DEBUT ALBUM 'NO SEPARATION' HITS ITUNES TOP 100 & #1 ON
BANDCAMP
NEXT UP: CELEBRATE BROOKLYN SATURDAY AT 6:30
On the weekend when they were the talk of Newport Folk
Festival following a standing ovation on Saturday, the homegrown American music
of Spirit Family Reunion also earned acclaim nationally in a NPR Weekend
Edition profile. Host David Greene called Spirit Family Reunion "songs
that raise your spirit as high as the mercury" and said, "Wow, that's
quite a sound."
Newport was abuzz, both on site and on Twitter. NPR All Songs Considered Tweeted on Saturday, "So far Spirit Family
Reunion have been kicking up the most dust at Newport."
On the strength of Newport and NPR, the band's debut album
'No Separation' rose into the iTunes Store's top 100 albums and was Bandcamp's
#1 album.
The band will also play Celebrate Brooklyn this Saturday,
opening the night at the Prospect Park Bandshell at 6:30pm.
The band was also featured in a Refinery 29 fashion spread
on Newport fans and artists.
In posting their set from the Newport Folk Festival, NPR Music said, "Brooklyn's Spirit Family Reunion crafts a sweetly ramshackle
Americana sound that's part secular gospel revival, part folk ramble. With its
vintage instruments and rowdily free-wheeling vibe, the group plays Newport as
if the amps are off and the audience is huddled around, clapping along."
Mat Davidson explained to NPR, "A lot of what we try to
do is provide the spirit of gospel music without being of a particular faith or
excluding any faith. Open-door gospel." Listen to the segment, featuring
live performances, here.
In addition, Relix Magazine called them
"on the verge" in a profile in the new issue and also posted a live session, with the first installment being "To All
My Friends And Relations."
Sweet Soubrette, a "sensational" (Philadelphia
Inquirer) and "enchanting" (Metro NY) ukulele-powered indie rock band
based in NYC, will be touring the Northeast U.S. in support of their latest
release, “What’s My Desire?” a 4-song EP that previews the third album now
underway.The EP's dark and
passionate title track was inspired by the book Henry and June by Anaïs Nin, a
work based on Nin's diaries when she was romantically involved with author
Henry Miller and becoming a serious writer herself. Love, art and ambition
collide in this powerful song.
Check out new, fan-shot footage of Sweet Soubrette singing
the title track of the EP at NYC's Cake Shop in July:
Check out the disco-pop of "Be My Man," from the
same July show:
Sweet Soubrette features the songwriting, vocals, and
ukulele of Ellia Bisker, whose dark, edgy love songs have been honored with
three ASCAPlus awards.Sweet
Soubrette has appeared in variety shows and cabarets, at rock clubs and on
singer-songwriter stages, in cultural festivals and comedy shows, circus shows
and art galleries, puppet shows and performance art installations, and has
toured in Italy and France.
The Philadelphia Inquirer has called Sweet Soubrette's music
"dark vaudeville-pop." Time Out New York dubbed it "at once
sweet and sassy, celebrating reckless behavior with a charmed wink." The
Deli Magazine has praised Sweet Soubrette's "rock star command and
intelligently crafted music."
SWEET SOUBRETTE 'WHAT'S MY DESIRE?' TOUR
08/14/2012, The Living Room, NYC
08/15/2012, Hudson Water Music festival, Hudson, NY
When 83-year-old Boo Hanks was asked what the blues is, he replied:
“Hard times, disappointment, and mistreatment.” When asked if he could
elaborate he said, “No.”
Hanks doesn’t need to elaborate on his description of the Blues – his
music speaks for itself. And there is no better way to hear his Piedmont
style blues than live at one of the shows he’ll perform with Flemons.
Hanks and Flemons will be performing at the World Café in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, on August 15, at Joe’s Pub in New York City on August 16,
at Blue Ridge Music Center in Galax, Virginia, on August 17 and 18, and
at the Hamilton in Washington, D.C. on August 19.
