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On May 28th, everyone’s favorite purveyors of matrimony rock, Mates of State, played Hollywood’s Henry Fonda Theater. The happily wed duo of Kori Gardener and Jason Hammel were playing a few west coast shows in support of the recent release of their 5th album, Re-Arrange Us on Barsuk Records.
The Raconteurs have announced that they will be playing the Henry Fonda Theater in Los Angeles this Sunday May 18th. Tickets will be available tomorrow at 12 noon PST at the following link: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/090040A998A047B7?brand=goldenvoice
If you haven’t heard it yet, their latest album Consolers of the Lonely is something you don’t want to miss live.
So it’s been 4 years now since everyone’s favorite dance/rock/nu-wave outfit The Faint released their fourth and most successful album Wet From Birth. In that time rumors and plans for their fourth have been leaked many times and yet we still had nothing…until now. Fasciinatiion will be released on August 5th via the group’s own label, blank.wav. This means the longtime Saddle Creek artists are going the way of Rilo Kiley so they can do things on their own. It is in that same vein that Fasciinatiion came together, it will be the group’s first album that was written, recorded, produced and released on their own.
We here at the Schmarm can’t wait. No new tracks are up on their site yet but I’d bet if you keep checking something will be going up soon. www.thefaint.com
I first got wind of San Francisco’s The Morning Benders when they played with friends and Indie Schmarm favorites, The Weather Underground back in January as part of Airborne Toxic Event’s January residency at Spaceland. The band was quite impressive upon first impression but part of me wishes I had this album at the time because I’m sure I would’ve tried finagling my way up closer to sing along with each and everyone of their indie-pop gems.
Last Wednesday, England’s Duke Spirit hit The Echo to a completely sold out crowd. The 5 piece has been around for a couple years and recently is starting to get as much attention as they deserve with their recent album Neptune. Lead singer Leila Moss, who looks like a rock n roll version of a young Deborah Harry, is one of the most captivating performers in music today.
Hate them or love them (I got between both regularly), Pitchfork has undeniable power. This show was book ended by two acts that the ultra-schmarm website helped bring to notoriety. Portland’s Blitzen Trapper and Seattle’s Fleet Foxes. Both have enjoyed some time in their “best new music” section. The former for last year’s amazing Wild Mountain Nation and the latter’s flawless EP last month Sun Giant. Grand Archives were on the bill too with some guy who was in some band called Band of Horses or something like that. Oh and all three bands happen to be on Sub Pop records. No. Big. Deal.
It’s no secret, that us here at the Schmarm love Ryan Adams and would basically give up each of our first borns to spend 5 minutes in his presence…but until then we’re lucky enough to have been able to catch him last Wednesday night at his sold out performance with backing band, The Cardinals at UCLA’s Royce Hall.
One of my favorite live bands, Two Gallants, made their US Television debut last week on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Here’s the video of them peforming the song “Despite What You’ve Been Told” off of their self-titled album that was released in the fall on Saddle Creek.
Every once in a while you’ll stumble across a small band that’s just getting started and you feel like you’ve struck gold because of how good they are and all the bragging rights that will soon come when they break through and you can say “I knew them when”, Francisco the Man! is that band.
Out of Orange County with members that barely earned the right to drink legally, this four piece studied at the church of Neil Young and Wilco and lead singer/guitarist Scotty Cantino’s vocals eerily recall Jim James while Joel Bond’s (guitar, keys) occasional lead and backing vocals harmonize with Cantino perfectly. The group is rounded out by Nestor Romero on bass and Abdeel Ortega on drums.
Upon entering Silverlake Lounge Tuesday night to catch Robert Francis’ set, all I knew about him was what his press release had told me; he was 19, from LA, Ry Cooder gave him his first guitar and was a student of John Frusciante when he was 16 (somehow Frusciante found time between recording and releasing 1,000 solo albums). Granted I had listened to a couple songs online briefly and enjoyed what I heard. So I decided to check him out live. I got there as he and his band were beginning their second song and immediately knew I was going to like him due to the fact that A) he was holding a beer (underage drinking is something I passionately support) and B) he had a pedal steel player (this is always a good thing, any band is better with pedal steel). Luckily my quick judgment was backed up with a half hour of great music.
While doing my usual weekly perusing of KCRW playlists, I realized that I completely missed Ryan Adams and the Cardinals performance on Morning Becomes Eclectic this past Friday, November 9th. Luckily, the KCRW peeps document the performances and make them available to listen and even watch at their website. Click here for the Ryan Adams session.
