| Butch Walker @ The Grog Shop, Cleveland Posted: 25 Mar 2009 01:57 PM PDT It was very interesting going a sold out Butch Walker show at the Grog Shop. Not being very familiar with his music, I wasn't sure what to expect. I've been to sold out shows there before, but it never seemed as packed as it was. A not too shabby band named the Films out of South Carolina opened up for Butch, reminding me of Franz Ferdinand with a little more pop. One of the dudes from Films had a tambourine attached to a slipper that he would put on tap his foot, so he could play the tambourine and harmonica at the same time. After seeing this I believe every man should own a pair of tambourine shoes. Butch finally took the stage solo and the crowd went nuts. One thing is for sure is that Butch Walker is one of those guys/bands that has a following. The crowd was made up of men and women of all ages and backgrounds that could sing you every word of his songs, and quite frequently they did. At one point he just turned the mic around and let them finish the song. The music was good, but the performance was great. That guy knows how to put on a show and doesn't take any crap. At one point he was playing the piano and the sound of the crowd talking became louder that his music. He stopped, asked the crowd to be quite and asked why would you buy a ticket to show you wouldn't listened to when somebody yelled "sell-out". Then it got interesting. Butch asked that guy to come up on the stage and tell that to his face, but no one showed. At this point he was pretty pissed, still yelling at this guy he said "why would you come here and yell stuff like that. Do you pay money to come heckle because you were bored sitting in your mommy's basement? I mean I don't come up to you when you're getting a blow job from a male hooker and give you comments, so show me some fucking respect man" and went right back into his song. The whole time I was thinking "I'm really starting to like this guy". All harassment aside the show was great. The rest of Butch's band came on stage and went straight into some louder rocking songs. Butch's voice reminded me of a mixture of Ben Kweller and John Mayer and maybe a hint of Jesse Lacey with the singalongs and catchy lyrics. He definitely kept the crowd entertained throughout the show. During one song he sang half of it in the crowd and then watched his band play out the rest half while staying in crowd as if a fan himself, and at one point he completely disappeared for almost a whole song before reappearing with a shot of something to get the blood pumping. With all the craziness of dancing on the bass drum, climbing on the rafters while thrusting his hips as if to make love to the roof and yelling at the crowd it was a pretty impressive show. Would I go out and buy his record? Probably not. Would I go to another show/ want to hang out with this dude? Yeah.    Butch Walker: website | myspace | Sycamore Meadows review | interview with Related Posts - December 31, 2008 — Most Anticipated Albums of 2009 (1)
- August 4, 2008 — Lollapalooza @ Grant Park, Chicago (3)
- March 13, 2009 — New Franz Ferdinand video for “No You Girls” (0)
- February 19, 2009 — Ben Kweller @ The Slowdown, Omaha NE (0)
- February 17, 2009 — The Watson Twins @ Homer’s Records, Omaha NE (1)
- February 16, 2009 — Ben Kweller’s “One Minute Pop Song” (0)
- February 9, 2009 — Getting Down with the Grammys (0)
- February 8, 2009 — Interview with: Kevin Devine, pt. II (0)
- February 3, 2009 — New Music Tuesday! (0)
- February 2, 2009 — Interview with: Amie Miriello (2)
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| Interview with: Stuart A. Staples of Tindersticks Posted: 25 Mar 2009 01:43 PM PDT It takes a special band to draw fans into the Chicago’s cold Epiphany Church for an early March concert. It takes an even specialer band to draw those fans from not only Chicago, but other cities as was the case for Scott Spychalski. Spychalski drove from Kansas City to see Tindersticks perform (though the long distance award and a big thanks go to Tindersticks’ unofficial tour manager, Ian, who drove from Toronto to help them for free). In addition to seeing them play, Spychalski also took some time to talk with the band. Check out his interview with Stuart A. Staples of Tindersticks below.  Scott Spychalski, PopWreckoning: How did you actually come up with the band name Tindersticks? Any hidden meanings?
Stuart A. Staples, Tindersticks: There was a kind of version of that name on a box of matches, in Greece I think. We liked the name because it wasn’t really trying to say anything. PW: I drove nearly thirty hours to see your band perform in two different cities on the last tour, but found I was not alone. Many people came from other cities and even countries. Are you surprised that you have such a loyal following, especially in America?
SS: It’s such a personal thing isn’t it? You kind of will go the extra mile to experience it. I think if a song can touch you in a personal way it can be very special. PW: I know you tour quite a bit in Europe, what are your thoughts on these small tours in America?
