Just when you think we are all out of SXSW 2008 content, we hit you with more. Enjoy this video of Sons & Daughters performing “The Nest” live in Austin last month…..
Tonight we have a brand new episode of Friends Of The Futurist for you on WOXY.com. We have called the show The Blogger Hour for the first five episodes, and finally have what I think is a better title for our program.
Tonights guest is Torr Leonard, who runs a great music blog, and has for the past 5 years, has chosen some really great music for the show tonight. Here is a preview of a few of the bands you will be hearing this evening.
Last Shadow Puppets
Delays
Dead Confederate
Elbow
The Twang
So tune in tonight at 8pm ET for a brand new Friends Of The Futurist!
Cincinnati has certainly been experiencing a creative windfall in our local music scene as of late. The Chocolate Horse actually began a few years ago as a side project for some of the guys in Readymaid, but it has been in the last year that they’ve really made a name for themselves here in town.
Their debut record “Patience Works!” was released last fall (on 180 gram limited edition vinyl no less) and ended up being nominated for Album Of The Year at the 2007 CEAs.
Newly expanded into a 5-piece (with former Staggering Statistics member Joe Klug now on drums), the band have been hard at work on new material for their 2nd album. We caught up with them right before they left for their first appearance at the SXSW Festival.
Track Listing:
Your Daughter (new/unreleased)
The Caribbean
Patience Works - interview -
Whiskey Won, Fall Down
All The Notion
How Many Licks (To The Center Of Your Universe)
Enjoy this great video of Peter Moren performing the song, “Tell Me In Time” during SXSW 2008. Another great video from our friends at PROJECTMILL and Soft City Lights.
You really have to hand it to Frightened Rabbit. A relatively unknown band from Scotland with only a debut CD that’d received a limited release (ever hear of Hit The Fan Records?) to their name, they turned a wealth of positive reviews and blogger buzz into the catalyst for their first US tour in early 2007, a full six months after Sing The Greys release.
Initially appearing in press photos wearing something akin to Mexican wrestling masks, the band revealed themselves to be a trio from Glasgow, led by singer-guitarist Scott Hutchison and his brother Grant on drums. They eventually signed to FatCat Records, who reissued their debut in the Fall of last year, and that’s when we caught onto them…in a big way. Sing The Greys hit WOXY’s heavy rotation in October and earned enough airplay to make our list of the 97 Best of 2007 at #70.
Now in 2008 with their debut almost a full two years old and having expanded into a quartet, the band have emerged with The Midnight Organ Fight, their proper FatCat debut. Recorded in the US and produced by Peter Katis (Interpol, The National), the disc once again features Scott’s plaintive vocals and emotive lyrics. In this Lounge Act session, it’s just the two brothers performing a beautiful, stripped down set that includes four songs from the new record as well as “Be Less Rude” from Sing The Greys.
We’re very pleased to be involved with the MusicNow Festival again this year. Bryce Dessner (from The National and Clogs) is in his third year of bringing this special event to his hometown. He literally got off a plane from Mexico City (where The National had just played) and came straight to our studios on Tuesday afternoon to discuss what we can expect over at Memorial Hall for the next few nights.
During our interview, Bryce let it slip that none other than Sufjan Stevens (who performed during last year’s fest) was coming to town and would be participating in Wednesday’s opening night festivities. Several pieces are going to be premiered on Wednesday and the show was moved from the CAC to Memorial Hall as a result. Bryce, his brother Aaron, Padma Newsome, Nico Muhly, and Richard Reed Perry (Arcade Fire/Bell Orchestre) are among the artists who will be performing alongside vintage experimental films from the New York Filmmaker¹s Cooperative.
If you want the full scoop on how this year’s event came together and to learn more about what is going to be performed each night, you can stream this on-demand archive of our chat! Also, be sure to join us on Friday afternoon as our MusicNow coverage includes a live Lounge Act session from Glenn Kotche (of Wilco) around Noon eastern. Glenn is returning to the festival this year and will be performing at Memorial Hall on Friday night.
MusicNow 2008 Curator’s Chat playlist: My Brightest Diamond “The Beautiful Ones (Lounge Act - 2007)”
interview Bryce Dessner “Chorale”
interview Bang On A Can “I Buried Paul” (excerpt) Andrew Bird “Fake Palindromes”
interview Nico Muhly “Skip Town” Grizzly Bear “Blackcurrant Jam”
interview Bryce & Aaron Dessner “Jumeaux”
interview Clogs “Lantern (Lounge Act - 2006)”
Georgia’s Dead Confederate first hit our airwaves early last October and, truth be known, were the very first act we confirmed for a Lounge Act during SXSW. Five more down to earth guys you’d be hard pressed to meet, they were returning to Austin not long after they’d spent time in town recording their full-length debut, due later this year. With only a five-song EP to their name, they band surprised us by playing four brand new tunes in addition to a blistering rendition of “The Rat”.
The band had been playing gigs en route to Austin and, talking to Mike, made light of a few under attended shows along the way. Not to worry, the guys arrived at EAR Studios on a natural high after playing their biggest concert to date as handpicked openers for R.E.M.’s sole festival performance at Stubb’s the night before.
Brooklyn duo Project Jenny, Project Jan made quite an impact on our listeners last year after the release of their full-length debut xoxoxoxoxo. Several tracks off the record became frequently requested here at the station and the airplay secured them the #84 spot on our 97 Best Of 2007 countdown.
Jeremy Haines and Sammy Rubin have been playing together since late 2004 and already had an EP under their belt by the time we were introduced to their debut disc. Their performance from Austin mixes tracks from both releases and the guys showed up incredibly prepared. Just as they do with a regular live show, they projected videos behind them in the studio that corresponded to each song (you’ll get to see a bit of that in the forthcoming live video footage). Even though it was 11 in the morning, the guys had more energy than almost any band we met during the week!
Be sure to listen today at 3pm ET for a special MusicNOW 2008 preview with Bryce Dessner of The National, Clogs and of course the curator of the MusicNOW festival. This is the third year for MusicNOW and another great lineup will be taking the stage this week over at Memorial Hall here in Cincinnati. And it is the second time we have had Bryce in to preview the festival.
