Songwriters keep on playing, despite being ’scary broke’
Ghosts in the Woods
This is another installment of the Small Name, Big Talent series. Recommend songwriters for this series through e-mail, click here.
Comprised of Clayton Carden and Scott Jenkinsan, Ghosts in the Woods is an acoustic duo based out of Kingsport, Tenn. Using multi-layer vocal tracks, dancing guitars and everyday objects such as spoons and decks of cards, they create a lush, folky atmosphere.
In a world with bands like Animal Collective forgoing song writing for ambiance, emotion and movement, Ghosts in the Woods manage to pull out all of the stops, combining soulful harmonies with strong, story-telling lyrics.
With their self-released DVD/CD coming out, an interview with the duo was in order.
Shock and Yawn’s Justin Plemmons: So, let’s get the generic questions out of the way: What are your influences?
Scott: I grew up with some kinda traditional stuff, like country and blue grass. But we sort of split in adolescence– I started listening to punk music and stuff like that, (as well as) the beginnings of indie rock, like Jaw Breaker and that kind of stuff. It still kind of has the song writing appeal that country music has, you know, heartbreak and loneliness, but has a different sound.
Clayton: My dad was a dead head, so I got into Jam bands.
S:I’m a big fan, and so is Clayton, of Ryan Adams.
[Continue reading about Ghosts in the Woods, hear the band]
Reatard hitting US after routing thru Europe with Pixies
Jay Reatard
Memphis garage rocker Jay Reatard is out on tour with what he considers to be the best touring group he has ever had.
“I’m driving to Chicago right now with Jacob and Anders,” Reatard said in an e-mail blast. “(And) after a month on the road in Europe with the new band, I can easily say this is best band I’ve ever had.”
Reatard is on tour all over the U.S. right now, and he just got back from Europe. Video of him shredding upon London and Dublin is available here.
Reatard was on tour with the famous Pixies, and meets back up with them on Tuesday in New York City. Come December, he’ll back rolling through the South again and spreading his lo-fi, raw punk rock to all who will listen. His tour includes some of the biggest names in the South.
Also, Reatard will be releasing the newest 7″ on his label, “Shattered Records” available for stream or purchase on his Web site. You can buy the vinyl from Goner now here. Reatard’s members of the Shattered Club will have it e-mailed to them, but that is a $75.00 membership plan.
[Tour info below]
KY’s Jim James and Daniel Martin Moore sing out about mountain top removal
Jim James and Daniel Martin Moore are singing out against mountain top removal. Photo by Brad Luttrell | SaY
Just utter the word “coal,” and emotions flare, hotter and higher than the flames the black rock generates when burned for energy.
The supporters of coal mining fight back against the environmentalists, saying coal provides jobs and useful flat land in the impoverished Eastern Kentucky, while the anti-coal activists say the technology is readily available for a switch to green energy, and that we are destroying our environment.
Two Kentucky songwriters are coming together to help make their voices heard. Jim James, or Yim Yames as he is calling himself outside of his best-known band, My Morning Jacket, and Sub Pop’s pop-folk artist Daniel Martin Moore will be performing a show in support of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth’s effort to stop mountain top removal.
[Get tickets, directions, click more]
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The Seedy Seeds’ eclectic nature makes great pop
The Seedy Seeds. Photo by Brian Niesz | WOXY
Today is Friday the 13th, so you’re looking for something screwed up and out of the ordinary to do. How about seeing a show that combines accordions, electronica, acoustic guitars, synths and banjo?
Yeah, sounds pretty scary, but it’s the sound Cincinnati’s The Seedy Seeds professionalize in producing.
“Folktronica” is the buzz word a Seedy Seeds promo e-mail loosely used to describe the group. Even then, that might be too tightly fastened. Oh, and they’re not just another Mates of States knock-off. This is sincere, eclectic pop music that expands the genre’s boundaries and tools required.
[MP3, tour info, click more]
Harper Simon sprouting from family tree’s shadows
Harper Simon is playing Natasha's Bistro this Friday.
Harper Simon does have a sober sound, comfortable within itself, just like his father’s music does.
Oh, you know his father. Paul. Right? Paul Simon, as in Simon and Garfunkel. But Harper Simon’s music honors its family tree while sprouting away from its shadow. He has found his place in folk-pop, and it doesn’t need the preface of his father’s work.
Starting Friday the 13th, Harper Simon is touring South. He’ll be playing in Lexington, then heading to Louisville, Nashville, Memphis and Bloomington.
Natasha’s Bistro has become one of the biggest little advocates of local and good music in Lexington, Ky. That reputation gets is solidified with the booking of Harper Simon.
[Click to see tour details]
CONTEST: Free tix to Evangelicals/Holiday Shores in Louisville
SaY is giving away tickets to see the Evangelicals and Holiday Shores in Louisville.
The Evangelicals and Holiday Shores have booked a last minute stop in Louisville on Friday the 13th, and SaY is giving away a pair of tickets to the show for free, courtesy of Crash Avenue Publicity.
