If you wanna keep your finger firmly on the pulse of the next wave of Nashville rock—and support kids who want to grow future leaders and a good local rock scene—a great place to start would be the Zeitgeist event this Saturday, March 31st, at University School of Nashville. Zeitgeist is an annual fundraiser put on by USN students to raise money for their student council to fund everything from student clubs and organizations to charities like UNICEF.
This year, co-chair/USN student Ben Easton and other organizers culled a lineup of high school rock mixed with established local acts. He also called in a favor from USN alum Jonas Stein, who will be headlining the show with Turbo Fruits. Check out Zeitgeist's MySpace, which has many of the featured bands in their top friends.
Says Easton, "We chose bands that we thought were the best of the local high school music scene: most anyone can start a band, obviously, but my co-organizer and I have literally spent about 6 months on MySpace and listening to recordings trying to find some of the best high school bands in the city who were willing to play. Nashville is obviously a great place to be in terms of the music scene, but a lot of high schoolers don't really get out to shows that often even though the opportunities are out there. We wanted to provide an opportunity to showcase Nashville's younger artists as well as some hyped and entertaining local bands, at a time and place that's convenient for most high schoolers."
I love this kid!
The lineup: Turbo Fruits The Mattoid The Turf The Overdub Kings Stewart and Maggie's Love Songs Volair Trees Benefishell Rock Paper Scissors Hannah Burney Maxwell Wheeler Lizzie Conner
3/31/2007 Doors: 6:30, Show at 7 p.m. Tickets: $7 at the door; $5 in advance (e-mail zeitgeist2007@gmail.com and include your name—you'll be added to the list to pay the advance price of $5 at the door. Cut-off is 7 p.m. tonight.) Location: University School of Nashville (Directions) 2000 Edgehill Avenue Nashville, Tenn., 37212 Main Building/1st Floor/Auditorium
Dolly stirs the pot in Europe by joking about her sex fantasies—
Country music queen Dolly Parton has left fans in Europe questioning her sexuality after revealing she'd prefer to sleep with a "hot young woman" than her husband Carl Dean. The singer has been opening up about her sex life in a series of magazine interviews in Europe, where she is currently touring.
Parton says, "When I have sex with my husband these days, I fantasize I am with someone like Keith Urban or a petite, hot young woman."
Spring is here and the sap's rising. Scenecast Episode 73 is sprouting blooms all over the place with The Black Angels, Avett Brothers, Lucinda Williams, Lucero, Catfish Haven, Marty Stuart, Shemekia Copeland, Vince Gill, Black Lips, Xiu Xiu, American Princes, On Command, Pete Yorn, The Shazam and It Dies Today.
Spread the Love, and pass the Claritin.
Black Angels "Black Grease"
Black Lips "Fad"
Marty Stuart (in black trousers) with Lester Flatt "Feudin' Banjos"
While checking out last weekend's Sweet Sixteen action (Vandy was robbed!), I noticed that the new ad campaign for the final seven episodes of long-running CBS sitcom King of Queens featured music from Nashville rock band Luna Halo, whose lead single to their long, long overdue American recordings debut (it was originally scheduled for Jan. '06) is called "Kings and Queens." Nice match. Not the coolest show on TV but I'm sure the money was good.
But a closer listen revealed that the words in the ad version of the tune were changed from the original chorus hook line of "the kings and queens" to "King of Queens". Have things gotten that desperate? What's next for Nashville bands, The Pink Spiders pimped on Two and a Half Men? Be Your Own Pet's "Damn Damn Leash" used on Ugly Betty? Kings Of Leon's "Trani" on How I Met Your Mother?
OK, this will be the last time I mention SXSW this week, but for the last few years my favorite part of the event hasn't been the bands, but the huge poster-art marketplace called Flatstock. For $5-$40 you can buy big, genuine pieces of art that just so happen to have band names on them.
Sound In Print: The Art of the Contemporary Music Poster is being held March 12th-30th and features works from over 50 of the finest designers in the nation, including some of my personal favorites: The Heads of State, Aesthetic Apparatus, Decoder Ring Design Concern, Largemammal Print and Patent Pending Industries. Sasha tells us that all of the work is for sale with prices ranging from $25 and up, and that some of the prints are already selling out. I guess it's off to Grimey's to sell some CDs.
