Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Velcro Stars - Back in the Saddle Again


Well, well, well... looks like Murfreesboro's favorite rock n' roll revolving door has begun recording its follow-up to 2006's Hiroshima's Revenge. They're hunkerin' down on the square with good ole' Alex Norfleet at Grand Palace, so I'm assuming they're recording to analog tape. Ah, so cute. Maybe they'll release it on wax cylinder, too.

What follows is from their MySpace blog. I can only assume that in comes from the hand of guitarist/kinda-sorta co-frontman Shane Spresser (or rather, the one that doesn't look like he's fronting a Weezer tribute band). Only a Maury county native would make so many references to someone's testicle-poppin' short shorts.

We entered the studio this weekend to record our follow up to last years enormous hit record Hiroshima's Revenge. We're tracking the record at Grand Palace with a bear of a man named Alex Norfleet. He has a beard.

Here's a synopsis::

Day 1: Everyone was late, except for Keith. Then he had to come get me, so he was late too. We went and got a bottle of Buffalo Trace. I had never even heard of it. Alex The Bear loves it. Then we got some PBR. I drank a lot of that.

Then we got drum sounds. I told Aaron that Alex wanted him to get new drum heads and Aaron said "No way. I love the way my drums sound." Alex concured.

Then Johnny Blackout got some low end kickin'. That took a minute, because we told him to try this Rickenbacker bass and play with his fingers. Guess what? We were wrong. Johnny finally said "I'm using my own bass and playing with a pick." Guess what? He was right. We wasted a bunch of time doing that, when he could of just been playing his bass the whole time. Live and learn.

That was about it for that night. We were tired and it was hot. Alex's ball showing shorts couldn't even keep him cool.

Day 2: Everyone was on time. Aaron had even gotten up and watched his lady friend run in that crazy ass marathon at like 7 in the morning. He said some poor guys nipples were bleeding, cause they were chafed from running. I told him that wasn't cool.

We got started tracking about 7pm. It was considerably cooler in there. Alex was still wearing his ball showing shorts though. We went through that bitch with pure ferocity. We tracked drums and bass live to 10 songs that night. We even had time to stop and eat some pizza. Keith wasn't happy about the pizza break though. He even said " Do we have time to stop and eat pizza?!?!". Hell yeah we did, and it was delicious. I even ordered a thin crust for Keith, cause I know he likes it, and he wouldn't even eat it. That kinda hurt my feelings. I got over it though.

At one point Alex thought our building was on fire, and came storming in the big room mid-take like a crazed bear. Turns out it wasn't, but something was.

Day 3: The coolest day by far. Don't worry though, Alex was still wearing his ball showing shorts.With drums and bass finished we moved on to acoustic guitar. Nothing like the studio to make you realize how not good you are at something. It took a while, but eventually we got it.

Then we moved on to organ. Rebekah was in some kind of Kobe Bryant type zone. She couldn't miss. She played pretty much every song in one take. The only time she didn't was because I went in the room to tell her to try something different on this one part. She wasn't having it though. She gave me this "no you din't" look and basically told me to to go "blank myself in my blankety blank blank". She apologized later, but I wasn"t mad about it.

We're going back into the studio over the next few days. Hopefully, we will get most of these songs done. The plan is to go in and do 10 more in a month or so. If that's the case, I think I'm going to go buy me some ball showing shorts.
Good lookin' out, gang. Godspeed and get us a copy once it's done.

Thank You!



Thanks to everyone who came out on Monday to the inaugural Indie Ghetto/Out The Other 8 off 8th. It was a rousing success and we most certainly will be doing another as soon as possible. To those of you who decided to go see Earth at Springwater instead, I just hope you didn't buy a shotgun or any heroin off Dylan Carson.

