PLUS, We are pleased to co-present the Carpark / Paw Tracks label showcase - full details below
We’re pleased to announce the final line-up for our official 2008 CMJ Showcase, and we’re equally excited to be a part of the Carpark / Paw Tracks showcase - the two best nights at CMJ this year, hands down! Our show had a slight line-up change since we last reported to you about it, the Canadian band Duchess Says had to cancel their entire CMJ trip due to an injury and we added Faunts to the bill in their place (also Canadian!). We are also now able to let you know that Tobacco (of Black Moth Super Rainbow) will be closing out our show, we had previously listed him only as “Special Guest.” The Carpark / Paw Tracks show features the ONLY CMJ appearance from Baltimore’s Beach House as well as the first CMJ appearance from Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele, the label’s latest signing and an early pick for album of the year, 2009. Here’s to the future!
FORCE FIELD PR 2008 OFFICIAL CMJ SHOWCASE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23RD AT PIANOS
158 LUDLOW ST. / LOWER EAST SIDE pianosnyc.com
8PM - 2AM
$12 AT THE DOOR / LIMITED CMJ BADGES
DOWNSTAIRS / MAIN STAGE:
08PM - FAUNTS
09PM - BELL
10PM - AU
11PM - CAUSE CO-MOTION!
12AM - CRYSTAL STILTS
01AM - TOBACCO
DJ DUCKCOMB SPINNING ALL NIGHT IN BETWEEN BANDS
PIANOS UPSTAIRS:
08:30PM - THE PHYSICS OF MEANING
09:30PM - DONOVAN QUINN & THE 13TH MONTH
10:30PM - FIGHT BITE
11:30PM - PWRFL POWER
12:30AM - THE PITY PARTY
01:30AM - STARS LIKE FLEAS
DJ ALEXIS GEORGOPOULOS SPINNING ALL NIGHT IN BETWEEN BANDS
***
CARPARK / PAW TRACKS / FORCE FIELD PR OFFICIAL CMJ SHOWCASE
WEDS. OCTOBER 22ND AT LE POISSON ROUGE
158 BLEECKER STREET / WEST VILLAGE lepoissonrouge.com
7PM - 2AM
$10 / LIMITED CMJ BADGES
MAIN STAGE:
07:00PM - WZT HEARTS
08:00PM - RINGS
09:30PM - EXCEPTER
10:00PM - DENT MAY & HIS MAGNIFICENT UKULELE
12:30AM - BEACH HOUSE
Blackout Beach is the solo nom de guerre of Carey Mercer (from Frog Eyes and Swan Lake), and Skin of Evil is his second full-length. Skin of Evil is remarkable in the sense that a. it contains a story, and b. it sticks to the story; a rare occurrence in these free times. “Donna” is the subject, and each of her lovers (past & present) say their peace in song (Donna gets her song, too). Composed, played and recorded entirely by Mercer alone, these songs revel in the dark side of the heady proto-punk Cleveland axis (e.g. Peter Laughner, David Thomas) with a minimal, textural & almost Suicide-ish sense of pop form and the experimental nature of recent Scott Walker works.
Some thoughts / notes on Skin of Evil by Dan Bejar:
- I believe Skin of Evil is the best record I will hear this year, but let’s not get into that.
- A frame of reference for something like this might be:
Goofy American babbler (Jerry Lee Lewis/Dennis Quaid) meets the highest, the most harrowing of modernist Euro nightmare (The Drift ) — By this I guess I mean that there can be no frame of reference, for these two things have never met before, and external forces work hard to make sure they never do, but somehow the sonic space created for this set of singing happened, and feels familiar, doesn’t give me the willies. Maybe it’s ’cause Scott Walker has never hinted at expressing an interest in the traditions of rocknroll guitar (neither does Carey but it can really sound like he must when he plays)
-And unlike J.L.L./Quaid , Carey is not a pervert/showman
- I’ll make no bones, I enjoy the sound of people singing like this. I even like the sound of people talking like this. I also think that this is the best record Carey’s been involved with.