Here's video of the duo:
Veteran Bluesman Boo Hanks has been playing the blues for over sixty
years in his home community on the North Carolina/Virginia line. Since
joining Music Maker Boo has had a chance to play prestigious venues
across the country, and now he's going out on tour with Dom Flemons of
the Carolina Chocolate Drops to promote their collaborative album
"Buffalo Junction." Boo and Dom formed a lasting friendship and
partnership from the day they met at Music Maker Relief Foundation's
offices, creating music that truly crosses generational lines.
Hanks is a partner artist of Music Maker, while Flemons is a Next
Generation Artist. Through Next Generation partnerships, MMRF fosters
the continuation of Southern traditional music among younger generations
of musicians. Buffalo Junction is a collaborative album that does just
that.
Living Blues Magazine writes, "North Carolina's Music Maker label has
been digging up obscure and blissfully eccentric blues and traditional
music characters for most of their 17-year existence."
Music Maker Relief Foundation, Inc. is a tax exempt, public charity
under IRS code 501(c)3. Music Maker aims to keep our Southern culture
vital by directly supporting senior (over 55) American roots musicians
in need, expanding their professional careers, and assisting Next
Generation artists in the development of their professional careers.
Since the organization’s founding in 1994, Music Maker has assisted
hundreds of musicians who represent the traditions of Blues, Gospel,
Old-Time String Band, Jazz and more. Music Maker’s programs ensure the
talents of these cultural treasures are accessible so that our rich
musical heritage can be shared with the world and preserved for future
generations.
DETAILS CONFIRMED FOR BAND'S NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL SET JULY
28
TUNE INTO NPR JULY 29 FOR NPR WEEKEND EDITION PROFILE
MOUNTAIN STAGE PERFORMANCE CONFIRMED FOR NOV. 4
Spirit Family Reunion's debut album 'No Separation' debuted
at #1 on the Bandcamp Country Music chart, staying there for three weeks. It
has remained in the top three since then.
Newport Folk Festival has released its schedule and Spirit
Family Reunion will perform at 12:30pm on Saturday at the Harbor Stage.
NPR Weekend Edition is planning a profile of the band to air
Sunday, July 29
Lastly, the band has confirmed an appearance on NPR's
Mountain Stage, to be taped November 4.
Spirit Family Reunion play homegrown American music to
stomp, clap, shake and holler with. Ever since they started singing together on
the street corners, farmer's markets and subway stations of New York City,
their songs have rung-out in a pure and timeless way. When Spirit Family
Reunion gather to sing, there is communion. Strangers and neighbors come to
rejoice in the sound, and there is no divide between performer and spectator..
Following a duet with Corb Lund on Hayes Carll's 'KMAG YOYO
(& other American stories)' album (which charted at #67 on the Billboard
Top 200), Carll has returned the favor with a new song "Bible on the
Dash" on Lund's new album 'Cabin Fever' (Auguest 14 / New West). The duo
are also friends, past touring partners, duet partners, and were rivals for the
2010 Americana Music Awards Emerging Artist nomination. Carll says of the 4th
generation Albertan rancher and former metal player, "Corb's actually
lived the shit we all want to sing about, and writes the stories we all wish
we'd lived."
"Bible on the Dash" is a hysterical song about a
rock band that grabs a Gideon's Bible from a hotel on tour and tries to talk
their way out of trouble at various turns. Carll recalls, "Corb already
had the chorus and the bones of the song. I just helped him describe what its
like to be interrogated by southern police and explained to him that people
sometimes use hotel bible pages as rolling papers in a pinch."
