Lord Huron- Strange Trails

“I get a what?” I asked. “A graphic comic” replied the cashier at a local record store. I had just gone in to purchase the new album from Lord Huron and found out that because I was one of the first people buying it, I also received the comic book. I felt this was a pretty interesting promotion for this band trying to make its mark in today’s indie music scene. I took the comic with me, but was most excited about the new record. I wasn’t disappointed through my many listens.

Lord Huron is a band out of Los Angeles that was originally a moniker for a solo effort by Ben Schneider. Ben grew up in Michigan and had fond memories of his dad playing music as they sat by Lake Huron. He went to college to study art and even spent some time in France. He came back to the States to pursue a visual arts career. He had always been interested in music, but it was more of a pastime or a way to earn a few extra dollars. In 2010 he put together and released his own EP titled Into the Sun. He did his own artwork for each EP. The music started to pick up some traction online and Ben put together a band so he could tour the music. Ben put out another EP and got signed to the iamsound label and released his first full length with a band, Lonesome Dreams in 2012. Ben added some more musicians that he had known from Michigan who completed the sound. They then released Strange Trails this past April.

I got on board Lord Huron’s ship with Lonesome Dreams. Its luscious rootsy style music led me through the path of an old western. Strange Trails continues the bands full and deep sound. It looks into the relationship of man’s loneliness and how it fits into our natural surroundings. It is a very ambitious sound that takes a number of listens to really grasp the depth of the lyrics and sound. It is worth the work. This single  "Fool For Love" is from Strange Trails. Enjoy:

Ben continues to mesh his visual and musical lives together. His visual artwork is on his albums covers as well as the insides. His comic book enhances the mysteries he explores in his music. I encourage you to pick up this new album and get lost in its vast landscape. 

Upcoming Women of Baltimore

I am so fortunate to live in such a vibrant city for music. I like to brag about our music scene to folks all over the country. We have many bands and artists who have signed to major or mid-major labels. Beach House, Wye Oak, Future Islands, Dan Deacon, J. RoddyWalston, and Lower Dens to name a few. We have lots of label reps and A and R people who come to Baltimore looking for new talent to sign. I have written about some of these bands named above in these pages. I have also done some previous posts about some upcoming Baltimore bands that you should know about in this blog. Today I am going to feature three women who are all amazing in their own style.

Sandy Robson goes by her stage name Letitia VanSant when she is performing. She does country flavored Americana with a voice that will melt you. She works with her talented band The Bonifides that produce sounds that warm the heart and heightens her lyrics. She has released one full length album, Breakfast Truce, which shows her true range and talent. She is in the process of putting her second release into the world and the songs I have heard, that will be on it, are very strong. She is a peace activist and a lot of her songs talk about the world and making it a better place. Her music also will look deeply and passionately into the lives of folks who struggle. Her songs show a wide range of emotions but are always delivered with her angelic voice. Enjoy "Brother Left the Mine"

Cara Kelly also has a powerful voice, one that is much different than Letitia's. Cara’s voice comes from the gut. It is bluesy, soulful, and powerful. The minute she sings, she gets your attention. Cara also has assembled a great backing band The Tell Tale Heart (what did you expect, we are from Baltimore). This group of talented musicians is strong in bringing out that guttural sound of Cara and they heighten the power and passion that moves their audience to the beat of their own drummer. Cara has released an EP titled The Unexpected in 2012 and is also working on her first full length album that should be out this year. Many of us in Baltimore are eagerly awaiting its release. Enjoy "Free"

Shelby Blondell is a real newcomer to the scene. I first heard this singer/songwriter with a twist opening for the Wild Feathers a few months ago. I tell people over and over that you need to see all the bands on a bill, for you never know when you might hear an opener blow you away. The minute Shelby started singing the audience went from drinking and talking to listening attentively. This does not happen often but Shelby commands the stage with her voice. It is sort of between Letitia and Cara vocally which is appealing. She is very young (20 years old) but has already opened for people like Howie Day and the Wild Feathers. Shelby is currently a student by day and musician by night. When not in school she focuses on her music which is what she wants to do. I feel she has the talent to do it. Shelby has released an EP Fly last year and is getting ready to record a full length sometime in the near future. Here is "Dancing in the Rain"

The three things that put these three women together is their talent, voices and songwriting ability. It is great to be in Baltimore and watch their growth.  I feel each of these artists has the passion and talent to do things outside of Baltimore. For now we are fortunate to have them playing here. If you enjoy them please visit their websites and purchase their music. 

