Getting Ready for Heatwave : The Only Sons

Really digging this alt country band from Tennessee. Check em out this Saturday at Heatwave! Can you tell I'm excited?

Getting Ready for Heatwave

One band I'm excited about seeing at Tropical Heatwave this year is Bright Light Social Hour. Check em out if you get a chance. Get all the details at wmnf.org/heatwave

2010: Swim, Soak, and Sigh Part 1

[Charles] The End of the Year Mixtape is one of my favorite things to do each year. I look forward to putting together a group of songs that can play through together and make the year proud. I've never posted the links before, but I think I've finally got it figured out so please don't ruin it for me.
Disclaimer: The links are up for a limited time and then they'll come down. They are meant to get you hungry for more music and to send you off on your own search for music. This is a jumping off point for an adventure into bands and cd's you may have missed last year. If you want your music taken down, just let me know and I'll pull it.

This list is also personal and completely arbitrary. I don't try to do a "best of" - I like to think of this as a solid bunch of songs that work well as a group. That's why I call it a mixtape.

Let's start with tracks 11-15...

11. "We Used To Wait" - Arcade Fire

I came late to Arcade Fire as I know I naturally am resistant to bands that get too much hype and all this "yeah the next great indie band" baggage. That being said, I'm sorry, this band is really good and has been good the whole time. I missed out, and I'll do my best to make it up to them. If they'd like to drop by the house, I'd happily set up a grill out or whatever they like and we can patch it up over beers. Seriously though, they also do some really amazing work in Haiti and the money they funnel to other worthy causes. This song builds from something so small and makes me think of the frustration of growing up somewhere that waiting feels like all you can do. Also, I'd like to mention the creativity we've seen from them as this song has an interactive video and the Spike Jonze video of The Suburbs is pretty awesome as well.

12. "Terrible Love" - The National

The National also fall into that group of bands that get so much hype and play that it is hard to treat them fairly. To get a fair trial, I had to move them away from all of the craziness around their touring and fans. I listened to plenty of their tracks and I liked them okay but I never got that goosebumps sort of feeling that great music can give you. That was until I heard this version of "Terrible Love". All of a sudden, away from the heavy production and drama, there was just this band and this voice, and it was amazing. I listened to it over and over and it was the same song but it wasn't. This band definitely deserves the love they get and I hope they are around for a long long time.

13. "Ways of Looking" - The Mynabirds

When I first heard this song, I knew it would make this list. Sometimes a song just burrows under the skin and stays inside and that was definitely the effect of Laura Berhenn's voice on me. After many listens I've resigned to the fact that this reminds me of past favorites like Cowboy Junkies and Mazzy Star and all those rock-soul girls that ever drowned their sorrows in a slow slow electric guitar and forced me to buy their albums and put them on whenever I'm feeling particularly moody. The difference here for me is that there is a hopeful up-turn in this song when she "counts 1 to 10" at about the 1:20 mark and reminds us that "it can be easy, if you let it." I keep thinking about that. Like a little bit of hidden zen master advice, she reminds us all how important it is to just "let it."

14. "Soak it Up" - Houses

I don't know much of anything about the guy that made this. The story I heard was that he got laid off from Apple and headed to Hawaii with his girlfriend and made this. All I can say is, that if that is true, then sometimes getting laid off is the best thing ever because this music is amazing. It is transcendent, beautiful, electronic music that doesn't feel like it needs to pumped from speakers at a million decibels so much as it should be quietly poured over the heads of clubgoers like a baptism in light. I can't remember the last time I wanted to listen to an electronic song on repeat like this. This feels like a new type of lo-fi, ethereal electronic music that has made me look forward to new music again. This is music that needs no translation.

15. "Sigh No More" - Mumford and Sons

Because this is a mixtape, I feel that order and pacing is important and even more important is the correct ending song. This was one of my favorite albums of the year. I received it on Father's Day and it was the best gift I could hope for. This music reminds me of Amy and Ella and all that is great about being alive. It feels like the hymn book from my church - the church of music where everybody is welcome and all you have to do is sing and be good to each other and go out and try to be good and honest to people in the world. I think of this song as a hymn and a poem and truly something different than most of what is available in music today. This song was overlooked for catchier songs from their album on most lists, but for me, this is exactly what this band is about. It builds and builds and crescendos to a fantastic yell-along finish that feels exactly like the end of a mixtape should.

