A more esoteric feel to this week's show with a few particularly
interesting, if slightly off-the-wall tracks from a few North
American artists. Along with a couple of tracks that you just might
have heard recently including one from Yael Naïm (right) that
you'll surely recognise.
Only mystery - Parlour Steps
(Vancouver, BC)
This is your brain on rock. The Canadian quartet Parlour Steps
serve up music they like to call "Thought Rock,? a potent
combination of thoughtful lyrics and danceable pop rock beats.
Their new CD Ambiguoso is their first release outside of
Canada.
March 29: Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver, BC.
(604) 681-1625
April 4: Biltmore Cabaret, 395 Kingsway, Vancouver, BC.
604-676-0541
www.parloursteps.com
www.myspace.com/parloursteps
Like You - The Callen Sisters
(New York, USA)
With their unique instrumentation (Jessa - harp and vocals and Beth
- guitar and vocals), soaring vocal harmonies, and unforgettable
original songs, The Callen Sisters make an impact from the first
listen. More than a singer-songwriter duo, they are family,
friends, and musical partners. They share each other's lives, a
closeness that informs their music and that is displayed to
stirring effect on their self-titled debut album, which stands as a
testament of shared experience, loss, and love.
www.thecallensisters.com/
www.myspace.com/thecallensisters
Happy - Jimmie Bratcher
(Missouri, USA)
www.jimmiebratcher.com
SCOTTY HARD BENEFIT SHOW
@ HIGHLINE BALLROOM NEW YORK
CITY
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2008
FEATURING: JOHN MEDESKI / BILLY
MARTIN / DJ LOGIC / JOHN SCOFIELD / SEX MOB / ANTIBALAS +
Downtown NYC luminaries unite for one astonishing benefit concert
at the Highline Ballroom in New York City on Wednesday, March 19 ,
2008, coming to the aid of beloved record producer Scott Harding
and the Scotty Hard Trust. Vancouver native and longtime New Yorker
Scotty Hard has a long and varied list of production credits.
At 3am on Friday, February 15, music producer Scott Harding was a
victim of a car crash in which he was a passenger of a car service,
returning home from a late night mixing session. The cab he was
riding in was broadsided by a stolen car; the impact crushed
Harding's T5 vertebrae, leaving him partially paralyzed. Scott
Harding's condition is serious and like many dedicated musicians he
is without health insurance and is facing very large medical and
legal fees.
The short term need to raise cash in order to handle Scott
Harding's affairs is very real. His friends and the dedicated
musical community that Scott has long been a part of quickly
united, offering performances in the form of a benefit concert for
The Scotty Hard Trust, a special account that has been set up by
friends of Harding which helps to handle Scott"s short-term
financial needs through private monetary donations.
A benefit show featuring DJ Logic, John Scofield, John Medeski,
Billy Martin, Bill Laswell, Eric Krasno, Neal Evans, Marco
Benevento, Joe Russo, Antibalas, Sex Mob, John Ellis, Michael
Blake, Vijay Iyer, Tommy Hamilton, Kevin Kendrick and more will be
taking place at The Highline Ballroom, in NYC, on March 19th. 100%
of proceeds will be going to the Scotty Hard Trust.
www.highlineballroom.com/bio.php?id=427
Army - Los Podonkos (Moscow,
Russia)
A street punk band formed in 2006 which I found on the PMN without
a website that I can see. If you know better, let me know.
Part-time Punk - Hey Gravity
(London UK)
Just a snippet from the wonderful Hey Gravity who I now remember
that I saw (and interviewed for the show) at The Purple Turtle in
Camden.
www.myspace.com/heygravity
Ain't no reason - Brett Dennen
(Oakdale, CA)
The infectious grooves of
So Much
More have spread far and wide since its release. With over 2
million plays on his myspace page, 100,000+ track downloads, 40,000
records sold, TV placements on Grey"s Anatomy, Scrubs, House, The
Unit, Men in Trees and a Hilton commercial spot, Brett Dennen is
poised for stardom.
Brett Dennen has toured extensively with John Mayer, and has 3 fall
tours with Guster, Colbie Caillet, and Jon Butler Trio.
www.brettdennen.net
www.myspace.com/brettdennen
DOreste DAdjace - Aesma Daeva
(Wisconsin, USA)
Aesma Daeva formed out of the early collaboration of N Copernicus
(production) and John Prassas (guitars, composition) in LaCrosse
Wisconsin circa 1988. Their original projects saw them working
together on a remix of
Darkness for COP International
compilation disc
Diva-X-Machina
II.
Operatic? Symphonic? Metal? I'd say all three in a fascinating
combination with Lori Lewis taking the vocal part.
www.symphonicmetalband.com/
This is How You Spell "Haha ha, We Destroyed
the Hopes and Dreams of A Generation of Faux-Romantics - Los
Campesinos (Cardiff, Wales)
They really need no more introduction from me!
www.wichita-recordings.com/
Blink and You'll Miss 'em (2008 Mix) -
DJOC (Oregon, USA)
A band of One. ®regon Chad lives and breathes in Oregon, U.S. "Most
of my experience is with electronic music making. For the past 7
years, I've been working with loop music (i.e. AcidLoops,
Mixcraft); sometimes conventional, usually tongue-in-cheek."
http://myspace.com/djorc
http://oregonchad.com
New Soul - Yael Naïm (New York,
NY)
"It's a dream I almost gave up on along the way?, says Yael Naim
about her first album released by Tôt ou Tard. Without meeting the
multi-instrumentalist David Donatien, to whom she dedicated two
years and who illuminated the artist with his talents as arranger
and director, it's true that this project would have been forgotten
at the back of a cupboard. Blessed with an unsettlingly pure voice
and an incredible agility at composition, the Israeli singer with
her jet-black hair fumbled a long time before succeeding with this
collection of ballads that meander through folk and pop, with an
elegiac frugality and multi-coloured fantasy. If the creation of
this record was long and painful, the birth of its author as an
artistic personality seems even more miraculous today, in a domain
where everything seems to have been already sung or played. To the
point where with Yael Naim music that was once simply beautiful has
now magically found a lost grace.
March 19: The Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street between Bowery and
Chrystie St., New York, NY. 212-533-2111
www.myspace.com/yaelnaim
www.yaelweb.com/