Posts Tagged ‘Los Angeles’

HAND HABITS – ” Lagniappe Sessions “

Posted: July 9, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Hand Habits, the working sobriquet of Meg Duffy, first entered our sphere in 2015 backing Kevin Morby at a house party. Their weapon of choice is the guitar, an instrument they wield with aplomb. However, to focus too heavily on this one attribute is to miss the greater whole of the songwriter. On the eve of their sophomore lp, Placeholder, Duffy cut a three-track Lagniappe Session for Aquarium Drunkard. Recorded over a three month period in Los Angeles and New York City, the selections simultaneously echo Hand Habits roots and aspirations. The artist in their own words, below …

Hand Habits :: Albatross (Fleetwood Mac)

People love to either forget about Peter Green or love to say they only like Fleetwood Mac for the early Peter Green records. Of course Christine and Stevie, along with all the various iterations, hit hard song after song. But it’s this record and song that really prove to me that the essence (swirls scotch around in glass) of Fleetwood Mac was conceived long before “Dreams” was dreamt. The lyricism of the guitar is extremely crushing. It feels symphonic and hopeful. When I was learning this tune, I realized that there’s an ‘hour long loop’ of “Albatross” on youtube…and the song really allows for repetition. Recorded with Chris Nelson and Branden Stroup in downtown LA.

Hand Habits :: Only Living Boy In New York (Simon And Garfunkel)

To me, this song is perfect. The second time I heard it was (fittingly) via a cover, courtesy of a band that used to exist in Albany called The Red Lions. They covered it in a packed out attic, and at the time I thought it was the best band I’d ever heard in person. The show exists in my memory as a warm, teary picture of nostalgia. A very good friend of mine who has since passed on was there, and we both just stood smiling in awe of the harmonies during the song’s closing. Gigantic and everlasting. This recording, my cover, was done in NYC with Sam Owens right before he moved out of his place in the city to live upstate. It felt right — a freezing cold Sunday in NY — just me, Sam and Lina Tullgren and a tape machine.

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Hand Habits :: When The Devil’s Loose (AA Bondy)

The first time I heard AA Bondy’s When The Devil’s Loose coincided with a lot of other firsts in my life. I had just moved to Albany after living in Schenectady. I got my first job bar-backing at a venue. And I started writing songs of my own after having backed many other songwriter’s bands. I sang along with this record many a night in my tiny brick bedroom with a window that faced a brick wall. My good friend Emily Sprague showed it to me and we would harmonize along with the songs. The rhythm section crushes me with its simplicity. When I first moved to Los Angeles, listening to this record felt like an old friend; complete with a housemate in the basement putting up with my singing along. I found out that Bondy was living outside of the city, looked him up, and had the pleasure of sharing some of my songs with him. He’s a mystery to me, still. I made this recording in my old bedroom in Glendale. I think you can hear my upstairs neighbours walking around.

Lagniappe (la·gniappe) noun ˈlan-ˌyap,’ – 1. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. 2. Something given or obtained as a gratuity or bonus.

HAND HABITS and FRIENDS – ” Wildfire ” Covers

Posted: July 9, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Hand Habits, in partnership with Saddle Creek Records and Bandcamp, will be donating all of the profits raised from the EP to the Amazon Conservation Association, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, that has been protecting the Western Amazon for almost 20 years.

“Being a touring musician 8 months out of the year, you are exposed to a lot of varying degrees of climate change effects in a short period of time. From the gasoline that’s used to fuel touring vehicles, to the massive amount of plastic waste at the end of every show, to the carbon emissions released into the air by all the travel, it’s often not the most environmentally conscious career. I wanted to contribute, even if in a small way, to the efforts at work by the people at the Amazon Conservation Association for being dedicated to preserving such a vast and heartbreakingly crucial part of our ecosystem that has been threatened by wildfires, deforestation, and the effects of climate change.