Also, let me thank the following folks:

-All the bands for rocking out so hard
-Janet Timmons for being an excellent co-host
-John Bruton for being awesome, even though he didn't rock his Gumby suit
-Jared & Will for making everyone sound so good
-
Mishka & Terra for serving the drinks cold and stiff
-Luke Schneider and Hollerin' Rollum Haas for spinning tunes between acts
-
Becky Timmons for baking the coolest birthday cake I've ever seen
-Linwood & Jessi at Look Print & Design for those awesome posters
-Aaron Wood of ATL rock combo Howlies for the handbills and flyers

Monday, April 28, 2008

MEEMAW




God bless you, MEEMAW. You're a breath of fresh air in this city's overly self-conscious music scene. Indie Ghetto loves you for your #1 hit jams and tiny drumkit. We have high hopes for your Infinity Cat debut, Glass Elevator and hope you'll grace us with a promo copy. Godspeed on that grease-fueled deathtrap/bus you're building with them JEFF boys.

"Fever Dreaming" (early rocked-out version)
"Shewolf"

Stories That Live



Is it a music blog sin to post about one's own band? I'm still quite new here in blogland and not up on everything that's kosher, so forgive me if I transgress any unwritten rules. My deepest apologies...

Aw hell, I'm just kidding. I've had no issues with playing my own band on the radio and booking us at my own 8 off 8th, so it should go without saying at this point that I have no qualms about shameless self-promotion.

ANYWAY. I play bass in Stories That Live. We're led by a dapper dressed former rapper (yes, seriously... he's quite good, actually) by the name of Brockford Lee. Last year we lost one member to the Army and another to the pulpit. We're currently in need of an ace drummer if y'all know any. Until then, Andy Spore from How I Became the Bomb has been filling the gap quite nicely in what little spare time he has.

Check out our newest jam, "I'm Gonna Kill Your Boyfriend" and our feel good hit of Summer '07, "What Does It Take" - we're playing both tonight at 8 Off 8th.

"I'm Gonna Kill Your Boyfriend"
"What Does It Take"

Hotpipes



Here's all you really need to know about Hotpipes:

One of them could easily pee up onto the roof of a split-level ranch-style home, standing down on the ground below. Seriously... and that's without the benefit of a running start or jumping up or anything.

Frightening and potentially dangerous bodily functions notwithstanding, they're also one of the most talented bands around. Below is the lead-off track from their newest record, Future Bolt. I've also included a very, very old harmony-stacked cover of "Across The Universe" recorded by frontman, Jon "Johnny Rebel" Rogers.

"The Future is Where We Belong"
"Across The Universe" (Jon Rogers)

Come see 'em tonight!

And the Relatives

And the Relatives 5

I decided that I liked And the Relatives before I had ever actually heard them. Chalk this up to the fact that they're born and bred Nashvillians, which I find endearing in this day and age of rock bands moving here to... ahem, "make it".

Here's what Matt "Black-Metal-Hard-On" Sullivan over at Nashville Scene has to say on the boys:

Indie rock in the '90s was all about guitars. The best of the decade were careful students of rock history with quirky idiosyncrasies. And the Relatives are like that perfectly preserved fossil in amber in Jurassic Park—they play the kind of indie rock that existed before the meaning of "indie" became extinct. Before indie rock was hijacked as an industry buzzword to describe major-label bands like the Killers or the Strokes, indie bands sounded a lot like And the Relatives—pop music amidst an unruly backdrop and some pretty sweet sounding guitars.
Well said, sir. Anyway, they're playing tonight at 8 off 8th, hosted by Janet Timmons and yours truly. Enjoy these mp3s...

"Cowboy Jazz"
"Puppetry"

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Michael Harrell



Michael Harrell is a talented young songwriter with a knack for penning catchy and literate power pop. His debut EP,
Greetings from The Village brings to mind classic pop dudes like Evan Dando, Alex Chilton, and Elliott Smith. However, his next release - which is currently in production with Jason Bullock at Lake Fever - has a definite heavier and raucous tone.

Wise past his years, he knows the importance that a great band can have on a recording and has tapped John Davis (Superdrag), Ethan Luck (Reliant K, Demon Hunter) & Josiah Holland (Lonely Hearts, Holland) as a studio backing band. Davis and Luck will serve as his rhythm section at our upcoming 8 off 8th at Mercy Lounge. He also keeps his fans and friends up to date on his comings and goings over at his blog.

