Interpol took “Barricade” to Letterman the other night. This was fairly significant because it is the first time that we’ve gotten to see the new bass player in action. After Carlos Dengler left the band earlier this summer he was replaced by David Pajo. He looked a little uncomfortable considering he’s got quite a lengthy musical career, there was not much movement and he seemed to stay very focused on his fingering.
Is it just me or is Paul Banks getting less and less nerdy everyday? He’s looking pretty hip these days.
After an extended solo venture Jose Gonzalez has, once again, teamed up with his former band mates to release a new Junip album. The LP will be out September 14th via Mute Records. Until then, to keep everyone’s whistles sufficiently wetted, the band is offering up the Rope & Summit EP for free just for signing up for their mailing list.
The EP has a definite 70′s groove rock tone to it, heavy on the organ and synthesizer with periodic, random sound effects. The is especially noticeable in “At The Doors” which is more like an intro plus a track rather than one long track. If I didn’t know any better I’d say it was a bit of a Doors tribute.
While you’re checking out new tunes from the band be sure to head over to their MySpace page to hear a new track from the LP called “Always”
Life sounds pretty awesome for Jon Eaton, lead guitarist for The Spinto Band. He’s recording, he’s touring, he’s “pretty much dominating” Super Bomberman… I mean, who wouldn’t think that was rad? If I had to re-do my 20s, I would seriously consider living it in the likeness of The Spinto Band boys. The trouble is, to reap the benefits of a true Man Cave, one must be a man. Unfortunately.
So I’ll settle for writing about it. Read on and see why Jon’s stories got this writer thinking crazy, fleeting thoughts like… “Darn, too bad I’m not a dude.” and yes, even “Man, too bad I don’t live in Delaware.”
tMiM: So you guys just played in Arizona, right?
JE: Yeah, Phoenix. We’re actually still here and probably going to leave in about an hour. We don’t have a show tonight.
tMiM: What does everyone do during the off time?
JE: Well, it’s sort of time for us to make real money. Some of the guys are working for the census this year.
tMiM: Wait – so I could’ve had one of the guys from The Spinto Band knocking on my door??
JE: Ha, I guess so.. If you lived in Delaware.
tMiM: That would’ve been a lot cooler than the lady who DID come to my house. So how did Phoenix go?
JE: Awesome! It was the release show for Miniature Tigers’ record, Fortress, which is off the charts awesome. And some of the guys grew up in Phoenix, so it was kind of a homecoming celebration. The show was sold out.
tMiM: What’s the best part about touring with Miniature Tigers?
JE: I guess it’s that their crowd has the same taste in music as our crowd. It’s nice to be on tour with a band that has similar musical sensibilities. It’s the kind of thing you don’t really think about when you’re booking a tour, but it’s nice to be touring with a band that’s similar to us and has such cool fans.
tMiM: Will you be playing any of your new songs at the Dallas show?
JE: Yeah, we’ve been playing some new songs to get people’s reactions, and the response has been pretty good. They’re super fun so we’ll definitely be playing some of those as well as some older songs.
tMiM: Apparently some new instruments had to be learned for your new record… Who was it that had to learn the bass clarinet?
JE: Tom did.
tMiM: Lucky Tom! What’s your favorite instrument to play?
JE: Guitar was my first instrument, but my favorite instrument from the Hughes’ basement was always the theremin.
tMiM: The what?
JE: The theremin. You should check it out online.
tMiM: I think I should, because I really have no idea what you’re talking about.
JE: Well, we had a little cheap-o version of one. You play it by moving your hand close to this metal bar… You move your hands through the air left to right in correlation to this bar and the farther away your hand gets, the lower the pitch gets. The closer your hand is, the higher the pitch.
tMiM: Weird!
JE: Yeah, Tom got one of those and I’ve always wanted to put it on songs because it’s so goofy. It’s got a spooky sound to it. But it’s also hard to play. I just started playing the clarinet as well, so that’s the most recent instrument that I have fun with.
tMiM: Cool. Your band has a really charming backstory. The group is named after Nick’s late grandfather, Roy Spinto, who wrote song lyrics on the back of Cracker Jack boxes. Can you tell me more about being teenagers and trying to bring those lyrics to life?
