Tour Dates for Voxhaul Broadcast

California sensations and the fastest rising band in LA, VOXHAUL BROADCAST is pleased to announce their Summer ’10 national tour.  Currently rotating nine songs on US & UK radio, VOXHAUL BROADCAST will be touring all summer to build steam for the release of their appropriately titled upcoming debut full-length, Timing Is Everything. Produced by Grammy Award winning producer Tom Biller (Silver Sun Pickups, Seawolf, Liars) with additional production from Chris Thorne (Blind Melon), Timing Is Everything showcases a growth in songwriting and pristine production while still holding true to the band’s trademark blend of r&b, rock and soul.

Aug 27	Albuquerque, NM	Burt’s Tiki Lounge
Aug 28	Austin, TX	Beauty Bar
Aug 29	Denton, TX	Boiler Room
Aug 31	New Orleans, LA	Circle Bar
Sept 7	Washington, DC	The Black Cat	w/ Robbers On High Street
Sept 8	New York, NY	Fontana’s
Sept 9	Providence, RI	201 Providence	w/ Robbers On High Street
Sept 10	Danbury, CT	Cousin Larry’s (Sub Rosa Party)	w/ Robbers On High Street
Sept 11	Brooklyn, NY	The Rock Shop	w/ Robbers On High Street
Sept 13	Columbus, OH	The Treehouse
Sept 14	Chicago, IL	Darkroom
Sept 15	Indianapolis, IN	Melody Inn
Sept 16	Rock Island, IL	Daytrotter
Sept 18	Des Moines, IA	Vaudeville Mews
Sept 19	Lincoln, NE	Bourbon Theatre
Sept 20	Denver, CO	Hi-Dive
Sept 25	Fresno, CA	Frank’s Place
Oct 7-10	Los Angeles, CA	Filter Magazine’s Culture Collide Festival

GroundScore – Healthy Children

How do you form a band that specializes in carefree and irreverent ska-punk jams without falling victim to the occasional Sublime reference? The short answer is that you don’t. Whether it was a deliberate move or not, there’s can be no questioning that Washington, DC trio GroundScore has more than just personnel numbers in common with the SoCal group that brought reggae-infused punk to the masses more than a dozen years ago. Sublime – and 311 as well – took a genre most closely associated with Bob Marley and gave it a new lease on life in the fading years of the 20^th century. Consider also that tales of recklessness and drug-fueled destruction typically extend the shelf life of any art form (2Pac, Kurt Cobain, etc.), which is likely the reason why the Sublime name remains something of a cash cow in 2010, a full 14 years removed from singer Brad Nowell’s heroin overdose and death. Yet none of this seems to weigh heavily on the minds of the guys in GroundScore – Zach Bellas (guitar/vocals), Chase Lapp (drums), and Nick Graves (bass) – who are more than willing to oblige with the sort of mellow revelry that’s usually found poolside midsummer with a frosty beverage at arms’ reach.

That all said, the band’s debut record is, at its best, the consummate soundtrack for that BBQ you’re hoping to sneak in before Labor Day; the hour-length set is a taut and swaggering toast to great hooks and good times. At its worst though, Healthy Children plays like a hedonistic hybrid of 311’s “Amber” and Sublime’s “What I Got” on repeat.

Instilling some pretty vivid imagery from the outset, “Tattoos & Porn” finds GroundScore grooving in its happy place, a midtempo amalgam of upstroke guitar accents and loose drumming, held together by some impressively melodic bass lines. Bellas takes the first of several guitar solos that suffuses the group’s otherwise chipper sound with a welcome touch of bluesy despair. It doesn’t take long for even the casual listener to locate Brad Nowell’s ghost floating around the mix; Zach Bellas’s vocal timbre is eerily similar to the one found on Sublime hits like “Santeria” and “Wrong Way”.

