional lyricism that has made Two Gallants an enduring favorite of both fans and critics.

“Our past albums have been a lot more folk and blues-based, and I tried to move away from that to some extent,” guitarist/vocalist Adam Stephens says of the band’s fresh direction, “I wanted to find a rawness in the music and take us back where we’d come from, from punk rock and grunge in particular, to our childhood, in some ways. We had taken time off, and we did different things, played in different bands. And in doing those things, being apart and redefining ourselves in that way, we were able to come together with a fresh approach.”

A number of tracks on the disc follow a verse-chorus-verse structure with exploding choruses. The opening track, “Halycon Days”, kicks off the album on a strong note with a frenetic alt-rock number which builds up a fuzz-drenched wall of guitar noise on top of a sludgy bottom-end. This is followed by “Songs of Songs” which is an alt-country number with exploding choruses. There are a couple of other alt-country numbers on the disc – which includes “Willie”, an alt-country boot stomper – but the disc is weighted toward the fuzzed-out grunge of tracks like “Ride Away” and “Cradle Pyre”. The band keeps things fresh by switching gears with a whisky-blues/folk number on “Broken Eyes” (this disc’s first single), hazy psychedelic space rock on “Decay” and winds up the disc with the gritty acoustic number (which sounds somewhat like Beggars Banquet era Stones), “Sunday Souvenirs”.

The Bloom and the Blight will be released September 4th and the band is also heading out on an extensive tour in September, which includes shows at Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg later in the month. Pre-orders for the new LP come with a bonus 7 inch record that includes a cover of Abner Jay's "I'm so Depressed" on the A side and on the B side an etched in design drawn by Tyson.

Two Gallants’ September 2012 Tour Dates
1: Los Angeles, California / FYF Fest
2: San Diego, California / The Casbah
4: Tucson, Arizona / Club Congress
5: Phoenix, Arizona / Crescent Ballroom
7: Dallas, Texas / House of Blues
8: Austin, Texas / 29th Street Ballroom
9: Houston, Texas / Fitzgerald's
10: New Orleans, Louisiana / One Eyed Jacks
11: Birmingham, Alabama / The Bottletree Café
12: Atlanta, Georgia / Terminal West
13: Asheville, North Carolina / Grey Eagle
14: Nashville, Tennessee / The High Watt @ Americana Music Festival
15: St. Louis, Missouri / Plush
17: Cincinnati, Ohio / MOTR Pub
18: Bloomington, Indiana / The Bishop
19: Cleveland, Ohio / Beachland Tavern
20: Buffalo, New York / The Ninth Ward


24: New York, New York / Bowery Ballroom
PAPA is opening the show and advanced tickets are $20

25: Brooklyn, New York / Music Hall of Williamsburg
PAPA is opening the show and advanced tickets are $20

Links:
Two Gallants

Margot and the Nuclear So and So's are Playing MHOW on April 11th along with Writer and Ezra Furman

(Photo: Stephanie Bassos)
Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s released their fifth disc, Rot Gut, Domestic, last month which was Nukes' rawest take on their evocative, soaring brand of guitar-centric pop. Singer/songwriter Richard Edwards wrote Rot Gut, Domestic over 26 days in Pismo Beach, CA last spring. Plagued by chronic stomach pain, he'd headed to Pismo Beach - which had become a somewhat mythical place for the band, a respite of calm and healing where they'd somehow always been drawn - following the last days of the band's touring around Buzzard.

The new album was conceived as the second installment of the band's 'panic pop' trilogy, Edwards composing a new set of songs about Midwestern fringe characters set to his skewed version of the pop music on which he was raised. Upon returning to his current hometown of Chicago, IL, Edwards and the rest of the band headed into Electrical Audio studio with producer/engineer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Bill Callahan, The Walkmen). The Nukes churned out these 12 resounding tracks over 10 days in July before Congleton returned to his Dallas, TX studio to mix the album.