Some particularly choice lyrics:
He said, 'Round these parts that hair alone will make
probable cause
When you're movin’ through my county you'll obey my earthly
laws’
We did our best to quote some holy writ, chapter and verse
‘What kind of music y’alls make? And we said 'Christian
music, sir'
He contemplated, thought about it, twitched his cop
moustache
‘Alright you boys be careful now, just don’t drive quite so
fast’
Early buzz on 'Cabin Fever' is tremendous. MTV The Hive
said, "his songs sometimes seem like the soundtrack to a Western directed
by Quentin Tarantino" continuing that the new album is "stuffed with
its share of head-turning tracks" while My Old Kentucky Blog called it
"a release I'm certain we'll be talking more about as 2012
progresses."
US ALBUM RELEASE OF 'GERONIMO!' IS SET FOR OCT. 16 ON HIGHLINE RECORDS
**** - UNCUT
Raised in Kansas and not allowed to listen to secular music
during her childhood, Piney Gir kicked off her church shoes to sing rock 'n'
roll music, and has since drawn comparisons to Jenny Lewis and Nellie McKay.
The release of Geronimo! in the UK has
firmly established her as an "indie pop scenester" (All Music Guide),
and the album is slated for a US release October 16 on Highline Records. UNCUT
gave the album four stars while The Sun called it "undeniably
charming." Q Magazine called it "exuberant, bursts with joy,
divine."
Check out the video for "Outta Sight" here, made
using 8mm film and featuring puppets:
With an upbringing rooted in the Pentecostal Church, Piney
grew up singing in choirs and playing the piano and drums. At the age of 14,
when her father moved to start a prison ministry in Seattle, she was
transferred to public school and suddenly exposed to popular culture; she
soaked it up like a sponge.
Produced by Brian Jonestown Massacre's Rob Campanella, Geronimo! was recorded in Los Angeles, CA. Nelson Bragg (who plays percussion with Brian
Wilson) and one of the Beatles' 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' brass
section contribute parts. The result is big-eared pop that references the
Byrds, The Beach Boys, and Phil Spector while sounding entirely current.
Piney has opened for the likes of Brian Jonestown Massacre,
Wanda Jackson, Erasure, and Martha Wainwright. Her music has been featured in
the TV shows Misfits (E4), Made In Chelsea (E4), Hit & Miss (Sky TV) and
Private Practice (ABC) and has been featured in the New Singles & EPs
section of the iTunes Store in the UK. She has performed at numerous festivals,
including Glastonbury, Bestival, Big Chill, Larmer Tree, Wychwood, Cornbury,
Camden Crawl and SXSW. Piney Gir is also a former member of the all-girl,
art-rock, cult-classic group The Schla La Las and the synth-pop duo Vic Twenty.
Early buzz abounds on Sean Hayes' 'Before We Turn To Dust'
as KCRW spun the lead single "Miss Her When I'm Gone" July 5, over
two months before its September 11 release. In addition, Paste Magazine
provided the world premiere of the “Miss Her When I’m Gone” video, filmed on
the streets of Hayes' San Francisco hometown, at his home, and
behind-the-scenes in the recording studio.
Paste called Hayes "a very appealing songwriter—one
who’s poised to get the recognition he deserves."
Baeble Music testified, "His soulful insight in his
songs offers a refreshing wisdom that's beyond his years and a legitimacy to
his sound that's uncommon in today's music world. Check out the premiere
below."
Here is an embeddable Soundcloud stream of the track.
"Miss Her When I’m Gone" is available starting
today from www.SeanHayesMusic.com. When fans pre-order the full-length album,
they will receive an immediate download of the single.
GREAT SONGS DRAWN FROM ENTIRE CAREER AS RECORDINGS COME FROM
SOLD OUT ACOUSTIC TOUR, MARKING BAND'S 10TH ANNIVERSARY
Irish trio Bell X1 will release a two-disc acoustic album on
Friday, July 20 with songs recorded on a sold-out 2010 concert tour that took
them across the USA, Canada, Ireland, UK, France, Holland and Germany, marking
their tenth anniversary as a group.