“Don’t Pay Me” is the second of several playful tunes that exploit GroundScore’s playful demeanor. Nick Graves continues to dance across the fretboard of his bass as Bellas sings, “Don’t you ask me / don’t sass me” before breaking out some wah-wah pedal for a solo that is a carbon copy of his vocal melody. After a comical and brief foray into punk’s more visceral side (“Ball, Sweat, and Tears”), the band arrives at “Later On”.  Built upon a stellar bass arpeggio, the track is one of only a few that capitalizes on the improvisational slant that GroundScore employs in its songwriting process. At nearly eight minutes in length, the song takes the ubiquitous reggae-flavored grooves of the first two cuts and gradually extends it into a hazy instrumental breakdown of cymbal washes and guitar atmospherics.  There once again to anchor it all down is Graves, whose performance on this disc cannot be understated.

By the time “You’ll Always Be a Loser” arrives mid-album, expectations are riding high that the band will continue the semi-serious tone they establish within the track’s opening sequence. Bellas’s guitar playing is fierier while Lapp finally seizes the opportunity to show off his chops as the tempo rapidly accelerates. Yet, just when it looks like they’re willing to venture into uncharted waters, the band settles back into the exact same groove they’ve been using since the beginning.

When Bellas sings, “Sorry my man / you’ve got some stiff competition / dreams like that / they never come to fruition”, the braggadocio feels unwarranted.

GroundScore does occasionally up the ante, as evidenced by thrashy punk tracks like “Hey Kidz/Real Love” and “See You All Tomorrow”.  It’s an overdue glimpse into just how frantic these guys can get when they dial down the reggae influence and stomp on the distortion pedals. At this late hour though, the post-celebration glaze has set in; greater attention to track sequencing and less application of formulaic songwriting habits (guitar solos, midtempo ska grooves, etc.) would’ve contributed to a more engrossing listen. Then again, maybe Healthy Children just wasn’t meant to be digested as an exercise in critical listening. Pick it up for your next social gathering and let the good times roll. Just don’t be surprised when one of your friends asks about obscure Sublime tracks when “Tattoos & Porn” comes up on the playlist.

Neil Nathan – The Distance Calls

Road tripping into the valleys of retro rock always sounds like a marvelous idea. It leads one to think that suddenly, any possible sound can be altered and skewed to reflect whatever it is that we want to reflect. But, mostly, the classic sounds of the 70s continue to allow the ability to be able to showcase your own desires and fruitions and, in the end, hope for the best. For Neil Nathan, his trip on The Distance Calls is a windingly fun and eventful one as it bridges his love for folk, while tending to the past rock of bands like Electric Light Orchestra.

And, speaking of ELO, if you’re the kind of person that prefers to open with a sunny, folksy version of “Do Ya”, then there is always reason to celebrate. Like the organ on “Get On”, it sways back and forth to the pulse of the song – on pace, tempered and grooving – always bringing everything forward. Except for Nathan- the sincerity in his tones goes beyond simply covering an old favorite; it’s always coming from the heart and that goes a long way towards building credibility. It also doesn’t hurt when you already have a strong set of developed chops either.

I once heard that the reason for your dashboard being so much larger than your rearview mirror was because you should spend most of your time looking forward and not back. While such notions can be easily disputed, Nathan obviously seems to follow that same logic: continuously focusing on what’s ahead. Even when things get somber and even mellow, as they do on “Eyes Wide Open”, the message is always the same: moving forward. So it makes perfect sense that the David Bowie-like trance of “So Much More” is accompanied by a soaring chorus in admitting, “All we needed…was so much more.”

An especially refreshing aspect to note is his ability at diversifying his sound so that it wouldn’t be pigeon-holed as ‘folk’ and nothing else. From his Josh Ritter-like chug on “California Run” to the guitar-heavy sludge of “Better Be Goin’” he, more often than not, recalls the aforementioned songwriter’s ambitious tendencies. But, if you add Nathan’s obvious love for 70s classic rock and his myriad of other influences, you end up with an album as surprisingly strong as The Distance Calls.

The singer-songwriter even goes as far as delivering his own birthday greeting to listeners with the closing song, “To You (A Happy Birthday)”. The hand claps and tambourine gather everyone in a ‘kumbaya’ setting and Nathan sings, “It’s time for celebration” because there is a lot still to accomplish. I’m guessing most of The Distance Calls was self-motivated and, hopefully so, Nathan’s view is an optimistic one: ready to take charge.

