Posts from — March 2009

The Great Lake Swimmers

have spent the past seven years performing on stages around the world—though, like Bell, they should never be taken for granted. Lost Channels, their fourth album set for release on March 31st, finds them once again recording at historic locations. This time in the Thousand Islands region of Ontario and New York state, telling tales of hidden histories, still “mining for light in the dark wells,” still “tuned to an instrument of greater and unknown design.”

The instrument in question is the singular voice of Tony Dekker, a voice that summons ghosts from times past. It’s a voice that is capable of conveying heartache and comfort all in the space of a single phrase. Though his supporting cast has changed over the years—with the exception of longtime right-hand man Erik Arnesen — Dekker has always encircled him self with sympathetic players who value spacious arrangements that frame his vocals. Over time, the band has evolved from a sparse, delicate and hushed unit into a well-rounded folk rock band, sacrificing none of their original intimacy while upping both the volume and tempos when necessary.

Dekker chooses to record in old churches, community halls, abandoned grain silos and rural locations. It’s easy to hear why. His voice doesn’t need any studio embellishment, standing at its strongest when bathed in natural reverb and enriched by the historical context surrounding it.

To record Lost Channels, Dekker and company went upstream on the St. Lawrence River to the Thousand Islands, halfway between Toronto and Montreal, a historic and picturesque area that straddles the Canadian/American border, and has been designated a World Biosphere Region. Great Lake Swimmers arrived at the invitation of fan and Thousand Islands photographer/regional historian Ian Coristine.

That the album was created in both rural splendour and urban Ontario makes perfect sense for a band that has always navigated the parallels between natural and urban rhythms. River imagery recurs throughout Lost Channels; the title of the album is a reference to a certain passage of the St. Lawrence, close to the recording locale, where a reconnaissance boat from a British warship went mysteriously missing in 1760. There’s no specific reference to the incident in the lyrics, though there are plenty of night skies, howling winds and raging rivers in almost every song which captures an elusive sense of mystery. As the album closes, Dekker sings the final lyrics—“Like the unstoppable river… Your beauty is gentle/ but forceful, and fast”—before the band ends on a suspended note. There is no resolution there, only eternity, a continuum, an endless river.

The Great Lake Swimmers land at the Doug Fir this evening and will most certainly feature the music of Lost Channels and the endless river.

Info:
Great Lake Swimmers
with Kate Maki and Super XX Man
April 1, 2009 <----TONIGHT! Doug Fir Lounge
Tickets $12

Great Lake Swimmers: “Your Rocky Spine”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Kr6L22w7H8]

Here are some tidbits of Portland music news to get you through your Tuesday:

• Pitchfork has partnered with ABC News for a new music weekly spotlight. This week they look at the Decemberists Hazards of Love

• If you didn’t get your fill of SXSW reviews, here are a couple more. The Joggers drummer Jake Morris blogged about his experience at SXSW.

• Carrie Brownstein wraps up her experience over at Monitor Mix

• No Fest is holding a benefit at Holocene tonight to raise some funds for this years event in St. John’s. PC-PDX has more info.

• Merge Records is celebrating 20 years (WOW!) with a covers record that features some Portland bands including Quasi, M. Ward and the Shins. TinyMixTapes has the full story

• One piece of sad News: Power of County Percussionist Dan Baldwin was killed by a drunk driver in SE Portland over the weekend.

Two Beers Veirs featuring Laura Viers (of Saltbreakers fame) along with the Decemberists’ Chris Funk and Portland fiddler wondergirl Analisa Tornfelt will set up another residency at the Laurelthirst Pub every Wednesday in April 2009. The trio plans to play “a bunch of old time and country covers” that will feature the vast instrumental range (dobro, fiddle, mandolin, autoharp) of the three players, some sweet sweet voices, and probably some cold pints as well.

On her third Nonesuch release, Saltbreakers, singer-songwriter Laura Viers remains tantalized by the mysteries and marvels of the natural world, filling her work with images, both precise and poetic, of the ocean and the stars. But she digs even deeper this time into the vagaries of human nature, transforming the turbulence of her own life, as well as her concerns about the hair-trigger state of the world at large, into a collection of songs distinguished as much by their emotional urgency as by their often astonishing musical inventiveness. Veirs recorded the album in Seattle, with band-mate Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Bill Frisell) once again producing and mixing. Though she now calls her group Saltbreakers, it’s actually comprised of her longtime compatriots, formerly known as the Tortured Souls — guitarist/bassist Karl Blau, keyboardist Steve Moore and drummer Tucker Martine.