"Love it will not betray you

Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free

Be more like the man you were made to be

There is a design, an alignment, a cry

Of my heart to see,

The beauty of love as it was made to be."

-From Sigh No More - Mumford and Sons

A little harmonica with your Avetts?

Just had to share a little from the G.Love collab coming up with the Avetts. I was skeptical but I like this - see what you think...

Maker Monday: Etsy Instruments

[Charles] Photo from Etsy InBloom Designs Shop

I was looking for a gift for my daughter last night and was thinking of musical instruments. I like the idea of something simple like a tambourine or xylophone that she can beat on and at our venerable Big Box retailer all of

the kids offerings are ridiculous

amalgamations of plastic junk. There are tons of cheaply made drums and kazoos and harmonicas and something called an ocarina? There wasn't a simple wood shaker to be found.

Today my lunchtime surfing took me into the world of acoustic guitar construction and I learned a lot, but then I thought what about Etsy?! And sure enough there are lots of makers out there making all sorts of cool instruments just for people like us. So, here you go... if you want to buy yourself or your little ones an instrument I suggest you check a few of these out and support a handmade DIY person just like yourself!

Try All Natural Acoustics Shop and find cool items like this beat box called the Knuckle Knocker

How about some Claves from Ile Tambour's Shop?

These just scratch the surface of what is out there - There's even kid-specific drums

Beat Creatures are what is really fun about Etsy - strange and imaginative!

Friday Forecast: Refined Halloween, Bird St., and John's Festival

[Charles] Halloween is a favorite weekend for lots of folks and the fun is happening everywhere. The one do not miss event as far as I'm concerned is going to be the party on Saturday night at the Refinery. Greg and Michelle love Halloween and are going all out this year to make sure everyone has a great time. Definitely dress up and get ready for a costume contest with some great food and drink specials. Performing at the show will be November Foxtrot Whiskey and the Rock N Body Pole Dancers so it should be a lot of fun. When asked what pole dancers have to do with Halloween, Michelle replied "Everything has to do with Halloween!" Don't miss out on a great local event! Forecast - 60% chance somebody dressed like Dick Cheney will hit on a pole dancer.

My forecast is out of order but whatever, tonight will find The Lee Boys and the Bird St. Players kickin out the jams at the Crowbar tonight. The Lee Boys are what is called "sacred steel" which to me sounds like the best combo of blues and gospel that you could put together. The Bird St. Players are a local funk and soul group that always promise a good time. Forecast of some face melting blues riffs - 85%. Definitely some of the best music in town this weekend. Here's a little video of The Lee Boys from Bonaroo...

Last of all, I want to offer up a chance to be a tourist for once in our little town and enjoy something that most of us normally shun. Over at John's Pass they are having a seafood festival with all sorts of artists and activities for the kids. If you've never done the touristy thing and you live here, now's your chance to check it out and have some fun. Buy a stupid t-shirt and enjoy the cool weather off the water. You might surprise yourself. Forecast of art involving manatees - 75%.

Friday Forecast: Altars, Rabbits, and Grub

[Charles]

How do you celebrate the Day of the Dead in Tampa? How about heading to the new TMA and checking out some altar art from local artists and maybe leaving a little something for people you've lost this week? We lost my Uncle Gary this week and I plan to leave a University of Texas hat down there for the gruff guy from coal-mining country that always knew how to make me laugh.

50% chance somebody is gonna be dressed like Frida Kahlo or Mr. Goodbody down there...

Ever done a ride thru on your bike? Saturday might be your chance. The Hub Grub III (The Grub Strikes Back) is going to take anybody with a bike and an appetite through a tour of SemHeights faves like Ella's, the Shindie, and the Refinery and new guys like Nani's. You'll even get something at Publix this time so head over to the Garden Center at 2:30 to get it going. Here's the link to the page from the SHBC for more info.

I predict a 90% chance somebody will have too much fun and have to walk the bike home!

