Chicago

Dragons and Champs and Netherfriends

Posted on:

Well, all of the votes have been tallied and the results are in… The Deli Chicago is proud to announce that their emerging artist for 2009 is I Fight Dragons! They not only won the hearts of our readers, but received several voters from our jury of experts. In 2009 we saw them release their debut EP, Cool is Just a Number, create an army of fans, and rock out on retro Nintendo controls.

In second play we have the electro-dance-rockers Hey Champ who recently put out their compilation album/mixtape Winner’s Circle. They made their biggest impact this year with their remix skills.

On third place band is Netherfriends who not only released their latest EP Calling You Out this year, but constantly toured the country.

We would like to thank our sponsors, the jury, all of the bands in the poll, and of course you the reader and voter.

Chicago

Year End Best of Chicago Poll results: I Fight Dragons triumphs!

Posted on:

  BAND
J
W
R
TOT
  
1
 I Fight Dragons
5
1
3
9
2
 Hey Champ
6
1
0.042
7.042
3
 Netherfriends
5
 
0.008
5.008
4
 Pet Lions
5
 
0.006
5.006
5
 The Smith Westerns
4
1
0.002
5.002
6
 Skybox
5
 
0.001
5.001
7
 King Sparrow
3
 
2
5
8
 Treaty of Paris
3
1
0.091
4.091
9
 Mazes
3
1
0.005
4.005
10
 Makeshift Prodigy
3
 
1
4
11
 Loyal Divide
2
1
0.066
3.066
12
 Inkbat
3
 
0.036
3.036
13
 Grammar
3
 
0.007
3.007
 
 Raise High the Roof Beam
2
1
0.007
3.007
15
 Mic Terror
3
 
0
3
16
 Daniel Knox
1
1
0.107
2.107
17
 Jerome Holloway
2
 
0.091
2.091
18
 Hudson Branch
2
 
0.086
2.086
19
 Kid You’ll Move Mountains
1
1
0.072
2.072
20
 The Fold
2
 
0.047
2.047
21
 Van Ghost
2
 
0.032
2.032
22
 In Tall Buildings
2
 
0.002
2.002
 
 Pool of Frogs
2
 
0.002
2.002
24
 Mikkey Halsted
2
 
0
2
25
 Panda Riot
1.5
 
0.022
1.522
26
 Color Radio
1
 
0.034
1.034
27
 YAWN
1
 
0.029
1.029
28
 BBU
1
 
0.022
1.022
29
 Joe Pug
1
 
0.005
1.005
30
 Cave
1
 
0.001
1.001
 
 Conductive Alliance
1
 
0.001
1.001
32
 The Yearbooks
1
 
0
1
33
 Mr. Bear
0.75
 
0.030
0.785

Legend: "J" = Jurors vote + Points from Open Contest – "W" = Writers vote  – "R" = Readers vote – TOT = Total votes
 

L.A.

It isn’t lonely at Raymond Richards’ Idaho Falls

Posted on:

The Idaho Falls, collaborative-laden project of producer/engineer/songwriter Raymond Richard, is a breathing all-star act featuring local notables.  His upcoming LP The Spark tracks cameos from Angela Correa and Rob Poynter from Correatown, Brian Whelan from Broken West, Alex Silverman from Alex & Sam, Wendy Wang from The Sweet Hurt and others including longtime Idaho Falls guitarist Kevin Feyen and drummer Roger Brogan. For those seeking that classic Topanga Canyon sound, Richard isn’t too far — musical communities tend to have that effect.

Philadelphia

Gina Ferrera & The Philadelphia Gyil Fusion Project CD Release Party at MarBar Jan. 20

Posted on:

 
Gina Ferrera maybe an Italian-American girl from dirty Jerz, but her heart lies somewhere in the warm climates of West Africa. She specializes in a tonal percussive instrument called a gyil – pronounced jeel – an acoustic, wooden mallet instrument in the xylophone family that originated from the tri-border region of Ghana, Burkina Faso and Cote D’Ivoire, where Ferrera traveled to learn from gyil masters Kakraba Lobi and Bernard Woma. She’s brought her knowledge and rhythms back to Philly where she’s recorded her latest album on Rope A Dope, titled Gina Ferrera & The Philadelphia Gyil Fusion Project – imagine a more organic, primal sounding Imogen Heap. Come to MarBar tonight for her CD Release Party with her all-star local lineup of special guests if you are in the mood for a little soul cleansing! MarBar, 200 S. 40th St., 9pm, $5, 21+ myspace.com/ginaferrera – Q.D. Tran

Chicago

Andrew Belle Record Release @ Schubas

Posted on:

The build up for his debut album has been warranted for Andrew Belle really does have a magical voice.  The Ladder, is out February 23rd, but he is playing a release show for the album this Saturday (Jan.23rd) at Schubas. Belle splits time between Chicago and Nashville and that mixture of musical cultures is vibrantly demonstrated in his music. If you go and pre-order The Ladder here you will receive a live acoustic album for free. 