Bell X1 soundman Phil Hayes captured the performances that
make up 'Field Recordings' and also took the photographs depicting some of the
unusual happenings out on the road. 'Field Recordings' also exhibits Noonan and
David Geraghy's masterful songwriting. Bell X1 has released five multi-platinum
albums in Ireland and 'Field Recordings' draws from their entire catalogue.
Ireland's Hot Press gave 'Field Recordings' an early rave
review, calling the songs, "eloquent" and saying that the band is
"at the peak of their powers." Hot Press continues, "Field
Recordings' is an essential purchase for both fans and newcomers alike… It
reminds you once again just what a great songwriter Paul Noonan is, with his
carefully crafted miniatures about love and life."
Here is the embeddable track "In Every Sunflower."
Of the audio snapshots collected on 'Field Recordings,' Paul
Noonan says, "With guitars, piano and an iPod, it was a very different
take on the songs than what has ended up on the records – the three of us
taking them back a few steps to how they were born in a lot of cases."
Stripped to their core, the spine-tingling emotional impact and strength of the
songs is taken to a new level. Noonan's singing also shows a new vulnerability,
without losing the anthemic energy for which the band is known.
'Field Recordings' is available as a double CD with 15
photographs or a 40-page hardback photo book with over 40 shots as well as the
CDs, numbered and limited to 400 copies. All iTunes purchases come with a
downloadable PDF photo booklet.
Field Recordings Track Listing
In
Every Sunflower (Town Hall Theatre, Galway)
Snakes
& Snakes (Acoustic Room at The INEC, Killarney)
Bad
Skin Day (Leeuwenbergh Kerk, Utrecht)
The
Great Defector (Vicar Street, Dublin)
Flame
(Divan du Monde, Paris)
Pinball
Machine (Schuba's, Chicago)
Light
Catches Your Face (The Ark, Ann Arbor)
Velcro
(Vicar Street, Dublin)
West
of Her Spine (The Empire, Belfast)
Built
To Last (Swedish American Hall, San Francisco)
Alphabet
Soup (The Pavillion, Cork)
Next
To You (Zanzibar, Louisville)
How
Your Heart is Wired (Gruener Salon, Berlin)
Just
Like Mr Benn (Hotel Cafe, Los Angeles)
Sugar
High (The Brattle Theatre, Boston)
Rocky
Took A Lover (Le Poisson Rouge, New York)
Eve,
The Apple of My Eye (The Drake Hotel, Toronto)
The
Ribs of a Broken Umbrella (Bush Hall, London)
Amsterdam
Says (Amstel Kerk, Amsterdam)
Slowset
(Vicar Street, Dublin)
I'll
See Your Heart and I'll Raise You Mine | Goin' Back (DeBarras, Clonakilty)
68 VIDEO LESSONS AND 263 MINUTES OF INSTRUCTION MAKE THIS
MOST COMPREHENSIVE INSTRUCTION TO DATE
Blues Music Award winner and foremost of only a handful of
female harmonica players Annie Raines has recorded the most comprehensive
harmonica instruction to date and the only interactive video format with
"Blues Harmonica Blueprint" with 263 minutes of instruction, 68 video
lessons, and over 75 charts. It will be available as interactive video software
available via DVD-R or download July 31. Raines is eminently qualified to teach
as harmonica legend James Cotton calls Raines “James Cotton Junior” and Muddy
Waters sideman Pinetop Perkins said, “She plays so good it hurts."
Here is TrueFire's Blues Harmonica Blueprint playlist, with numerous embeddable clips.
Presented for the beginner to advanced intermediate player,
this revolutionary video drills deeper and wider than any blues harmonica
course ever published. Over two years in the making, with hundreds of hours
dedicated just to the visual notation guides and animations, "Blues
Harmonica Blueprint" features animated graphics showing where the notes
are as they're being played; detailed video breakdowns of songs and exercises;
text descriptions; live band jam tracks so you can play along with a blues
combo including guitarists Paul Rishell & Troy Gonyea; an adjustable
metronome; and a guitar tuner in multiple tunings.