“California Run” by Neil Nathan

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Pirate Vinyl

Alex B – Moments

What really made J Dilla shine – as a producer at least – as someone who knew how to melt sounds together, was his ability at making the best of hip-hop blend in with electronic elements. His drums, in particular, were his trademark weapon: enabling and adapting them to whatever sample he chose for the day. Those that would simply call Jay Dee’s producing as ‘beats’ would be the same fools who happen to call newcomer Alex B a beat-making machine. And taking after the lost artist’s great skill, the anticipation for Moments was built on a pedestal of great expectations.

Remixing has always been one of Alex’s strongest points: an element that finds artists being able to take someone else’s, usually, successful work and change it up, in your own style. But it’s clear and quite frankly, evident, from such tracks like the booming, bass-heavy vibe of “Hot Chop” that what makes the best electronic musicians is always their ability at creating diverse music; Moments is no different.

Like other dubstep producers, Alex’s music takes note of the use of heavy basses to craft his songs. Sometimes a different drum, often the same timbre and volume but always prevalent, the beats on these songs are always the center focal point. Other times, like on the keyboard sparkle of “Getting to Know You,” the music takes on the likes of a female accompanist to add another different instrument or color, if you will. Like “At Channel One” before it, the focus continues to lie in the progression of the music and its counterparts; the latter happens to introduce Moments with an understated menacing melodic line. Bass is always important and rather than deciding to use it as a crutch, Alex tinkers with the main pulse to great results.

With those great results comes the answer to the expectations that mirrored the release of Alex’s debut. Known for his cutting edge and ability at rendering the finest slices of gritty, pumping electronic music, the producer opted to fill his album with mostly instrumental creations. “Impressions” proudly takes on the notion of fusing atmospherics with a lush hip-hop beat and juxtaposed with the old-school, Common-sound of “Drip Splatter” only continues to prove that MCs deserve a spot on electronic albums.

Like the title suggests, this is still about those tiny glimpses of life that seem to pass us by every second. Attempting to capture those moments, as Alex pinpoints them, is what this stellar debut of 17 tracks is about; judging by the nostalgic tones of “Timing Correct” Alex captures the moment of hitting everything at the right time, in stride. He’s done just that with Moments and fittingly so, this should be a great moment for him as well.

Elm & Oak

Painted Hills – s/t

Painted Hills throw just enough haze to mask their straightforward rock music, with a thin veil over the production and some synth help. It’s just the kind of come-and-go music that will always make up the bulk of the music landscape. How many awful albums do you hear? If you aren’t an over-reactive extremist, there’s probably three or four albums you’ll hear in a year that really boil your blood. How many great ones do you hear? Five or six in a good year, right? But over the course of that year, it’s reasonable that you might plow through a hundred albums. For those ninety other albums, they get a “it’s okay,” and they’re never thought about again. That’s most of what music is, and that’s what Painted Hills are. They’re average and you might hear them once but never again.

Their self-titled album trots along with a standard rock set-up; lead and rhythm guitars, time-keeping percussion, and follow-the-leader bass. The only time the music flares up with any individuality, it’s for a guitar solo, which themselves are pretty nondescript. The vocals are streamlined into the music, taking the overt melody instead of crafting one. That style leads to nice sounding vocals, but again, no hooks or anything to get stuck with you at all. The biggest impression on the album is a folky, acoustic picked instrumental, “Stella’s Raga.” Of course, this album will make you appreciate when you hear the better music that’s out there. The mercurial nature of melody can be taken for granted, but when it’s impact is absent, you get an idea just how difficult it is to have something get stuck in people’s memories.

Five in a Hand – “Alien Ballz”

“5 in a hand…..if you’re lucky,” seems to be the tagline for this small experimental rock group from Iowa. Yes, Iowa of all places. The band is comprised of five members playing various instruments with comparable sounds to MSI, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the Beastie Boys. An odd combination of influences, but perhaps why this group is so intriguing.