New England

Let’s Get Hypnotized – Bloc 11 – Union Sq. Somerville 1/20 TONIGHT!

Posted on:

Wednesday night, in the heart of Somerville’s Union Square, local songwriters Dan Blakeslee, Tim Riordan, and James Houlahan will be performing from 7-9 at Bloc 11 Cafe.  Dubbing themselves as “The Folk Hynoptists,” each of their sets will feature original songs covering a wide range of styles and feeling.  Blakeslee sings of late night wanderings, fascinating characters, and enduring love.  Riordan’s tunes evoke strong connections to the listener, drawing one in with detailed, powerful emotions.  Houlahan combines simple, sometimes traditional melodies with his own twist of folk magic and inventive language.  Hypnotic trances are encouraged.  Regardless, Bloc 11 is at 11 Bow Street, and they feature a variety of beverages and good eats. 

— The Deli Staff

Portland

BREAKING NEWS: Housefire at White Eagle Saloon TONIGHT!

Posted on:

 

If you have ever gone through the multimedia program at the University of Oregon, you would have no doubt taken an electronic music class. The class I took consisted of learning about sampling, sequencing and memorizing a bunch of terminology that I forgot the minute after taking the final. By the end of the term we were supposed to have created this three-minute-long mixed masterpiece, and even though I completed the task, I made nothing you could ever call music. In fact, listening to the electro, experimental band Housefire, I see just how far off I was.

Unlike myself, who should just stick to spelling synthesizer, the members of Housefire actually know how to use a synthesizer and are damn good at it. The band is so beloved by Portland that they won The Deli’s Portland’s recent Open Poll and came in second place for our Reader’s Poll. There is something very ethereal and, for lack of a better word, space-y about Housefire’s music.

If you are looking for something upbeat and shimmery, this is not the band for you. But if you are into the type of music you can sit down and relax to while you drink a copious amount of beer, than Housefire will become your new best friend. Luckily for you, your new best friends just happen to be playing at White Eagle Saloon on Wednesday, January 20th at 8:00 p.m. with fellow Portlanders Ocean Age, and billygoat. It is a free show, so you’ll have more money to spend on your other best friend, Mr. Pabst.

Say hello to him for me!

– Deanna Uutela

Chicago

Last Minute Plans: Inchworm @ Schubas

Posted on:

Inchworm has taken a bit of a hiatus from the show scene the last few months, but lucky for us, they’re back and ready to rock. More specifically, they’re ready to rock Schubas, Wednesday night, as part of Amplify’s New Music Series. The band plans to unveil the new material they’ve been working on over the past few months, in a glimpse at what will inevitably become the follow-up to their ’08 EP, Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing.

Inchworm has also recently taken to Bandcamp.com, uploading their previous EPs to music’s newest publishing platform. Following suit to recent preferred methods of music purchasing, Bandcamp promotes a name-your-own-price doctrine, allowing customers to donate as much (or as little) as they see fit. Visit Inchworms’ catalog on bandcamp.

Tonight’s show at Schubas begins at 9pm, with openers Sissy Mena and fellow locals, Save the Clocktower. Sponsored by Amplify, Beer Nuts, and UR Chicago, the show is 21+ and tickets are $5 at schubas.com. – Neph Basedow

NYC

Talk Normal Win Deli Best of NYC Poll + Cover of Deli’s Spring Issue!

Posted on:

Please update your Flash Player

Noise is back with a bang in the NYC music scene! Brooklyn turbolent Talk Normal are the winners of our Year End Best of NYC poll (the full chart, including 67 emerging artist, can be found here). The band gathered 8 jury and one Deli writers’ votes which allowed them to seal the poll’s 1st position – even if they obviously didn’t promote the readers’ poll (only 5 votes were cast in their favor in that department). Hey, we are cool with that! The fans’ vote, though, was instrumental in assigning positions from #2 to #7 – as these 6 artists all received 7 votes between the jury and the Deli writers. Freelance Whales and Bear in Heaven will therefore need to thank their fanbase for appearing on the smaller cover pictures of the Spring 2010 issue of The Deli. We’d like to bring to everybody’s attention that any of these 6 bands could have won the overall contest if they had placed 1st or 2nd in our readers’ poll – we are saying this because often readers and bands complain about the fact that in our system the readers’ votes don’t bear enough weight.