Chris Funk is a member of the Portland, Oregon, indie rock band, The Decemberists. He is originally from Valparaiso, Indiana. He plays guitar, pedal steel, piano, violin, the theremin and many other instruments. His alter-ego on The Decemberists website is Crutchy McGee. After the trailer with all their equipment and merchandise was stolen in 2005, Funk wrote “This Machine Kills Thieves” on his banjo, in reference to Woody Guthrie. He has a new group called Knock-knock with DJ Rev shines from the hip-hop group Lifesavas on Quannum Projects. They plan to release an LP on Barsuk Records late 2007. Knock-knock has done a remix for Feist and My Morning Jacket recently.

Two Beer Veirs: Laura Viers, Chris Funk & Annalisa Tornfelt

4/1/09 @ Laurelthirst Pub (6-8PM) – FREE!
4/8/09 @ Laurelthirst Pub (6-8PM) – FREE!
4/15/09 @ Laurelthirst Pub (6-8PM) – FREE!
4/22/09 @ Laurelthirst Pub (6-8PM) – FREE!
4/29/09 @ Laurelthirst Pub (6-8PM) – FREE!

Laurelthirst Pub
2958 N.E. Glisan
Portland, OR 97232

LINKS: http://www.lauraveirs.com & http://www.decemberists.com
MP3/Downloands:
Laura Viers – Green Cowgirl
The Decemberists – I’m Sticking With You

After six successful years of recording and performing with Drive-By Truckers, guitarist and songwriter Jason Isbell left the band in 2007 to explore his own musical identity. He released his first solo album, Sirens of the Ditch, later that year, revealing a softer Southern blues sound that’s still informed by country-rock. His new album, Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, finds him completing his transformation from supporting player to frontman. A warm and gritty country-soul album, the disc showcases Isbell’s confident songwriting while referencing vintage soul and country.

Since parting ways with the Drive-By Truckers in 2007, Jason Isbell has finally had time to work on his own material. It shows on his second solo album (Lightning Rod), named after the new band he leads. It’s a tight collection fueled by glints of the rock, soul and country that came out of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala., in the ’60s and ’70s.

Isbell is an empathetic storyteller, giving vivid life to the desperate characters on “Seven-Mile Island” and sighing over lingering heartache on the spare, soulful “Cigarettes and Wine.” If there was any lingering question about Isbell’s prospects away from the Truckers, this album offers ample evidence that he’s doing just fine on his own.

LINK: http://www.jasonisbell.com

PRESS: NPR / SPIN / Rolling Stone / AV Club

MP3/Download: Jason Isbell & 400 Unit – Seven-Mile Island
MP3/Download: Jason Isbell & 400 Unit – Cigarettes & Wine

Doug Fir
April 5, 2009
Jason Isbell & 400 Unit
Justin Townes Earle (Steve’s son!)
Tix: $14 / Time: 8PM doors, 9PM show
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL5Zf_76nCA]

Nashville, TN: Its no secret that the home of country music serves as a hideout for one of America’s most bustling music scenes. People move to Nashville aspiring to change it, only to find themselves chewed up and spit out by the spirit that gave us Johnny Cash, Woody Guthrie, and Bob Dylan. What rises from the dust are songs with ache and pain, hopes and sorrows, victories and defeats. But redemption is found in the community of people whose kinship runs much deeper than the music.

Ten out of Tenn is a compilation that shines a light on a few of the many Nashville artists who haven’t waited around for the world to hear about them. With TV being the new radio and beat up vans the new tour bus, this generation of American originals have taken full advantage of opportunities to take their music beyond the city limits of their adopted home town. Years of restlessness and work have allowed competition to give way to a community where late nights on the front porch are king.

Ten out of Tenn volume 1 was released in 2005 and partnered with Myspace and Paste Magazine for an extensive national tour. Volume 2 is partnering with American Songwriter Magazine for a tour set to launch on July 19 at Nashville’s historic Cannery Ballroom. The tour will feature a rotating lineup of artists sharing musicians and supporting one another. Some of the common performers are: Griffin House, Butterfly Boucher, Erin McCarley, Andy Davis, Katie Herzig, Tyler James, Matthew Perryman Jones, Trent Dabbs, Jeremy Lister and KS rhoads.