- Note: how good it sounds when Carolyn/Megan chimes in!
-Maybe it’s about a girl, about salvation’s undoing through romantic love, wreckage of this kind — No matter, the important thing is that this is the first time I’ve REALLY heard theatrics AND atmospherics in a record, and so much of both, cept maybe for Roxy Music’s Avalon, which this record reminds me a lot of, if only for how incredibly well you can hear every last thing, which is good, cause every last thing sounds so cool!!
-And though Bryan Ferry’s version of control and release are slightly different than Carey’s, it’s really more just different lyrical concerns, which we’ll here call “worldview”.
- One last thing about theatrics and atmospherics: they are at war (did I already say that?). Theatrics (individual) vs. Atmospherics (the universe) seems pretty straightforward to me as a life model — I keep thinking about this listening to Skin Of Evil, though I’m not sure if this is what the record’s about.
-Also, being fucked over constantly to the point of almost death and then maybe death, by higher powers, like Gods, the jailer (or whoever holds the keys), your local PTA, etc. also: the possibility that you have a small hand in it, this, your doom, a ditch in the rain you don’t just somehow fall into (see, ‘Salad..)
Blackout Beach Skin of Evil
(Soft Abuse)
Street date: Dec. 02, 2008
01. Cloud of Evil
02. Biloxi, In a Grove, Cleans Out His Eyes
03. William, the Crowd, It’s William
04. The Roman
05. Woe to the Minds of Soft Men
06. The Whistle
07. Nineteen, One God, One Dull Star
08. Three Men Drown in the River
09. Sophia, Donna, I Was Down the River Waiting
10. Astoria, Menthol Lite, Hilltop, Wave of Evil, 1982
For all of Peter Pan’s fantastical, magical skills (flight, expert swordsmanship, voice mimicry, flute proficiency) the one power above all others that captures the imagination of children is his ability to never grow up. Gone is the foreboding future of jobs, bills, and responsibility. All that remains is playing, singing, dancing, and a magical land where you have friends with names like Nibs and Tootles.
For Bobby Driscoll, the child star who portrayed Peter Pan in the 1953 Disney feature, the reality of growing old in a world without Neverland hit hard. Once Disney’s golden boy of cinema, Driscoll was fired from Disney after the making of Peter Pan for the unforgivable crime of hitting puberty and developing a bad case of acne. No longer cute and profitable, he struggled to find work and fell into a life-long battle with drugs until ultimately dying homeless and broke in a Manhattan tenement in 1968 at the age of 31. With police unable to identify his body, the one-time Academy Award winner ended up in an unmarked mass grave on New York’s Hart Island.
Come Back To The Five And Dime, Bobby Dee Bobby Dee, the second full-length album from D.C. musician Benjy Ferree, gives Bobby Driscoll a recognition that is long overdue: a musical eulogy to a forgotten child star who was chewed up and spit out by the unforgiving Hollywood meat market. Driscoll was a natural subject for Ferree as Peter Pan wasn’t just an entertaining fictional character during Ferree’s youth - he was an obsession. As a child, Ferree spent countless hours imitating the mischievous, magical child adventurer. His eventual discovery of Driscoll’s sad fate led to this album - an ode not just to his childhood hero, but to anyone who’s gotten the short end of the stick in life - with Driscoll renewing his role as the leader of life’s ignored Lost Boys.
Musically, Ferree lets his distinctive blend of rock and roll and Americana cross new borders and genres, even as he maintains a firm base in the roots of American music. Drawing as much from the country meandering of Jimmie Rodgers and the passionate blues pounding of Son House as he does from the vocal hysterics of Freddie Mercury and the balladry of Nick Cave, Ferree crafts a sound that is difficult to fit into any one category, but upon listening is as gratifying as it is unique. Produced by Ferree himself, engineered by Mark Nevers, and mixed by Brendan Canty, Come Back To The Five And Dime, Bobby Dee Bobby Dee displays Ferree’s evolution as not only a masterful songwriter and arranger, but more importantly, as one of today’s most intriguing and imaginative voices.