Curiously enough, Freelance Whales‘ 2nd place seems like a symbolic testament to how wide the NYC scene’s sonic spectrum is: where Talk Normal’s music literally couldn’t exist without electricity, the guys in Freelance Whales pride themselves of being able to play live shows without any amplification – not even microphones (that’s what they did during our packed CMJ party in October – although sure enough some people in the back couldn’t hear much…)

Bear in Heaven (in third place) complete our virtual podium with their texturally rich psych rock. In a rock scene as fragmented as ever (in which attitude more than genre has become the aggregating component) the psych rock and shoegazer community of artists represents an exception; they are part of probably the only genre-defined rock scene in NYC, developing a very defined sonic legacy. Bear in Heaven – an incredibly talented and hard working band – is definitely one of the best expressions of the current NYC psychedelic sound.

64 more bands are listed in our charts, from the world conquering, exotic experimentations of Dirty Projectors to the beautifully sparse and intimate songs of Callers (the two bands coincidentially share the same record label, together with our current cover band Glass Ghost). We will cover all these bands in the spring issue of The Deli and on our NYC site in the following months.

The Deli’s Staff

NYC

Best of NYC 2009 – Composite Chart Final Results

Posted on:

sponsored

bmi
bmi

 

   Artist  J  W+C  R  Total  
1
 Talk Normal
8
1
0.005
9.005
2
 Freelance Whales
5
2
0.089
7.089
3
 Bear In Heaven
7
 
0.044
7.044
4
 Dirty Projectors
5
2
0.025
7.025
5
 The Antlers
5
2
0.024
7.024
6
 Real Estate
4

3
0.012
7.012
7
 Sleigh Bells
6
1
0.003
7.003
8
 Cymbals Eat Guitars
3
3
0.014
6.014
9
 Buke and Gass
6
 
0.002
6.002
10
 Beach Fossils
3
2
0.004
5.004
11
 Sharon Van Etten
3
2
0.002
5.002
12
 Midnight Masses
4
0.75
0.019
4.769
13
 The Woes
3
1
0.072
4.072
14
 The Dig
4
 
0.014
4.014
15
 Dinosaur Feathers
3
1
0.01
4.01
16
 The Depreciation Guild
3
1
0.005
4.005
17
 Small Black
3
1
0.004
4.004
18
 Here We Go Magic
3
1
0.003
4.003
 
 Woods
2
2
0.003
4.003
20
 Midnight Spin
 
1
3
4
21
 April Smith
1
2.5
0.085
3.585
22
 The Vandelles
 
3.5
0.039
3.539
23
 Motel Motel
 
3.5
0.005
3.505
24
 The London Souls
3
 
0.5
3.50
25
 Penguin Prison
3
 
0.067
3.067
26
 Gordon Voidwell
3
 
0.052
3.052
27
 Asa Ransom
2
1
0.03
3.030
28
 Air Waves
3
 
0.015
3.015
29
 The Drums
2
1
0.008
3.008
30
 Zombie Dogs
3
 
0.006
3.006
31
 FaltyDL
3
 
0.002
3.002
32
 The Shake
 
1.5
1.5
3
33
 Cavalier Rose
 
0.75
2
2.75
34
 The Paper Raincoat
 
1
0.096
2.596
35
 The Courtesy Tier
 
1
1
2.5
36
 Anamanaguchi
 
1
0.056
2.056
37
 The Fearsome Sparrow
2
 
0.04
2.04
38
 Hospitality
2
 
0.007
2.007
39
 Liturgy
2
 
0.005
2.005
 
 Earl Greyhound
1
1
0.005
2.005
41
 Ninjasonk
2
 
0.004
2.004
42
 A Rose Parade
2
 
0.004
2.004
43
 Javelin
2
 
0.003
2.003
44
 Double Wonderful
2
 
0.001
2.001
 
 Locksley
2
 
0.001
2.001
 
 Glass Ghost
2
 
0.001
2.001
 
 Streetlab
 
1
0.001
2.001
 
 Xeno & Oaklander
1
1
0.001
2.001
49
 Miracles of Modern…
 
1.75
0.038
1.788
50
 Monogold
 
1.5
0.077
1.577
51
 Catarina Dos Santos
 
1.5
0.014
1.514
52
 Hawk and Dove
1
 
0.148
1.148
53
 Zambri
 
1
0.138
1.138
54
 Eskalators
1
 
0.085
1.085
55
 Julie Peel
 
1
0.051
1.051
56