Seems like we've all been anticipating this album forever. The ridiculous hype, lofty expectations, delays, teasing singles, and shoe sponsorships are all things of the past. TOMBOY is HERE!...pretty much. Until April 12, when the album officially drops via Paw Tracks, do you ears a favor and stream this aural ecstasy and stream the album here via National Public Radio.
See also this adorable video of an actual panda bear:
los ángeles out fit sun raw must be doing something right if they can land an entire tour with animal collective; there are few things i would value much higher myself, so my jealousy goes without saying. their sound is interesting to say the least. this recent seven inch release, clocking in at just under 13 minutes, creates a deep and lazy ethereal atmosphere. the tempo on both of the tracks are layered and lackadaisical. distinct melodies, textured synth, and minimal tropical percussive loops crawl along and it feels like a long summer day of smoking and playing in the sun.
I am pretty sure this is what the entirety of the indie music world did on Saturday night. While I could not make it to New York, my circumstances landed me in a free four story beach house in Alabama for the weekend. While there, I watched sets one and two streaming simultaneously from three laptops while in the bathtub with Connor and friends. A lot of splashing and red wine were involved (see photos below).
Then, I enjoyed sets three and four on a massive plasma TV (w/ surround sound Bose...oh baby!!). I have never danced so hard for a TV set in my life. My neck is very sore today...
As I am sure you have already heard, the show was perfect. LCD Soundsystem left all of us at art/official with a great taste in our mouths. They have made a lasting impression on our hearts, history books, and dance shoes. If you didn't manage to catch Pitchfork's webcast, watch it above.
*TIP TO THE READER:* 1) Display concert on large screen. 2) Invite friends 3) Drinks 4) DANCEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Travis Egedy is a master of dance and synth trance, and also one of the nicest people i've ever met. He hails from Denver, with a commitment on changing the perspective of everyone who hears his music. In 2009 Dark Rift was released, and blew my mind. Pictureplane finds the time to write new music, run his own venue at his house, drop mixes, and tour all across the world performing his tunes. Above is a track he's shared called "Book Four". Upcoming album entitled Thee Physical, is scheduled for summer release. It shows the powerhouse coming back strong on hip-hop influenced, mind blowing trance. Pictureplane continues to take over the game.
I always wondered what it would take to be a local celebrity in New Orleans. Obviously, you would have to be a talented musician, but it takes a lot more than that to be noticed in life, let alone in this city.
Art/Official recently sat down with Stix, the man behind My Graveyard Jaw and Michael James and His Lonesome, in order to get to know the kind of person that gets facial tattoos, straps a tambourine to his boot and uses a Samsonite briefcase as a kick drum.
Stix was even nice enough to let us record an Art/Official exclusive of the song below, which was he had yet to name when he played it for us.
Born in Carmel, California, he grew up with a single mother and two other siblings. By “grew up” we mean only kind of — he was out of there at 16 when he met a girl, but only after his sister had to kidnap him to sober up (oh, to be young).
He ended up in Oregon, hitchhiking the entire way, and was invited to stay with some hippies. They were working on saving old-growth forest from loggers, and he joined their cause. When he climbed his first tree, his hands were so beaten up he had to stay up there for three weeks while they healed. Nevertheless, he must have liked it, because he ended up living in trees for four years. The group he worked with was pretty fucking successful, too; Michael told us they saved every forest they fought for.
For interactive fun: drink as much whiskey as you can in one gulp, press play on this song, and then read the rest of the article.
All good and crazy things, however, must eventually come to an end. Stix tired of political activism, left his girlfriend, and joined the circus. He was involved in two separate circus shows. One was called “The End of the World Circus” and was sometimes performed for children. The other was called “The Know Nothing Circus Family Sideshow,” and was, uh, not for children. Stix describes one troop member lying on a bed of nails while performing autofellatio. One woman in the troop would hang a six pack of tall-boy Busch beer cans from her labia. While tree sitting in Eugene, Stix had heard about a guy who put things down his urethra — nails, screws, etc. Stix began trying this himself. But he used a drill. “I would hook the drill up to a PA so people could hear it,” he says.
He eventually found himself in NOLA as an incredibly precocious 23-year-old, where he began to focus on making music. He played with Meschiya Lake for a bit, but they split. He tried playing with some other friends, but that did not work out either. “I said, ‘Fuck it, I’m playing alone.’”
