The Current Music Blog: March 16, 2007 Archive

The Stream 03/16/07

Posted at 6:45 AM on March 16, 2007 by Barb Abney

More info on the Joe Strummer biopic “The Future Is Unwritten” due in UK theaters in May. Plus info on the upcoming soundtrack featuring music from The Clash, The 101ers and Joe along with The Mescaleros.

Blond Redhead will be releasing their 8th album, 23 on April 10th. They’re coming to town April 15th at First Avenue. More info here.

Minneapolis label Rhymesayers has signed a distribution deal with Alternative Distribution Alliance, Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group. Thanks to Mark Wheat for the tip.

Win a copy of Modest Mouse’s upcoming release We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank.

Silversun Pickups have announced some new In-Store appearances.

Grizzly Bear recorded live in Minnieapolis.

Today In Music History:
1954 -Nancy Wilson (Heart) was born.
1959 - Flavor Flav was born.
1972 - Andrew Dunlop (Travis) was born.
1975 - "T-Bone" Walker died.
1999 - Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and the late Roosevelt Sykes were inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame.
2005 - Billy Joel checked into a rehab

Live On Air Blogging

Posted at 9:04 AM on March 16, 2007 by Barb Abney (1 Comments)

11:00am-ish
Michael Franti's in-studio performance from October.

Tunes On The Telly Tonight:
Pete Yorn on Conan
Deerhoof on Carson Daly

Tunes On The Telly Tomorrow Night:
Snow Patrol on SNL

10:40am
Sondre Lerche played our SxSW showcase yesterday!

Dinosaur Jr. is coming town!

The Shins in-studio performance can be found here.

10:20am
Vietnam did an in-studio for us back in December.

Hot Chip's "Graceland" was recorded during an in-studio performance here at The Current in November..

10:10am
Today on our Song Of The Day Podcast we're featuring Haley Bonar, with "Captain Captain" from her album, Lure the Fox. Hear from Haley again this Sunday night on The Local Show with Chris Roberts.
Learn more about her on her official site or her Myspace page.

9:40am
Frank Black did an in-studio for us back in November.

9:30am
That TV on The Radio tune we just played ("Dry Drunk Emperor") was recorded during an in-studio performance here at The Current back in October. They spent the last two nights here in the Twin Cities. Here's a local interview.

9:15am
Dean & Britta Are playing at The Cedar Cultural Center on tomorrow!

The Frames had to cancel their SxSW gigs because Glen is workiong on a soundtrack. They'll be playing First Ave. on April 17th.

The Bird and The Bee are currently opening up for Lily Allen on her US tour. They played an in-studio for us back in November.

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Plans going out the window

Posted at 10:01 AM on March 16, 2007 by Christina Schmitt (3 Comments)

I had meant to do this before we came down to the SXSW broadcast: Make a list of what I wanted to do and then compare it to what I actually ended up doing. Because the entire festival is chaos and it's easy to be strayed from your original plan.

After we wrapped up yesterday's fantastic broadcast, City Pages music editor Sarah Askari and I headed off the beaten path to see Minneapolis' The Birthday Suits play at Snake Eyes Vinyl. The record store--and its resident cat, Brooklyn--are in a remodeled house on the other side of the freeway, and the bands all played in the backyard. You might be wondering why someone would travel to Austin and then go out and see a local band. Well, you might as well know it, a lot of my favorite bands are from home. The Birthday Suits rocked out as usual, with random people trying to grab the mike away from lead singer Hideo. Sarah and I were distracted for a bit by a guy who, no kidding, tried to jump on 4 different moving cars and then roll off them, get up and try again. Sarah decided it was time for an intervention, and gave him a firm talking to. He ended up being a rather nice guy who was doing something pretty dumb.

Back to SXSW central on 6th Street, where I had hoped to meet up with The Current's music director Melanie Walker. She was heading out to see The Fratelli's, who were playing at 1 a.m. But before I could there, I started to fade after meeting up with the Birthday Suits at the Carbonas show (they're from Georgia, woo hoo). We'll have to get the Fratelli's update from Melanie in bit.

