News

News

Sassparilla to release DOUBLE cd set, Pasajero/Hullabaloo on June 17 – preorder now!

albumcoverforwebSassparilla to release Pasajero/Hullabaloo, on June 17 – Preorder now!

On June 17, raucous, melodic Americana outfit Sassparilla delivers Pasajero and Hullabaloo, an ambitious 19-track double disc set.  The two albums move in seemingly opposite directions; Pasajero, produced by Chet Lyster (Eels) is more akin to the band’s latest two records (2012’s The Darndest Thing and 2013’s Magpie), while Hullabaloo, recorded in frontman Kevin Blackwell’s attic, captures the live essence and playful nature of the band.  The end result presents the full breadth of Sassparilla as never before in one package, an accomplishment not to be taken lightly. The recording will be available as a specially priced 2xcd set, FLAC, or mp3 and can be pre-ordered here.

The record release show will be at The Doug Fir in Portland, on June 20, followed by shows in Eugene at Sam Bonds Garage on June 27, and Seattle at the Tractor Tavern on June 28.

 

Introducing Anna Tivel, new record Before Machines

anna-0582Fluff and Gravy Records is proud to welcome Anna Tivel to the family. Raised among the ferns and the farmland of Northern Washington, Anna loved words long before they became the backbone of her music. “My sister, my mom and I would go to our little town library with a rolling suitcase and fill it to bursting,” she remembers, “we’d read in the car, in the bath, under the covers late at night, always piles of books, always music playing, from Paul Simon to Dylan, from The Kingston Trio to Itzaak Perlman.”

Entranced by the sound of her grandfather’s violin, Anna started learning in the first grade and never put it down. In 2006, she moved to Portland, muddled through college, and started waiting tables and playing some fiddle on the side. Over the next few years she was swept up by and welcomed into the Portland music scene, playing with multiple groups around town including the Nathaniel Talbot QuartetShook Twins, and The Jackalope Saints. But it wasn’t until she picked up the guitar, learned a few chords, and started writing songs, that music began to fill a much bigger space in her life. “It was like being dunked in cold water or slapped in the face…in a good way,” she says, “it suddenly became ok that i couldn’t seem to retain concrete information, that my head is always full of sensory things, smells and sounds and color. Suddenly there was a place for all of it.”

Anna’s first album, 2012’s self-released Brimstone Lullaby, was recorded by Rob Stroup at 8Ball Studio in SE Portland. The album is a fully flushed representation of that first year of songwriting, colored by some incredible local musicians. Her new album, titled Before Machines, brings a more intimate, raw batch of songs to the table, recorded mostly live and mixed to tape at Fluff and Gravy Studios, with a group of musicians who were only roughly familiar with the material. Bassist Sam Howard (Tony Furtado, Ruth Moody), guitarist Taylor Kingman (The Hilldogs) and drummer, David Strackany provided the backbone for the live tracks, with overdubs by Michael Monko (guitar) and Jeffrey Martin (vocals). The intention was to capture these songs in their most naked form, before multiple rehearsals and repetition had a chance to smooth over the edges.   The result is a warm and honest record that allows Anna’s songwriting to be at the forefront.

AnnaTivel_BeforeMachines_Digipak_flatBefore Machines will be available on June 17, on cd and digitally. Anna will be touring throughout 2014 in support of the record (more details to come!)

You can pre-order now, here

 

 

 

 

 

 

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8pZXBo7LJM[/youtube]

The Harmed Brothers to tour East Coast/Midwest in June

Better_Days_Cover_web

The Harmed Brothers are taking to the road in June, in support of their October 2013 Fluff and Gravy Records release, Better Days, hitting locations throughout the Southeast, East Coast, and Midwest. The shows will be a a combination of 2-piece acoustic duos and full band performances, which will include Troy Broat on bass and Josh Wienholt (ex-The Preservation) on drums.  Better Days has garnered international praise for it’s soul-baring songwriting, and spent 2 months atop the UK-Americana charts. The band is known for their captivating live performances, taking the audience on a roller coaster ride through raucous sing alongs and intensely personal ballads.  Come see for yourselves, this June!

