Month: May 2014

There is so much going on with Nick Jaina that it is difficult to know where to start. For one thing, he is now residing in New Orleans, but more on that in a moment. After releasing last summer’s Primary Perception, the lead single, “Don’t Come To Me”, was picked up by NPR’s Heavy Rotation and Morning Edition, and he toured the West Coast (including a stint at Folsom Prison) and Midwest with a string ensemble.  But that was just the beginning. Since that time, Jaina has been busy as musical director and composer for the contemporary dance pieces “Emergence” and “Rituals” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. After selling out two shows, the New York Times called his score “the most physically bracing part of the night”. Of late, he has  been  focusing his energies on a one-man theatrical set of music and storytelling called “The Hole in Coffin”, and will be spending the summer in New Orleans to bring it to the stage. It will be premiering at the Fringe Festival in November and at PUSH Festival in Vancouver, Canada in January (2015).  In addition, Nick has been hosting “The Story of Your Life” on X-RAY FM in Portland, which is a 30 minute weekly show combining new instrumental music with conversations with fascinating people. After its run on the radio it will continue on as a regular podcast.

With all of this, it is understandable that Jaina has only rarely been seen publicly performing his Indie Pop repertoire over the last several months. Word on the street is, however, is that we are all in for a treat, as Nick will be returning to the Northwest in June for a short run of performances, which will find him accompanied by trumpet, violin and drums. Here are the details, catch him while you can:

June 7, Sou’Wester, Seaview, WA
Tues Jun 10 at Red Light in Bellingham, WA
Wed Jun 11 at Fremont Abbey in Seattle, WA (with Stelth Ulvang, of The Lumineers)
Fri Jun 13 at Portland State University in Portland, OR

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M47iv0sg-6k[/youtube]

 

 

 

Anna Tivel will host a record release party on June 12, at The Old Church (Portland).  She will be joined by local icon,  Mike Coykendall, and the up and coming Vacilando. Her upcoming full-length offering, Before Machines, will be her first release on Fluff and Gravy Records. The tracks range from intimate singer-songwriter performances with just Anna and her guitar, to live tracks with a full band, and everything in between. 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), all of whom will be performing with Anna for the release party.

Tickets for the event are available here , for 8 bucks, show starts at 8pm

Before 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]

Portland’s alt-blues/stomp outfit, Hillstomp, will spend June and July touring the West Coast, in support of their latest record, Portland, Ore.

The band has spent the better part of the last decade building a name for themselves among the US and European festival and club circuits, garnering a reputation for their raucous live sets and their ability to work an audience into a fervor. They have toured with such legends as The Devil Makes Three and The Reverend Horton Heat. The new record, Portland, Ore, is their first offering since 2010’s Darker The Night and represents a natural progression for the band with plenty of their trademark high-octane raw blues, mixed in this time with some genuinely tender moments and ballads.

Catch them live, this summer!

Upcoming Tour Dates

6/5 – Johnny B’s, Medford, Ore
6/6 – The Independent, San Francisco, CA
6/7 – The Crepe Place, Santa Cruz, CA
6/8 – Lagunitas, Sebastopol, CA
6/10 – The Mint, Los Angeles, CA
6/11 – DiPiazza, Long Beach. CA
6/12 – Winston’s, San Diego, CA
6/13 – Harlow’s, Sacramento, CA
6/14 – The Crepe Place, Santa Cruz, CA
7/3 – Emerald of Siam, Richland, WA
7/4 – Corbett Funfest, Corbett, WA
7/5 – Waterfront Blues Festival, Portland, OR
7/16 – Music In The Park, Monmouth, OR
7/18-20 – Wildwood Music Festival, Willamina, OR
7/23 – Downtown Sounds, Bellingham, WA
7/24 – River City Saloon, Hood River, OR

 

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

Sassparilla 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.

 

Fluff 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 Quartet, Shook 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.

Before 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 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]
 

 

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]

 

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]