I believe that writing and performing music can be a healing force, used for good, and not always for capitalizing on emotions and commodifying a personality or lifestyle. People need to be able to relate to each other, in times of joy, and especially in times of sorrow or struggle. The Wildfire Compilation, in partnership with Bandcamp and Saddle Creek, will be donating all of it’s funds raised to the ACA in hopes to lend a helping hand to those on the front lines of fighting climate change in places that may seem inaccessible to those of us unable to travel at length.
I chose 5 artists, Tara Jane O’Neil, Lomelda, John Andrews, Angel Olsen, and Kacey Johansing to interpret and cover my song “wildfire” that I wrote during the California Wildfires in 2017. All of these artists are dear friends and have all taught me a lot about the complexity of emotions in music.”
Released December 25th, 2019

The RENTALS – ” Q36 “

Posted: July 5, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Before Weezer released Pinkerton — the initially-misunderstood album that eventually became rightfully recognized as the band’s masterpiece — they were working on Songs From the Black Hole, a space-themed science fiction rock opera with guest vocals by Rachel Haden and Joan Wasser that was eventually abandoned, with some songs ending up on Pinkerton, others surfacing over the years, and others still in the vault or unfinished. Just judging by what does exist of it, it’s one of the great “lost” albums in rock history, and Weezer never attempted anything like it since. The post-Pinkerton, Matt Sharp-less version of the band has almost never neared the heights of the band’s classic ’90s era, though Matt Sharp’s band The Rentals have. Their 2014 reunion album “Lost In Alphaville” (released on Polyvinyl) was the album that those of us who wanted another Blue Album were waiting for, and with the self-released Q36 — The Rentals’ first new album in six years – they just may have made their Songs From the Black Hole.

The Rentals’ lineup is now Matt Sharp with Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner and The Killers drummer Ronnie Vanucci, and they made this album with frequent Flaming Lips collaborator Dave Fridmann as mixing engineer and guest vocal contributions from The Gentle Assassins Choir, School of Seven Bells’ Alejandra Deheza, and others. Fridmann especially is a perfect fit for Q36; Lost In Alphaville sounded like crunchy, punchy, power-poppy ’90s Rentals but Q36 is a soaring, adventurous psychedelic pop album that sounds like Matt Sharp’s very own Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. And, lyrically, it’s a space-themed science fiction concept album.

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Each of the 16 songs on this double album tells its own story — with inspiration coming from real-life occurrences like Apollo 11 (“Forgotten Astronaut”) and the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster (“Great Big Blue”), as well as hypothetical, apocalyptic scenarios that fall under “science fiction” but aren’t so impossible to imagine these days — and Matt chose to introduce these stories to the world by releasing one song at a time over the past few months. Together, the 16 songs of Q36 make something that genuinely earns the term “epic.” It’s by far the most ambitious music that Matt Sharp has ever released, and he pulls it off. The Rentals’ first reunion album proved they could still churn out quality versions of the music they made in the ’90s, but I don’t know who could’ve predicted Matt would return six years later with a star-studded line up and an album that is both literally and figuratively out of this world. This is the kind of album that music nerds dream up when they’re shooting the breeze about hypothetical supergroups and album concepts that will never exist. But I promise you’re not dreaming, Q36 really does exist, and it’s as great as it sounds like it’d be. Surely “Q36” is Matt’s magnum opus. I was unsure at first as the singles came out but one by one it turned into a masterpiece!.

The space western theme is a story on it’s own.

Released June 26th, 2020

(Singer, Songwriter; Producer) Matt Sharp
(Guitarist) Nick Zinner
(Drummer) Ronnie Vannucci

MRS PISS – ” Self-Surgery ” (Chelsea Wolfe & Jess Gowrie) 

Posted: July 5, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Singer, guitarist and songwriter Chelsea Wolfe has been working with multi-instrumentalist, programmer and songwriter Jess Gowrie for years, but new project Mrs. Piss is a bit different. Their work is always dark, but there’s a dirgy, filthy weight to this that is both entirely welcome and utterly uncomfortable. We chatted to the two of them about new album Self-Surgery…

If you thought Chelsea Wolfe’s 2017 album, Hiss Spun, was heavy, wait until you dive into Mrs. Piss‘ self-titled debut. A collaborative effort with her longtime friend and current go-to drummer Jess Gowrie, the LP sees these two “mega babes of the wild order” channelling the gnarliest, noisiest grunge-sludge sounds of the Nineties, plus plenty of the era’s riot grrrl attitude. “Nobody Wants to Party With Us” goes the title of one song. We sure as hell do.

