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ENDED: WIN Tix to ELEANOR FRIEDBERGER Live @ The Crocodile [Seattle]

February 1, 2012 in Music, With Video

CONTEST HAS ENDED

winner will be announced/contacted shortly

The brother and sister duo of Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger officially came together as the experimental Indie-pop project, Fiery Furnaces back in 2000.  Since then, they have consistently proven themselves to be one of the most adventurous and prolific groups in contemporary music.  The duo is credited with 9 releases throughout their shifts between 3 of the most respected independent record labels in the business (Rough Trade, Fat Possum, & Thrill Jockey).  With Eleanor taking on the majority of the vocal duties (both live and in studio) and Matthew handling most of the instrumentation, the brother and sister team has created everything from concept albums to incredibly inventive re-workings/re-editings of previous material, a “silent album” and even their “Democ-Rock” series, which attempts to place the fate of the music -both in content and approach- into the hands of their fans/audience.  It’s not rare to find Eleanor singing pop-like melodies over a mutated fabric of bubbling and squawking sonic confusion ala-Captain Beefheart, with glimpses of Brazillian psych legends Os Mutantes, shambolic free-jazz drum assaults, or synthed-out bleeps and blown-out bass lines forcing their way up through the film of buzzing Marquee Moon-esque guitar work.  It’s often been difficult to describe their sound for many, but the word “difficult” itself has been used on more than one occasion.  Their live performances had a tendency for becoming even more “experimental”, blending songs together or simply fragmenting and reconstructing them into new creations altogether.

Matthew dropped two simultaneous solo records in 2006, but Eleanor didn’t bother to take that same plunge into the realm of solo artist until 2011‘s 10-song effort, Last Summer.  Overall, Last Summer was received with incredibly positive reviews, even landing on multiple best of the year lists.  With her vocal cadence often coming through like a cross between Jonie Mitchell and an On Golden Pond-era Katherine Hepburn injected into the bone of verse-chorus-verse structure, it would be almost understandable for one to attempt to classify the release as a straight ahead indie-pop effort, but the stark shifts in tone, subtly off-kilter rhythms, and varied influences overlap in such manners that they often become something almost undefinable.  It’s something that is decidedly and uniquely Friedberger.

Guitar in hand, Eleanor is currently touring in support of Last Summer and our friends at the legendary Seattle venue, The Crocodile have offered us a pair of tickets to kick down to one of youz guyz, so as you can go to and enjoy the show real nice like. Read the rest of this entry →

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CONTEST HAS ENDED! WIN Tix to live podcast of Uhh Yeah Dude in Seattle

December 12, 2011 in Comedy, The Web, With Video

CONTEST HAS ENDED!

[CLICK HERE to jump directly to giveaway]

Back in the early 2000s, I lived in Olympia, Wa and there was a lot of DIY music and media production happening in the small college town.  People were mixing albums in their basements, silk-screening posters and T-shirts in their kitchens, and using DV, High-8, and/or Super-8 cameras to record short films in dusty fields and damp alley ways.  My friend Mac Dawg was taking advantage of the fact that we had a local public access station to create his own programs.  His original idea was to film a fictional, biopic-style sitcom based around Kurt Cobain in the 80s, referencing his tenure as an Olympia resident.  Being a Jewish Puerto Rican in his early twenties who had dread locks and mutton chops at the time, he came to the conclusion that I would be the perfect person to star as the dead, blonde, white grunge-rock icon in the re-imagining.  The project never actually came to fruition, but, during a random house party at Mac Dawg‘s house, I came up with my own idea for another program by the name of “TANGENT.”  The basic premise was that I would have guests on, like an informal talk show, and then just consistently shift the topic on them.  [I only have brief glimpses of memory pertaining to coming up with the idea... I was really drunk.]  One morning Mac Dawg wakes me up with a phone call and asks if I’m ready to do the show.  “What show?” I asked.  I thought that he might be referring to the Cobain thing again.  He explained that it was my idea and that I should get ready, because he was planning to film it that morning.  I threw on a slim, denim 1970s pantsuit (just vest and pants) and a large plastic dollar sign necklace, bought a case of OLY stubbies and came up with/scribbled down some topic ideas onto a piece of scrap paper during the ride over to his basement, where the video equipment was set up.  Between being awaken to sitting in the basement getting miked, it was probably 1/2 hour total.  It was about 9am, I had taken down enough alcohol to get rolling and we went from there.  There was no real podcasting back then and there was no Youtube whatsoever.  There was no real direction for the program either and, although I’d like to believe that it had it’s moments, there was a decent amount of aimlessness involved.  I imagine that doing an improvised standup routine must be similar to trying to carry an unscripted program and helping it to remain interesting; it can get awkward quicker than you may think.  If I we could have harnessed those select moments, expanded them, and worked tirelessly on them for years, I could still only have hoped to yield something half as effortlessly smooth and entertaining as the podcast, “Uhh Yeah Dude.” Read the rest of this entry →