SS: Ummm….it’s very different, it’s like taking a step backwards because were not on the same level here. We are used to playing concert halls in more civilized places I suppose, here we play in a rougher environment. I don’t mind that at all, as a group of people we are robust to react to the situation we are in.
There are quite a lot of distances to cover in America as well. The worst things are airports. It’s just become an ordeal. I would rather drive six or seven hours than to be stuck in an airport. But overall it has to do with Constellation, their enthusiasm and energy has been great. I’m pretty happy with it all at the moment. It’s worth coming here, I’m pleased with the outcome of it. As a band we are really energized at the moment and are making plans to get into the studio as soon as possible. After the last two tours we didn’t have the same feeling, but right now we are feeling very creative. PW: You seem very energetic right now. Is it due to having new members in the band?
SS: Maybe it has to do with something new at the moment, and what has grown out of making The Hungry Saw and it’s still going on after being on the road for so long. It’s got a natural kind of feeling of moving forward, for me it’s like the best kind of environment for me to write with people pushing me forward. Five or six years ago, I wasn’t in that place, something was unbalanced or messed up in the band. When you are a group of six people together for 10 years, 12 years, it’s hard to figure out what’s wrong and what’s right. PW: Could you tell me about the title of the new album The Hungry Saw?
SS: It came from the song, and the song became kind of defining in a way. Those songs in the middle of the album, “Mother dear”, “Boobar”, “The Organist Entertains”, those songs are a lot more abstract and dreamlike. We didn’t really pin it down to one thing. I just had real fun writing the album. The idea of trying to retain some innocence against, I suppose the things that come and try and rip it away from you, I think all three of those songs all live in that kind of realm. PW: Is The Hungry Saw a metaphor for anything?
SS: I think it has something to do with what you need that drives you and hurts you at the same time. I had so much fun with the words I didn’t want it to be finished, it was really good fun to write. PW: I noticed that there weren’t any duets on this album. I know you had two duets on your last solo album, Leaving Songs, is there anyone are your short list that you would like to do a duet with?
SS: It’s always been driven by a song and ideas. I can’t really write a song with a specific person in mind. It is important to me, writing for somebody else you can kind of have fun with it. I can kind of have a go at myself in a third person sense. PW: Can you tell me about your writing process, what influences you?
SS: When I was 15 or 16 I read a lot of poetry and I stopped and I stopped because if I read something that really blew me away it would end up in an idea of mine. I wanted my mind to be free I didn’t want it to be full of these peoples great ideas, in anything you do, you have to find your own language. I think I’m finding my voice and my writing right now. I don’t think that I have remotely arrived. I’ve always thought of myself as a late developer. At the moment I feel I am closer, but not any closer than I was ten years ago…..because the things you want to do are always ahead of you and just beyond your skills.
PW: I think that YOU are the hungry saw!
SS: (laughing) Maybe that’s it!             Tindersticks: website | myspace | @ 9:30 Club
Constellation Records: website Photos by: Scott Spychalski
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| Interview With: Marc Walloch, Company of Thieves Posted: 25 Mar 2009 09:13 AM PDT Company of Thieves are fast becoming one of the most buzzed about bands of 2009 for their literary and pop culture references, catchy guitar hooks and their singer’s killer vocals. Bethany had a chance to catch up with Company of Thieves’ guitarist Marc Walloch. Check out the interview below:  Bethany, PopWreckoning: How are you doing today?
Marc Walloch, Company of Thieves: Good, we just rolled out of our hotel and are driving to Austin right now.
PW: Cool, you guys going to SXSW?
MW: No. We were kind of bummed that we weren't able to book a show there. We're going to play El Paso.
PW: That will still be fun.
MW: Yeah PW: So how did your band form?
MW: Hugely through mutual friends all around the same time. We all came from other bands that we were in for many years before this and those all kind of broke up around the same time. Genevieve [Schatz] and I kind of met through a mutual friend of ours going to school at Columbia College at the time that I knew. She brought us together and there became friendships. We were hanging out every night, listening to music just for fun. Mike [Ortiz]'s old band used to play with Genevieve's old band and that's how they came together. Genevieve actually met me at Union Station, which is the same place where she met Mike a few months later and he told her that his band just broke up a few days before and she was looking for a drummer. It all just fell into place at the same time. PW: So with Ordinary Riches, you kind of did that as DIY originally, but then you got the opportunity to record and re-release it with Wind-Up.
MW: Well, we didn't really re-record it. We left it as it is pretty much. The only thing that we did was just do radio edits.
PW: Oh, I thought you did add some more like keys to the album?
