I recall a typically brutal Minnesota winter night, say, 2 years ago; my friends Eric, Pat and I were passing through Uptown on Lake Street when we decided to make an oh, so typical stop into Cheapo. I remembered the two of them talking about some local band that they were in to, and I asked them about it. They brought me over to a little section and pointed to a band called Halloween, Alaska.
A few months ago I was lucky enough to begin talking with James Diers, vocals/guitar/keys in Halloween, Alaska, about his influences, his song writing, and his band. read more…
Bomb the Music Indsutry! – Adults!!!… Smart!!! Shithammered!!! And Excited By Nothing!!!!!!!
I learned of Bomb The Music Industry! through being a fan of Laura Stevenson and The Cans. That sentence is probably reversed for listeners of both bands, but I feel that may start to change. Or balance out.
Either way, I first heard BtMI! off of a split they did with Laura Stevenson. While I enjoyed the songs on the split, it didn’t necessarily make me want more. However, a post today on Absolutepunk.net told me of a brand new EP from them, and I could listen to it for free, here.
And it’s great. This album says exactly what I want to say, and how I want to say it. And oh lord the hooks. And Laura Stevenson sings on the record. It’s just great. I can’t say enough good things about it. You can download the whole thing for a pay-what-you-want price right here.
This album comes highly recommended by me. It’s a bit ska. It’s a bit punk. It makes me feel better about being such a loser. It’s exactly what I needed.
My friends ain’t all that great.
We play in legion halls, slam beers outside, relieve ourselves on walls.
My friends ain’t all that bad.
We play all ages shows and we’ll start on time if you decide to go.
Oh, and did I mention they recorded, mixed, and released this record in a span of 5 days? It sounds great. Just go. Just go. Just go.
Two years ago, my friend Mike (a contributor here on Plus Cat) and me used to spend our summer days crossing abandoned railroad bridges, antique shopping, and listening to music. That summer he introduced to an album called “Broom,” by a band called Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin. I was captivated. They blended the styles of the Beatles with the quiet vocals reminiscent of Elliott Smith. That album defined a few months of my life.
When they agreed to do an e-mail interview with me, I took it as an opportunity to ask one of my favorite bands questions that the music fan side of me was dying to know the answers to. Over the course of a couple e-mails with singer/songwriter/drummer/guitar player Phil Dickey, he found time in between finishing a new album to provide me with a wonderful interview. read more…
Well, hello. I haven’t really written anything on here for a little while, and I apologize for that. I have made Pat do all the work. Sorry Pat. But I am back, and I am going to tell to about the date I have listed in the title.
Several weeks ago, I contacted James Diers (Halloween, Alaska, Love-cars) to do an interview for the site, of which he agreed. Our conversation continued and he invited my band, Colder in Moscow, to open a show in which his band Love-cars would do a rare performance (their first since 2007) at the Triple Rock in Minneapolis. Being a huge fan of the band, I agreed without consulting any of my band mates, fully knowing their excitement would match mine. So, we did.
Last Saturday, after packing in all of our equipment into the Triple Rock, I sat and watched Love-cars soundcheck, luckily playing one of my favorite songs ever, “How I Get,” and then we set up and did our check. After going down the street to eat, we returned to the Triple Rock only to see a line formed out front. The inside of the Triple Rock was electric. Full of friends and strangers who all shared the same excitement. So my band mates and me went up and played a show that I am extremely proud of, though my jokes didn’t seem to go over as well with this crowd.
The purpose of this little “letter” is my desire to thank the guys in Love-cars for including us in that show. Whether the crowd liked us or not was beyond that point that night, we were just very proud to be part of something like this. Love-cars put on an incredible show, and I got to be there, front row. here’s a picture to prove it.
The best part, for me, about playing in a band in Minneapolis is the people I have been able to meet. This city has some of the most beautiful art, and I would like everyone to be part of it. For me, the Love-cars show was a music fan’s dream come true; sharing the stage with a band you grew up listening to. So I want to thank James, Dave, Al, and Matt from Love-cars, and anyone who came out to the show, you all made a very memorable night for me. Thank you.
-John
This is the first of many Kevin Devine (and the Goddamn Band) posts written by yours truly, I assure you. But I just stumbled across his performance at The Current when he was here most recently. Do yourself and sit down with some cans, and give this 3-song set a quick listen.
“While his sweetly-crooning vocals suggest simple kindness, Devine challenges political actions, relationships, joy and depression in his songs, extending the depth of his melodies.”
Brian Bonz and The Dot Hongs
Brian Bonz is a cool dude. He’s come to Minneapolis every so often on various tours (he tours with some really fantastic bands, now that I think of it) and he puts on a great performance every time. He played the 7th Street entry with PersonL in November, and I got a chance to chat with him briefly. Brian is instantly friendly and sincere, cracking jokes just as he does on stage. And I think that’s what I like about Brian. What you see is what you get. And it just so happens that what you get is an extremely talented songwriter, musician, and a positive member of our music scene. His record, “From Sumi To Japan” was on my Top 10 list of ‘09 and it was the first vinyl I ever owned. He generously agreed to an e-mail interview, and here are the results (full interview after the break):
“My favorite part building friendships in new cities, meeting awesome folks at the clubs, and being on a tour where everyone is easy to get a long with. I’ve made some new friends I plan to hang out with or cook dinner for the rest of my life – That’s priceless.” – Brian Bonz
We were lucky enough to get an interview with one of my absolute favorite bands–Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin–this month. That interview will be coming very soon to the site, but, in the mean time enjoy this video from Snap FM. It is a street performance of their song “Oregon Girl,” and it is fantastic.
someone still loves you boris yeltsin 2 from Snap FM on Vimeo.