Sweden’s Shout Out Louds ended their Tank Farm/Future Sounds sponsored American tour with Nico Vega and Johnossi Monday night at Los Angeles’ Henry Fonda Theater. All stops were pulled out and people waiting in line were treated with a skate demo on Hollywood Blvd and an invite only pre-party took place on the Fonda’s roof with complimentary red bull and vodka’s and some tasty burrito’s. An after party also took place with Dim Mak head Steve Aoki helming DJ duties. Big thanks to Tank Farm Future Sounds and Plus One Music for the great night!
On Monday November 5, Tank Farm Future Sounds Tour rolls through LA at The Henry Fonda Theater with Sweden’s Shout Out Louds, Johnossi and locals Nico Vega.
Indie Schmarm is giving away a package that includes a t-shirt from the tour and Tank Farm’s latest compilation which features cuts from Shout Out Louds, Johnossi and Indie Schmarm favorites, Castledoor, to the first person who e-mails dane.sundseth@gmail.com with “tank farm” in the subject line, be sure to include full name and address.
I came across Portland, OR’s Eskimo and Sons in a very organic and accidental manner, in fact I had heard their name about a thousand times before I actually heard their music. One of my dearest friends while living in Eugene, OR for 4 years was Kirsten Himes and just about the time I was moving to LA she was moving into a house in Portland with her younger brother Thomas and some of his band mates in Eskimo and Sons. Kirsten of course raved about them continuously and after a couple myspace listens was impressed myself and this summer when I was up visiting Portland she handed me their terrific new EP How Does if Feel to be Crushed by One Man With the Strength of a Million? which was released on the artsy co-op label of Boy Gorilla Records. Led by the vocals of Danielle Sullivan who takes equal quest from Jenny Lewis and Joanna Newsom and combined with the songwriting of guitarist Dhani Rosa, Eskimo and Sons sound like one of those Portland spring days when the rain stops long enough for some rare beams of sunshine to break through the dark clouds.
Danielle, Dhani and drummer Dylan Reed filled Indie Schmarm in on the group’s history, their label and what lies ahead.
Ben Kweller’s fan base is mixed to say the least. At any one of his shows you can find teenage guys and girls who probably wouldn’t have talked to him if he attended their high school, a scattering of indie kids who look a little ashamed to be there, some Dave Mathews fans who love him by association and random dudes wearing Flogging Molly shirts who are only familiar with the fiver year old single “Wasted and Ready”.
On 2004’s Album of the Year, Tim Kasher detailed the various highs and lows of a year long relationship and made it a break out success for The Good Life, gaining praise from critics and fans alike. Having spent the last two years recording and touring behind his other band, Cursive, Kasher is back with Good Life accomplices Ryan Fox (guitar, keys), Stephanie Drootin (bass) and Roger Lewis (drums) to release Help Wanted Nights.
Kasher’s recent move to Los Angeles from Omaha was partly due to his interest in writing screenplays and Help Wanted Nights is meant to serve as the musical backing to his first script of the same name. Meant to take place in a small town bar over the course of a week, it follows the perspectives of different struggling relationships that like his past lyrics, focus on the bar room fueled variety, “so pour me a drink and don’t pour it too weak and grab it from the top shelf ” (“Picket Fence”) and “I love your suffering, like gravity loves a stumbling drunk” (“Keely Aimee”). While lyrically the new album doesn’t mark much change for Kasher and his touches of clever word play, musically, this latest offering is a much simpler affair than any of the group’s previous work, stripped down numbers that rarely feature more than guitar, keys, bass and drums.
Artist: Tegan and Sara
Release: The Con
Label: Vapor/Sire
On their 2004 breakthrough, So Jealous, Canadian twin sisters Tegan and Sara Quin locked in on the sound they had hinted at on 2002’s If It Was You and left behind the Ani-Difranco/Lillith Fair acoustic folk that made up their first two albums. The duo’s latest offering, The Con is another work of “Grey’s Anatomy” ready pop perfection.
The Rentals’ Matt Sharp, who had lent the keyboard work that defined So Jealous’ sound returns here, but only for bass duties that he shares with AFI’s Hunter Burgan while the girls handle the keys themselves. Sara continues to expand on some of the more non-traditional song structures that she explored on their last album and succeeds here with “I Was Married” and “Relief Next to Me” but misses with songs like “Knife Going In” and the almost annoying “Like O, Like h”. Tegan, however, plays it safe with the 4 chord verse-chorus-verse approach and produces many of the album’s finer moments (“The Con”, “Call it Off”).