 

 

 

 

5/31/14 Artmosphere, Lafeyette, LA
6/1/14 Dave’s Dark Horse, Starkville, MS
6/2/14 The Georgia Theater (Rooftop show), Athens, GA
6/4/14 Independent Public Ale House, Greenville, SC
6/5/14 Evening Harvest Market (5:30pm), Hayesville, NC
6/5/14 Chevelles,  Murphy, NC
6/6/14 The Blue Otter, Hiawassee, GA
6/7/14 Cherokee County Art Council Art, River and Music Festival (3pm), Murphy, NC
6/7/14 Doyle’s Cedar Hill, Murphy, NC
6/9/14 Jack Of The Wood, Asheville, NC
6/11/14 TBA, Roanoake, VA
6/12/14 TBA Baltimore, MD
6/13/14 Shore Road Tavern, Philadelphia, PA
6/14/14 Tellus360 (Early Acoustic Show, 5pm), Lancaster, PA
6/16/14 Rockwood Music Hall, New York City, NY
6/18/14 The Outer Space, New Haven, CT
6/19/14 TBA, Boston, MA
6/20/14 Otto, Portland, ME
6/21/14 Otto, Portland, ME
6/22/14 The Hapgood Store (4:30om, acoustic duo), Peru, VT
6/24/14 Dark Horse Brewing Company, Marshall, MI
6/25/14 South Gate House Revival, Newport, KY
6/26/14 The Melody Inn, Indianapolis, IN
6/27/14 The High Note, Pekin IL
6/28/14 The Outland Ballroom, Springfield, MO
6/29/14 The Mercury Lounge (5pm), Tulsa, OK

 

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCTMsljIOLM[/youtube]
 

 

Hong Kong Banana releases Montana House video series

In the summer of 2013, Portland’s Hong Kong Banana played a now legendary show at The Montana House. Those lucky enough to be there won’t soon forget the sounds and the smells of the rock and roll assault that they laid witness to. Fortunately, for the rest of us, Jon Burbank was there to capture the show in all of it’s glory. Presented here are 4 videos from that evening. The first two (“Explode” and “Wicked Mind”) are from the 2013 ep, Now, But Not Now Now (available here on vinyl/cd/digital), while “Little Friend of Mine” and “Get In Line” are as yet unreleased. Fasten your seatbelts…

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq5_f9LneXQ&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

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[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Re379oW-8&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
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[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd5DHwxSXyc&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
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[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ngblT5MoPs&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

 

Drunken Prayer releases video for "On Mobile Bay"

Morgan Christopher Geer, the braintrust behind Asheville/Portland based Drunken Prayer, is on a quest. After recording the recently released House of Morgan (Nov, 2013) largely on his own, he has now taken to creating a series of videos to support the record. In keeping with the spirit of the record, all of these videos are self-produced. What began with the unsettling videos for “Hunt Me Down“, “KEF-666” and “I Saw It With My Own Two Eyes, Again” , changes course with his earnest take on the traditional “On Mobile Bay”.  It’s one of the few straightforward tracks on the record, and there is good reason for that. Says Geer, “My grandfather used to sing me to sleep with this song when I was a little guy. He lived on Mobile Bay, at Mullet Point; those are some of my happiest memories. I found out later the song has some pretty objectionable lyrics, but he thankfully never sang those to me”. The video was shot in Fairhope, Alabama, on the shore of Mobile Bay, and is presented here for your enjoyment.

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYblog6orow[/youtube]

Introducing Kevin Lee Florence

DSC_0021Fluff and Gravy Records is proud to welcome Kevin Lee Florence to the family. A native of Folsom, CA, Kevin now calls Portland home, where he has quickly integrated himself into the burgeoning Indie Folk scene. Raised in an environment that disparaged folk and country sounds, hearing Gillian Welch’s Soul Journey for the first time, followed by a chance meeting with her in a Sacramento suburb was the catalyst the moved Kevin to take up the guitar and try his hand at songwriting.

In August, 2014, Fluff and Gravy will release Kevin’s first solo record, Given. While the record is clearly a modern folk record, with the requisite finger-picking and lush harmonies (courtesy of his sister, Kelley Florence), there is something intangible between the notes where Kevin has carved out his own distinct place. The record features a roster of world-class musicians, including drummer James McAllister (Sufjan Stevens, Bill Frisell), and Garth Hudson (The Band).

You can see Kevin debut these tracks with a full band, including members of Parson Red Heads and M. Ward’s band, at Dante’s (Portland) on 4/18, as part of a Fluff and Gravy Records Showcase. Get your tickets here.

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kmtw2GkQYVg[/youtube]

 

 

 

Evangenitals Turbulent Flow video premiers at Relix

Check out the new video from The Evangenitals, brought to you by the fine folks over at Relix. The video from the acclaimed Espina Blanca Productions (Monterey, Mexico) was masterminded by director, by Sofia Garza-Barba, and finds the band, well… being The Evangenitals.