Aaron, founder of Art/Official, first discovered him upstairs at the Dragon’s Den about 4 years ago:
The room was dark, but the man in the corner immediately caught my eye. He sat relaxed with his back against the wall. His broad shoulders and large beard made him look like the kind of guy who could kill me in a second if he wanted to. His energy was different from anything I had ever experienced — calm, yet mysterious. Immediately my eyes darted to the make-up he was wearing: two small triangles under his eyes and small stars above them. I was to learn later that this clown makeup is permanent. In front of his left foot sat an old suitcase with a kick for a drum behind it, and on his right was strapped a tambourine. He would rock his feet up and down to create a rhythm. He began to strum the guitar that sat in his lap. The music seemed somber. Then he opened his mouth. What came out was a voice like none I have ever heard. It had a soul to it that screamed of more heavy life experience than I could fathom. My heart sank. It was beautiful.
Aaron isn’t exaggerating. Michael James’ voice genuinely haunts you. You want to describe it as freak folk, which would be a fitting label considering his character. But what we’re looking at here — and I hate myself for making this comparison — is music that would be perfect as the theme to True Blood. Haunting, soul-filling folk that makes you feel like you’re drunk as hell and waist-deep in a bayou.
That kind of biography is intimidating, but Michael James — like of all us — is more than “simply” a former radical environmentalist and sex sideshow performer. He has young daughter, Lucy, and he now channels all of the circus and ecoterror energy into passions for taxidermy and fatherhood. This is the heart of My Graveyard Jaw’s newest album Coming Winds. It's not about taxidermy (though that would be cool), but maturity — coming to terms with your place in society after running away from home, living in trees, and using power tools to insert things into your dick.
My Graveyard Jaw used to be a one-man band, but he was recently joined by Scott Potts and Denise Bonis from the Zydepunks, New Orleans’ zydeco-punk outfit. Michael’s solo act is still around, Samsonite briefcase and all, but it goes under the moniker Michael James and His Lonesome.
Anyway, you can help him out. They have a page over at Kickstarter and they are only $120 away from their goal of $1500. If they meet their goal within the next three days, they will be able to get Coming Winds pressed onto vinyl. If you donate more than $20 you can get one of those records, signed by all three members of the band. For $100, he will play a show for you; and for $200, he will write a song about you.
Update: Success! My Graveyard Jaw met their goal of $1500 at Kickstarter. Come see them play with the Zydepunks at the HiHo Lounge this Saturday, April 9th.
Interview conducted and compiled by Aaron Saltzman
Article by Jeffrey Silberman
Video by Helen "Isa" Rogero
Saturday, April 2nd, 2011 BONES Dance Party will be hosting Ricky Powell upstairs at The Maison, 508 Frenchmen Street. The night starts early with THE BUG OUT!, a showing of Ricky Powell's prints (for sale) and a slideshow/lecture/could-be-stand-up by the man himself. If you are unfamiliar with Ricky Powell, here's a 101 in his own words:
"Ricky Powell, native new yorker, considers himself as an 'Individualist', who lives as an observer and commenter of culture (he takes photos, writes, does video, and pops shit at his local deli if/when anyone's around). He is currently commemorating a Silver Anniversary(Quarter Century for dummies) of taking 'Professional Photos on a hang-out tip' with his 'World Famous Slide Show'...delivering his anecdotes a la Dean Martin/ Redd Foxx styley...He has 5 photography books published (the new one published by Frank 151 is his favorite) and 10 basketball trophies, from the 70's. and still does the hustle..."
If you would like to meet the man responsible for some of the most timeless photos in Hip-Hop history and listen to the extremely funny stories behind them all, then mark the date on your forehead. And remember, do not be late! Doors open at 8p.m., The BUGOUT! Slide Show begins at 9:15 with BONES and the DMC Judges showcase thereafter. Tickets are $10. Don't miss this, New Orleans!
Seems like we've all been anticipating this album forever. The ridiculous hype, lofty expectations, delays, teasing singles, and shoe sponsorships are all things of the past. TOMBOY is HERE!...pretty much. Until April 12, when the album officially drops via Paw Tracks, do you ears a favor and stream this aural ecstasy and stream the album here via National Public Radio. 