For all the debate about the demise of the brick-and-mortar record shops and the triumphant rule of iTunes and digital downloads, the record store still always beats the iPod shuffle. Case in point: I was drooling all over myself to get the new record from British new-ravers* Klaxons, and was even poised to pull the trigger on an iTunes purchase ($9.99), when I decided to hold out for a little time at Grimey's.
Not only did I get the record for $8.99, but free with purchase, I also got 2 bonus Klaxons singles, a friendly chit-chat about new music with avid music fans/clerks Josh, Jonathan and Rollum, and just a little bit of that magic record-store sparkle feeling.
This now makes my secret Cream dream, the totally relevant Nashville Cream posting of the Klaxons video for "Gravity's Rainbow," a reality.
Klaxons - "Gravity's Rainbow" (new album version)
*new-rave is often how the band is characterized, but it's an actual rock band with disco-y beats, futuristic keyboards and a bunch of day-glo. sounds fun, right?
Just as Lucinda Williams released West, a record that dwells in grief and loss, she met her soul mate and found domestic and personal happiness. Jewly Hight caught up with Williams to talk records and roots.
The Avett Brothers went from playing old-school punk to neo-bluegrass, so it's not surprising that their live show is where they really bring the heat. Chris Parker chats with the band about their decision to give special consideration to their latest record, Emotionalism.
"We just went for evil," says Alex Maas of the Black Angels about the song selection for the band's full-length debut, Passover. Find out what he's talking about.
27-year-old pianist Alexander Kobrin rode the piano-competition circuit to glory, playing some of the most difficult pieces in the repertory. John Pitcher interviews the golden boy in advance of his Nashville appearance. Plus, reviews of weekend performances of Arguing with God and Wynton Marsalis.
And finally, check out The Spin for a review of Of Montreal, who—gasp!—dress up onstage. Plus, coverage on the rock version of the trickle-down theory of economics as witnessed at the Cold War Kids show, and a Spin first: the indie-rock drum circle. (Buzz-phrase of the week: green pieces of paper.)
This may be a little late, but in keeping with my absolutely DIY trip (I had no badge, no wristband, no hotel room and no plane ticket) it's appropriate that my SXSW recap was delayed all last week by Internet issues.
Read my entire belated take on the annual Austin insanity after the jump.
Rick Whetsel, who runs local booking/promotion company Great Big Shows and books and promotes a buttload of shows around town, recently spoke to the City Paper about the biz:
On the state of downtown shows in Nashville:
"One of the things no one wants to admit but our patrons always complain about regarding shows downtown is the lack of affordable parking space," Whetsel said. "Then we have what I feel are some legislators and laws that work against live music, especially when it comes to beer laws and the regulation of licenses. It seems like some people here — despite what they say — truly don't understand that when there's a concert in downtown Nashville you're bringing in tourist dollars from Kentucky, Knoxville, Memphis, anywhere outside the market. Economically, live music can be a very potent contributor to the city, but it seems no one understands that except for country. I'm not putting down our country music heritage. It is fantastic. But there is so much other great music happening here, and it seems like that music isn't always as equally supported."
On Nashville's rock scene turning heads outside the 615:
"In fact I don't think there's any doubt right now that this city's live rock scene is exploding," Whetsel said. "It's amazing when you have bands like Be Your Own Pet or Paramore that I'm getting calls about from promoters outside the city. We've got people calling us asking what we think about these bands and telling us there's enormous interest nationwide in a band like Kings of Leon. Now it's just a question of everyone else in the city getting on board and understanding what we've got going here."
Just wanted to send out a Nashville Cream welcome to the lovely and talented stylist Courtney Krampf, who just returned from Boston. Krampf is now closer to her family, and we're closer to cool: beginning April 3rd, this razor-cutter before razor-cuttin' was in vogue is back in residence at Salon Ya Ya, where many local rock denizens go to be artfully mussed. If you need a reference, just ask The Pink Spiders, The Features or The Privates. Better make your appointments, now—that girl stays booked for months in advance.
The White Stripes recently finished recording their sixth record, Icky Thump, here in Nashville at Blackbird Studios. The duo told Rolling Stone that this record is not only heavier than previous releases, but also that many of the songs "...are about to be catchy, then take a left turn." The album is due out in June; a track listing is here. The band has plans to tour North America, but according to the website, no definite tour route has been determined, though they say the tour will start in Tennessee. Perhaps another "secret" show at The End, or is this just in reference to the confirmed Bonnaroo appearance?