The track wraps up side A on their new record, Moby Dick; or The Album.

From the Relix.com:

The new studio record from The Evangenitals was inspired by Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby Dick; or, The Whale. As the group’s co-founder and vocalist Juli Crockett Feldman explains, “Moby Dick is one of those iconic texts that has a life beyond its pages. People who have never read the book still have an understanding of its themes and its characters. Much like Don Quixote, characters like Captain Ahab and the White Whale transcend literature and enter the realm of the symbolic. Great works of art aren’t satisfied with being passively received; we are meant to engage, challenge, and play with them. The greatness of great literature is in its ability to respond with resiliency to the times, over ages and eons. Without changing a word, they somehow manage to consistently change our lives.”

Today we premiere the new video from the recording. Feldman offers, “I’ve had a geeky obsession with the phenomenon of turbulence for a long time. The original idea for the song floated around in my head for years, but I knew I needed help writing it, as it was a new sound that I wasn’t going to be able to pluck out on an acoustic guitar sitting in my room by myself. We were almost finished with the album (determining song order) when our bassist, Joey Maramba turned to me and said, ‘I wish we had just ONE more song on the record, something a little edgy.’ And this old idea popped into my head. I said, I have a song about turbulence I wanna write, but you and Mike need to help me write it.” What resulted was one of the greatest cowriting and execution experiences in the history of my life.”

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2O2vxeGLOE[/youtube]

 

Kenny Feinstein to perform My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, 4/18

Fluff and Gravy Records Showcase at Dante’s, 4/18/14KennyF_Loveless_front_web

On Friday, 4/18, Kenny Feinstein will perform his 2013 acoustic tribute to My Bloody Valentine‘s Loveless in it’s entirety at Dante’s (Portland). Feinstein’s meticulously crafted Loveless: Hurts To Love was created over a period of 2 years, with help from producer Jeff Kazor (Crooked Jades) and Bruce Kaphan (American Music Club). This special event will mark the first time that Feinstein has performed the compositions live . 

Billed as a Fluff and Gravy Records Showcase, the event will feature 4 bands from the label’s roster, which will culminate with Feinstein’s homage to MBV. Also included on the bill will be Mike Coykendall and 2 other artists to be announced later.

Tickets are available here

Quee Queg is the first single from upcoming Moby Dick; or, The Album, by The Evangenitals

The Evangenitals to preview first single from upcoming Moby Dick; or, The Album

Evangenitals-MobyDick-COver-web

Moby Dick: or, The Album, the band’s debut album with Fluff & Gravy Records, will be released on March 18, 2014. It is a musical swirl of immaculately crafted songs, each interpreting an aspect of Melville’s masterpiece with an approach that tacks between intricate arrangement and the deceptively simple country-inflected tunes for which the band is best known.  The first single, Quee Queg unfolds slowly, over the better part of 8 minutes, drawing the listener in and washing over them with it’s swirling strings and harmonies.

For Juli Crockett, the band’s co-founder and primary lyricist, this was the track that started it all.  “Quee Queg was the first Moby Dick song I ever wrote. It’s also the last track on the record: The Alpha and the Omega!  It’s the first song that we ever played as The Evangenitals. The song has always had a kind of magic about it… it quiets noisy rooms, takes people on a journey. There’s something transcendent about it; it exists in another space and time.”

Staged as a love story between Ishmael and Quee Queg, this is a track filled with yearning, forbidden love, and energy of the unattainable.

Says Feldman, “I originally envisioned the concept with an ex-boyfriend (Gordon Torncello) in New York circa 1995. It was before I’d ever actually read the book, and it led me on a decades long fascination with the tale. I mean, you don’t HAVE to have read Moby Dick to have an experience/idea ABOUT Moby Dick. Epic works are accessible: we all can relate to Ahab, the White Whale, in some way because we all know about obsession, pursuit, mystery, and the unknown.  Gordon was reading the book, and he’d tell me these crazy stories that I began to put together in my own head. That may be what gives Quee Queg it’s dream-like quality, because it’s made up of these fragments and images passed down through storytelling. Gordon had written the “do you want me” line randomly, and I heard him singing that and decided it should be a love story about Ishmael and Quee Queg. The rest is history”.

Hillstomp announces tour dates in support of new record, previews new track

Hillstomp will be playing a string of Spring shows in support of their upcoming 4/15 release, Portland, Ore. The record finds the duo refining their craft and expanding their repertoire on tracks that range from moody folk ballads to the raging stomp they are best known for.