Margot and the Nukes are playing Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn on Wednesday, April 12th along with Ezra Furman and Writer. (Tickets are $13 in advance and $15 DOS)

Links:
Margot & The Nuclear So and So's

Margot & The Nuclear So and So's: "Rot Gut, Domestic" CD Review / Show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 11th

PREMIERE: Margot & The Nuclear So And So's - Shannon - RCRD LBL

Prozac Rock by MargotCloud

Margot & The Nuclear So and So’s are releasing their fifth disc, Rot Gut, Domestic, on March 20th via the band’s Mariel Recording Company label. Rot Gut, Domestic is the Nukes' rawest take on their evocative, soaring brand of guitar-centric pop. Singer/songwriter Richard Edwards wrote Rot Gut, Domestic over 26 days in Pismo Beach, CA last spring. Plagued by chronic stomach pain, he'd headed to Pismo Beach - which had become a somewhat mythical place for the band, a respite of calm and healing where they'd somehow always been drawn - following the last days of the band's touring around Buzzard. The album was conceived as the second installment of the band's 'panic pop' trilogy, Edwards composing a new set of songs about Midwestern fringe characters set to his skewed version of the pop music on which he was raised. Upon returning to his current hometown of Chicago, IL, Edwards and the rest of the band headed into Electrical Audio studio with producer/engineer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Bill Callahan, The Walkmen). The Nukes churned out these 12 resounding tracks over 10 days in July before Congleton returned to his Dallas, TX studio to mix the album.

Margot & The Nukes shook up its lineup and almost completely abandoned its chamber-pop roots with 2010's Buzzard (called "masterpieces of controlled tension" by SPIN). Rot Gut, Domestic shows the band continuing to move down the same gritty alcohol-fueled path to the gutter, with twisted tales of self-loathing, serial killers and urban paranoia. On opener "Disease Tobacco Free", the band builds up a wall of sound and Edwards sings at the higher end of his register which leaves the track sounding like Radiohead off on a NYC bender. "Books About Trains" is a tale of urban paranoia with a big guitar sound that hits its overloaded peak and comes crashing back down to Earth. "Shannon" is more sludgy and psychedelic than the first two tracks but, a the same time is more melodic with some nice backing harmonies – yet again though this song builds right up to the edge of the cliff with its tortured backing vocals before it comes crashing down. "Prozac Rock" is the disc’s big ‘radio single’ (if there were still such a thing) with its pulsing bass lines, razor-tight harmonies and exploding choruses. If this wasn’t enough, the band shifts gears on "A Journalist Falls In Love" which is a shimmering love ballad about a serial killer (“I know I’ve killed a few / but none of those women were you”). Seemingly out of left field, there is even a track about Eastern European basketball star Arvydas Sabonis which utilizes a verse-chorus-verse song structure with some very melodic hooks.

The disc ends with the gothic “The Devil” and the piano ballad “Christ” (“Jesus breaks your heart every night when he doesn’t come”). On the last, alcohol-filled night in Pismo, Edwards wrote “The Devil” and “Christ” in succession, and scribbled “rot gut, domestic” on the cover of his notebook and “panic pop” on the back. In the morning, he hitched a ride back to his adopted hometown of Chicago with a Bible salesman who told him, “Times have gotten bad.”



Margot & The Nuclear So and So's Tour Dates:

March
31 – Columbus, Ohio @ LC Pavilion

April
1 – Akron, Ohio @ Musica
3 – Grand Rapids, Mich. @ Pyramid Scheme
4 – Ann Arbor, Mich. @ The Blind Pig
5 – Toronto, Ontario @ The Garrison
6 – Buffalo, N.Y. @ The Ninth Ward
7 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Brillobox
9 – Hamden, Conn. @ The Space
10 – Boston, Mass. @ Middle East – Downstairs
11 – Brooklyn, N.Y. @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
(Tickets are $13 in advance and $15 DOS - support acts are Ezra Furman and Writer)
12 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ First Unitarian Church
13 – Washington, D.C. @ Rock and Roll Hotel
14 – Chapel Hill, N.C. @ Local 506
15 – Nashville, Tenn. @ Exit/In
17 – Orlando, Fla. @ The Plaza Live
18 – Tampa, Fla. @ Crowbar
19 – Tallahassee, Fla. @ Club Down Under
20 – Birmingham, Ala. @ Bottletree
21 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Masquerade

