20121130

New Poor Old Lu song (!!!!!) and t-shirt available NOW

If you have never heard of Poor Old Lu, they formed in Seattle and were active the at the same time as the likes of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Sunny Day Real Estate. And I like them better than all of those bands. They released 3 LPs from 1993-1996, broke up for awhile, reformed in 2002 for another LP, and then have been on indefinite hiatus.

As of a couple of hours ago, you can "purchase" a new single from Poor Old Lu along with a new shirt. This is the first new song the band has released in a decade. I can't really explain how exciting this is for me. Unlike most (?) bands, Poor Old Lu has only recorded with the four original members, and this song is no different- Scott Hunter (vocals), Aaron Sprinkle (guitar), Nick Barber (bass), and Jesse Sprinkle (drums).

Aaron Sprinkle is probably most widely known as a producer, but also has 3 solo albums and is the lead singer/songwriter for the bands Fair and Rose Blossom Punch. His brother Jesse is probably best known as the drummer of Demon Hunter and Dead Poetic, but is also a prolific songwriter with more solo albums (some under the moniker "The World Inside") than one can count. Nick Barber has also played bass in all of Aaron's bands, and has played with Jeremy Enigk. The band is unlikely to ever be truly active again, as Jesse lives in NY, Aaron in Nashville, and Scott and Nick still in Seattle.

Never heard the band? Not too late to start. Numerous free downloads at PoorOldLu.com
Here is one of my favorites, from 1994's Sin:

Where Where All of You (mp3)

While I have tried to draw you in with the interest in hearing/buying the Poor Old Lu song, this isn't really about the band. It is about a project Jesse has with a friend to help children in Uganda.


The short of it is that Jesse and friend Kurt Johnson are hoping to travel to Uganda and record and album with street kids there. Jesse has been to Uganda many times, only through the help of others.

"The Luser" perk through the Indiegogo campaign is $50 for the Poor Old Lu song, shirt, and the new Paradise Uganda album. While if you were just buying those things, $50 would obviously seem like a lot of money and not a good value.

But don't think about it that way. Pretend you are just giving $50 to someone in need, and that you will get nothing in return.

It is called a perk because it is just that. You are not actually buying these items, you are supporting a cause you believe in, and then you are fortunate enough to get some small items for your own enjoyment.

Unlike Kickstarter, they don't have to reach their goal to get the money. If you read the details, you are making a donation to a cause, and no matter how much they raise, they will continue with their plans. Donate now!

20121118

Kickstarter to help release Shoegaze Documentary "Beautiful Noise"

I am one of the majority of music fans who discovered this genre of music because of the newer bands inspired and influenced by the creators. I just supported the Kickstarter, you should too!




20121116

Concert review: Pinback @ Terminal West in Atlanta

I went to my second concert of the year last night, seeing Pinback at a great new venue (well, at least new to me) called Terminal West. Living an hour an 1:15 minutes away from the heart of Atlanta and being married with 3 kids means very few concert experiences. But my wife let me pick a show for my birthday, and this is the one I chose (primarily over David Bazan playing Pedro the Lion's Control on Nov. 24).
 

 Pinback is a collaboration between Rob Crow and Zach Smith, and is by far the best project either of them have ever worked on. Seriously, save yourself the time and don't even worry about checking out the other dozen bands they have been, solo projects, etc. All of it is average at best and pales in comparison to Pinback. Rob and Zach were meant to play music together, and their varying styles and personalities mesh perfectly to create a distinct, unique vibe. Here is a good interview with Rob published two days ago by Vinyl Mag. I took a few photos and also shot one video of the song "Penelope", one of my all-time favorites:



 The highlight of Pinback by far is Zach's bass playing. I always liked it, but never truly appreciated it until I saw him playing. Since I had never seen Pinback in my 10 years of being a fan, I never really knew who was singing when. Their vocals are very similar recorded, a little more distinct in person. Honestly Rob sounded very nasal to me and different. Rob sings more, but they both sing a lot. Vocally the most fun parts are when they are singing different things at the same time.

I would have never been able to recall the set-list as Pinback's song titles are very difficult to remember. However, this setlist from last week is almost exactly the same as what I experienced.

UPDATE (10/27/13): I had someone else who was at the show contact me, and they sent me a photo of the actual setlist!