JE: I haven’t listened to those tapes in forever! We really used them just as an excuse to record. We had a four track recorder and every weekend we’d invent a band name and record under a different moniker each week. Eventually we came up with The Spinto Band and the name stuck.
But none of those songs really had legs. The Roy Spinto songs were like a little project we tackled over a few weeks and then they were sort of put to the side.
tMiM: What’s the big difference between playing with these guys ten years ago vs. playing with them now? How’s the self-recording process been different this time around?
JE: It’s really quite mind blowing. Nick went to school for audio engineering so he’d been collecting studio gear and had amassed this collection but had no place to keep it. So we found this spot in Delaware and we set it all up and now it’s just amazing the kinds of stuff he and Tom are doing. I’m amazed every day I’m in there.
Then we also have a Super Nintendo and we’ve been playing a lot of Super Bomberman. Yeah, we pretty much dominate Super Bomberman. It’s a good one for blowing off steam.
So I guess ten years later, as far as recording and playing Super Nintendo goes – not much has changed.
tMiM: You just have better equipment now.
JE: Right. And maybe fewer fart sounds. It’s really just a clubhouse with inside joke on top of inside joke. If someone walked in on the scene they’d probably be weirded out, but we don’t have to explain anything to each other. Everyone just gets it.
tMiM: That’s great. Do you have any advice for other upstarts?
JE: Always read contracts. We’d put our names to paper and not think about what we were getting ourselves into!
tMiM: Sound advice. Last question – let’s talk about your record! Been working on it for six months now?
JE: Yeah! And we’re pretty much there. I think it’ll be done right at the end of August. We’re not really sure how we’re going to release it yet, but everyone’s really stoked about it and there’s a lot of cool stuff on there. We think it’s going to be really good.
tMiM: OK – I’ll put you on the spot for a second. Three words to describe the forthcoming album?
JE: Crazy. Sexy. Cool.
So is Dallas ready for all of that? We better be, because Spinto and Miniature Tigers are playing The Loft Dallas on Monday, August 2. There’s no way I would miss the chance to hear their new stuff… or old stuff for that matter.
Speaking of, here’s some old stuff so you don’t feel left out at the show. Wouldn’t want to be the only person not singing and dancing along, would you? More videos and updates on their recording progress can be found here.
And finally, possibly the best take away from the entire interview: Spinto will be teaming up with favorites Jukebox the Ghost and Skybox for a free-with-RSVP Lollapalooza Aftershow on August 7. Road trip, anyone? Jen’s got a new hybrid!
With all of the warning colors surrounding this artist, you don’t expect the music to be nearly this accessible. Or nearly this good. Download it at RCRD LBL and, as co-blogger is wont to say, poke the crazy.
From what I understand, this one wasn’t supposed to have gotten out quite yet. But it did, so take a listen.
This is the thirdtrack that we’ve heard from the upcoming self-titled release. “Memory Serves” is a slow tempo monotone track that unfortunately could easily find it’s way to the being background music.
I just got an email with a little bit of a peek into what is in store for us when the new Antony and The Johnsons’ Swanlights album comes out later this fall. If you remember the album will be accompanied by a 144 page hard cover book chuck full of Antony’s paintings, collages, photography and writings. Below you’ll find two of the paintings that will appear in the book, one titled “Christina’s Farm” and the other titled “The Creek”. These paintings are exactly what I would expect out of Antony. Something that you can continually look at day after day and come up with different reasoning every time.
The album promises to be “Antony’s most wide-rangingly emotional work to date”. The press release describes it far better than I can.
“Everything is New” opens the album with a newborn piano melody that quickly gathers in momentum and excitement. Strings and bursts of percussion carry the song forward in a feral cacophony of sound. Later on the album, the title track “Swanlights” finds us navigating a primordial and hallucinatory world of hazy guitar tones. The enigmatic layered melody of “Swanlights” emerges from a glistening soundscape. A central image on the album, Antony explains what he means by the word “Swanlights”: ”It’s the reflection of light on the surface of the water at night. It’s the moment when a spirit jumps out of a body and turns into a violet ghost.” On “Thank You For Your Love”, Antony expresses a soul-infused sentiment of gratitude, but the song progresses into urgency, leaving behind the 4/4 rhythmic structure and breaking into an emotional gallop that reveals an underlying pathos.