Links:
Margot & The Nuclear So and So's

Pearl and the Beard (Folk-Pop) Play Music Hall of Williamsburg on Feb. 16th

DOWNLOAD: Pearl and the Beard - "Sweetness"



"Neverland's got nothing on the whimsical world constructed by Pearl than the Bear. The N.Y.C. based trio carries listeners on their backs through a DIY dreamland that is unpredictable yet safe and warm like the comfort of one's own bed." - Bust Magazine

Pearl and the Beard is three voices, one cello, one guitar, one glockenspiel, one melodica, several drums, one accordion, ninety-six teeth, and one soul.

Pearl and the Beard will also be touring this month supporting Ani DiFranco, celebrating the release of their extended single for "Prodigal Girl" at Music Hall of Williamsburg, and tearing through the Midwest and Southeast throughout February and March supporting the release of said extended single. The single will feature Prodigal Girl and 3 solo songs from each of the members Jocelyn Mackenzie, Emily Hope Price, and Jeremy Styles.

Pearl and the Beard Tour Dates:
02.16 -- Brooklyn NY -- Music Hall of Williamsburg
(Tickets are $13 in advance and $15 DOS)

02.23 -- Philadelphia -- Kung Fu Necktie
02.24 -- Washington DC -- Rock N Roll Hotel
02.28 -- Evanston IL -- S.P.A.C.E.
02.29 -- St. Louis MO -- The Gramophone,
03.01 -- Columbia MO -- True/False Film Festival
03.06 -- Omaha NE -- O'Leary's Pub
03.23 -- Greensboro NC -- The Blind Tiger
03.25 -- Greenville NC -- Spazzfest
03.28 -- Shepherdstown WV -- Blue Moon Cafe
03.29 -- Easton MD -- The Night Cat, 8pm



Links:
Pearl and the Beard

EULA opens for Mission of Burma at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Jan. 19th

In late 2009, New Haven-to-Brooklyn post-punk band EULA was selected by Mission of Burma (through Matador's 'Battle for Burma' competition) to open for MOB at a free show at M.I.T. for Boston's "Mission of Burma Day". EULA has now been tapped to open for Mission of Burma at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Jan. 19th. Tickets are $20 and doors are at 8PM.

EULA's most recent release, Maurice Narcisse, came out last May and Paper Garden Records described the disc as "a playful treatise on pretension, part lamenting part castigating the metaphorical ‘character’ for his egotism. Alyses’ punching lyrics find their match in aggressive drums and plunging melodies, so despite the aforementioned woes, Maurice Narcisse is an undeniably fun listen. Give a listen to the record’s titular track, a smoldering, discombobulated pop song that EULA has made their specialty. It’s indubitably technical and well-crafted, every detail fired off with conviction and purpose."



Links:
EULA

Erika M. Anderson (EMA) Announces Deluxe Edition of "Past Life Martyred Saints" / Show at Music Hall of Williamsburg on March 16, 2012

EMA - Angelo by souterraintransmissions

EMA has announced the first dates of a spring North American headlining tour, which will launch on March 1st at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco, CA and continue through March 16th at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY. Tickets for the show at MHOW go on sale on Friday, Dec. 16th at 12PM (EST) and are $12 in advance and $15 DOS. All of the announced tour dates are listed below.

Year-end praise has begun to roll in for EMA's debut album Past Life Martyred Saints (Souterrain Transmissions), which has continuously garnered acclaim throughout 2011 from The A.V. Club, Flaunt, Foam, NPR, Nylon, Pitchfork, Popmatters, Refinery29, Rolling Stone, SPIN, Stereogum, Time Out New York, Under The Radar, Village Voice, and Zink, among others. The album has already found spots on best of '11 lists both here and abroad, including the BBC Music Writers' Top 25 Albums of 2011 (#20), The Quietus Albums of the Year 2011 (#27), SPIN's 50 Best Albums of 2011 (#3), and Stereogum's Top 50 Albums of 2011 (#7), while The Sunday Times (UK) named her the #1 New Artist of 2011. Album track "California", meanwhile, can also be found on year-end lists such as Consequence Of Sound's Top 50 Songs of 2011 (#7), Rolling Stone's 50 Best Singles of 2011 (#39), and SPIN's 20 Best Songs of 2011 (#3).