Last but not least, there's a small - let's say 20% chance that I'm going to drive out of town to see Frightened Rabbit this weekend. I didn't grow up in Florida so driving to shows used to be pretty common for me, but I'm not sure if I'll pony and head up the road. It'll be a real shame to miss these guys if I do. They've been a lot of inspiration to me lately on days that really feel like a continuous kick in the teeth. If you go see them either in Gainesville on Saturday or in Orlando at the Social on Sunday, be prepared to rock your face off!

Hope to see you out there!

Here's a little Frightened Rabbit that I'll dedicate to my Uncle Gary who definitely was a real man and not "a bag of sand".

Friday Forecast: Injustice, Problems, and Vikings

Photo from Elawgrrl of Sleepy Vikings and friends at Summer Jam
[Charles] This Friday I've got to make some decisions. Why does it seem like every weekend we get more and more good bands here? I don't want to sound optimistic about the scene here but I kind of am. Pretty cool to have enough great shows to cause trouble deciding which I'm going to hit -

So anyhow the Forecast is:

20% chance I'll drive the bridge and see Matt and Kim with Fake Problems although it really sounds like a great show and my buddy Elawgrrl will probably almost certainly be there snapping away with her music hungry lens.

35% chance I'll head over to the Brass Mug to catch Injustice System and their speed punk with the rocktastic Andy Stern on drums - who you may also know from Porch Fire or many of the other bands he's been kicking a$$ with for years.

50% chance I'll head down to The Bricks in Ybor to hear Sleepy Vikings in support of Glitter of our own Tampa Bay Derby Darlins and her mounting hospital bills from being hit in an accident while riding her scooter.

Any one of these shows will be worth spending an awesome Friday night out in the Bay Area so really folks just pick one, get out of the house, and you can't go wrong. Hope to see you out!

Friday Music Forecast: So much music!

[Charles] This weekend has lots of good musical options for you. The best deal has to be WMNF's birthday bash for an awesome array of bands at the Ritz Ybor. Read on to hear the whole forecast:

Friday night: If you just want to walk in Seminole Heights then you have a few choices...

My top pic tonight is a band of young musicians called The Sun Society - a four piece band led by a pair of sisters with one on keys and the other on bass. They sound to me a little like Florence and the Machine with a really strong Regina Spektorish vocal. They start at 9 pm so forecast is... 90% that this show will be the best show you've seen by people young enough to be your kids that doesn't suck in some Jonas Brothers/Miley Cyrus kind of way.

Also, check out Ted Lukas and the Misled over at Ella's tonight if you want something rockin with your award-winning Best New Restaurant dinner!

If you're up for a drive then you couldn't do much better than heading to Skipper's to see Paul Thorn tonight in a solo acoustic show. I've heard his live stuff on the radio and he is hilarious and quite a rocker. Also, Rebekah Pulley and Ronnie Elliott are opening so ya know it's good.

Saturday night: 85% chance of your head exploding by the diverse group of musicians that WMNF has amassed at the Ritz. Paul Thorn with his full band. Suenalo jamming out and the Hip Abduction which packed the Orpheum at Heatwave will be great. The band you should be watching for is Sleepy Vikings. They sprung from the break up of one of my previous favorite rockers Giddy Up Helicopter. Check em out before they hit it big and you can't see em here any more. Hit the link below to check em out on Paste.

http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/av/2010/08/live-at-paste-sleepy-vikings.html

Also, if you're in Ybor, sneak over to New World Brewery and check out a really cool florida band that reminds a little of the Avett Brothers - Greenland is Melting - this is definitely the "Nicole's Pic" of the weekend so don't miss out!

Sunday's forecast includes a 50% chance of sleeping in late and needing something a little light to keep you going through the day like the Independent's bluegrass Sunday School for Sinners from 4:30 to 7:30. If you didn't overdo it on Saturday then you should probably grab some barbecue or chicken and waffles at Ella's and check out blues rocker Kaleigh Baker.

How's that? Pretty awesome right?! No excuses folks so have some fun out there and congratulate all those Best of the Bay winners!

Here's your homework to get you going for the weekend...

Friday's Forecast - Weekend Music Planner

Well here you go - I got nothing better to do than try and talk you into seeing some live music this weekend. Don't miss out kids. I'll post some links and stop rambling on...