Most of that's old news, but have you heard that Jack White is reportedly playing Elvis in a spoof of biopics?
Starring Jon Bon Jovi and Ritchie Sambora, Big and Rich, Jewel and Billy Currington for my good friend Buck Jones' family. Doors open at 6:30pm show at 8pm.
Advanced tickets available at www.mercylounge.com or at the door.
Buck was the talented young man that (Walt Wilkins produced and) I managed and co-produced who was tragically killed by a drunk driver last week.
Tickets are $50 and all proceeds go to his 7 mo. old son Walker and his wife Amy-Beth. Amy-Beth is the elementary school music teacher at Franklin Road Academy.
If people can't make it to the show they can contribute to the Buck Jones Memorial Fund at any 5/3 Bank.
Athens indie label Happy Happy Birthday to Me has announced a series of limited edition split 7" singles, which includes tracks from such notables as Of Montreal, The Apples in Stereo, Poison Control Center and Murfreesboro's own Velcro Stars. The run is limited to 450. Word on the street is there are 164 left.
A recent Cream post about eye-catching CD artwork spawned a few mildly cranky posts lamenting an industry where music editors, journalists and A&R types don't have the time to lovingly listen to each and every CD that floats through their inbox. Guess what? We don't.
But the responses gave me pause. Normally, we'd never pull back the curtain on the magic we're making here every day at the Scene, but I thought it might be amusing to show you a sample of the records we get, and how, much like standing before a grocery aisle filled with 47 different kinds of tuna, sometimes you just grab blindly at something and hope it passes the taste test.
What follows is a batch of records we received today alone. There's hardcore, rock, jazz, folk, country, rap, string band and baby tunes here, all ready to be checked out and seriously dug. And we're just a little ol' alt-weekly, so I can only imagine what the larger-circulation papers contend with. 90% of these records don't even contain the most motivating-for-coverage tidbits: that is, if, when or whether the band is playing here, if there's a local connection or even what it sounds like.
Ridley linked to this New York Times article on the death of the album on Pith, but I thought it was well worth reposting here. I remember someone commenting on this board recently that they didn't remember when music stopped being about albums.
...fans are buying fewer and fewer full albums. In the shift from CDs to digital music, buyers can now pick the individual songs they like without having to pay upward of $10 for an album.
Last year, digital singles outsold plastic CD's for the first time. So far this year, sales of digital songs have risen 54 percent, to roughly 189 million units, according to data from Nielsen SoundScan. Digital album sales are rising at a slightly faster pace, but buyers of digital music are purchasing singles over albums by a margin of 19 to 1.
and...
One of the biggest reasons for the shift, analysts say, is that consumers — empowered to cherry-pick — are forgoing album purchases after years of paying for complete CD's with too few songs they like. There are still cases where full albums succeed — the Red Hot Chili Peppers' double-CD "Stadium Arcadium," with a weighty 28 tracks, has sold almost two million copies. But the overall pie is shrinking.
In some ways, the current climate recalls the 1950s and to some extent, the 60s, when many popular acts sold more singles than albums. It took greatly influential works like The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" to turn the album into pop music's medium of choice.
"Everywhere you go in Nashville, you run into [Jon] Bon Jovi and [guitarist] Richie Sambora," says Brian Philips, general manager at cable network CMT, which helped contribute to the crossover craze with its "Crossroads" series of rock-country collaborations. "The notion that the Nashville music scene is closed and tries to lock everybody out who isn't from here is completely outdated."
K-O-Letterman Kings of Leon are on Letterman tonight, where they'll be performing new single "On Call" off Because of the Times, out April 3. Rolling Stone gave it 4 stars.
Rock/Pop/American And finally, How I Became the Bomb are featured on the Rough Trade shop's main page, where they're described as: "a mix of devo, elo, pere ubu and the cars but with a futuristic pop edge. it's colourful, very pop and has massive potential."
Left Can Dance are hosting a WRVU benefit tonight, Friday the 23rd, at The End. All proceeds go to the station, and the LCD crew have organized a slew of hot DJs to entertain you. The DJ schedule is after the jump.