Here is a sneak peak at Don’t Come Down

Upcoming Tour Dates

3/14-15 – Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, Ore
3/21 – The Royal, Olympia, WA
3/22 – Ray’s Golden Lion, Richmond, WA
3/28 – The Nectar, Seattle, WA
3/29 – Wild Buffalo, Bellinghman, WA
4/10 – Live From The Divide, Bozeman, MT
4/11 – The Filling Station, Bozeman, MT
4/12 – The Top Hat, Missoula, MT
4/18 – Bombs Away Cafe, Corvallis, OR
4/19 – Pak-It, Bend, OR
4/24-5 – Sam Bond’s Garage, Eugene, OR
4/26 – River City Saloon, Hood River, OR
5/2 – French Broad River Fest, Hot Springs, NC
5/17 – Bar Deluxe, Salt Lake City, UT

The record will be available on CD and LP, and can be pre-ordered here.

Hillstomp to release Portland, Ore, on April 15 – Preorder now!

Hillstomp-Album-Cover-webHillstomp to release Portland, Ore, on April 15 – Preorder now!

On April 15, 2014, Hillstomp will release Portland, Ore, their 4th full-length offering and first on Fluff and Gravy Records. The record features 10 new tracks, finding the duo refining their craft and expanding their repertoire on tracks that range from moody folk ballads to the raging stomp they are best known for. Mixed by Chet Lyster of Eels, and produced in conjunction with Kevin Blackwell of SassparillaPortland, Ore, represents a sonic high-water mark for the band. The record will be available on CD and LP, and can be pre-ordered here.

The band will premier the tracks over a two-night stand at The Doug Fir in Portland, on 3/14-15 (tickets can be purchased here) before hitting the road for a series of Northwest Shows in March and April. Full tour details to be announced shortly.

Get your copy of the record now!

The Harmed Brothers to hit the road in March to celebrate Better Days

The Harmed Brothers are hitting the road in March as a 4-piece in support of their October 2013 Fluff and Gravy Records release, Better Days. The revamped lineup, which includes Allen Clayton on bass and Josh Wienholt (ex-The Preservation) on drums, will visit the West Coast and Midwest. Better Days has garnered international praise for it’s soul-baring songwriting, and spent 2 months atop the UK-Americana charts. The band is known for their captivating live performances, taking the audience on a roller coaster ride through raucous sing alongs and intensely personal ballads.  Come be a part of it, this March!

Better_Days_Cover_web2/28/14 Plough and Stars, San Francisco, CA
3/1/14 The Cowtrack Lounge, Oakdale, CA
3/2/14 Moe’s Alley, Santa Cruz, CA
3/5/14 The Bum Steer, Winchester, CA
3/6/14 Pappy and Harriet’s, Pioneertown, CA
3/10/14 The White Horse, Austin, TX
3/12/14 Luckey’s, Wichita, KS
3/13/14 The Record Bar, Kansas City, MO
3/14/14 Singer’s , Hays, KS
3/15/14 Mojo’s, Columbia, MO
3/21/14 South Gate House Revival, Newport, KY
3/22/14 Doyle’s Cedar Hill, Murphy, NC
3/26/14 Mercury Lounge, Tulsa, OK

 

 

Drunken Prayer release new video for KEF-666 (from House of Morgan)

Morgan Christopher Geer, the braintrust behind Asheville/Portland based Drunken Prayer, has been hard at work. After recording the recently released House of Morgan (Nov, 2013) largely on his own, he has now taken to creating a series of videos to support the record. What began with the unsettling video for “Hunt Me Down“, continues with “KEF-666”. Again using largely stock footage and free laptop editing software, Geer has crafted a perfect companion for a track that he calls “the clarion call of the desperate”.

Check it out here!

[youtube height=”315″ width=”560″]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRzPzRmna34[/youtube]

The Evangenitals announce Northwest tour to support Moby Dick; or, The Album

The Evangenitals have announced a string of Northwest dates to support their upcoming Fluff and Gravy Records release, Moby Dick; or, The Album. The record, to be released on March 18, 2014, is a musical swirl of immaculately crafted songs, each interpreting an aspect of Melville’s masterpiece with an approach that tacks between intricate arrangement and the deceptively simple country-inflected tunes for which the band is best known.

Catch them in the act this March!