Now it's back to the broadcast with the awesome Antibalas orchestra. I wish all my days started off like this.

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Day two....

Posted at 10:07 AM on March 16, 2007 by Ali Lozoff (1 Comments)

We are back at Buffalo Billiards setting up for our second day of broadcasting live. Yesterday was fun, crazy, chaotic, and overall HUGELY successful. We had a packed crowd for Peter Bjorn and John, who were a lovely, sweet, melodic way to start the day. (Last year Jose Gonzalez was our morning guest, which was also a sweet surprise and a nice way to ease into the day.) PBJ were also troopers when the power blew for about 5 minutes.... they stayed on stage and humored the rapt audience until our intrepid engineers found the blown circuit. And then we were back on for the rest of the day. Hometown hero Brother Ali came racing in the door having broken a few speed limits driving here from Houston, and the house went nutty for his new hit "Truth Is". He talked to Mary for quite a while and was thoroughly charming and entertaining. Sondre Lerche was a big hit too, and we could all see why Elvis Costello picked him to open up for him on tour. And even though we couldn't air the entire El-P performance, he had the audience jumping up and down like mad. All the performances are archived on our main site for make sure to check them out if you missed The Sights, Money Mark or the Young Knives.

So as we set up the room and prepare for the second leg of our marathon broadcast we are anticipating the arrival of Antibalas and their 11 piece, horn-laden Afropop sounds. Now THAT is going to wake us up. Look for more updates as the day goes on, as we welcome Tom Morello, RJD2, Bonde Do Role, Andrew Bird with local friend Dosh, Mando Diao, and a late added appearance by Jamie T. who played with Lily Allen the other night and apparently stole the show. Stay tuned....

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Better than coffee...

Posted at 11:25 AM on March 16, 2007 by Ali Lozoff (7 Comments)

A once sleepy crowd is now on its collective feat, grooving and moving along with Antibalas. Apparently, no matter what kind of music you like, it is impossible to sit still during an Anitbalas set. Spikey mohaws, receding hair lines, indie-coiffs.... all heads are bobbing and all feet are swaying. I hope it sounds as good on radio as it does in the room - a very full, lively percussion, keyboard, bass and horn mix that reaches into every nook and cranny in the space. On a bright but cool Friday morning, this is the perfect rhythm to wake up to. Even Steve Nelson is swaying back and forth! Now that's the power of mucis. We're off to a great start on day 2.... and there's so much more to come!

Sing along now... "la la la.... la la la .. ." (I can't actually tell what they're saying, but it feels great to raise your voice along with the choir anyway.)

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Fujiya & Miyagi on now! Tom Morello sitting next to me :)

Posted at 12:20 PM on March 16, 2007 by Melanie Walker

Right behind me Steve Seel is sitting having a chat with the boys from Fujiya & Miyagi and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world! My job rules. They call this work? I can stop moving! They're sound is so infectious! The room is packed as they play "Ankle Injuries". We've got someone with an airhorn that keeps enthusiastically announcing his love for the guys! I spot Bruce from WXPN in the back dancing his tail feathers off :)

Tom Morello is on next and hanging out next to me ready to hop on stage with his guitar and play us a few songs from his new release as The Nightwatchman. He says hi to everyone. He's super nice :) It's really starting to fill up fast in here for Tom Morello!

Andrew Bird is loading in his gear to soundcheck right after Tom Morello. Things are going wonderfully smooth here despite the craziness! Stay tuned for more updates!

The Fratellis, Malajube, 120 Days, The Panthers, Mando Diao...

Posted at 12:56 PM on March 16, 2007 by Melanie Walker (1 Comments)

The Fratellis, Malajube, 120 Days, The Panthers, Mando Diao...that was my schedule last night here at SXSW! I first hit up the Vice showcase and got to meet up with The Black Lips and have a drink. Was awsome! I'm going to see them at a Vice VIP after party late late late Saturday night. They can't wait to come to Minneapolis soon!

Also, got to meet some of the guys from 120 Days who were very nice but you could tell they were spent from a day full of playing and interviews. The show was wonderful. Just fun, dancy beats and atmosphereics...kind of like a moden day Joy division but better ;) That's the thing about this crazy festival. These bands work their tail feathers off playing showcases, day parties, confrence stages...sometimes 6-8 shows a day! Can you imagine how intense that is?