Are You Listening- Kopecky Family Band

The Kopecky Family Band has what some in the merch business call “The Great Unknown Bounce”.  Let me explain what this means. First is that the band is great, and trust me this band easily meets that criteria. The “unknown” is that because they are a band that is getting popular, they are at a stage where they are opening for more well known bands. Probably more people are coming to see the headliners than the support acts. The “bounce” means that many times they are outselling the headliners at the merch table because they are so impressed by them. Many people may already have merch for the headliner and when you hear a band that is so good, you want the merch to remember and support them. Then you can say when they become a headliner that “you knew them when” and have the merch to prove it. I recently had the privilege of working the merch table and the Kopecky's outsold the headliner. I love it when people come to buy things at the table and you hear “Wow this band is so good, they are going to be huge.”

The Kopecky Family Band is not a family in the sense of being related by blood. They consider themselves a family because they work and tour together and have to support each other. They are based out of Nashville and met each other while in college at Belmont University in that city. Kelsey Kopecky and Gabe Simon formed the band back in 2007. The rest of the band consists of Steven Holmes, David Krohn, Markus Midkiff, and Corey Oxendine. They write what I would call Indie rock-folk and pop song mix. They have a sonic music palette. Not only are the songs catchy and stick in your head, but it is all done with intelligence both musically and lyrically. You will hear the standard bass, drums, and guitars but it will be interspersed with cello, lap steel, horns and keyboards. There are places in their live show (which is great!) where they switch instruments, but don’t lose the flow of building the show. To top it off they have killer male-female harmonies that will send goose bumps up your arm.

Between 2007-2010 they released two EP’s on their own and then a full length Kids Raising Kids. The record label ATO  signed the band in late 2012 and re-released the Kids album this past April. It has received a lot of great press from blogs, music magazines, and critics. Here is "Are You Listening" from Kids Raising Kids:   

This is a band I believe next year won’t need the Great Unknown Bounce because they will be the headliners and people will know who they are. To prove that this is a band on the upswing, the night before I worked the merch table for them, they made their major television debut on the Jay Leno show. But until they headline, please make sure you see them so that you can be the person who can say “ The Kopecky Family Band..oh yeah.. You’re just hearing about them.. Not to brag but, I knew them way back when.” 

A Rise From the Mountains-Birds and Arrows

I have written before and continue to say that when you go out and see live music, you need to make sure that you see all of the bands on the bill. A few years ago I went to a show and saw Birds and Arrows,  who have become one of my favorite bands. They were actually the first of four bands that night and truthfully I did not expect much from them. They walk out on stage with a guitar, drums, and a cello, and I had even less expectations from them. They launch into their first song and I was mesmerized by them. Richness, depth, clarity, and beautiful harmonies set a spell on me that continues until this day. I champion them to everyone I meet and talk about music. Now I want to introduce them to you. I will admit that I have become very good friends with them, so I am bias, but the beauty of this blog is that Larry and I are trying to introduce you to bands that we love to listen to and therefore are biased about. We don’t pretend that these are critical reviews of records or live shows. It is just bands we love.

Birds and Arrows formed in 2006 by the husband-wife team of Andrea and Pete Connolly. They still live in the Chapel Hill-Durham, North Carolina area, which is a hotbed for bands now like The Rosebuds, Love Language, and The Bowerbirds. Their name comes from a cross of wanting a good masculine-feminine sound and when Andrea had flying birds tattooed on her arms and Pete was making folk art arrow sculptures, the name made sense to the two of them. They produced two Birds and Arrows EP’s on their own. Then in 2009 Josh Starmer joined them with his cello and the group’s sound really took off. They released Starmaker through 307 Knox Records. This is when I saw them for the first time. I fell in love with their mountain and folk influenced sound, which made you feel like you are sitting on the porch of their house and listening. Andrea and Pete’s harmonies are so beautiful and lush and when combined with Josh’s cello, the depth of the music is stunning. They then released We’re Gonna Run in 2011. This year they just released their new album Coyotes, which is a huge step forward in their career. You can hear the inspiration of their rural school house-turned-cabin country home in the mountains outside of Durham. Please enjoy a song from Coyotes called Firefly. The video was done in one continuous shot, no cuts or edits.Very cool.