One of the challenges of teaching harmonica is that one
cannot see what a harp player is doing and TrueFire's animation over the footage
of Raines cuts through that barrier.
Finally, Raines teaches solos and repertoire in the styles
of blues harmonica masters such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Big Walter Horton,
Jimmy Reed, and Little Walter.
Having learned from Jerry Portnoy who has toured with Muddy
Waters and Eric Clapton, Raines has performed on three Susan Tedeschi albums
and with John Sebastian over her distinguished twenty-five year career. She has
been the touring and recording partner of Paul Rishell for over twenty years.
They have released six albums together, including the W.C. Handy Award-winning
'Moving to the Country.'
Over the past 20 years, TrueFire has worked with over 600
top artists and educators building what Guitar Player magazine calls "the
planet's largest and most comprehensive selection of guitar lessons. Over
220,000 students from 140 countries are enrolled in various TrueFire
educational programs"
NEW YORKERS: THE BO-KEYS TO HEADLINE HUDSON RIVER PARK BLUES
BBQ FESTIVAL AUGUST 25
“Masters of the Memphis sound” (NPR) the Bo-Keys will
perform in Hudson River Park on August 25, following a wave of acclaim for last
year's 'Got To Get Back!' (Electraphonic Recordings), joined by vocalist and
Atlantic Records singer Percy Wiggins. "Writing on the Wall" is a
hard-hitting minor key R&B, reminiscent of Bobby "Blue" Bland.
For more information, please go to: http://www.hudsonriverpark.org/events/blues-bbq
Last year's 'Got To Get Back!' appeared on Associated Press'
list of top albums of 2011, alongside albums by Adele, Beyonce, Jay-Z &
Kanye West, The Roots, The Black Keys, and others. Meanwhile, the band has
earned two Blues Music Award nominations, for Band of the Year and for Best
Soul Blues Album of the Year.
Percy Wiggins cut classic soul sides in the 60s for ATCO and
RCA with a Nashville studio band including Billy Cox and Larry Lee who later
went on to become members of Jimi Hendrix’s Band of Gypies.
Of The Bo-Keys, The Wall Street Journal said, “Funky[,]
authentic groove… If the Bo-Keys sound like Memphis in the 1960s and early
'70s, it's probably because most of the band's musicians were recording back
then for the city's top labels.”
The Associated Press said, “Strong… The Bo-Keys present a
muscular yet spare sound that captures the grit and grease of classic,
horn-driven R&B. Where many revivalists pale compared to the originals, the
Bo-Keys would have fit right in next to legendary Memphis musical crews the
Bar-Kays and Booker T. & the M.G.'s.”
The LA Times reviewed a recent concert, calling it "a
fiery set that unfolded like a classic soul revue."
The Bo-Keys' co-founder Charles "Skip" Pitts
passed away May 1 of this year and was remembered in a segment on NBC NightlyNews with Brian Williams.
4TH GENERATION COWBOY'S "HEAD-TURNING"
(MTV HIVE) NEW ALBUM 'CABIN FEVER' COMING AUGUST 14 ON NEW WEST
We asked New West artist Corb Lund, whose stellar new album
'Cabin Fever' comes out August, for his list of top ten punk and metal albums,
as he used to play heavy music as bassist and songwriter for the Smalls.
"We were a combination of speed metal and punk with country themes,"
he recalls. An eclectic hard rock band, The Smalls sold over 40,000 copies of
the four albums they released and were the subjects of a documentary film
"The Smalls… Er Whatever" before breaking up in 2001.
Check out The Smalls' "Waste and Tragedy" here,
featuring Lund on bass
Early buzz on 'Cabin Fever' is tremendous. MTV The Hive
said, "his songs sometimes seem like the soundtrack to a Western directed
by Quentin Tarantino" continuing that the new album is "stuffed with
its share of head-turning tracks" while My Old Kentucky Blog called it
"a release I'm certain we'll be talking more about as 2012
progresses."
