Jesse Malin- Outsider?

One of the great things about working merch for bands is the people that you meet. I have had the privilege of working with the best rock band on the planet-Marah- the past year or so. I have been able to travel around the east coast with them. This has let me meet many more people outside of Baltimore as well as see some great venues and hear some amazing bands. Marah opened for Jesse Malin at the legendary The Stone Pony in Asbury Park N.J. this summer. Not only did I get a chance to see this historic venue that Bruce Springsteen came out of, but I finally got to see and hear Jesse Malin. What a treat.

Jesse was born in Queens, N.Y. and fronted his first band Heart Attack at the age of 12. In 1991 he formed DGeneration which was a cross between glam rock and punk music. They put out three albums before disbanding in 1999. Even though he was known as a punk rocker, he wrote poetic lyrics and was looking for a new direction to take with his music. He teamed up with Ryan Adams, who had been a huge fan of D Generation, and produced Jesse’s first album The Fine Art of Self Destruction which was released in 2003. He has recorded six other albums since then. He has toured internationally many times and is a big draw in England. He has a following from artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, and Green Day.

The uniqueness of Jesse's work is his ability to combine his poetic lyrics with his pure rock and roll attitude. He has things to say. His newest album released this year is New York Before the War. The album focuses on how gentrification has changed the city. Corporations are building huge skyscrapers and to do this are buying up cheaper land and putting people out of their homes. He talks about how NYC has changed since his early days of punk rock and the change isn’t always good. Enjoy “Addicted” from his new album:

“Now they are closing down the bookstore and putting up a condo”. As you can see Jesse has something to say not only about the city he loves, but many American cities. He is a part owner in the Bowery Electric club in NYC. Jesse is trying to keep the spirit of independent music alive with his club. I have been there with Marah. I can vouch for Jesse’s live shows. A lot of energy from a very talented band. Jesse is a very down to earth person. He is kind, courteous and thoughtful. I got to help him when he came to Baltimore and he gave me an advance copy of his new album Outsiders due out in the Fall. Another killer album from this talented musician!!!!

Snarky? Bring It On!

How have I missed this group?  Snarky Puppy, a once Denton Texas based, and now Brooklyn NY based collective jam band of roughly 40 outstanding musicians has been putting out amazing music since 2004.  If you enjoy funk, jazz, a solid groove, and the sound of true joy, their sound is for you.  They are led by the amazing bassist, producer and composer, Michael League.

Their first album, "The Only Constant" was released in 2006 on Sitmom records, while many of the band members were still attending North Texas University.  Between 2006 and 2015 seven more recordings were released.  2014 was the band's breakthrough year.  They received their first Grammy nomination and won their first  Grammy for "Best R&B" performance for Something.  JazzTimes named them “Best New Artist” and “Best Electric/Jazz-Rock/Contemporary Group/Artist” in their 2014 Reader’s Poll.

Snarky Puppy is a group of musicians enthusiastically committed to music education and community outreach. Working with groups like ROAM (Roots Of American Music) in inner city Cleveland and the Music Lab at Jefferson Center in Roanoke, as well as giving clinics at hundreds of colleges, high schools, and middle schools worldwide, the band has made a strong commitment to spreading their love of music and positive outlook to a young generation looking for something real to be inspired by.

This year they released, "Sylva" their first recording on a major label, Impulse!.  On this record the band shares the stage, literally as this is a live album, with the Netherlands based Metropole Orkest. This collaboration is not to be missed.  Check out this video of a complete concert featuring Snarky Puppy with Metropole Orkest.

 I love the mosaic of diverse musical styles and sounds brought about by these artists.  While they have 9 recordings to their credit they are still filled with creative ideas.  We can look forward to many years of hearing what these extremely talented Snarky Puppies come up with.
  

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. 

Three Friends

While Fletcher and I loving sharing new artists with you, we also enjoy catching up with artists we have written about in the past.  Today I am going to write about 3 previous bands who have put out some amazing new albums in the past few months that I can't stop listening to.

Alabama Shakes first appeared in our Best of 2012 post.  Fletcher selected "Hold On" as one of the best songs of the year while I selected Boys and Girls as one of the best albums of the year. Since 2012 AS has toured the world, grown in popularity and worked on their sophomore album, Sound and Color. Their new album moves in some surprising directions, preventing the band from becoming locked stylistically into the retro sounds of their first album, and establishes the band as one that continues to grow musically and takes risks.  They have not let their sound become boxed-in by their success. Whereas Boys and Girls was clearly influenced by creative classic southern R&B sounds, Sound and Color's musical influences are much greater.  In addition to the classic R&B sounds that defined the sound of Boys and Girls, one can hear the band playing homage to some of the music that they grew up with.  Listing to Sound and Color I hear echos of several psychedelic bands, Led Zeppelin, and others.  Those influences, blended with the sounds that defined AS's debut album, along with the growth of the band's music makes Sound and Color work so well.