Since the show is last minute, the contest is also last minute. This will be quick – leave your full name and e-mail below. I will randomly select the winner on Wednesday at noon Eastern time.
This should be an awesome high energy, psychedelic rock show. The Evangelicals are getting a lot of attention right now. Go see this show, everybody is doing it.
[Show info, enter contest, MPfree, click more]
John Cowan Band tour planting “newgrass” seeds
The John Cowan Band is not bluegrass, it's new grass.
A lot of people and bands say they don’t fit into a genre. When you are only reading words, and not hearing music, it makes a band sound more majestic and interesting to read a frontman say, “it’s hard to say where we fit in.”
John Cowan’s generic news release says that, but it is right. With over 40 years of experience in the Southern music scene under his belt, he seamlessly flows from one genre to another. It’s not that he fits to one single genre or can’t fit to one, it’s that he fits to all of them.
Country. Bluegrass. Progressive bluegrass, or “newgrass” to Cowan. Even a little Southern rock n’ roll. Cowan and his band can do it all.
Cowan has been doing it well since the 1970s, when making a name for himself in the Louisville, KY. music scene. He was the lead singer for New Grass Revival, with band mates Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, and Pat Flynn introduced a new generation of music fans to an explosive, experimental brand of bluegrass. That band played together for nearly two decades, all according to a news release.
[Tour info, listen to Cowan after the break]
SaY going community, needs music lovin’ writers
What city are you in? Chances are, SaY could use more info on it.
I explained a while back that I wanted to change SaY up, and quit posting on all news nationwide and focus on what’s really unique about each area of the South.
That said, it’s really tough to focus on each great music city, because I’m only one person. But I have been getting some great help from Tim Robinson, Sarah Morgan, Patrick Shannon and Landon Antonetti. And they’ve done such a good job on their stories it made me realize something – SaY needs to globalize by going hyper-local.
Sounds crazy, right? Well, starting today I’m looking for writers, preferably with journalistic background but damn good writers accepted, in any and every city. If you’re bored at your current job and want to try something new, or just want to tell people how great your city’s music is, give me a shout.
E-mail me at brad @ shockandyawn.com and let’s talk. I don’t want to let SaY die, but it’s just not as original as I had hoped it would be.
That’s where you come in.
Georgia Theater owner optimistic after fire
The theater is expected to cost $3 million to rebuild. Click to see more pitures.
On the morning of June 19, Athens, Ga. suffered a major loss to its revered music scene. The historic Georgia Theater was engulfed in flames that gutted the interior of the venue. It is believed the fire was started due to electric problems in a dressing room or nearby closet, although the damage was so severe that the cause has been left “undetermined.” For owner Wilmot Greene, the cause of the fire is the least of his worries. Now comes the time to raise an estimated $3 million dollars to rebuild the Athens landmark.
The insurance collected from the fire was able to clear reconstruction costs based on 1930’s building codes, when the building was first erected. “The structural bracing has been the complex part of this,” Greene said. To rebuild and conform to modern day building codes creates the costly bill.
Thus far, half of the construction costs have been raised. Despite the daunting task of raising $1.5 million, Greene is optimistic in how the project has been unfolding. “We are 90 percent complete with cleanup and demolition. Architects’ plans are on schedule for submittal to the city building inspectors next week for a January start (on rebuilding).”
The theater was already undergoing renovations when the fire started which was an unfortunate financial drain on Greene, although with a clean palette he can now rebuild the theater the way he’s always wanted.
[Read more about the theater, see pictures, click more]
Sunday Reading: Garage A Tois, Heavy Pets, more
Alexa Woodward
Garage A Tois Q & A
The Heavy Pets
The Matt Kurz One
As always, click the picture to read the story.
Alexa Woodward, a folk artists hailing from New York City, is hitting very small pub and bar from Louisville to Chicago, from Knoxville to Lexington and back. The venues include Skull Alley, Ear X-Tacy, and the Preservation Pub. Woodward’s Americana/folk music is personal and these bars and small venues will make the shows even more intimate.
Garage A Tois is a group of highly talented and professional musicians. On their résumés are reference names like Roger Walters (Pink Floyd), Fred Wesley, Peter Buck (R.E.M.), Matt Chamberlain (Wallflowers) and the main-brain behind Primus, Les Claypool. SaY caught up with Mike Dillon of the group in between shows for a Q and A with one of the most creative jazz improv groups out there.
The Heavy Pets are out of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and this group of five friends is hitting it big on the jam band circuit as they combine elements of jazz, funk, rock and reggae into an energetic blended sound. For the past few years, they have hit up some of the biggest festivals including Moe.Down, Langerado, SXSW and Bonnaroo where they played a pre-Phish set. They have played over 440 shows since forming in 2006.
This is not a gimmick. It’s “one man. Five instruments. No Machines.” Matt Kurz’s extremities all have a dedicated instrument. His head will take full credit for the voice. His right foot can handle the snare and bass drum. His hands get into the guitar, cymbals and such. Oh, and his left foot – the bass. He’s heading to Gainesville, Fla. for his next show.