Appropriately, Lund gave us eleven albums (in no particular
order), which ranged from Canadian cult heroes to superstars:
SNFU/...And No One Else Wanted To Play:Western Canadian punk rock heroes.
These guys were our mentors when I was playing with The Smalls. They took us
out on tour a bunch when we were young. Our music wasn't like theirs at all,
but we they taught us to print our own T-shirts and book our own tours and all
things DIY. On good nights they were unbeatable. This is the first record, and
probably the best, although any of the first three are outstanding. Chi Pig
brought some strange to the punk.
Reign In Blood:Slayer is Slayer. Nobody else is like Slayer.Only Slayer is Slayer.
Grimskunk/Self Titled:Grimskunk were The Smalls' Montreal counterparts. We were the best of
friends and did tons of touring with them. This is an early record that started
to define their strange and cool mix of punk, world music, and Deep Purple
organ.
Witchery/Witchburner:This has a bunch of classic metal covers on it, done up with
Scandinavian, church burnin' wickedness.
Black Sabbath/Mob Rules:I know I'm in the minority here, but I much prefer the Dio
Sabbath records; this one and 'Heaven and Hell.' Whole different thing. I saw
them on tour this a couple years ago and it kicked my ass.
Entombed/To Ride, Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth:'Like This With The Devil.' This is a
go-to record for me, I always come back to it. Raaawwrrrrr. Swedish metal. My
people.
Judas Priest/Screaming For Vengeance:This is a turning point for heavy, in
my opinion. After a bunch of records, JP moved from their 70s blues rock roots
into a whole new metal sound. If you ask me, if Priest doesn't go down this
road, there's no Slayer.
Voivod/Dimension Hatross:Excellent obscure (French) Canadian industrial metal. I love
this record. I'm pretty sure the language barrier added to the weirdness of the
lyrics. Band members included Snake, Away, Blacky and Piggy. Vive le Quebec!
Metallica/Ride the Lightning:Lots of people prefer 'Kill em All,' and I appreciate that
one too, of course. But I think this record defined the sound of Metallica's
heyday, and made them different than those that came before.
Motley Crue/Too Fast For Love: This early record is badass.
The demo versions are even better. Raw and uncooked. 'Shout at the Devil' is
pretty great too, but more refined. I remember being a little bit scared as a
kid buying that record, with the pentagram on it and everything. I think I hid
it.
Guns n Roses/Appetite For Destruction:They blew apart at the seams later on,
but this record is a classic Polaroid of violent, chaotic awesomeness. One of
the best rock records ever, probably. Kinda glam, kinda metal, kinda bluesy,
pure middle finger.
Bell X1 will launch an acoustic tour of North America in
September. The run follows the success of their sold out 2010 acoustic tour and
returns to many of the same markets.
Most shows go on sale this Friday and Saturday. Please go to
bellx1.com for updates and ticket links.
Click here for a new publicity photo of the Irish trio.
Stay tuned for announcement of a new acoustic album next
week.
UKULELE-STRUMMING BROOKLYN INDIE POP ARTIST PLANS AUGUST 14
RELEASE OF 'WHAT'S MY DESIRE?' EP
Sweet Soubrette – the inventive, Brooklyn-based,
ukulele-strumming, indie pop performer – will perform July 23 at Cake Shop with
her 6-piece backing band, previewing the August 14 EP 'What's My Desire?'
The EP's dark and passionate title track was inspired by the
book Henry and June by Anaïs Nin, a work based on Nin's diaries when she was
becoming a serious writer and romantically involved with author Henry Miller.
Love, art and ambition collide in this powerful song.
The Philadelphia Inquirer has called Sweet Soubrette's music
"sensational... dark vaudeville-pop." Time Out New York dubbed her
"at once sweet and sassy, celebrating reckless behavior with a charmed
wink." The Deli Magazine has praised her "rock star command and
intelligently crafted music."