New England

Interview with lowfives’ Chris O’Keeffe

Posted on:

lowfives

lowfives were the February Band of the Month. Here, we interview lead guitarist and singer Chris O’Keeffe. We find out how lowfives came to be, how much O’Keeffe loves Lita Ford, where the heck they got their name from and what’s on the horizon for the band. Also, there’s a shout out to the late great Nate Dogg, RIP.

Congratulations to lowfives on winning the Band of the Month Poll in February! It was a pretty heated battle between you and one of the other bands, but in the end your fans came through for you. That must have been a pretty good feeling, were you surprised by the overwhelming support you received?

Chris O’Keeffe: Although we’re a newer band, we’ve all been around here for a while.  We all brought our own networks of friends and fans together when we formed.  We’ve had great receptions both at our live shows and to our recordings so far, so I guess this result is an extension of that.  Plus, we intimidated people at the polls and bussed in elderly and infirmed that were sympathetic to our cause.

To read the entire interview, click here.

–Chrissy Prisco

Philadelphia

Fishing Tales w/Dean Ween

Posted on:

Deaner a.k.a. Dean Ween a.k.a. Mickey Melchiondo, Jr., guitarist for avant-pop outfit WEEN, has been fishing his whole life. He recently got his captain’s license to run his own big craft. He has been chartering fishing trips on his boat in the Delaware River and will be doing so this spring on the Atlantic Ocean out of Neptune, NJ so if you ever dreamed of hanging out with Deaner, this might be your golden opportunity. Below is his first fishing report of 2011 which also comes with some video footage (not for the eyes of PETA folks). – The Deli Staff

“We just got back from an amazing fishing trip for Bluefin tuna on the ‘Tuna Duck’ out of Hatteras Inlet, NC. My good friend Nick Honachefsky was writing a cover story for Saltwater Sportsman Magazine on jigging and popping giant Tuna and I was lucky enough to get to tag along and fish as well. We had some very sharp anglers on the boat in Sami Ghandour and his partner Paul Chua who together own Saltywater Tackle Co. These guys have been involved in importing the top jigging tackle from Japan as this style of fishing has gained popularity. After witnessing it firsthand I think it’s safe to predict that the days of fighting these fish on 130 wide reels are numbered. This is a fun and effective way to land these fish instead of just trolling around and watching someone fight a fish for hours in a fighting chair. We left the inlet at sunrise on Saturday to be greeted with 8 foot seas that eventually subsided a little throughout the day. The good news is that we were on a 55 foot boat and it kept a lot of other smaller boats off the water. We pretty much had the tuna grounds all to ourselves. We had constant action with small Blackfin Tuna and False Albacore and we also managed to bring 5 Bluefin to the deck, all about 90-100 lbs. I had the first fish of the day at about 100 lbs and we finished the day going 5 for 8 on Bluefin and released all our fish. Sunday was a different story with beautiful weather and light seas and a lot of boats. We boated another 5 fish including 2 fish over 200 lbs. Sami managed to bring his 250 lb. beast to the deck in only 12 minutes on a 5 foot spinning rod matched with a Shimano Stella 20000. He is about my size and weighs probably 25 lbs. less. Watching him put the boots to this beast of a fish was one of the more impressive rounds of angling I’ve ever witnessed and I learned a lot from this guy. Hopefully we get to fish again together.” – Dean Ween

Philadelphia

Nicos Gun & Faux Slang Looking Toward the Future at JB’s April 5

Posted on:

Nicos Gun will be taking a Philly stage for the first time tonight at Johnny Brenda’s since their adventures down at SXSW. The stylish crew brought their psychedelic dance rock to the Austin festival full of aspiring “next big things”. Well, the often times exacerbating trip wasn’t all for naught because Nicos Gun did manage to catch the attention of someone from Spinner causing them to tweet, “If #sxsw is where the world meets the future, then we’d like to introduce the future to Nico’s Gun.” Now let’s see how long the future takes to catch up with Nicos Gun (without an apostrophe). South Philly locals Faux Slang (who feature former members of This Radiant Boy as well as current member of A Sunny Day in Glasgow and Pet Milk, Adam Herndon) have a self-titled vinyl/digital EP coming out on May 24 that was produced by A Sunny Day in Glasgow’s Josh Meakim. You can take a sneak peak at the first track available from the upcoming EP below. It’s a most enjoyable anthemic rocker called “Golden Throats”. Both Nicos Gun and Faux Slang will be opening this evening for Portland’s Morning Teleportation. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ (Nicos Gun Photo by Julian Mackler) – Q.D. Tran