Friday - El Ten Eleven at Orpheum - Forecast 30% chance I'll actually get out to Ybor and go

Saturday - Legendary JC's at Skipper's - Forecast 90% chance of smoking funk and blues

Sunday - Cristabel and the Jons @ Ella's - Forecast 75% chance of tasty barbecue and beer accompaniment

Create:Freedom Event at Springs Theatre this Friday Sep. 3rd

[Charles] This Friday I'll finally get a look inside the Springs Theatre up on Nebraska Ave in Tampa. I've been looking for a good excuse to get in there since the first time the old building just north of the Hillsborough River caught my eye. It's an intriguing old building that was a movie theater in the hey day of Sulphur Springs and now hosts a large recording studio and is used for special events.

The show this Friday is an interesting mix of vendors, music, and artists that are raising money for a group that does mission work in Cambodia. The child prostitution and human trafficking that Tampa Street Market works against is central to their work. The door charge is $5 and goes to help this group and to work with Joy Engdahl who is moving back to Cambodia to work with young women in the country. There will be art and craft vendors as well as plenty of information about fighting human trafficking and slavery.

The other thing that looks pretty interesting about this show is the music. I'm especially excited to hear The Sun Society that consists of some family members of The Grecian Urns. The Sun Society sounds pretty amazing - just head over to Youtube and check out a few of their tracks. Here's their myspace page as well. I don't know much about the other two players MrENC or Preson, but they sound interesting and should definitely be a good time in the neighborhood for a good cause.

I also snagged a photo of the theater from its earlier days from a blog about historic theaters in the area, so here's a bonus link!

Music Videos? Who sees these anymore?

[Charles] I was caught up on a music blog the other day that showed a few recent music videos. I was first struck by the strange idea that people still even make music videos. Of course they do, but I stopped affording cable years ago and gave up on MTV actually playing videos well before that. I guess I thought they just gave up caring but every once in a while I get caught up on youtube watching what feels like a dying art to me. Here's one from the Black Keys - "Tighten Up" that gave me a good chuckle and it doesn't hurt that it's a pretty awesome song from their new album.

Candy Bars Live Tonight at Cappy's? Oh Yeah...

Candy Bars - Photo by Elawgrrl
[Charles] I can only assume that the bossman at Cappy's is out of town on vacation this week because as far as I know this has never happened. There has never been a live show at our own Seminole Heights Cappy's restaurant. Our local pizza shop is an awesome open space with high backed booths that easily recalls the feeling of "Arnold's Drive In" on Happy Days - maybe with the pinball machine replaced by a Donkey Kong game. The staff at Cappy's are all really cool and welcoming and the quiet one in the gang is usually the aforementioned bossman "Scooter." He's usually working too hard in the back making pizzas to make the rounds and schmooze which is fine because the pizza is great and he works hard to keep it that way.

Anyway, besides the small plug for one of my favorite independent businesses, this post should encourage you to get there tonight for this one of a kind show from one of the most interesting bands you've only sort of heard of - The Candy Bars. This is an experimental rock band with a sound that is often referred to as "baroque" which may have something to do with the inclusion of a cello player or the lack of good comparisons. They are unique, hard-working, and amazing. I'll attach an old link to a show of them at New World although it doesn't really do them justice.

So if you are tired of complaining about the lack of concert venues and things to do in the hood and finally ready to be part of the solution, then check them out tonight. Drop your $2 and grab a slice and help this band gain the following they so definitely deserve. These guys believe in the need for support of the arts and hopefully won't mind me telling a story on the lead vocalist Daniel Martinez.

When we had first opened our doors, right next to Cappy's Pizza almost four years ago, Dan was one of the first guys to visit us. We were in over our heads with no idea what we were doing and lots of cool inventory but no customers. Dan came over and bought an amazing bench from us (one of our all time faves) and even split up the payments on two cards just so he could get it. He'll probably never know how much that meant to us that somebody would take a chance on us, but as I listened to his CD a few weeks later I knew that this guy and this band was somebody worth sticking your neck out for.

See you tonight 9:30 at 4910 N. Florida Ave.