01. Everything is New
02. The Great White Ocean
03. Ghost
04. I’m In Love
05. Violetta
06. Swanlights
07. The Spirit Was Gone
08. Thank You For Your Love
09. Flétta (feat. Björk)
10. Salt Silver Oxygen
11. Christina’s Farm
This isn’t the first time that Antony and Björk have collaborated. Antony lent his pipes to Björk’s “The Dull Flame of Desire” on her 2007 release Volta.
I had the pleasure of seeing The Dodos play Gilley’s last Saturday. Their set came after a dramatic performance by Imaad Wasif and before a widely anticipated show by The New Pornographers. I have to say … as much as I love AC Newman and Neko Case, there was something quite magical about watching The Dodos perform live. Here’s how this second act turned into the main event for me…
First of all, I’m always floored by groups that make Big Sounds with only the bare minimum count of performers (count 3). Secondly, I’m a sucker for interesting instruments and they had a vibraphone. Vibraphones are cool. As it turns out, a lot can be done with an acoustic guitar, a set of drums and a couple of mallets.
You can make sweet, sweet music.
It’s worth highlighting that Meric Long is much more than just a pretty voice. He showed great skill with the guitar, and I could hear every note of his lovely, complex guitar melodies. No muddling here, folks. From where I stood, it was a pretty impressive sight to behold. That said, Meric’s vocals were so smooth, so hypnotic, that I could have happily fallen asleep on the spot.
Fortunately, Keaton Snyder and Logan Kroeber were also on stage to make sure that didn’t happen. While in action, they swept the crowd away with tremendous booms and sharp, peppery raps. The interesting part was that when the action was over, these two were downright unaffected. Stoic. Of course I knew they were working hard, but you couldn’t see it when sticks weren’t flying. While Meric talked to the crowd, Logan would calmly wipe the sweat from his forearms, and Keaton – well, if you didn’t pay close attention, you might not notice Keaton in the background at all. Not until the next gorgeous piece.
The best part for me was in the song, “Fools.” That’s when I realized I wasn’t the only one who came out to support The Dodos. They had plenty of fans in the crowd and could certainly carry their own alongside any group – even one as seasoned and adored as The New Pornographers.
So, they were my favorite but that’s not to say The New Pornographers didn’t deliver. Their set included tons of old and new songs (even ones they could barely remember), two encores and it continued past midnight. Favorites for me were “Adventures in Solitude” and “Laws Have Changed.” They were wonderfully energetic.
Which brings me to the one thing that was slightly off-putting – the Dallas fans! Honestly, with a group that’s so upbeat and energetic, you’d think their die hard fans would break a little sweat. Why most people refused to let loose and visibly enjoy the show, I’ll never know or understand. I guess that’s just the type of fan The New Pornographers attract: intelligent folk who show their appreciation with intelligent restraint.
Oh well, better than a mosh pit, I suppose.
In closing, I share with you some pictures my good buddy Lindy Weiss took while at the show:
J. Tillman is a busy man between playing drums for folk rockers Fleet Foxes and writing his own material. So how does he find time to record a new album? He does it in only three days that’s how.
In a marathon session with famed producer Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago Tillman churned out 11 tracks. From what Western Vinyl tells me there is very little accompaniment to the songs other than the occasional mellotron and drum machine. From the first single, “Three Sisters”, I don’t think I’d want anymore. Tillman’s voice is perfect a beat being played out on a guitar body. There is just the slightest quiver in his voice which makes this third person narrative song all that more personal.
Although I felt that Sainthood was a bit of a disappointment as a follow up to The Con, it still has some pretty catching tracks on it and “On Directing” just so happens to be one of those tracks. There’s nothing in this video that’s going to win them an Mtv award or anything but it’s still decent to watch.