Fletcher and I have been fans of The Damnwells for over a decade.  We first saw them perform live at one of WTMD's first ever First Thursdays in the Park concerts when the band was touring for their debut album, Bastards of the Beat. Over the years, the band, fronted by songwriter, singer, and guitarist Alex Dezen, has gone through several personal changes.  One of the many joys of their new album, The Damnwells, is that the original band is back.  The new album used crowd-sourcing by fans via Pledgemusic as a funding mechanism.

The Damnwells first four albums have featured terrific songwriting by Dezen, whose songs are often based on his personal experiences.  This album continues that tradition.  Dezen, who turned 37 in June, composed songs about growing up for this record, and growing up is not always pleasant. While the album's songs are performed by musicians who have recently reunited, many of the stories on this record are about breaking up. For example, Dezen recently divorced as that life experience is shared in this music. While breaking up is never pleasant, listening to this record is. The Damnwells are a great band, one that deserves far more attention than it receives.

The Lone Bellow: Fletcher's May 31, 2013 post turned me onto this terrific band. While I enjoyed their first album, I'm totally blown away by the melodies, harmony, and musicianship of their sophomore offering, Then Came the Morning.  I play this album, in its entirety frequently. Each time I listen to it I find myself feeling refreshed, having a positive outlook, and feeling a profound sense of joy.

So there you have it.  I encourage you to check out all three of these records.  They will add to your enjoyment of your summer.  In a few short week's Jason Isbell's new album 24 Frames will be coming out.  This is turning to be a great year for music.  

Parquet Courts/Parkay Quarts-Stand Up/Stand Out

A few weeks ago I was in my favorite record store in the country, Twist and Shout (Denver), looking for some music I really wanted. I love this store because of its expansive selection of CD’s, vinyl, and even DVD’s. I was checking my list I had made of music I wanted to purchase. I knew I was going to have to make a difficult decision when it came to the band Parquet Courts. They had released not one, but two acclaimed albums in 2014 and I was going to have to decide on just one. I knew it was going to be a tough decision. Twist and Shout must have also have also known this, because in front of me I saw that they had packaged both albums together for a great price. What a relief that was and I am glad I did not have to make the tough decision on which one to buy.

Parquet Courts is an indie post punk psychedelic band out of Brooklyn. Their music is layered with screaming guitars reminding me of Television and Sonic Youth. The band is fronted by Andrew Savage and Austin Brown. They formed in 2010 and released their first music on a cassette tape in 2011. They released their first full length album in 2012 called Light Up Gold. My blog partner Larry picked a song from that album as one of his top songs of that year. Way to go Larry!! The album created a lot of buzz and was released to wider distribution on the What’s Your Rupture label out of NYC. They toured relentlessly behind it and because their live show is so good, it created a larger fan base. After the tour they went back and recorded and released Sunbathing Animal in 2014. They were not finished for 2014 because they surprisingly then dropped Content Nausea a few months later as Parkay Quarts. Very clever because it was basically Andrew and Austin who recorded most of it as a sort of side project that caught on. It is a bit more experimental than the straight forward rock of Sunbathing Animal.

It is a pretty impressive thing that a band can release two albums in one year that are both strong and different. They perform songs from both albums when they tour. These guys have a bright future ahead of them as they move forward. Please enjoy “Bodies Made Of” from Sunbathing Animal:

I am so glad that I did not have to make a decision on which album to purchase. They are both fantastic. There is a thread through both but each one is musically diverse and unique in its own way. So run to Twist and Shout and buy the package deal. If you can’t get to Denver then just go to your local independent record store and buy both.

UPDATE: I wanted to let you know of two albums that have come out  from bands we have written about before. The first is the Damnwells self titled album is out and it is fantastic.  It is the first album by the original members in many years. It is both lyrically and musically amazing. Courtney Barnett has just released a follow up to her acclaimed first album. It is titled Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit. It again shows her clever wordplay lyrically. Both are amazing albums and in my opinion both are must haves. Run to your local music store and purchase both. you won't regret it.