So, a few years ago, I saw this band from Portland, OR play a small shitty bar in Eugene, OR with my friends The Parson Red Heads and now they’re getting rave reviews in Pitchfork and touring with the likes of The Hold Steady and David Vandervelde. Not bad for a band that self released their latest effort Wild Mountain Nation.
I was really tired last Wednesday night. I’d been to shows Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night and my day job requires me to get up at 6:30 am every morning so to say the least, I was dragging…oh and I had a bad cold. So when it came time to go to the Troubadour to see Jesse Malin on Wednesday night, I was seriously debating over whether to go or not. Well, I’m glad I went, because the Brooklyn based singer-songwriter gave me my favorite show of the year so far (that is saying A LOT) and jerked me out of my lethargic daze quicker than all the coffee and red bull had been trying to do that day.
(Red Rockets Glare)
Frankel is Los Angeles based singer-songwriter Michael Orendy’s musical outfit and is named after the behemoth head gear he was forced to wear as a child. Lullaby for the Passerby is his first full length and the follow up to last year’s Chatterbox EP. It also serves as the first release on producer Raymond Richards’ (Idaho Falls, Mojave 3, Brian Jonestown Massacre) Red Rockets Glare label, named after his West LA studio where The Broken West, The Chapin Sisters and Ferraby Lionheart have all recorded.
Last week I was able to catch New Zealand’s The Phoenix Foundation when they played a packed Spaceland on 06/04 with LA’s Deadly Syndrome and the less than full Echo on 06/05 with Austin, TX’s Brothers and Sisters. The six piece band was also in town for the screening of the new movie “Eagle Vs. Shark” that they perform on the soundtrack for.
Dinosaur Jr. played the Troubadour in West Hollywood on May 11 for the first of a three night affair at the legendary venue. The group is touring in support of their recent release Beyond, the bands first since 1997’s Hand it Over, and also the first time since 1988’s Bug that the original lineup of J Mascis (vocals, guitar), Lou Barlow (bass, vocals) and Edward “Murph” Patrick Murphy (drums) have recorded together.
Artist: Bright Eyes
Release: Cassadaga
Label: Saddle Creek
Being adored by critics (except those fucks at Pitchfork) since the age of 20 can take a toll on an artist and put extreme pressure on them, but Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst seems to be doing just fine though as he delivers yet another breath taking work in the form of Cassadaga at the still very young age of 27.
Cassadaga is Oberst’s third full length since the breakthrough of 2002’s flawless Lifted or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground and continues to see the artist distancing himself more and more from the documenting of his own inner turmoil and widening his lyrical scope to focus on the world around him. Named after a small community of psychics in Florida (which will probably see the largest influx of kids with a-line haircuts since Oberst sent them all to Omaha five years ago), Cassadaga focuses on many of the spiritual themes that Oberst discovered upon a trip there.
Maria Taylor graced L.A. with her presence just this past Saturday at The Echo. Unbeknownst to us though, this was an early show, so our theory of arriving at 8:30 to be safe was shattered when we arrived to Maria already beginning her set. Shows should never begin at 5:30.
The “next big thing” from Britain, The Kooks, whose impressive full length debut Inside In/Inside Out is five times platinum in Europe but is still gaining steam in the US, will be playing Jimmy Kimmel Live tonight. Tune in to ABC to see the five piece play songs from their album recorded during an outdoor performance at the El Capitan in Hollywood. This comes before their completely sold out tour that kicks off at Coachella.
If you haven’t heard of The Kooks, make it a priority. Inside In/Inside Out is a genre hopping master-work that encompasses the energy of youth as only 4 lads from Britain (all around 20) could do.
Artist: Bright Eyes
Release: Four Winds EP
Label: Saddle Creek
The once one man (plus whatever friends were near) band of Conor Oberst now officially includes longtime stage and studio contributors Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott, and their first offering as a trio is the six track Four Winds EP.
Langhorne Slim made a random stop in LA last night as the first of a four act free night at Spaceland. The New York City based songwriter (who is currently without a label after V2 Records recent collapse) delighted an appreciative audience with his brand of indie folk that ranged from bittersweet ballads to raucous hootenannies. Currently one of the best live acts you could see, Langhorne could easily be employed as a cartoon character if music should ever fail him. But with songs like set closer “Honey Pie” off of last year’s Engine EP, that’s not likely to happen.