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ENDED! WIN A Copy of PORTLANDIA Season One on Blu-Ray/DVD [2 winners]

November 26, 2011 in Comedy, Movies / Television, With Video

CONTEST HAS ENDED!

Winners have been contacted.

[CLICK HERE to jump directly to giveaway]

The first time that I saw an episode of PORTLANDIA it was after getting a heads up about it from a friend on Facebook.  The IFC original comedy series was officially premiering on the network that week, but the debut episode was already up for free viewing online (we were actually going to embed the episode back then, but the screener was only temporary and set to expire).  I can’t remember who it was that posted the link and I can’t remember exactly what they had to say about the show, but I do remember that they were encouraging others to watch it and, although they were very general in their statements, they explained that the show was parodying some very specific Portland and Pacific Northwest tendencies.  My response was a half-joking inquiry about if the whole show as about organic foods/free range chickens and bicyclists.  I watched it.  It actually was. Read the rest of this entry →

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CONTEST HAS EDNED! – WIN Tix to BLITZEN TRAPPER & DAWES in Seattle

November 9, 2011 in Music, With Video

CONTEST HAS ENDED!

Since forming Blitzen Trapper in 2000, Eric Earley and his Portland, Oregon sextet, have made a name for themselves by grinding through one tour and release at a time.  Blitzen Trapper is a band of musicians and, more importantly, humans with real world experiences and flaws.  This isn’t a polished group of slick hipsters with shiny guitars or elaborate stage setups.  This isn’t a corporate label-created band or “super group” dangling a larger than life persona in front of consumers, living in the world of MTV Cribs, and asking to be lifted overhead as celebrated pop-star deities.  They aren’t simply young rich kids cashing in on the current trend of glossing up old world folk music, either.  It’s true that they’ve had a fortunate unplanned boost or two along the way -including the “Best New Music” label by Pitchfork, in 2007- but it’s clear that the band would still be trudging along whether the masses were listening or not (in fact, they weren’t for a very long time).  Their frontman isn’t “homeless” anymore and BT have actually become the band that people show up in droves to see -not just an opener treated with hostility- but their focus hasn’t changed and they haven’t lost their authenticity.  What’s most impressive is their ability to utilize familiar sounds and demonstrate clear influences, without shame, while still managing to continuously push themselves into new experimental territories and formulate a sound that is unmistakably all their own.  Wikipeida refers to them as “experimental alternative country/folk band“.  Maybe… maybe not.  Either way, we have a pair of tickets to Friday‘s show at Seattle‘s Neptune Theatre to give away, so that one lucky winner and go and decide for themselves. Read the rest of this entry →

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CONTEST HAS ENDED! – WIN: Beach Boys “SMiLE” Double CD + T-Shirt Combo

November 3, 2011 in Music, With Video

CONTEST HAS ENDED!

[CLICK HERE to jump directly to giveaway]

 