EMA - former GOWNS singer/guitarist Erika M. Anderson - has spent the better part of the year on the road in support of the May release of Past Life Martyred Saints. Since March, she and her band have performed at festivals including SXSW, the Pitchfork Music Festival, The Great Escape, Primavera Club, and the CMJ Music Marathon, while also touring aross the US, UK, and Europe as both a headliner (selling out the Mercury Lounge and Glasslands in New York) and as support to CSS, MEN, Wild Beasts, Kurt Vile, Zola Jesus, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., among others.



A deluxe edition of Past Life Martyred Saints will be released exclusively via iTunes on February 7th, 2012 and will feature: original iTunes bonus track "To Leave With Love"; videos for album tracks "California", "Milkman", and "Marked"; and her cover of Nirvana's "Endless, Nameless", originally featured on SPIN's Nevermind tribute album Newermind, as well as the track's accompanying video. EMA's recent single Angelo/Marked is currently available as a limited edition 7-inch (only 1,000 copies printed worldwide) exclusively via Insound and digitally via all major retailers. The single's new song B-side "Angelo", which features a guest verse by Mz'Gorjis of Oakland, CA's Platnum Platnum Glam Squad, is streaming above.

EMA spring 2012 North American headlining dates:

MAR. 1 -- SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- RICKSHAW STOP
MAR. 2 -- LOS ANGELES, CA -- NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
MAR. 6 -- DENVER, CO -- HI-DIVE
MAR. 8 -- MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- 7TH STREET ENTRY
MAR. 9 -- MADISON, WI -- THE FREQUENCY
MAR. 10 -- CHICAGO, IL -- LINCOLN HALL
MAR. 11 -- CLEVELAND, OH -- BEACHLAND TAVERN
MAR. 13 -- TORONTO, ON -- THE GARRISON
MAR. 14 -- MONTREAL, QC -- IL MOTORE
MAR. 15 -- BOSTON, MA -- BRIGHTON MUSIC HALL
MAR. 16 -- BROOKLYN, NY -- MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG



Links:
EMA

Dead Meadow - Live Photos & Review from Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 10-30-11

Dead Meadow's blissful, psychedelic stoner rock was a great way to follow Spindrift. Original drummer Mark Laughlin returned to the band last year and the Dead Meadow is currently working on their next studio disc, which is a follow-up to 2008's Old Growth.



The band's set ran about an hour and here is my best guess at a set list:

01 Intro > I Love You Too
02 What Needs Must Be
03 Till Kingdom Come
04 1000 Dreams (??)
05 Good Moanin'
06 Indian Bones
07 At Her Open Door
08 Sleepy Silver Door



Spindrift drew a good crowd but MHOW was packed as Dead Meadow prepared to take the stage. What was sad/funny is that some arse pushed his way up to the front of the stage and starts yelling over and over again "Mark Laughlin". Mark came over, seemingly a bit perplexed but very pleasant, and asked the guy if they knew each other. This idiot then just smirked and said "no". During the last song, someone from the Dead Meadow camp (presumably) came out in a monster costume and this same idiot tried to pull the monster off stage. The things people do when they can't find a Pearl Jam show to go to...









Links:
Dead Meadow

Spindrift - Interview with Kirpatrick Thomas and Photos from MHOW, Brooklyn, NY 10-30-11

Video: Spindrift - "Space Vixens"

Spindrift has been around for almost twenty years and the band just released its fourth full-length disc, Classic Soundtracks Vol. 1, early this year. This disc shows the band continuing to follow its Western / Morricone muse and "the album featured 14 theme songs to various film scores they are set to and up to 8 different directors participated in the project. The film clips, music videos, and movie trailers were all premiered on IFC and featured films by Burke Roberts, J. X. Williams, Abigail Bean, Simon Chan, and many others. The music crossed genres such as Bollywood songs, Science fiction, Exploitation films, and Film noir." (from Spindrift's official bio)

I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Spindrift founder/guitarist Kirpatrick Thomas prior to the band taking the stage for the second of two sold-out shows at Music Hall of Williamsburg.