NYC

NYC Artists on the rise: Soft Spot play Death By Audiuo on April 6

Posted on:

If, like me, you enjoyed Broken Social Scene’s virtuoso productions but found their music to be a little too rigorous and melody deprived, you should have a listen to this new Brooklyn based band Soft Spot. Their recording are still a little rough, but there’s definitely something interesting about their sound. The music is reminiscent of the aforementioned Canadian band, led though by a female singer that lends warmth and emotion to it with ethereal melodies and a voice that could be described as a mix of Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush. Soft Spot is playing Death By Audio on April 6 and then leaving for a rather extensive south east coast tour.

Philadelphia

New Reading Rainbow Track “Cover the Sky”

Posted on:

Reading Rainbow have a new one-sided 7” titled Cover the Sky coming out April 12 via Italian label Hell, Yes! with a U.S. release date of April 26. There will be only 400 limited edition hand-numbered copies available. You can pre-order the album HERE or at Insound. You can also listen to “Cover the Sky” below, which was premiered on Gorilla vs. Bear. Enjoy! – The Deli Staff

"Cover The Sky" by Reading Rainbow

Nashville

Interview with R. Stevie Moore

Posted on:

Take a look at this very cool interview with indie/lo-fi vet R. Stevie Moore. The experimental artist relocated to his native Nashville in Dec. 2010. Justin Landis of Nashville pop punk group the Cannomen, recently went to Moore’s home to hang out and discuss the “golden years” in 1970s Nashville, sharing music and the weightlessness of modern music. The interview has two parts; watch here. – Jessica Pace

Philadelphia

Purling Hiss Remixes Moon Duo’s “In The Sun”

Posted on:

Moon Duo recently came to Philly at Kung Fu Necktie in support of their new album Maze. The band also had a remix album in tow packaged with their latest effort that included contributions from Sonic Boom, Psychic Ills, Cave, Gary War, and our very own Purling Hiss. You can listen to Purling Hiss’ remix of "In The Sun" below. Special thanks to Altered Zones/Raven Sings The Blues for bringing it to our attention. – The Deli Staff

"In The Sun (Purling Hiss Remix)" – Moon Duo

Philadelphia

Grandchildren Heading Out on Spring Tour w/O’Death!

Posted on:

Grandchildren will be heading out on a Midwest/Northeast U.S. spring tour which includes a bunch of shows with Brooklyn’s O’Death. The tour will be hitting Philly on Thursday, April 14 at Kung Fu Necktie. We’re already really looking forward to that one. The West Philly crew will also be opening for Peter, Bjorn & John on May 1 at TLA if you’d prefer to see them on a bigger stage. You can check out the rest of the tour dates below. – The Deli Staff

Spring Tour Schedule:
Tue – 4/05 Harrisburg, PA Appalachian Brewing Co. w/Toubab Krewe
Wed – 4/06 Pontiac, MI Vernors Room – B*Light   
Thu – 4/07 Milwaukee, WI The Borg Ward   
Fri – 4/08 St. Paul, MN Turf Club w O’Death
Sat – 4/09 Chicago, IL Beat Kitchen w O’Death
Mon – 4/11 Bloomington, IN The Bishop w O’Death
Tue – 4/12 Pittsburgh, PA Thunderbird Cafe w O’Death
Thu – 4/14 Philadelphia, PA Kung Fu Necktie w O’Death
Fri – 4/15 New York, NY Knitting Factory w O’Death
Sat – 4/16 Allston, MA Great Scott w O’Death
Sun – 4/17 Biddeford, ME The Oak and The Ax        
Wed – 4/20 New Haven, CT BAR    *FREE SHOW!
Sun – 5/01 Philadelphia, PA TLA w/Peter Bjorn and John & Bachelorette
 
Portland

Ticket Giveaway! See FENCES at the Roseland this Saturday on The Deli Portland!

Posted on:

 

Anyone interested in seeing Seattle’s Fences with Greylag this Saturday April 9th at the Roseland? The Deli Portland has a pair of tickets with your name on them! Absolutely free! Just leave a comment and tell us why you want to check out this awesome show and you’re in the running. We’ll pick a winner on Thursday and you’ll be in with your friend swooning to the genuine songs of Fences. Catch him singing here with Sara Quin! You don’t want to miss this one! Comment away! Don’t forget to leave your email address so we can contact you if you’ve won!