L.A. WEEKLY: How did Mrs. Piss come to be…

JESS GOWRIE: Chelsea and I grew up in the same city, Sacramento. We met in our early 20s and started a band called Red Host. That kind of kicked it off. Me joining in with Chelsea Wolfe [the project] in 2016, it just seemed like we picked up where we left off. It’s been 12 years or something.

CHELSEA WOLFE: We had about seven years of separation where we didn’t talk, and then when we finally reunited and started spending some time together, it was like no time had passed. We immediately picked up our friendship and our musical relationship. It was magical to see that hadn’t faded at all, and we were still able to write music together really easily.

Describe the sound…

JG: I would say it’s a mixture of a lot of different sounds. Chelsea and I have very similar backgrounds but we also differ and I think that was brought into this project. You’ve got grunge and a lot of ’90s influences that we both love, dabbling with industrial.

CW: When I stepped into this project, I had this vision in my that it was gonna be punk music. But it kinda immediately, as soon as we started playing, became clear that it was a lot more like metal and rock. That’s just who we are. I would say it’s very much a mix of metal, ’90s rock & roll, ’90s industrial, but also with punk spirit injected in there as well.

Why that band name?

CW: It was just something we would say when we were on tour together. It’s essentially about an energy and mood rather than something literal. It’s about embracing and empowering what the world considers to be your messy side as a woman. Just being married to the dirt — embracing it fully.

re you pleased with the way Self-Surgery came out?

CW: Yeah. I think this was an experiment and us really doing things on our own. We had a little bit of help from some band mates to record and mix. But we produced it ourselves. Jess and I spent a lot of time in practice spaces working on the songs. It was very much the two of us putting ourselves into it. No matter how it sounded, we knew that it captured our friendship, that energy and stuff.

JG: For me, hearing the collection of songs together, I couldn’t be happier with it actually. I think it expresses the mood perfect that we’ve had over the past three or four years of being in a band again, but really it goes back for years and years since we started playing together.

How have you been keeping busy during lockdown? Did it affect the recording or rollout of the album?

CW: We had it finished. We mixed it in fall of last year. I was supposed to go on an acoustic tour in March, I went over to Europe and that was cancelled. Once I got home from that and there was nothing else going on, it was like we should just focus on getting this out. We started talking to Sargent House and rolled it out from there.

JG: This has been in the making for three years. We had to find downtime in between touring. Whenever we had a little bit of time, that’s when we’d get together and either write or record. It took us quite a long time to get these songs together. But they were done before the pandemic.

CW: I feel like the process relates to the title because we really made it in pieces and then stitched it all together at the end.

What’s next for the rest off the year, particularly when lockdown is eventually lifted?

CW: The bandmates have been sending new Chelsea Wolfe ideas back and forth, but also Jess and I have been sending new Mrs. Piss ideas back and forth. We’ve been doing a lot of writing, and planning for when we can get together again. We don’t know when we can play shows again, so we can’t plan too much for that. But we look forward to being able to do it in person again.

Mrs. Piss’ debut album Self-Surgery is out now via Sargent House. Mrs. Piss is (Chelsea Wolfe & Jess Gowrie)

MAN MAN – ” Dig Deep “

Posted: July 4, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Birthed in the weird waters of Philadelphia & revitalized in the even weirder smog of Los Angeles, Man Man is an acclaimed experimental rock band trafficking in multi-genre ear worms. Unique, beautiful, undefinable. Man Man, the project led by Honus Honus (aka Ryan Kattner), have shared a new song, “Dig Deep.” It was posted to Bandcamp on a day where revenue shares are being waived. Any downloads of the song today (July 3rd) will benefit the NAACP and Know Your Rights Campaign and you can pay what you’d like, starting at $1.00.

Man Man released their first album in almost seven years, Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between, in May via Sub Pop, Man Man’s first album for the label.