Breakneck Speed : Summer Mix 2010

Photo TSM - Ernie Locke of Nervous Turkey - "Preaching the Gospel"

[Charles] One of my friends, April, asked me a couple of weeks ago if I had heard any good music lately. I replied with a deer in the headlights look that surprised myself as I heard the sound of thousands of cd's crashing to the floor inside my head. Of course I have tons of music I'm listening to at any given time, but sometimes I have a hard time getting it narrowed down to favorites. I threw out a few titles but then I thought - why not? Get it together and put out a summer mix! I love doing it every year at the end of the year so surely I can come up with a dozen or so new bands and hot tracks that have wiggled their way into my inner jukebox... Easier said than done of course, but here it is two weeks later and I'm pretty psyched about it. I've listened to it a couple of days in a row on repeat and feel like it will at least open some ears and lead to a nice spin for most of my friends. Enough exposition already... here's the tracks -

1. Tokyo Police Club - Breakneck Speed

This a good track to kick it off - it feels like summer with the windows down on those few days it is cool enough to roll em down here. It has that "Let's go ride bikes" feeling that Heather refers to on her blog. This one found me a couple of months ago with simultaneous recommendations from DJ Fuego and Heather of I Am Fuel, You Are Friends. If you don't know Heather's blog then well I understand you're busy but come on even Nick Hornby is a fan so I'd give it a shot. As for DJ Fuego - check her out in town when you get a chance, she's got really awesome musical taste layed over a super chill personality sort of like a tasty Vegan dog with extra smokin hot sauce.

2. Mumford & Sons - Roll Away Your Stone

Everybody says "If you like the Avett Brothers then you'll like them." That may be true but it is really selling both bands short. I love, love, love the Avett Brothers and am unashamed to call them my favorite band right now. They are amazing live and on albums. Mumford and Sons sort of sound like the Avetts do now, but they are nothing like the raw and ragged Avetts of early albums that we fell in love with. The comparisons come more from the passion and feeling that both bands wear on their sleeve. They both are unashamed to share their feelings about love, life, and death. To me they diverge where the Avetts songs come across as intimate rural church tunes and Mumford and Sons songs feel like big church hymns that could fill an ancient cathedral. They seem a little more ambitious in their themes and attacks and that's okay, I'm happy to put both of their cd's on heavy rotation.

3. Gorillaz feat. Gruff Rhys and De La Soul - Superfast Jellyfish

I love Gorillaz music and this track really nails the vibe that makes them so awesome. It is catchy and groovy with a not too hidden message about the way our world is headed these days. Two spins of this song and you'll be singing along, trust me.

4. The Dead Weather - The Difference Between Us

I trust my buddy Stacey for recommendations and I trust Jack White to push the envelope so here you go. I like this track and didn't like a lot of the others on the cd. It does grow on you though and it feels like that dark vibe that seems to overshadow the news this summer.

5. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals - Paris (Ooh La La)

This is another catchy song by a new "chick rock" band but trust me, they don't pull any punches and guess what you'll be singing along with this one too.

6. The Ettes - Crown of Age

Missed these ladies at Heatwave this year, but I like this song and love rolling down the windows and hitting 11 on the volume. Enjoy this one, just try and not crank it, I dare you...

7. Passion Pit - Little Secrets

These guys put out a cd that has been beating around in my head since late last year but they were just in town at the Ritz and I missed it. Oh well, I'm guessing seeing this one in person might not improve it because I'm guessing they draw a crowd of annoying frat boys and hipsters. Sounds mighty fine in my car though.

8. Sin Fang Bous - Catch the Light

Heard this one day and it just caught my ear. I like it, it has a nice outside summer feel to it. This one would be nice on the lawn at Bonnaroo or Suwannee.

9. Josh Ritter - Change of Time

I like this guy and picking one song is sort of unfair but really this song is sad and sweet and hopeful all at the same time and isn't that really what life is like anyway?

10. Good Old War - Coney Island

I just blogged about these guys being in town at the Orpheum but I originally had them slated in for this spot before they cemented it at the show. Like I said in that post, these guys are comfortable and fun and heartfelt, and this song makes me think about how a town can break your heart and drag you back just like Tampa does all the time...