Malajube was intense live! Crowd was crazy for them. Was like being in hipster heaven! Panthers were heavy! Like a sped up Black Sabbeth with lots of sweat and head banging :) Caught a second of Mando Diao before The Fratellis came on. I'm looking forward to the Mando Boys dropping by the broadcast tonight for their acoustic session. Should be a packed night!

The Fratelli's were by far my favorite stop of the night! Man...those boys totally rocked my world! Alot of the shows here at SXSW really do feel more like a confrence than a rock show...people just stand there and watch. No dancing, no yelping...just standing...snore...boring. But, The Fratelli's totally pumped the crowd up. Was one of the best rock shows I've been to in awhile! Harmonies were right on cue, songs are just so super catchy! They are a band you can tell really gives the crowd everything when they play!

I'll go out tonight...have some more adventures...take some fun backstage pictures...and give you some more updates tomorrow!

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Whistle While You Work

Posted at 1:53 PM on March 16, 2007 by Ali Lozoff (1 Comments)

Our second whistling act is on stage now - Andrew Bird is playing to a big, eager, attentive and appreciative crowd. He's joined by Minneapolitans Dosh - he of the multi-instrument-playing - and bassist Jeremy Ylvisaker. It really is amazing to see Dosh play, either as a solo act or as Andrew's backing band. He's simultaneously playing drums, keyboards and an effects box. He makes us proud to be from the same town, I have to say. Anyway - the uber-hip crowd in here just can't get enough of Bird and the boys.... they're loving it, sitting cross-legged on the floor, packed as close to the stage as the equipment will allow. As crowded as it is, and as energetic as the crowd is, it is incredibly quiet in here while Andrew is talking. They're hanging on his every word. Definitely one of those artists that I feel like we've had a great connection with since we first launched, and to see him get so much well-deserved national attention is just awesome.

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Whatever it takes

Posted at 2:26 PM on March 16, 2007 by Christina Schmitt

Tom Morello was here earlier, and I at first didn't recognize him when he walked in the room. I just thought, "Hey, that guy with the guitar slung over his back almost poked me in the eye with his kapo!"

Thankfully, Morello uses his powers for the forces of good -- a famous person who can play arenas when he wants, but for the time being chooses to pick up his acoustic guitar and use his art to activate and inspire people.

He drinks tea. I ran and got his hot water, and he was so polite to me, I felt all proud inside about it.

Bonde Do Role Hearts InSoc

Posted at 3:15 PM on March 16, 2007 by Ali Lozoff (2 Comments)

So it appears Brazillian popsters Bonde Do Role are huge, HUGE fans of former Minneapolis-based popsters Information Society. Apparently they were big in Brazil. I don't know about Japan, but definitely Brazil. They are on a hunt for the first two InSoc releases, which they cannot find anywhere. Considering InSocs roots in the Twin Cities, chances are good someone in our audience has those in their record collection somewhere. If you're looking to unload them, or know where an extra box or two of them might be laying around, go to the band's MySpace page and let them know. You'll be helping spread pro-American feelings to our friends to the South. And possibly altering the course of Brazillian pop culture for years to come.

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The Clock Winds Down....

Posted at 3:42 PM on March 16, 2007 by Ali Lozoff (4 Comments)

We're getting near the end here. Just a few more acts to go before we pull the plug and start packing up. RJD2 is sound checking right now. The guys from Solid Gold (the Minneapolis dance band - not the dance show nor the dance club) are hanging out in their black and gold tuxedos looking like they aren't quite ready to let the party end. A little bit of fatigue is setting in, though we are still jazzed about these last few bands. RJD2 sounds like they are going to be a riot. Mando Diao always brings the rock. And we are going to be treated to a special appearance by Jamie T, about whom EVERYONE has been talking today. Apparently he wowed as Lily Allen's opening act last night, so we're looking forward to seeing what the buzz has been about. Two more hours, three more bands... now we're cooking with gas!

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