Previously Man Man shared the album’s first single, “Cloud Nein,” via a Kattner-directed lyric video for the new song. “Cloud Nein”. Then they shared another song from it, “Future Peg,” via a strange Stephanie Ward-directed video for the song. Then they shared another song  “On the Mend,” that featured backing vocals from Dre Babinski (aka Steady Holiday) and Rebecca Black ,

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Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between was the follow-up to 2013’s On Oni Pond. Since then Kattner has released a solo album, a children’s music album, and an album as a member of Mister Heavenly. But it took him a long time to get back to Man Man. Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between was written over a three-and-a-half-year period while Kattner lived in a friend’s guest house in Los Angeles. Kattner pointed out in a previous press release that it was more of shack than a fancy guest house and had “an old upright piano, a thrift store lamp, and nothing else.”

“I had chord progression notes that looked like chicken scratch and lyrics on pieces of paper stuck all over the walls. It looked like I was about to break the big case, catch the killer,” Kattner said of the period. “One of the best things about this time, in these ‘lost in the wilderness/surreal exile from my own band’ years, was that I finally found players who believed in me, trusted my vision, respected my songwriting. It was rejuvenating.”

FATHER JOHN MISTY – ” Anthem +3 ” EP

Posted: July 3, 2020 in MUSIC
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Father John Misty Anthem 3 EP

Father John Misty is releasing a new EP tomorrow (July 3rd) called “Anthem +3″. The four-track release opens with a new cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem” (from 1992’s The Future). Rounding out the EP are three songs that Misty has previously covered: Link Wray’s “Fallin’ Rain,” Yusuf / Cat Stevens’ “Trouble,” and Leonard Cohen’s “One of Us Cannot Be Wrong.”

Check out the Anthem +3  artwork below.

Anthem +3 will be available on Father John Misty’s Bandcamp page, in conjunction with the site’s fee-free sales day for artists. Proceeds from the EP will benefit CARE Action and Ground Game LA. The EP will then be released across DSPs on July 14th (via Sub Pop/Bella Union). Recorded only a few weeks ago at producer Jonathan Wilson’s Fivestar Studios in Topanga, California, the EP includes covers of Cohen’s “Anthem” and “One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong,” Wray’s “Fallin’ Rain” and Cat Stevens’ “Trouble.”

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Released July 3rd, 2020

In March, Father John Misty shared the live album Off-Key in Hamburg. His latest studio LP is 2018’s God’s Favorite Customer.

TY SEGALL – ” Segall Smeagol “

Posted: July 2, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Ty Segall has released an album of Harry Nilsson covers called Segall Smeagol.

I wanted to cover Nilsson Schmilsson for years, so I used the opportunity of being at home to cover my favourite cuts from the record. So here it is free on Bandcamp – “Segall Smeagol” Love To Everyone – Ty Segall

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Released March 31st, 2020 Ty Segall, Nilsson Schmilsson covers album Segall Smeagol.

JULIA HOLTER – ” Aviary “

Posted: June 25, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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“Aviary” is an epic journey through what Julia Holter describes as “the cacophony of the mind in a melting world.” Released in October 2018 via Domino, it’s the Los Angeles composer’s most breathtakingly expansive album yet, full of startling turns and dazzling instrumental arrangements.

The follow-up to her critically acclaimed 2015 record, Have You in My Wilderness, it takes as its starting point a line from a 2009 short story by writer Etel Adnan: “I found myself in an aviary full of shrieking birds.” It’s a scenario that sounds straight out of a horror movie, but it’s also a pretty good metaphor for life in 2018, with its endless onslaught of political scandals, freakish natural disasters, and voices shouting their desires and resentments into the void

“Aviary”,  produced by Holter and Kenny Gilmore, combines Holter’s slyly theatrical vocals and Blade Runner-inspired synth work with an enveloping palette of strings and percussion that reveals itself, and the boundless scope of her vision, over the course of fifteen songs. Holter was joined by Corey Fogel (percussion), Devin Hoff (bass), Dina Maccabee (violin, viola, vocals), Sarah Belle Reid (trumpet), Andrew Tholl (violin), and Tashi Wada (synth, bagpipes).