11. Gaslight Anthem - The Diamond Church Street Choir

Thank Elawgrrl for this one although I'm glad she insisted I check it out! Everybody wants to compare these guys to Springsteen but who cares? They are really good! This song is exactly what true American music sounds like to me (not that garbage that Toby Keith and the like pander with). Its rock and outdoors, maybe the sort of thing you'd sing along and picnic to and then they'd shoot some fireworks off on the 4th of July. Definitely worth giving a chance to listen.

12. Frightened Rabbit - The Loneliness and the Scream

These guys actually sound more like the Avetts than most bands compared to them, but I'm really hooked on their sound. This one just haunts me for some reason. I heard them one morning on WMNF and had to find every song I could of theirs. Hope you like it.

13. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

I'm a late adopter on Arcade Fire but I have some misgivings about bands with too much buzz from that hipster crowd. That being said, this is pretty awesome. I'm still letting them grow on me but I know it's just a matter of time.

14. Josh Rouse - I Will Live On Islands

It's like he bottled Paul Simon in Africa and uncorked him in the BVI. I love this song. It is impossible not to smile and sing a long to this story about a guy wrongly imprisoned and who just wants to be set free. It's a great island vibey one and might even have you shaking your hips a bit!

That's it folks. I don't know how to post all the files and all that but if I figure it out I'll post em here. Until then, let me know if you want a copy and I'll "burn one down" and give it to you when I see you. Hope you enjoy the mix and that it livens up your summer...

Good Old War at the Orpheum - "It takes a lot of maracas..."

Photo from Elawgrrl (although technically I'm pretty sure this was taken by yours truly on her Hipstamatic phone camera)

[Charles] As soon as I got to the Good Old War show at the Orpheum I knew I had made a good choice with my after hours freetime on Friday night. Maybe it was the lack of an extremely packed house that helped my comfort level with crowds, maybe it was the smiles from my buddies Nicole and Andy that spotted me on my way in, and maybe it was the post-rock alt to alt-country three piece band that was playing their hearts out on the stage to a respectable cluster of dedicated fans. In any case, I was immediately relaxed and happy and, with a grin that would be hard to recreate on Monday morning, I skipped my traditional first trip to the bar and headed right in to the front of the crowd with the ultimate rock expert Nicole.

"Elawgrrl", as she is known to most of the hundreds of bands that she has photographed in her "other job" of live music photog, was my ticket to a good spot in the crowd. We snaked our way through the crowd from a not so obvious sideways tack and even though I had to squeeze and push a little, most everyone was pretty forgiving about letting me through. I was about three people back in the center and I was completely surrounded by fans of the band that knew every word. I was heartened to see that they weren't the sort of annoying frat boys that typically latch on to bands like this, but more of the thoughtful rocker guys and girls that have a soft side and aren't afraid to sing along with PBR in hand to lyrics like "All of my dreams, hope they won't leave me too."

I loved it. I loved being in the middle of all of it. The drummer comes around at one point and grabs an accordion for a few songs, and the front man even shook the maracas during one song (this led to me and Andy's post-review snickering about the fact that it takes some maracas to shake the maracas in a band.) It does though, and these guys were completely comfortable with who they were. They seemed completely happy to play to a small crowd in a small bar. They played "Coney Island" - the song that even I knew - and they were in no hurry to shut down when the show was over. They wandered out into that warm gooey center of the crowd and headed up a sing-a-long to a few well worn crowd-pleasers including Simon and Garfunkel's "Cecilia" with their Tampa Bay friends.

As we chatted at the bar after it was all over, I couldn't help but wondering aloud to Andy and Nicole that if you weren't so worried about having millions of fans around the world, wouldn't it be nice to have 100 really dedicated fans in every town? Thanks Good Old War for a really great night - maybe we should move that number up to 101 in Tampa - I'd be happy to sing along with you guys anytime...

Here's a blogger that's posted "Coney Island" if this post got you wondering what they sound like...

Refugee All-Stars of Sierra Leone at Skipper's on Friday

[Charles] This Friday at Skipper's Smokehouse, we have a chance to catch a really amazing afro-beat band made up of survivors of the wars in Sierra Leone. Here's the trailer from the documentary about their band. If you believe like me that music can change the world then this is a band you won't want to miss.