MW: Well, when we were working on the album, we had a bass player at the time. We went through several line-up changes. We had an original bass player on the recorder and then we had a friend play keys for us and then we just went through several different line-up changes with bass players and other players. Right now we have some friends who have been playing with us as well like Bob Buckstaff has been playing bass. PW: In the studio you guys worked with Sean O'Keefe. What was it like to work with a person who has worked with artists like Fall Out Boy?
MW: He's known for these big bands, but it's not his style at all. He works with a lot of bands in Chicago that are much more organic sounding, and that's just the kind of style he likes recording. So we knew right away that he wasn't going to change our music anymore than we wanted it to be changed. He was going to help guide us and help structure everything and get the right sounds that we were going to need to be on the same page with. We knew it was going to be a good match from the beginning. PW: Living in Chicago, do you guys ever worry about ever getting typecast with all the other pop bands that are coming out of there?
MW: Like right now?
PW: Well, like right now a lot of people associate Chicago with like the Fueled by Ramen sort of bands.
MW: Yeah, there's definitely that scene, and we've never been a part of that from the beginning, so I don't think anyone would ever put us into that category at all. It's just a completely different style of music and a completely different style of doing things. You know? Like all those bands kind of have their own way of doing things and how they get to where they're at, but just never followed any guide lines. We just did our own thing. We never had specific plans, just an idea of what we wanted to do and what we wanted to do with our music, so we wouldn't be stuck in a specific genre. PW: I heard that a fan got you signed to Wind-Up records. What happened there and do you know this fan?
MW: No, actually we played SXSW last year and through mutual friends of our manager, we met an attorney, who is actually our attorney right now, Mark Lieberman, and he knew some labels. So a month later we were going to New York, this was last April, and he invited some labels out to some shows we were playing and one of them ended up being Wind-Up. And the A&R, Diana Meltzer, she loved it right away and wanted to sign us. So it took some months of communicating back and forth and we signed to them. PW: On the album Ordinary Riches you guys have a lot of references, especially to Oscar Wilde. How did you all find a mutual love for Oscar Wilde and decide to pursue that as a theme for the album?
MW: Basically, it wasn't until Genevieve thoroughly explained where she was coming from with that. Mike and I have always been interested in lyrics and we understand the importance of knowing what the songs are about and where they're coming from. I don't get how some bands can go out there and play music and have no idea what they're playing. It is important that everybody knows what is going on. So when we ask her about things and she explains them, it is kind of like, well with us the more we learn about things the more we realize we agree and are on the same page.
The thing about Oscar Wilde that is so great is that we share his perspective and humor in social situations. You know that quirky and awkwardness about different sorts of people in those situations. That's one aspect of it. Then the title of the record is from an Oscar Wilde quote. It basically goes back to when we were talking about Sean O'Keefe. We knew that we didn't know what we were doing at the time and we didn't know a title or if we had a title. We knew that we just wanted to do whatever we were doing and not have anyone mold it into something else. That quote is, "Ordinary Riches can be stolen. Real riches cannot." That's just basically saying, you can't really take what's yours and what you're passionate about. This is who we are and this how we want to be presented and that just kind of fit in with how we wanted to be represented at the time. We just all agreed and were on the same page with it. PW: That is really cool. I also really enjoyed the music video for the song "Oscar Wilde". Was that your guys' idea to have that Rushmore theme or the music director's?
MW: Thank you. Yeah, well there wasn't even going to be a music video. It was just going to be this promotional thing and we were like, "What are trying to do with this? Why don't we just do a fun video?" And the director that we were working with liked shooting in the same style as movies we liked. So we were talking about what we wanted it to look like. We didn't want it to look lame. We wanted it to be very loose and fun. We wanted to do some wacky looking scenes and cool visuals.
We're all really into Wes Anderson and how his films look and how his sets look. Our director was like, "That's my favorite director. It's funny you mention that." He came back to us and said we could do the intro to Rushmore and have us be all the clubs. And we thought that was a great idea. It's fun because that tied into the whole thing we were talking to and with "Oscar Wilde", it just fit.  PW: Where else do you draw inspiration from?
MW: Everything. Musical artists, places we've been to, people we've known, mostly. A lot of Genevieve's lyrics come from dreams or real life experiences. Musically, it is from everywhere.
We have our main influences that we've grown up on that we love. That's kind of like any kind of music we hear and we like, we try to incorporate a piece of that. We're always trying to challenge ourselves, do different things and never be pigeonholed into a certain structure or formula.
PW: Who are some of the people that you're listening to now or reading now?