LINK: http://www.myspace.com/tenoutoftenn

PRESS: CMT / Paste / Bonnarro ‘09

MP3/Download: Butterfly Boucher – Never Leave Your Heart Alone
MP3/Download: Griffin House – The Guy That Says Goodbye To You Is Out Of His Mind

Doug Fir Lounge
TEN OUT OF TENN
Saturday March 28
Doors at 8pm, Show at 9pm / $10 advance/day of show
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwGPOj5Ut0o]

As the Allman Brothers Band wrap up their 15 night run this weekend at the Beacon Theater in New York City, they are slated to embark on a 60 date U.S. tour to commemorate their 40th Anniversary that includes a stop at the Theater of the Clouds at the Rose Quarter on May 15th. The band is stronger than ever with lead guitar and vocalist Warren Haynes, slide prodigy Derek Trucks, bass player Oteil Burbridge, percussionist Marc Quinones and original members Gregg Allman, Butch Trucks, and Jaimoe.

Blind Pilot, touring as a six-piece with Israel Nebeker (vocals, guitar), Ryan Dobrowski (drums), Luke Ydstie (upright bass, backing vocals), Kati Claborn (banjo, dulcimer, backing vocals), Ian Krist (Vibraphones), and Dave Jorgensen (keyboards, trumpet), have just landed the support slot for the upcoming The Decemberists tour.

TOUR DATES:
3/24/09 – The Mercy Lounge – Nashville, TN
3/26/09 – Studio B – Greensboro, NC
3/27/09 – IOTA – Arlington, VA
3/28/09 – Theater of Living Arts w/ Gomez – Philadelphia, PA
3/30/09 – Middle East – Cambridge, MA
3/31/09 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY
4/01/09 – Club Cafe – Pittsburgh, PA
4/02/09 – Beachland Ballroom – Cleveland, OH
4/04/09 – 400 Bar – Minneapolis, MN
4/06/09 – Opolis – Norman, OK
4/07/09 – Mohawk – Austin, TX
4/09/09 – Plush – Tucson, AZ
4/10/09 – Casbah – San Diego, CA
4/11/09 – Spaceland – Los Angeles, CA
4/13/09 – Cafe Du Nord -San Francisco, CA
5/24/09 – Wilma Theater w/ The Decemberists – Missoula, MT
5/26/09 – Fillmore Auditorium w/ The Decemberists – Denver, CO
5/27/09 – Uptown Theater w/ The Decemberists – Kansas City, KS
5/29/09 – Riverside Theater w/ The Decemberists – Milwaukee, WI
5/31/09 – Pageant w/ The Decemberists – St Louis, MO
6/01/09 – Lifestyle Pavillion w/ The Decemberists – Columbus, OH
6/03/09 – Tabernacle w/ The Decemberists – Atlanta, GA
6/04/09 – Memorial Auditorium w/ The Decemberists – Raleigh, NC
6/05/09 – The National w/ The Decemberists – Richmond, VA
7/18/09 – Edgefield Amphitheater w/ The Decemberists – Troutdale, OR
7/19/09 – Edgefield Amphitheater w/ The Decemberists – Troutdale, OR

“Go On, Say It”, the “Single of the Week” on iTunes from 7/08-7/15, helped Blind Pilot hit the Billboard charts, coming in at #149 on the Top 200, #22 on the Top Independent Albums, and #13 on the Top Digital Albums charts the week of July 15th.

Starting out as a duo, and recording their debut album, “3 Rounds and a Sound” with the help of friends (some of who have since joined the band), Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski, friends since college, have traveled many a mile to get to where they are today literally.

In 2007 and once again in 2008 (in 2008 Kati Claborn and Luke Ydstie joined them), Israel and Ryan embarked on a West Coast bike tour. This wasn’t a tour where they road bikes, and had a van hauling the equipment. They hauled everything on their bikes. No gas. One hundred percent leg-powered.

With big signs on the back of their bike trailers that read “BLIND” and “PILOT”, a lot of concerned motorists screamed about the “PILOT” leaving the “BLIND” guy behind. Playing little towns that don’t often get shows by “touring bands” they were able to share their brand of music with people who weren’t particularly familiar with indie pop, or indie anything. But they found that heartfelt lyrics and beautiful music appeal to just about everyone. In fact, they completely sold out of their EPs.

They returned to Portland anxious to complete their first full-length album. The long road to this album has paid off in spades.

Blind Pilot sounds something like a wistful mix of The Shins with a bit of Iron & Wine folksiness. But these comparisons don¹t give a full representation of the unbelievable beauty of this album. As Willamette Week’s Casey Jarman proclaimed, “Front man Israel Nebeker sounds like a less theatric version of James Mercer: every bit as sincere and captivating, with vocal control and style to spare. And this band has songs coming out of its ears: deep, clever guitar-driven tunes fleshed out with soaring horn arrangements. Listening to and thinking about these songs has kept me awake at night lately.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-usPwbzwIEk]