Evangenitals-MobyDick-COver-web

Saturday March 1st Pre-Lease Party, Pappy & Harriet’s, Pioneertown, CA
Thursday March 6th Frog and Peach, San Luis Obispo, CA
Friday March 7th  Angelicas, Redwood City, CA
Saturday March 8th The Stork Club, Oakland, CA
Sunday March 9th The Crepe Place, Santa Cruz, CA
Monday March 10th Orr Hot Springs, Ukiah, CA
Tuesday March 11th Palm Lounge @ Eureka Inn, Eureka, CA
Wednesday March 12th Bomb’s Away Cafe, Corvallis, OR
Thursday March 13th Alberta Street Pub, Portland, OR
Friday March 14th Walla Walla Guitar Festival, Walla Walla, WA
Saturday March 15th Cornucopia on 5th, Eugene, OR

and

Friday March 28th Moby Dick Unplugged! w/ special guest Jim Kweskin: Coffee Gallery Backstage, Altadena, CA

PRE-ORDER the record!

PRE-SALE announced for Moby Dick; or, The Album, by The Evangenitals

Moby Dick: or, The Album, The Evangenitals debut with Fluff & Gravy Records (18 March 2014), is now available for PRE-SALE here.  Reserve your copy now, on blue vinyl LP (with download card) or cd, and you will receive an exclusive digital file with instrumental versions of all tracks, mixed by Michael Feldman himself! In addition, you will receive a download card for a mix of tracks from other Fluff and Gravy artists, waiting for you to discover them. Instrumental tracks will be delivered in early February, physical products and download code to be delivered early March (you’ll have the record a full 2 weeks before anyone else!!)
Click here to reserve your copy!
Evangenitals-MobyDick-COver-web

The record itself is a musical swirl of immaculately crafted songs, each interpreting an aspect of Melville’s masterpiece with an approach that tacks between intricate arrangement and the deceptively simple country-inflected tunes for which the band is best known.  At times the songs are lushly poetic, at others, coarsely powerful. Joined by such notable guest artists as: folk legend Jim Kweskin (of Jug Band fame), acclaimed avant-garde performer Dorian Wood, and composer Jeremy Zuckerman (“Avatar: The Last Airbender” and recent #1 iTunes Soundtrack “Legend of Korra”), among others, the band has crafted a timeless record that will resonate equally with fans of the classic Melville novel, and those who have yet to discover it.

Asked why she turned to Melville’s novel as the point of departure for her songs, Crockett pointed to the precedent of her adaption of the same material for theater a dozen years earlier. “Moby Dick,” she says, “is one of those iconic texts that has a life beyond its pages. People who have never read the book still have an understanding of its themes and its characters. Much like Don Quixote, characters like Captain Ahab and the White Whale transcend literature and enter the realm of the symbolic. Great works of art aren’t satisfied with being passively received; we are meant to engage, challenge, and play with them. The greatness of great literature is in its ability to respond with resiliency to the times, over ages and eons. Without changing a word, they somehow manage to consistently change our lives.”

Pre-order HERE

 

The Evangenitals Announce New Album – Moby Dick; or The Album

Evangenitals-MobyDick-COver-web

The Evangenitals sign with Fluff and Gravy Records and announce new record

Fluff and Gravy Records is proud to introduce you to, The Evangenitals. Founded by playwright/director Juli Crockett and opera, jazz & gospel singer Lisa Dee,  The Evangenitals are an alt-country/Americana love revolution made flesh for your listening pleasure. On a quixotic crusade in the key of life, hell-bent on breaking hearts open, they are a genre-bending, ever-creating force of nature. The Evangenitals boast one of the most eclectic resumes in the indie music world. As live performers, they’ve built a fiercely loyal following through a thousand shows at clubs, coffee houses and festivals throughout the world (including Scotland’s prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival). Their shows are notable for music that can be bawdy and rollicking in one moment, and, in the next, sufficiently mysterious and haunting to make the rowdiest of beer brawlers pause, turn toward the stage and listen.

Moby Dick: or, The Album, the band’s debut album with Fluff & Gravy Records (March 18. 2014), is a musical swirl of immaculately crafted songs, each interpreting an aspect of Melville’s masterpiece with an approach that tacks between intricate arrangement and the deceptively simple country-inflected tunes for which the band is best known.  At times the songs are lushly poetic, at others, coarsely powerful. Joined by such notable guest artists as: folk legend Jim Kweskin (of Jug Band fame), acclaimed avant-garde performer Dorian Wood, and composer Jeremy Zuckerman (“Avatar: The Last Airbender” and recent #1 iTunes Soundtrack “Legend of Korra”), among others, the band has crafted a timeless record that will resonate equally with fans of the classic Melville novel, and those who have yet to discover it.

Check out the video below for a sneak peak…

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY92-AvSOV0[/youtube]

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