Putting aside their interesting rhythmic flow of words and lyrics and overall raspiness the singer can conjure, I choose their instrumental song, which displays legitimate music entrepreneurship and a name that makes me giggle, “Alien Ballz”. I stumbled along this band when a good friend offered me a link to some local music, specifically telling me to listen to the aforementioned song. I figured I would give it a go, if nothing else because of the funny title. However, I was hooked from the intro. In the beginning, the synth leads with a hot lick that sounds straight from outer space, or perhaps the 80′s. Regardless, the prominent synthesizer riff got me interested and the layering of digitized effects, manipulation of sound, and the unorthodox use of instrumental sound kept me in.

This band dares to experiment, which is commendable and what keeps the listening audience guessing. The track “Alien Ballz” is just an example of the bands willingness to experiment musically as well as their desire to have fun. Upon finishing this song, listen to the other tracks this band has to offer. Their style, musicianship and diversity in genre, style and lyrical flow is something that can’t be found just anywhere, you have to look in Iowa.

http://www.myspace.com/fiveinahand

New album from Backwords out now

New York’s Backwords releases Quilt LP

Click to download “And The Sigh” mp3

Backwords is:
Brian Russ – guitar, banjo, harmonica, keys, vocals
John Sheldon – drums, vocals
Tim Pioppo – bass, vocals

Backwords blends modern psychedelics with folk rock, 60s pop and a myriad other sonic surprises, delivering gentle, lazy melodies that stick to the tongue and cannot be forgotten. Like a hawk nesting atop a New York skyscraper, there is a fury—a swooping darker underside that Backwords explores at the drop of a wooden nickel. It is and is not quite The Beach Boys meeting Daniel Johnston meeting The Band meeting Wilco and all sharing a mellow joint.

Based out of Brooklyn, Backwords is rooted in city grit but keeps a cowboy’s heart. The band is a regular fixture of the New York City scene and has played dozens of gigs over the last three years at venues and spaces such as Mercury Lounge, Cake Shop, Glasslands, Sycamore, and The American Folk Art Museum, as well as many others. Gigs have included headlining performances, in-store appearances, official showcases at 2009′s CMJ and 2010′s Northside Festivals and opening slots for bands such as These United States, Le Loup, Freelance Whales, Dinosaur Feathers and Darwin Deez.

Quilt is the band’s third album after 2009’s The Buffalo Still Roam and 2008’s Factory Angles. On Quilt, the trio mixes the classic instrumentation of guitar, bass, drums, and keys with everything from toy flutes and banjos to accordions and clips of field recordings. The heartfelt lead vocals offer a story-teller’s tone of simple, honest warmth while the backing harmonies and good old-fashioned gang vox deeply layer the sound. 12 tracks of solid gold tunes and unfussy production make it a record that goes great with an old turntable and a pair of bulky headphones.

Backwords Myspace
backwordsmusic.net

New video and album from Tera Melos

Long-running Sacramento genre-benders Tera Melos have released the first of several videos created to accompany the trio’s forthcoming full-length, Patagonian Rats. The video for the song “The Skin Surf” — directed by Behn Fannin (The Melvins, Nurses) — shows the band at its quirky, clever finest. Watch it HERE.

The wily melodies and scurrying rhythms of Patagonian Rats will be released this fall via Sargent House. Check out the first MP3 “Frozen Zoo” taken from the album HERE.

Patagonian Rats is packed with melodic hooks and jabs that on paper might seem to defy the band’s experimental edge. There’s even clear and distinct vocals throughout — a first for the band, where vocals, if any, were previously awash with distortion and layered in the mix. But, particulars aside, Patagonian Rats is the type of album that sticks with you.

Occasionally, “pop” music has really meant daring music. Like the Beach Boys in the late 60s, The Clash in the 70s, Devo in the 80s, Flaming Lips in the 90s — the greatest artists have dared to make music that is hooky while also being groundbreaking. Patagonian Rats evokes images of bizarre and fantastic alternate realities. Think about the first time you heard “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys; jarring collisions of a cappella harmonies, tremolo-washed bass and chirping theremin. The key is not to understand it, but to let the music transform everyday reality into something new. And, that is the essence of Patagonian Rats.