THE BACKSTORY

*a rundown of the history of the Beach Boys & SMiLE*

The recording sessions for the Beach Boys SMiLE album are among some of the most infamous in rock music history.  After launching their careers on clean cut images, vocal harmonies, and all-American subject matter like girls, cars, and surfing (although only the drummer/brother Dennis Wilson, actually surfed) in 1961, the brilliant producer/mastermind of the group, Brian Wilson, really began to take some left turns around 1965.  After their first 2 albums, Brian began handling full production duties with 1963‘s Surfer Girl and, including the live album Beach Boys Concert, the band would effectively release a total of 7 full-lengths between the years of 1963 and 1964.  With 4 albums released in ’64 alone, it’s no wonder that the year ended with Brian experiencing anxiety issues and withdrawing himself as a touring member of the band.  It was also around this point that Wilson began smoking on chronic herbs to deal with his stress and the subsequent year brought the LP TODAY!, which had a B-side that ventured into darker areas and away from the typical, more accessible and upbeat subject matter still presented on the first half.  TODAY! did well commercially,  but the label (Capitol) and Beach Boys vocalist, Mike Love (Brian’s cousin) came at him, questioning his new musical direction, and trying to push him back towards the poppier boy band-style cheese that had made them stars.  Wilson folded back into the more accessible Summer Day (And Summer Nights!!) -finding less overt creative outlets hidden in some of the backing arrangements/orchestrations- and finished the year off with a cover album, but, whether anyone saw it coming or not, his next album, Pet Sounds, would become his undisputed masterwork.  Incorporating elaborate arrangements with unorthodox instruments – and anything else that would make a sound- Wilson worked diligently with studio musicians and inexperienced lyricist, Tony Asher to create an effort so revolutionary that it has consistently been hailed as one of the greatest albums of all time (often placing #1 on such lists for various publications).  Now experimenting with weed and LSD, The Beatles had recently taken their own career altering detour with Rubber Soul and, after being blown away by the Fab Four‘s release, Brian was so instantly and fully inspired that he set out to create an album just as great.  In turn, the Beatles (especially, Paul McCartney) were so enthralled with Pet Sounds that it has been credited as a major inspiration behind Sgt. Pepper.  Even now, Pet Sounds has more than stood the test of time, but there was some huge opposition to the work, both by the label and the rest of the band.  As legend has it, the title actually came from Mike Love questioning Brian by asking, “Who’s gonna hear this shit?  The ears of a dog?“  Regardless of what anyone thought, Wilson‘s vision saw the light of day and showcased his pure genius filtered through the culmination of knowledge/skill gained through his musical career and experiences up until that point.  One of the greatest rock albums ever made had just been released and tales of the next great followup began to spill out over through the next year or two, but it never came.  Brian was at the height of his creativity as a producer/arranger/musician and various sessions for the new album had taken place, before the project screeched to a halt and was, subsequently, shelved.  That album was SMiLE. Read the rest of this entry →

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ENDED! WIN TICKETS to GANG GANG DANCE in SEATTLE! [10.14.11]

October 5, 2011 in Music

CONTEST HAS ENDED!


[scroll down to bottom to enter]

The first time that I saw Manhattan‘s GANG GANG DANCE perform was in 2005 at Chop Suey in Seattle.  At the time, they were touring in support of their highly impressive breakout release, God’s Money.  The set culminated in having their sound shut off by the venue and with the band, in turn, piecing out their drumkit to the audience members and encouraging them to take part in an impromptu moment of tribal defiance.  Six cop cars showed up (a bit excessive).  It was labeled a “riot” (a bit of an exaggeration).  Three years later I was emailed a press kit for GGD by their then-label, Social Registry.  The bio included mention of the, now infamous, Chop Suey show.  The myth had grown.  Much of Gang Gang Dance‘s notoriety and legend has snowballed in a similar manner.

When I saw them in 2008, their follow up full-length, Saint Dymphna, had just been released.  They came back to Seattle, but this time it was in a headlining spot over Kill Rock Stars guitar tapping shredder, Marnie Stern and the show was held at the swanky Triple Door jazz club.  It was a very different scene, but their energy was still the same.  They have tons of it and their ability to adapt and shape-shift goes hand in hand with the metamorphic nature of their improv-rooted approach to music and creation.  The release was solid, but it’s taken 4 years for the group to come through with their next -and most recent- follow up, the critically acclaimed, Eye Contact.  A lot has changed.  The band now has 5 members, instead of 4.  Founding member/drummer, Tim Dewitt quit and was replaced.  The group has transferred labels to 4AD.  The album is a hybrid of the more polished sound that they’ve gradually been moving towards, while embracing the long extended build-ups that they explored in their earliest work.  What hasn’t changed is the inability to categorize them.  Electronic, tribal futuristic, experimental, noise jams?  Another thing that’s remained is the constant mystery about what the art/music collective will deliver next.

If you’re a fan of Gang Gang Dance, you need to experience them live.  If you aren’t, seeing them live very well might make you one.  Beyond their work in the music game, the members are all accomplished visual artists; even performing a mixed media live performance as part of the 2008 Whitney Biennial.  When I interviewed keyboardist/founding member, Brian Degraw back in March, he expressed their intention of adding even more stimuli to enhance their live shows: “We really want to incorporate a more visual and theatrical element to the stage when we perform.”

On Friday of next week, GGD returns to Seattle.  This time they will be performing at Neumos and, thanks to the venue, we will be giving away a pair of tickets to attend the show for FREE! Check out the details for the contest after this video of the group performing “Glass Jar“,  the 11.5-minute epic lead off track from the new album. Read the rest of this entry →

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