Originally released October 26th, 2018

2018, Domino Recording Co Ltd

X – ” Delta 88 Nightmare “

Posted: June 24, 2020 in MUSIC
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“Delta 88 Nightmare,” newly recorded music from the iconic punk rock band, X, along with the video directed by Henry Mortensen, The 7” vinyl will be released on November 29th,

Earlier this year, the original foursome – Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom, and DJ Bonebrake went into the studio together to record fresh material for the first time since 1985’s “Ain’t Love Grand.”  Five songs were recorded over the course of two days with producer Rob Schnapf.The first of these new songs is the recorded version of an older X song, “Delta 88 Nightmare,” which previously was only included as a bonus track on the 2001 reissue of “Los Angeles” in demo form – never as a fully recorded and mixed track. The song is available today as a 7″ with the flip side being the newly recorded “Cyrano de Berger’s Back,” one of the earliest songs John wrote for the band that became X.

The iconic punk rock band, X, recently announced their annual Holiday tour plans. Hitting theWest Coast for X-Mas ‘19, finishing up on December 19th & 20th with hometown Los Angeles finale shows. The Blasters will join X on all shows .

Formed in 1977, X quickly established themselves as one of the best bands in the first wave of LA’s flourishing punk scene; becoming legendary leaders of a punk generation. Featuring vocalist Exene Cervenka, vocalist/bassist John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom, and drummer DJ Bonebrake, their debut 45 was released on the seminal Dangerhouse label in 1978, followed by seven studio albums released from 1980-1993. X’s first two studio albums, Los Angeles and Wild Gift are ranked by Rolling Stone among the top 500 greatest albums of all time.

Over the years, the band has released several critically acclaimed albums, topped the musical charts with regularity and performed their iconic hits on top television shows such as Letterman and American Bandstand. In 2017, the band celebrated their 40th anniversary in music with a Grammy Museum exhibit opening, a Proclamation from the City of Los Angeles .The band continues to tour with the original line-up.

Fat Possum Records

GUM COUNTRY – ” Somewhere “

Posted: June 22, 2020 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Image may contain: 1 person, playing a musical instrument and guitar

Gum Country are a Canadian indie rock band brought to you by vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Courtney Garvin (The Courtneys) and multi-instrumentalist Connor Mayer. The project began in Vancouver, Canada as a series of lo-fi four track recordings made in an apartment, very quietly. These recordings were released as a self-titled cassette by Lolipop Records in 2017. After moving to Los Angeles where they currently reside, the pair recorded their debut full-length album Somewhere with Joo-Joo Ashworth at Studio 22, this time at full volume.

Duo Gum Country’s self-described “harsh twee” project began back in Vancouver . It draws on groups like Stereolab, Yo La Tengo, Meat Puppets, and The Magnetic Fields, and envelops and transforms these influences within the warm embrace of fuzzy open-tuned guitar tones, driving drums and melodic keyboard accompaniments.

After relocating to Los Angeles where they currently reside, the pair recorded their debut full-length album “Somewhere” and have self-released the album digitally on all streaming services.

All digital sales via Bandcamp today will be donated to the ACLU on Gum Country’s behalf. In addition, Bandcamp will be donating 100 percent of its own revenue to the NAACP in solidarity with recent protests against police racism and brutality.

The super track Tennis (I Feel OK) and the rest of this excellent album of hazy power-pop and woozy feedback meanders through the highs and lows of daily life, touching on subjects ranging from love, loss, and anxiety, to video games and gardening.

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The songs on Somewhere meander through the highs and lows of daily life, touching on subjects ranging from love, loss, and anxiety, to tennis, video games, and gardening. Garvin navigates these topics with humor and sincerity, her unassuming delivery riding amidst the swirling instrumentals like a snowboarder shredding fresh pow.

The band performs live as a three piece, with Mayer on drums and keyboard at the same time. Halle Saxon Gaines usually plays bass, but there are occasional appearances from Lauren Early and Luna Nuhic.
Somewhere will be released on June 19th, 2020 on vinyl via Kingfisher Bluez (Canada), cassette via Dinosaur City Records (Australia) and Burger Records (USA) .

released June 19th, 2020
All songs written by Gum Country
Courtney Garvin: guitar/vocals
Connor Mayer: drums/keyboard/bass
Recorded and Mixed by Joo-Joo Ashworth at Studio 22
Mastered by Dave Cooley at Elysian Masters

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