Camp Revival

On Tuesday June 23rd Dirty Projectors‘ tour van was part of a semi-truck accident that left the band’s van on its side (seen above). The band talks about the encounter on their myspace page:

“After stopping at a fruit stand at about 3pm today, we got back on the highway headed towards Toronto. At about 3:15, on the other side of the highway, a semi-truck moved into the left lane, not seeing the car that was there, and sent the car flying out of control over the meridian and right at us. The car hit us in the back and sent us flying onto our side, at which point we slid quite a ways down the road. Everyone was wearing a seatbelt except for Dave and Brian, but they and all of the rest of us luckily came out fine! the other car was also remarkably ok!

The whole thing was quite surreal; there were hugs and tears when we climbed out of the van. We all feel very fortunate right now to be walking around. Sorry about the canceled shows in Toronto and Montreal! We were really looking forward to coming up there again, but we will make it up to you as soon as possible!”

Surreal indeed. I’m glad everyone is ok. Stay safe out there and wear your seat-belts!

Renminbi, coming out of Brooklyn, is about to release their Surface EP on July 7 and they want you to know about it. How do you know they are better than most of the riff-raff in Brooklyn? Check out their live video below and go see them when they play in a town near you.

You can pick up their song “Portland” and a download code for the EP (when it is released) at Cash Music. Take a listen here first or check out their MySpace

Portland

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“Siren” at Le Voyeur (Olympia, WA) – July ‘08

Jib Kidder has a new video. If you are an IT professional, this song may give you nightmares.

There is no way to avoid it. Mother Falcon were “Orch Dorks”* when they met at Westlake High School in Austin, TX. I can picture it now: Shaky after school hang outs quickly deteriorating into quartet practice, reminiscing on the Suzuki method that raised them or  wiping rosin on each other’s black concert dress before a recital.

Some may interpret the term: “Orch Dork” as derogatory, but Mother Falcon should wear it as a badge of honor. Listeners of Mother Falcon can now appreciate the tedious years of practice and focus that this 12 piece pour into their music. The part of Mother Falcon’s sound that excites me the most is that their string section is dominated by cellos. The cello has such a deep full bodied sound, it’s powerful to hear so many of them as an ensemble. Floating perfectly on top of the strings are Nick Gregg’s vocals. His voice serves as the perfect compliment to Mother Falcon’s sound. The band’s myspace advertises that they have an EP coming out soon. Pay close attention to Mother Falcon. The demos that have been created so far are giving me great hope for their upcoming EP.

* I use the phrase “Orch Dork” as a term of endearment. I definitely was on the “Orch Dork” roster from elementary school well through college.

Tokyo Rose

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To Mama

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Dancing Shoes

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Sometimes it’s just hard to stay away from the Morbid Anal Fog.

We return to the band that brought you that stellar video, titled Untitled, for more heavy rocking blasphemy. Nokturnal Bacon Throne is the name of the jam, featuring a kidnapped poodle, a playground, and a slightly NSFW black metal version of Vanna White who alternates salacious glances with the feeding of the frontman with tons of bacon. Which, actually, goes with the self harm themes of the earlier videos. But this time, instead of hanging yourself from a tree, you’re clogging those poor arteries with fatty foods. Not as metal in process, but the outcome is the same. Check it out for yourself.

Seattle International Film Festival started a couple weeks back in May. With over 260 films showing throughout the festival I’ve only been able to digest the projects that have had their producers / promoters reach out to me. I’ll go over a couple of these projects in detail.

The first project of note happens this Friday (6/12/09). Do you all remember the 1988 film: The Bear from director Jean-Jacques Annaud? If not here is a refresher:

The band No Age will be performing an original, never before heard, live score to the film at the Triple Door. There are two showings. An all ages showing at 7pm and a 21+ showing at 9:30pm. Tickets are $20 in advance or $22 at the door. A steep price, but this should prove to be an incredible performance. The footage alone is incredible, but adding No Age’s genius into the mix will make this a unique event that you will not want to miss. I’d say Camp Revival will be there, but our pockets have been getting a little thin lately. Press passes?

The next film that peaked my interest, which has already come and gone , is the film: All Tomorrow’s Parties. This film was directed by All Tomorrow’s People and Jonathan Caouette. The film covers the English festival All Tomorrow’s Parties, which has now been going on for a full decade. The film features interviews from: Nick Cave, Animal Collective, Portishead and Grizzley Bear. After watching the preview I am very intrigued, it gave me Kubrick flash backs.

The final film that I would like to mention is not part of SIFF at all, this film is all STIFF. The film is called The Graduates and it shows at 7:20pm tomorrow at the Northwest Film Forum, which I love. The staff sent me the DVD for this film. I gave it a viewing this evening; not bad. It is a High School film about graduation and the wild parties / life transitions that ensue following it. To be honest this is a genre that is a little lost on me (I can barely remember High School), but the film did prove to have some genuinely funny and dramatic moments. The soundtrack features some decent tunes and the crew is giving away the first 1 million soundtracks for free. Check it out and download here.

Philoscopic is Garrett Vance. Garrett lives in Seattle, WA. Garrett makes beautiful music. Through his melancholic melodies and inspired key changes Garrett has created a sound that immediately tugs at the listener’s emotions. Perhaps the most exciting part of Philoscopic’s sound is the freedom in his music. Traditional A-B-A format has been abandoned for fuller unbridled arrangements; I love that. Keep your ear’s turned to Garrett and his side projects as his ability for arrangement will continue to deliver incredible music.

Tomorrow Began Tomorrow

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Ghosts on the Wall

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Telephone

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