BrooklynRocks: Thanks for taking the time to talk with me! Would you mind starting out by talking a bit about the current tour and what the reception has been so far?

Kirpatrick Thomas: We kicked off the tour on October 6th in Los Angeles, which is where we are from, and did some shows through the Southwest before we hitched up with Dead Meadow and played with them in Austin. From Austin, we shot over to Houston to start off the first show of this tour with Black Angels, Dead Meadow and Spindrift. Since then, we have been going since mid-October. It is 20 shows with the three of our bands and 40 shows with just Spindrift headlining. The reception has been awesome having these three bands play every night. It shows the weight that Black Angels can carry - headlining three nights at Williamsburg Music Hall - they really bring it out. Dead Meadow does pretty well themselves so they were able to back the tour. For us, we have toured a lot so we can bring out what we have.



BrooklynRocks: How did the current lineup of Spindrift come together? I've been watching the band for years and it seems like it has been you along with a rotating cast of band members.

Kirpatrick Thomas: We started the band in Newark, DE and that was in 1994. We started out as a four piece - we were getting out of college, added a keyboard player and became a five piece. Though the 90's, we did a lot of shows on the East Coast and the South but we weren't getting anywhere. We were playing psychedelic rock, garage rock and experimental blues. We really liked My Bloody Valentine, The Doors, Hawkwind, Chrome and those types of bands but it wasn't until I moved out West that we decided that we got to get out of here and try something new and different. Basically, moving from one place to another, we had to change some band members. The way I see it is that we go through a rotation every five years. It just happens like that but this current lineup has been set for over two years now. The previous lineup was five years and the one before that was also five years. We have been out in LA for ten years now and it has been going really strong. I think with every lineup change, I get a little smarter about finding musicians that I would like to interact with.

Lucas Dawson (Pedal Steel & Guitar) was floating around in Joshua Tree and he said that he played pedal steel and he wanted to play psychedelic pedal steel so we started jamming. Then I got James Action (Drums, Autoharp) who was in Salt Lake City and I had met him before and he played autoharp. Originally, I just wanted an autoharp player and them our drummer left so he said he played drums. I decided to give him a try and he moved to LA to join the band. I had seen Sasha's (Mellosonic, Vocals, Flutes) solo thing around LA and she had already approached Spindrift to be in the band. So it was just me as the mainstay and Henry (Evans) the bass player as hold-overs from the previously line-up.



BrooklynRocks: How did the new disc, Classic Soundtracks Vol. 1, come together?

Kirpatrick Thomas: The new disc is basically a musical resume for film composition so it is a compilation as well. The songs are from a bunch of films that we did while we were living out in LA. We had done our own film, The Legend of God's Gun, and that got our foot in the door as far as being known as an indie film composing score band. Once we started doing that with the Western we did, other people started asking us to do scores for this or that film. Next thing I knew, we had a really big catalog of stuff and we could put out a compilation of all the different film scores that we had done. So we worked with different directors for each song and each song is for a different style of film and a different genre of film and that created a unique album. We went out and road-tested it for a while and figured out what we wanted to lay down officially.



BrooklynRocks: Now how much of tonight's set is going to be from the current album and how far back do you go in the catalog?

Kirpatrick Thomas: We go back to about 2003 - we play "Red Reflection" and that was written around then. In fact, on the new album, we have a new version of "Red Reflection" because it has gone through so much changes over years. This time out, we really nailed the spooky, atmospheric Western style that we were trying to go at.



BrooklynRocks: What Los Angeles like these days? Going back a number of years, I remember bands bitching about pay-to-play on the Strip.