Tera Melos formed in 2004 as a quartet, releasing their first self-titled disc in 2005 (later re-released by Sargent House in 2008). The band became a trio in late 2006, releasing the all-instrumental Drugs to the Dear Youth EP early the following year. A split disc with By The End of Tonight (2007) on Temporary Residence and an EP of cover songs, Idioms, Vol 1 followed in 2009. In the meantime, Reinhart collaborated with prolific drummer Zach Hill under the band name bygones, releasing the by- album in 2009 and Spiritual Bankruptcy EP in 2010, both on Sargent House. Clardy has also recently spent downtime as the touring drummer with guitar goddess Marnie Stern.

Tour Dates for Sahara Smith

Starting on September 8, 21-year-old singer/songwriter Sahara Smith will embark on a fall tour supporting the release of her T Bone Burnett-shepherded debut, ‘Myth of the Heart,’ out August 31 on Playing in Traffic Records. Of her recent LA debut at the Hotel Café, the LA Times raved, “at the top end, her voice hits angelic highs reminiscent of Alison Krauss and Emmylou Harris, and at the lower end… she brought a rich bluesiness that’s worth further exploration.”

Smith will perform at Brooklyn’s Union Hall on Sept 15 and at The Living Room in Manhattan on Sept 16. She’ll play the Austin City Limits Festival on October 8.

More dates will be announced soon.

SAHARA SMITH FALL TOUR DATES:
Sept 8 – Austin, TX @ Waterloo Records (In-Store Performance)
Sept 9 – Austin, TX @ Shady Grove
Sept 15 – Brooklyn, NY @ Union Hall
Sept 16 – New York, NY @ Living Room
Sept 17 – Philadelphia, PA @WXPN Live at Noon/World Café Session
Sept 18 – Boston, MA @ Toad
Sept 23 – Fort Worth, TX @ 8.0 Bar
Sept 29 – Austin, TX @ Antone’s w/ Raul Malo
Oct 2 – Houston, TX @ House Of Blues (Bronze Peacock Room) w/ Raul Malo
Oct 5 – Kansas City, MO @ Knockelhead’s w/ Raul Malo
Oct 6 – St. Louis, MO @ Old Rock House w/ Raul Malo
Oct 8 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Festival
Oct 28 – Austin, TX @ Cactus Café

“The Real Thing” music video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16cCkDmZRRQ

“Thousand Secrets” music video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1UOYnIUF-0

Sahara Smith on the Web:
http://www.myspace.com/saharasmithmusic

Burnt Ones release debut album

“Burnt to Lose”: www.bantermm.com/tracks/BurntToLose.mp3

My Old Kentucky Blog’s recently launched label, Roaring Colonel Records, will release Black Teeth & Golden Tongues the debut album from San Francisco-via-Indianapolis trio Burnt Ones. Hot on the heels of the All Night Long 7-inch (RCR001), Black Teeh & Golden Tongues is a self-produced, 11-song trip through wall of sound séances and blissed out rock ‘n’ roll, with doses of psych, sun, spit and girl group worship. Too boomy to be lo-fi and certainly not hi-fi, Burnt Ones want to go steady with your ears and leave your mind at home.

Burnt Ones fuzzed out rock ‘n’ roll is built on hazy melodies and sleazed-out electric rhythm. Their sound recalls Brian Wilson at his most Phil Spector obsessed, the warped pop ears of Joe Meek, sleazy T. Rex stomp and a little Spacemen 3 thrown in for good measure, while staying within throwing distance of like-minded groups such as Thee Oh Sees, Dum Dum Girls and Ty Segall.

Burnt Ones will be touring throughout the later half of 2010 and throughout 2011 in support of Black Teeth & Golden Tongues, with more 7-inches and limited releases due throughout the next year.

Burnt Ones on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/burntonesforever

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