WRVU Presents Left Can Dance Friday, March 23 9PM - 3AM THE END $5 Donation 18+
In related LCD news, a cancellation by Forget Cassettes for their Saturday, 24th Basement show left openers Jensen Sportag flying solo. Luckily, the flexible grooves of Left Can Dance shimmied over to pick up the slack. Now you can catch JS kickin' it with live instrumentation, LCD closing the deal, and last, but not least, liquor.
Jensen Sportag w/Left Can Dance Saturday, March 24th @ The Basement
Everyone's a winner with Scenecast Episode 72: "March Gladness." Dean & Britta, Rocky Votolato, Young Jeezy, Cold War Kids, Hank Cochran, Joe Satriani, Delbert McClinton, Bang Bang Bang, Youth Group, Ellis Paul, Dr. John and Lola Ray all play nice together. Beer and gambling optional.
Seattle Weekly had a great cover story last week: "The F-Word: Dissecting hipster Seattle's most loathed, least defended figure: the frat boy," that features quotes from our own indie-rocker/former-frat Bobby Bare, Jr., who was playing there that week. The piece explores the tension between the two cliques in indie-proud Seattle, as well as the modern phenomenon of the indie-rock frat-boy amalgam. For what it's worth, in college we called frat-like people without actual frat membership "fratitives," while we called the real frat boys simply "cheesedicks."
All the cool kids will be at the Crocodile this weekend to hear Bobby Bare Jr.- alt-country darling/former frat boy.
"I want a job, I want a job, I want a real job, I want a job that pays... I want a job, I want a job I want a real job...one that satisfies my artistic needs!" – Sid & Nancy, the movie
It's all about the single these days, so it's kind of refreshing when a band takes their sweet time really crafting an album like they did in the olden days. Edd Hurt talks to The Greencards about the process.
Opening night for conductor Arild Remmereit with the Nashville Symphony was a little rocky, but the audience clapped like nuts anyway. John Pitcher illuminates.
MSTRKRFT's Jesse Keeler didn't get into rock until high school, partly because his mom hated The Beatles and the Stones. Annie Zaleski finds out about his musical education.
SXSW 2007: Rock, rot or rule? Find out in Sweet Riffs. (Warning: yes, I talk about The Horrors—a lot.)
And finally, The Spin brings you bodies rocked by Timberlake, the fashionable Faint and the apparently orgasmic vibrations of Silversun Pickups.
Just like the contestants on American Idol, I have a dream. My dream is to be able to blog about American Idol on Nashville Cream and have it be vaguely relevant. For another week, my dream lives on...
Last week I was unexpectedly called home to Philadelphia, but I did manage to catch most of Idol and make some mental notes on our local gal—and the inspiration behind this recurring feature—Melinda Doolittle. Last week, with Diana Ross acting as mentor, Doolittle ripped into "Home" from The Wiz. She was exceptional as usual, her own moistened eyes even bringing Paula Abdul to tears. Last week saw Brandon "Snooze Fest" Rogers head for the exit—can't say I'll miss him.
This week was British Invasion week, an interesting theme that provided some solid song choices. Doolittle chose yet another soundtrack number: "As Long As He Needs Me" from Oliver (which was apparently a big hit in the early '60s).
Simon reiterated something he mentioned last week: Doolittle can make even a boring song transfixing. She tells a story, she pays attention, she understands that it's not just about hitting the note, but about imbuing it with human emotion and wit. My one complaint—it was her second ballad in a row. Let's have some fun next week!
Other reflections on last night's Idol after the jump...
I do. Well, mark your calendars. According to frontman Richie Kirkpatrick, the band will be playing their first local show in ages at Casa Burrito in Murfreesboro on March 30 (if you haven't heard, CB is the new place to be in the 'Boro). From a Ghostfinger MySpace Bulletin:
greetings from seattle, friends! i have the whole upstairs of the nicest fucking bed and breakfast in the world overlooking the puget sound (which is actually a bay).
anyway, i am going crazy!
we are playing CASA BURRITO in MURFREESBORO on march 30 with the mattoid and the sundresses, so you'd better come. on my face! you bet your ass MATT ROWLAND will be there. hollywood has been a soul-bending adventure for him. give him a fucking hug when you see him.
our record is almost done as of two months ago. i bet you'd like to hear it, but i am on a strict order from another part of my personality to keep it secret. i will share a little secret with you at the show. i am on tour with bobby bare jr right now. i'll be on tour with david vandervelde again in april. did you know i am a fucking righteous bass player? me either. no, i knew that already.
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