“Fear” - the album’s first single - showcases how Ferree’s sharp, melodic tenor can hold together a great song. Synthesizers, pianos, and background vocals drop in and out throughout, springing up to complement his crooning when necessary, but knowing when to let his voice take its appropriate spot on center stage. The result is a sweeping, harmonious ballad that showcases the leap Ferree’s music has taken, while still staying true to its roots. “Come To Me, Coming To Me” and “Blown Out (Gold Doubloons And Pieces Of 8 )” prove that Ferree can rock when he wants to, channeling Marc Bolan better than other artists that actually try to, and “When You’re 16″ allows him to tap into the traditional country music vein of Loretta Lynn and Johnny Cash that remains one of his greatest influences.
The spirit of Bobby Driscoll seeps its way into each song of the album. References to his fame, film work and ultimate demise are littered throughout, but it’s up to the listener to discover Driscoll’s influence for themselves. “Heavy weighs the burden of Brother Dee,” Ferree sings on the album’s opening track, “Tired Of Being Good,” a pulsating, infectious tune that incorporates elements of roots music, classic rock and roll, and even samba. Bobby Driscoll may not be alive, but people who are getting a shit hand dealt to them by life certainly still are, carrying their burdens in an indifferent and unforgiving world. Maybe they can take some comfort in knowing that such a strong, talented, and original artist has produced an irresistibly exceptional album that takes up their cause, finally giving them their long-past due.
10/20 Washington DC Black Cat
11/21 Norfolk, VA The Boot
11/22 Charlottesville, VA Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar
11/23 Philadelphia, PA M Room
Benjy Ferree Come Back To The Five and Dime, Bobby Dee Bobby Dee
(Domino)
Street date: Feb. 03, 2009
1. TIRED OF BEING GOOD
2. FEAR
3. BIG BUSINESS
4. WHAT WOULD PECOS DO?
5. BLOWN OUT (GOLD DOUBLOONS AND PCS OF 8 )
6. THE GRIPS
7. IRIS FLOWERS
8. I GET NO LOVE
9. COME TO ME, COMING TO ME
10. WHIRLPOOL OF LOVE
11. PISSTOPHER CHRISTOPHER
12. WHEN YOU’RE 16
13. GREAT SCOTT!
14. ZIPPERFACE BLUES
Max Tundra, real name Ben Jacobs, is an English multi-instrumental musician, singer and music producer. He has released two well-received albums for Domino Records: Some Best Friend You Turned Out To Be (2000) and Mastered By Guy At The Exchange (2002). He has completed his third album, Parallax Error Beheads You, and it is scheduled for a Nov. 18, 2008 release in the US (out Oct. 13 in the UK). Starting on Oct. 20, Mr. Tundra is offering up a limited edition run of 250 cans of Kosher Chicken Soup, from his own recipe which can be purchased through the Domino website - with the purchase of the soup, comes a free download code for his new album, Parallax Error Beheads You, as well as Best Friends, a covers album where Tundra’s friends provide their own takes on tracks from his first record.
About Max Tundra by Owen Pallett
(Final Fantasy, ex-Arcade Fire, Last Shadow Puppets arranger)
Max and I met in Barcelona in 2005 at Primavera Sound. His slot was at 4am. He put on a mask, wrapped himself up in tape, and played forty minutes of music made mostly using Amiga sample tracker software from the late 1980s. There was virtuosic melodica playing, Pointer Sisters-style singing, and an eight-minute version of “So Long, Farewell” from The Sound Of Music. I was wasted and ended up passing out on a beach in my underwear. When the sun rose, I woke up with dried merengue and sand glued to my hair, and in a daze, I realized that I had just witnessed nothing less than the best music performance of my life.