MW: Right now, we've been listening to a lot of Dr. Dog and Pedro the Lion. We go back to a lot of our old favorites like Wilco, Radiohead and the Beatles. There's this new guy that we've all grown to like on this tour that we heard at a record store. His name is Nathan Davis. It's just a great jazz record that came out in the 70s that no one has ever really heard of. It's really hard to say. We have seven people traveling with us and seven different iPods get thrown on every day, so there's a lot of music and it is just hard to really narrow it down.
PW: That's awesome that you cite a lot of jazz artists. You don't often hear a new band citing jazz.
MW: Yeah. Everyone has an appreciation for it. It's really cool. PW: What's next for you guys after this tour?
MW: That's a good question. We thought we were going to come home in April, but we're not going to come home until much later. The closest we get to home is we booked a show for a suburb outside of Chicago and right after that we're doing another video for "Pressure" that we'll be doing for two days. The next day we're driving to Canada to meet with some executives in our label's office in Toronto. Then we're going to New York to play some store openings and do another promotional video. Then we're going home. April's already filled up and at the end of April we're going out to San Diego and do some radio shows actually. They've been picking up "Oscar Wilde" on the West Coast quite a bit. So we'll play up the West Coast and then come home finally. Rest up a bit. The plan is to just jump on some festivals and whatever opportunities we can for the summer. We'll probably go on a full tour about mid-summer.
PW: Good. Well, I hope you guys find some rest at some point. Thanks so much for talking to us.
MW: Thanks for having me. Company of Thieves: website | myspace | Ordinary Riches review | CoT Contest Related Posts - February 13, 2009 — Company of Thieves - Ordinary Riches (7)
- February 2, 2009 — Interview with: Amie Miriello (2)
- November 19, 2008 — New Seven Worlds Collide Project (0)
- September 7, 2008 — Interview with: Justin Kennedy of Army Navy (3)
- August 26, 2008 — Outside Lands Festival, Day 1 (1)
- August 4, 2008 — Lollapalooza @ Grant Park, Chicago (3)
- March 14, 2009 — Company of Thieves Contest (5)
- February 24, 2009 — Peasant - On The Ground (1)
- February 9, 2009 — Getting Down with the Grammys (0)
- February 5, 2009 — 2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival Confirmed Artists (0)
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| Morrissey with Red Cortez @ Warner Theatre, Washington D.C. Posted: 25 Mar 2009 07:45 AM PDT Anyone who has ever seen Morrissey live knows that a night of song with him is an event, a spectacle unto itself. He will make you laugh. He might make you weep happily (particularly if you're like me and have a personal attachment to songs like "I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday" and "Jack the Ripper"). But for sure, he will entertain you like you've never been entertained before. Forget Morrissey's reputation as "The Pope of Mope," a reclusive, cantankerous elder statesman of rock from Northern England. Since the Eighties, he's penned some of the most revered songs of recent music history – songs of unrequited or lost love, sarcastic disdain for the powers that be, cynicism over what love is or what it means, battles against oppression, or just astute social commentary designed to give us a swift kick in the rear. Just don't call him a pop star. He might get upset enough to write a song about you. He may be almost 50, but that doesn't mean he's a pushover.  The opening act for the evening was Red Cortez (formerly known as the Weather Underground), an unsigned rock quartet based in Los Angeles. Compared to other acts I've seen open for Morrissey, they played straightforward, enjoyable rock that the audience could really get into. (Other bands in the same position have not been so lucky; despite best efforts, I've seen bands heckled by drunks or completely drowned out by Morrissey football chants.) Lead singer Harley Prechtel-Cortez started the set with a guitar but exchanged it for keyboards before inserting "Washington D.C." into one of their songs; as you can imagine, the change went down really well with the crowd. Note to all you budding rock stars out there: always a good idea to praise the town you're playing; the locals will adore you for it. After their last song, he thanked us "for being pleasant" - not very rock 'n' roll, but sincere.