Kirpatrick Thomas: The Strip is terrible...you shouldn't go near that place unless they really request that you do. The best parts are downtown LA and the Echo Park / Silver Lake / Highland Park scene and also out in the desert. Hollywood has some pretty good venues - occasionally, the Troubadour and The Roxy will have good shows. We have played most of those places. The glitzy side doesn't really appeal to us because we are very underground indie film-maker style stuff.



BrooklynRocks: Here is the last question - what's next for you guys and where do you want to go from here?

Kirpatrick Thomas: There could be Classic Soundtracks Vol. 2 because we scored a few more films that haven't been released yet. We about to score another film called The Legend of the Widower Colby Wallace and that is a mountain man film, shot in the Colorado Rockies. It is very authentic and is done by a talented director named Burke Roberts and I'm sure that we will do more film works beyond this. As a side thing, one thing that we really enjoy doing is playing old traditional cowboy trail and folk songs. We break this down with traditional instruments and three and four-part harmonies and we are definitely going to do an album like that pretty soon.

BrooklynRocks: Thanks for the time tonight and looking forward to hearing what comes next.

Links:
Spindrift

Superdrag: Pre-show Interview with John Davis and Tom Pappas, MHOW, Brooklyn, NY 4-10-09

Last Friday, I had the chance to catch up with John Davis (vocals/guitar) and Tom Pappas (bass) from Superdrag prior to the band's show that night at Music Hall of Williamsburg. The original lineup of Superdrag got back together two years ago and the reunited band band just released a new studio disc, Industry Giants, in March. Industry Giants has been getting great reviews and the Village Voice called it "easily the best rock record of 2009 to date".



Superdrag just released a video for the song "Aspertame" (from Industry Giants) which John Davis describes as "his favorite Superdrag video by a mile".



Superdrag has two more dates left on this current tour (below) but the band is looking to be back out on tour this summer.

April 24, 2009, 8:00PM, Rock Island Brewing Company, Rock Island, Illinois
April 25, 2009, 8:00PM, Metro, Chicago, Illinois

Links:
Superdrag
Superdrag's MySpace Profile

Those Darlins Play MHOW on March 2nd and Bowery Ballroom on March 3rd

DOWNLOAD: Those Darlins - Wild One (MP3)

"Not since the phenomenon of the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack has a Nashville project had so much potential to bring hardcore country music to a trendsetting, young, broad-based musical audience. Those Darlins completely inhabit the deepest, raw roots of country music. But with primal charisma, musical chops, and easy confidence, they make these roots seem jarringly modern." -- BMI

Those Darlins have been getting a lot of notice as of late for their musical style (which combines old-school country music with punk-rock attitude and energy). The band is in town for two nights supporting Dan Auberbach (Black Keys) and are playing shows with him at Music Hall of Williamsburg on March 2nd and Bowery Ballroom on March 3rd. Tickets for each night are $20.00.

Those Darlins just recorded a live session for HearYa and the band also has a new single out, "Wild One", which is available on iTunes and at the shows.

Links:
Those Darlins MySpace Profile

Witch (J Mascis) and Earthless Play Music Hall of Williamsburg on Wed., Feb. 25th

DOWNLOAD: Witch - Sweet Sue (MP3)

After playing the Luna Lounge about a year ago, Witch (which features J Mascis on drums) is coming back through town with a show at MHOW on Feb. 25th.

Witch is touring behind their second CD, Paralyzed, which was released last Spring on Tee Pee Records. This release is described as a return to the band members' past punk roots and the band's Black Sabbath sludge is now combined aggressive punk rock tempos.

Check out the interview with J and live footage from Witch's show last year at Luna Lounge (from Govnmt.tv).



Also on the bill is Earthless, who is an instrumental psych band from San Diego. The description on Earthless' MySpace profile says "We play mostly instrumental, partially structured improvised & grooved out LOUD rock-n-roll with a lot of "cosmic nodding". HIGH VOLUME BASHING. Los eardrums get ze trashing."

Last year, Earthless released a split single with Witch (on Volcom Ent. Vinyl Club) and a double-live LP on Tee Pee Records from their performance at Roadburn Festival.

Tickets are $12.00 in advance and $15.00 at the door.

Links:
Witch's MySpace Profile