What sets Max Tundra apart from any other band in the world is his attention to detail. This album is impossibly full of ideas, seeking out every imaginable sound in the world and giving each their own curtain call. When you listen to this album, you’d think that it was made by an eccentric millionaire, with every name-brand pop music producer in the world contributing their own two seconds of material. Upon closer inspection, you’d realize that it’s been six years since Mastered By Guy At The Exchange, in that time, Max probably hasn’t had a single good night’s sleep.
I can’t compare this record to any record I’ve ever heard before. Even Max’s previous records are a distant echo. It is dance music, it is discourse, it is teen sex comedy, it is a video game, it is a dance troupe, it is a thirteen course meal with Amontillado. It is shock and awe. Listen and be humbled.
About the Commodore Amiga 500 by Max Tundra
There are no modern-day computers on this record. My PC is strictly for emails and Photoshopping the words Max Tundra into Coldplay line-ups. The main technology behind this and all of my albums has been the Commodore Amiga 500 - bestselling home computer at the time - running a $1 public domain software tracker program. The sounds don’t emerge from the Amiga itself however; the machine is used to control various synths, samplers and the like. I look at colums of numbers all day on the screen of a black and white television; these digits relate to pitches, durations and tones. A lot of the noises on my record are real; the cello, bass guitar, drums, piano, trumpet and others are all rehearsed and played by me, but sometimes I will use realistic fake versions of these noises. Each song is recorded in a different way; drumkits are recorded on mono cassette recorders twice, then stuck together on the left and right of a mix; string arrangements are planned and then layered up; each note of an electric guitar is sampled so that it can be sequenced in ways too complicated for my fat fingers to play at full speed. And then I have a cup of tea and sing my heart out.
MAX TUNDRA UK TOUR DATES
10-15 Paris, France - Elysée Montmartre *
10-17 Copenhagen, Denmark - Loppen
10-19 Berlin, Germany - Lido *
10-23 Southampton, England - Guildhall ^
10-24 Cardiff, Wales - University ^
10-25 Liverpool, England - Academy ^
10-26 Leeds, England - Academy ^
10-28 Sheffield, England - Academy ^
10-29 Birmingham, England - Academy ^
10-30 Cambridge, England - Corn Exchange ^
11-01 Manchester, England - Apollo ^
11-02 Glasgow, Scotland - Academy ^
11-03 Leicester, England - De Montford University ^
11-05 Brighton, England - Dome ^
11-06 London, England - Brixton Academy ^#
11-07 London, England - Brixton Academy ^#
* with Of Montreal
^ with Hot Chip
# with Wiley
Max Tundra Parallax Error Beheads You
(Domino)
U.S. Street Date: Nov. 18, 2008
1. Gum Chimes
2. Will Get Fooled Again
3. Which Song
4. My Night Out
5. Orphaned
6. Nord Lead Three
7. The Entertainment
8. Number Our Days
9. Glycaemic Index Blues
10. Until We Die
Best Friends:
01 Kavus Torabi: “Here Comes the Musket Records” (”Cakes”)
02 Richard Larcombe: “The Singing Doctor” (”Lamplight on a One Horse Shoe”)
03 Sarah Measures: “Genclik Bandido” (”Ah, There’s Deek Now - Let’s Ask Him”)
04 Toirse O’Riordain: “Clip Around the Ear” (”Lausanne”)
05 Jenny Darwin: “Ken Ududis” (”Tuli, A Plain Ride From Canvas”)
06 Dan Chudley: “Yarilo Kupala” (”Bill Sholem Quintette”)
07 Scott Pearsall: “Joust” (”Ink Me”)
08 James Larcombe: “Oakeshott” (”The Balaton”)
09 Bobak Torabi: “Rawat Corner” (Subsi Kuku”)
10 Laurie Osborne: “Sick Swan, Sick Swan” (”6161″)
11 Matthew Carroll: “Bruno Brookes” (”Carbon Cones”)
PLUS, We are pleased to co-present the Carpark / Paw Tracks label showcase - full details below
Blackout Beach
Benjy Ferree
Max Tundra