All Get Out are a band I learned about through various blog postings from the guys in Manchester Orchestra. Hailing from South Carolina, this band carries a southern growl similar to that of Manchester, all the while creating their own unique sound. Anyway, they just recorded 3 brand new songs with our friends at Daytrotter.com and they are…well I can’t explain it. However, Daytrotter writer Sean Moeller explains the collection better than I.
[These songs mean] no ill will, but they will make you crave that best intimacy that you’ve ever experienced in your life. If you’ve not had anything that you’d qualify as intimacy that you’d ever like to return to, then these songs are going to work on your soul even more devastatingly. They will destroy you and force you into thinking about what you’re doing that’s so wrong. Surely, by now, you would have developed the kind of ache for someone the way that singer Nathan Hussey, guitarist Mel Washington, bassist Mike Rogers and drummer Gordon Keiter have.
Download these songs for free right here. Download them, get them in your head, and they will never leave you. These songs haunt me.
I’ve got another reason, I want to go home/This city’s fucking cold, I want to go home
I’m feeling co-dependent, I miss my baby girl, I miss my baby girl.
The way this band presents the idea of sitting in a van while everyone you care about is back home in a warm state, in a warm bed, is absolutely stunning.
Hello, and welcome to the first installment of MPLSWSF here on +Cat. I will be doing my best to keep you informed of the noteworthy local shows on a weekly basis, and reviewing releases from Minneapolis/St.Paul bands. “What do you know about the shows that I should see?” You may ask, and if you fall into that category of the questioning skeptic, you’ll just have to trust me.
The Starfolk/Typsy Panthre Lemon Lime Ep
Cover
The Lemon Lime EP is a release from a group of people whose past musical endeavors (The Owls, The Hang Ups) have been staples in Minneapolis music for years, and it’s clearly a step in an interesting and evolved direction. This short and sweet release (sitting pretty at just over twelve minutes) features two hopeful new projects: The Starfolk (comprised of Allison Labonne, Brian Tighe, Jaqueline Ultan, and Stephen Ittner.) and Typsy Panthre (Allison LaBonne, and John Crozier). Though Allison LaBonne can be considered the driving force in both projects, you’ll be hard pressed to find many similarities in the music itself.
The release opens with the Starfolk’s dreamy popscape “Into the Clouds”, which draws you steadily in with a uniform thumping rhythm guiding LaBonne’s haunting yet enticing melody. The song has many quick ups and downs rising from the sparse, nearly bare verse to the energetic chiming keyboards and crunching guitars of the chorus. “Into the Clouds” carries you to tipsy Panthre’s first song on the EP “All Fall Down” with a good taste in your mouth and an expectation to hear something odd. Typsy Panthre delivers the odd with their airy instrumentation and the swing of the drums that keep your head and feet in motion. The encapsulated sound can be closely linked to Portishead, but the song remains fresh with the reverb drenched vocal melodies that change on a dime.
“Wake Up Machine” follows with a sharp and dirty dissonance that tightens your chest, but it releases as soon as it grabs you. The cello is what is really shining in this track, sliding through the tense chord progressions, perhaps to dull the edge a bit. The melodies are simple, and sometimes dry, but overall it’s a wonderfully different tune to listen to. Closing the EP is “Hitchhiker”, another Typsy Panthre track, but this one is drifting away from the soft ambiance of “All Fall Down”. It movies closer to 21st century discotheque, with throbbing drums and quick arpeggios (I think I might have heard some lasers shooting across my speakers). Though “Hitchhiker” might be reviving a bit of the past that might want to stay good and buried, it still has an energetic and fun attitude.
Overall the Lemon Lime EP is a smart and interesting release that shows great promise for both new projects.
3.5 out of 5
http://thestarfolk.com/
http://www.myspace.com/thestarfolk
Showcases this weekend:
Tonight: History Books CD Release Show with Red Fox Grey Fox, The Farewell Circuit, and Friends of the Ams @ The Entry/ 8:00 pm / 18+ Thursday 21st $5
The Next Day: Modern Radio Record Label 10th Anniversary Extravaganza with The Plastic Constellations, Skoal Kodiak, STNNNG, and Vampire Hands
Laura Stevenson and the Cans
Laura Stevenson is an absolute darling and was nice enough to answer some questions for us via email. This is an artist I am completely passionate about, and the world needs to know. Her voice makes the earth shake. Interview after the break!
PlusCat: Laura Stevenson and The Cans have three releases, including “Holy Ghost!” a gorgeous, three-song 7-inch, released in 2009 via Mandible Records. (stream for free here.)You also just got off a brief tour. With so much going on for you in the past months, what has the response been like, and how are you doing?
Laura Stevenson: I’m doing really well, thanks. We’re all really psyched that people have been responding positively to the new songs we’ve been putting out. It’s kind of a confidence builder as we approach our nextfull-length project.
read more…