"The End"
"Private Joke"

Orange in Circles



One of the newer additions to the local rock milieu, Orange in Circles deconstruct the modern-wall-of-sound indie rock of bands like Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene into a trim and streamlined package. Leader Burj Herr's songs steer into almost proggy phrasing and voicing, but stay anchored with high-and-tight melodies and a rhythm section whose heart beats with a punk rock ethos.

Below are two versions of the same song. The first being a band-friendly version and the other a home demo from Burj's own hands.

"My Shaker Mover"
"My Shaker Mover (Burj home demo)"

Orange in Circles will kick off the Out the Other/Indie Ghetto 8 off 8th on Monday at Mercy Lounge. Be sure to get there by 9:00 to check them out.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Out the Other/Indie Ghetto present 8 off 8th



I'm teaming up with my homegirl/fellow DJ/blog mentor Janet Timmons of Out the Other to bring y'all a night packed full of local talent. It's only one week away, so swing back by this and I'll have more info on all the bands.

Here's the order of the evening's performances
Orange in Circles
Meemaw
Michael Harrell
All We Seabees
Esposito
And the Relatives
Hotpipes
Stories That Live

A HUGE thanks to our boy Aaron Wood of ATL madmen Howlies for designing the flyer. He's one major dude and the ladies love him for all the right reasons.

Meat pies and a nice warm Bud anyone?

I'm pretty sure they don't drink a lot of Budweiser over in the UK, but that's not gonna stop some of our favorite favorite local rock dudes from trying to change the status quo. With the state of our American economy, let's just hope they got paid in British Sterling.





Hey, maybe Silver Jews will cover that whistling song when they tour over there this summer! Nothing wrong with giving the people what they want.

More over at the advert's official site.


Sunday, April 20, 2008

Indie Ghetto Playlist - April 17th

Another 120 Minutes of hot jams, talk-break blunders and technical errors... pretty much par for the course.

Stream via Real Audio


1. Tommy & The Whale - Watertowers (Shot for the Moon - unreleased)
2. Heypenny - Dooley (Use These Spoons)
3. Pico vs Island Trees - Open Doors (Open Doors EP)
4. The Features - GMF (Some Kind of Salvation - unreleased)
5. Astronaut Pushers - Cut Me Off (Astronaut Pushers EP)
6. Meemaw - Fever Dreaming (unreleased EP)
7. The Explorers Club - Don't Forget The Sun (Freedom Wind)
8. Gringo Star - All Y'all (Gringo Star)
9. Coral Castles - Ring Out Sing Out (the Corpse and the Cake EP)
10. De Novo Dahl - Dance Like David (Shout EP)
11. John Davis - Watch Me Walk Away Again (Arigato!)
12. Tigers Con Queso - Ship
(Unleash the Fury)
13. Happy Birthday Amy - Machines
(Sue)
14. Jensen Sportag - Teenagers
(Serio & Jackie)
15. Eureka Gold - Peter Oh
(Eureka Gold)
16. The Features - Gates Of Hell
(Some Kind of Salvation - unreleased)
17. The Selmanaires - Just to Get Yer Love
( The Air Salesman)
18. Be Your Own Pet - The Kelly Affair
(Get Awkward)
19. Magic Wands - Black Magic
(Black Magic UK import 7")
20. The Raconteurs - The Switch and the Spur
(Consolers of the Lonely)
21. The Coathangers - Parking Lot
(Coathangers)
22. Caitlin Rose - Dead Flowers (Dead Flowers EP)
23. Millionaire Magicians - Tribute to Machines
(Millionaire Magicians)
24. The Sleep Study - Haunted Device
(unreleased)
25. How I Became the Bomb - Robo
(unreleased BBC Sessions)
26. And The Relatives - The Castle
(Talking To My Fingers)
27. Stories That Live - What Does It Take?
(unreleased)
28. Ricky Young -
Poor You (unreleased)
29. Mean Tambourines - That's What She Said (unreleased)
30. Roman Candle - They Say It's Over (unreleased)