I also want to include a live video my favorite Birds and Arrows song Mountain Air:

The new album is fantastic.  It is produced by Chris Stamey of the dB’s and he has done a great job with it. It features other musicians from Ben Folds Five, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Mount Moriah (another N.C. band on the rise). However while these people help support Birds and Arrows, the songs and music stand on their own. I can feel the confidence in the new songs and I look forward to their continued growth. I have worked their merch table many times and I can also tell you that they are some of the nicest people I have ever met in the music business. They are kind, considerate, humble, and very down to earth as people. I really encourage you to visit their web site and purchase the new album. It will be worth it.

The Lumineers- A Band On The Rise

Let's go back 18 months ago to Denver, Colorado. We are in a small club with a few hundred people listening to The Lumineers. Fast forward to the summer of 2012 and they are now touring the country playing for thousands and selling out venues nightly. When I met them working their merch table, I posed to them the question about their year, and they said it has been somewhat surreal.  Their rise has been meteoric and they are enjoying and appreciating the ride. This is a band that has blown up in a very short period of time. They have taken it in stride and are enjoying the people they play for and have met.

The band consists of three people: Wesley who plays guitar and lead vocals, Jeremiah on drums, vocals and mandolin, and Neyla on cello, piano and vocals. Wesley and Jeremiah grew up together in New Jersey and started writing songs in 2002 with Jeremiah’s brother Josh. Josh died of an overdose and Wesley and Jeremiah moved to Denver after struggling to make ends meet as musicians in NYC. They met classically trained Neyla who added the final touches to this alternative folk-rock band.  The band refers to their music as “heart swelling stomp-and-clap acoustic rock”. They released an EP in 2011 and signed with Dualtone Records  which released their self titled album in April of this year. The record did incredibly well topping out at #17 on the best selling albums on the Billboard  charts. Their first single “Ho Hey” continues to do well on the charts as of this writing.

What makes a band have this rise so quickly? They are a band of creative and fantastic musicians. Their songwriting is intelligent and very catchy. What I found that sets them apart is their rapport with their audience. They make a large crowd feel like they are playing personally to each one of them. You can see and feel the joy they have playing their music for their fans. Their songs are almost arena anthems with catchy choruses that the audience always can sing, stomp, and clap to. This to me is the real charm of the Lumineers. I think you will see it in this live video of "Ho Hey". Feel free to sing along with the chorus.

For me it was a thrill to work their table and have the opportunity to meet them. They are down to earth people who have the “it” factor to write great songs and make the audience feel like they are on the front porch listening to this band. Everyone I have told about this band has loved the CD. Go out and get it now, for you will also love it.

Best of Baltimore-Part II

I am going to continue my series looking at the breadth of music and bands in Baltimore. Today I will focus on three different bands and styles. I want to reiterate and let you know that I do a lot of merch work for these people and consider them all friends, but as you will hear they are all excellent musicians first, for the purpose of this blog. I want to repeat that they are not all available in your local independent music store, but if you click on the highlighted name you will be led to their web sites, which will tell you how to purchase their music.

The first person I am going to focus on is ellen cherry (yes it is in lower case letters). ellen is another Baltimore based singer-songwriter who is also an amazing human being. I must tell you that I am in love with the sound of her voice. It is so pure and honest that I am inspired every time I get to listen to her. When you hear the clarity of her voice you know you are in the right place. ellen grew up in Texas and has been recording her own music since 1997.  She worked and did music until 2004 when she decided to pursue music full time. She hasn’t looked back since and we in Baltimore are very happy. She has her own recording studio and label; Wrong Size Shoes. I can tell you that she has a love for shoes and has bought me sneakers to show her appreciation for working her shows. I wear those gray Converse All Stars as my lucky merch table shoes every show I work. ellen has scored films, licensed her music to television shows, written a promotional song for a local news station, and been an artist-in –residence for local art organizations. She has recorded 5 albums of her own music. I love her album (New) Years which meshes her love of music and history. She took different historical events from different years and wrote songs about events. This is “2003: I Hope To Dream Of You Tonight”:          

The next band I want to introduce you to is Small Sur. It is hard to put a label on their style. I call it “slo-coustic”. All I can really tell you is that it is beautiful. The core of the band is Bob Keal who writes and sings the songs. The band plays in different forms but most include Andy Abelow on sax/banjo/keys and Austin Stahl on drums. They create dreamy and peaceful folk music that takes you along with it, in a meditative flow. I love experiencing the minimal sparse arrangements that let you reflect on the sound and takes you to a place that Bob wants you to experience. Bob grew up on a farm in South Dakota and lived for a time in California and you can hear the natural landscapes that influenced him in the music he creates. After college he came to Baltimore through an AmeriCorps assignment and has never left. We are a better city for this. Please relax , take a deep breath and enjoy this video.