The backdrop of a sailor - chomping a cigar while curling his biceps, "REFUSAL" imprinted across his chest - seems appropriate for a Morrissey stage show, considering Moz himself is famous for his unapologetic opinions. Looking chic casual in a black Dolce & Gabbana shirt and jeans, pumping his biceps just like the sailor's image behind him, Morrissey arrived on stage to thundering applause, the crowd already on its feet at the first moment. His first words to us? "Hello Squashington! Welcome to the Warner Theatre. You have been WARNED!" He then launched into a punchy, head-bopping version of the Smiths's classic, "This Charming Man", which the fans greeted with cheers. This "Tour of Refusal" is in support of Morrissey's ninth solo album, Years of Refusal, released in February and produced by the late, great Jerry Finn. The set list was peppered liberally not just with songs from the current album, but also 2004's well-received You Are the Quarry (also produced by Finn). The new song "Black Cloud" was followed by the devastatingly heartbreaking "Let Me Kiss You", described by Morrissey as "an explanation of the previous song" – fans chuckled knowingly. Only someone with such an extensive back catalog would even dare to make such a connection. Highlights from the show included the coy Smiths tune, "Ask", and the first two singles off the new album, "Something is Squeezing My Skull" and "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris". The encore of "First of the Gang to Die", a paean to Morrissey's passionate Latino fan base, capped off an extraordinary evening. Morrissey hinted to the press last month that he is considering retiring at age 55. If the fans' reception of YOR and the related tour are any indication, he has plenty of songs left to write – and certainly the voice, energy, and charisma to continue thrilling audiences for years to come. Set List:
This Charming Man (The Smiths)
Billy Budd
Black Cloud
Let Me Kiss You
How Soon Is Now? (The Smiths)
I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris
How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?
Ask (The Smiths)
Seasick, Yet Still Docked
Something Is Squeezing My Skull
Death Of A Disco Dancer (The Smiths)
You Say You Don’t Love Me (Buzzcocks)
It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore
The Loop
Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself?
Best Friend on The Payroll
I Keep Mine Hidden)
Sorry Doesn’t Help
The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
I’m OK By Myself
//
First Of The Gang To Die Morrissey: website | myspace | Years of Refusal review
Red Cortez: website | myspace Written by: Mary Chang
Related Posts - December 19, 2008 — Morrissey New Album, 2009 Tour (1)
- February 25, 2009 — Under Cover: The Killers (1)
- February 14, 2009 — Morrissey - Years of Refusal (3)
- December 31, 2008 — Most Anticipated Albums of 2009 (1)
- October 17, 2008 — The Mountain Goats with Kaki King @ the Slowdown, Omaha (1)
- September 3, 2008 — Hidden Talent : Sweetheart Parade (0)
- August 28, 2008 — Jerry Finn, You Will Be Greatest Missed (0)
- August 15, 2008 — Milton & the Devil's Party – How Wicked We've Become (0)
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| The Roots Picnic 2009! Posted: 24 Mar 2009 06:29 PM PDT  I was a little disappointed when I first heard the news that Philadelphia’s modern legends The Roots would be joining Jimmy Fallon on Late Night as the house band. No, I wasn’t up in arms about the band “selling out” or anything, I was scared to death that The Roots Picnic –the Philadelphia summer festival– would cease to exist and I’d never get to see this amazing band perform live again.
Well, I’m a little ashamed to admit it, but thanks to Facebook (I blame SXSW for monopolizing the entirety of my brain), I just caught wind of The Roots Picnic 2009, happening on Saturday, June 6th, again this year at Festival Pier on the Delaware River. Last year’s show was amazing and undoubtedly in my top 3 concerts of 2008. This year should prove to be just as good – Line-Up:
The Roots (two sets)
TV on the Radio
The Black Keys
Santigold
Antibalas
The Pipes featuring Zoe Kravitz
Asher Roth
Kid Cudi
Writtenhouse
Back to Basics w/ King Britt & Dozia DJ Jazzy Jeff will perform in between sets and, last btu definitely not least, Public Enemy will be performing It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back in it’s ENTIRETY, backed by both The Roots & Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra. Tickets, $47.50 advance or $51.00 day of, are on sale now. Buy them here, or The Roots: website | myspace Rising Down Price: USD 13.49 79 used & new available from USD 4.90 Related Posts - September 26, 2008 — Treasure Island Music Festival-Day 1 (0)
- August 21, 2008 — New American Music Union - Recap (1)
- March 24, 2009 — Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It’s Blitz! (1)
- March 13, 2009 — Dan Auerbach @ Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland (0)
- March 7, 2009 — Telepathe to tour with Ladytron and The Faint, release debut “Dance Mother” in April (0)
- February 17, 2009 — Sasquatch! Music Festival 2009 Line-Up, Ticket Info (0)
- February 5, 2009 — 2009 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival Confirmed Artists (0)
- February 2, 2009 — Remix Monday: Kid Cudi’s “Day ‘n’ Nite” (0)
- January 29, 2009 — Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach plans solo record/tour (0)
- December 30, 2008 — Top ‘Ten’ Albums of 2008 (0)
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