(I could have sworn they played "Victorious D"!)

I have always debated between the LP's Blue Screen Life and Summer in Abaddon as my favorite Pinback album. Last night though I realized Pinback's best work is actually the Offcell EP. All 5 songs are terrific and probably the best intro you could get to the band.

Pinback's newest album Information Retrieved will be in my top-5 of 2012, and you can check out two songs from the album and buy the gorgeous blue vinyl here.

20121113

Appleseed Cast: House shows in the books, new album(s) on the way!?


From the Appleseed Cast Facebook page:

The house shows were wonderful! We had such a great time, we will definitely be doing more of these. Thank you to everyone that came out. All of us really enjoyed the low-key and welcoming atmosphere. St. Louis: It didn't work out this time, but we'll try again and make it happen. 

Now it's time to focus on finishing up some minor changes to finish up the new album (Out the beginning of 2013, should Nibiru not hit us). 

 Next on the Docket: Finish up the Old Canes/Shapeshifter 7" Series and record the next full length, (I have the instrumentation for about 12 songs ready to go.) 

 After that: Write, record and release the NEXT Appleseed Cast record. We're writing really fast right now, and I wouldn't be surprises if we actually released 2 records in 2013. Looking forward to a busy year!

Two Appleseed Cast albums in one year? YES.

20121112

Cush update

I was a little confused on the plan for the new Cush song, and here you get the explanation straight from the band...

"Hello. 

If you have subscribed to the cushkuxh.org website, then that is why you are receiving this email. As you may know, we released a new song and video last week for the song "The Drug That You Can Never Take." It is from the forthcoming album 'SP3', the third installment in the 'Spirituals' series which began quite a while ago. Please enjoy and share responsibly. 

The Spirituals were always intended to be a trilogy of records. They were also intended to be entirely covers of other songs. The first two records are, being comprised of old Spirituals and a couple of favorites from unexpected Hymnists. However, when we started into the third round (finally, after quite the delay...), and looked at the songs we had originally chosen to do, we determined that they weren't quite as interesting or impactful as the previous ones were. And so the questionably brave notion of composing our own was born. 

A year and a half later (and then some), we are now ready to begin rolling them out. Most of the time was spent on the lyrics, which was immensely more difficult than we had imagined going in. Hours of writing words, only to come up with a usable line or two. There is a distinct thematic concept and structure to the album, which helped frame each song, and enabled us to shoot for something, but trying to say the things we wanted to say in a singable way proved challenging. Which is why the album will become accompanied by both the lyrics and supplemental writings, as well as a video for each song. 

In the meantime, a few more fun things will be put on SoundCloud for subscribers, like the New Covenant Choir. Here's hoping they're somewhat fun to hear. Also, we are rehearsing for a live, in-studio performance of songs from the first album. Not sure when it will happen, but it will be made known. 

Thank you for listening." ~CUSH

20121107

Stunning new Cush song (and only the 3rd total in a decade)

Cush, the brainchild of Andy Prickett, Eric Campuzano & friends doesn't get around to releasing music very often. They were prolific from 1990-2003, mostly as the Prayer Chain, and the only Cush LP (with Mike Knott on lead vocals) was released a dozen years ago. A few EPs and live album followed, but really for 8 years or so there has been very little news. Until today... From Cushkuxh.org: "This is song 04 of 07 from the CUSH SP3 album, which will be released December 25th, 2012." Wow. Video is weird, but song is stunning. The lead vocals sound very familiar, but I am having trouble placing them. Earlier this year the band put this song on Bandcamp & YouTube, which apparently was a one-take practice/demo version: Then 2 years ago band put up one song on Bandcamp- "Always Disappear"- one of the best they have ever recorded. I am curious if the 2nd and 3rd songs embedded here will also appear on the new LP in completed form. Anyway, so pumped for this new Cush album; another reason to look forward to Christmas!

20121101

Haley Bonar

I have been a casual fan of Haley Bonar since I randomly discovered her online during my time in Zambia (2002-04). I go years without listening to her unfortunately, and I really need to buy more of her stuff. Well yesterday NPR debuted a new song of hers, and honestly it might be the best song she has ever written:


I also highly recommend her LP Golder which you can listen to in full on her Bandcamp site.