The last band I am going to focus on today is the Americana roots-rockers June Star. They are led by Andrew Grimm who formed the band in 1998. He named it after a character in a Flannery O’Conner short story. This fits the band to a tee in that Andrew’s lyrics are very literate. He writes stories that could stand on their own, but thankfully puts them into his music. Stories about love, loneliness, struggle and triumph liter his music. He sings his songs with a drawl that emotionally fits the images of his lyrics. The band June Star has seen many people go through it in its existence.  Many players have passed through the band, learned from it, and moved on to form their own bands. June Star can play as a full 6 piece band or as a two piece with acoustic guitar and the extraordinary pedal steel of Dave Hanley. I enjoy all versions of June Star but for me personally the June Star of Andrew and Dave is my favorite. I feel this version brings out the true meaning of Andrew’s incredible lyrics. June Star has released eight albums as a band and Andrew has released other solo efforts. He is a prolific writer and observer. I love that he can go and play whatever the occasion calls for. He can open for rock bands coming through town or play a solo date at a house concert. The constant is you get his finely crafted songs that stick with you long after the show. Here is a video of "Undertow" from the newest album Slow Dance:

I hope this short series on Baltimore music has given you a good insight as to what is going on in our fine city. The past four bands I have chosen are only the tip of the music scene here. I have tried to show you different styles of music through these four bands. Trust me in that there are many more and from time to time I will share others with you.

Update: Two of my favorite bands that I have previously written about, have just released new albums. Jukebox the Ghost has just released another amazing album titled Safe Travels. They are traveling the country to support the album. I encourage you not only to pick up the album, but support them by seeing them live when they come to your area. Tell them Fletcher sent you. Also another of my favorites Langhorne Slim has also put out a fine new album titled The Way We Move. He is also touring this summer supporting the new disc. Two great bands that I hope you can support.

The Luscious Harmonies of Vandaveer

Have you ever heard such beautiful harmonies that you can’t move? I am talking about the harmonies that mesh together so well that they sound like one voice. They follow each other and know each other so well that they can anticipate where the other is going vocally. If you love this type of harmony you must become familiar with Vandaveer.

I had the absolute pleasure of working the merchandise table for them when they last came through Baltimore. I have been a fan of theirs since I first heard the song “Divide and Conquer” from the album of the same name. I was stunned by the harmonies and was worried that when I saw them live, it wouldn’t be the same. Was I ever wrong. I spent the entire show mesmerized by the power of these two voices. I had shivers of joy the entire evening. When I heard them I really felt powerless at points. Who would have thought that just two people and one guitar could be so commanding? They had the audience with them from the first note to the last.

Vandaveer is basically Mark Charles Heidinger and Rose Guerin. They do tour at times with a drummer/percussionist but it is usually the two of them. Mark writes the songs and they both sing their style of alternative folk music. Mark started out his music career playing bass in the band These United States. He put out a side project in 2007 under Vandaveer moniker called Grace & Speed. It did very well and got a lot of great press. He then brought in Rose and they recorded Divide and Conquer in 2009. This album got such great reviews that it convinced Mark to pursue Vandaveer full time. They just released in April Dig Down Deep which continues to highlight his great songwriting skills. Vandaveer is not just a vocal one trick pony. The song writing is excellent along with meaningful lyrics. Here is a live video recorded at WTMD of "Divide and Conquer":

If you love harmonies, I encourage you to get out and support this great band. You can click here for a free download on their site for the song "Woolgathering". Make sure you see them live if you get the chance. You will also be mesmerized.

UPDATE: As we have done before, we will from time to time update you on bands we have already written posts on. My co-blogger Larry wrote a blog a while ago on the band Death Cab for Cutie. They have just released a fine new album titled Codes and Keys. The reviews have been excellent and if you like them you should pick up this new album.