NYC

Artists on Trial: The Good Foot

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(Photo by Jack of Hearts Photography)

Our next featured Crossroads Music Fest artist is The Good Foot, who posits itself as the Seven Saviors of Soul. We get the inside scoop from guitarist Tim Braun.

The Deli: Gun to your head, 1 sentence to describe your music. What is it?

Tim Braun: If there was a gun to my head, I would say our type of music is, "Hey man, take whatever you want, just don’t shoot me in the head."

The Deli: Tell us about your latest release or upcoming shows. What can we expect?

Tim: Crossroads Music Fest! We don’t have any other big dates on the books currently. We hope to have another 45 out by years end.

The Deli: What does "supporting local music" mean to you?

Tim: Buying a bands merch, paying a cover to see a band, supporting the establishment that has the show, telling your friends about your favorite local bands, bring sandwiches for the band to the show, KEEPING YOUR EYES PEELED FOR A WHITE ’95 GMC 15-PASSENGER RALLY VAN….there are a hundred ways to support artists.

The Deli: Who are your favorite "local" musicians right now?

Tim: The Making Movies guys are killin’ it. Diverse is great, The Hearts of Darkness is great, The Grisly Hand is rad.

The Deli: Who are your favorite not-so-local musicians right now?

Tim: DIO.

The Deli: What bands are you most excited to see at Crossroads Music Fest this year?

Tim: We’re actually booked Saturday night, so I’ll miss the big night of CMF…balls.

The Deli: What is your ultimate fantasy bill to play on?

Tim: House band for The Colbert Report. Bam.

The Deli: Would you rather spend the rest of your life on stage or in the recording studio?

Tim: I hope I don’t ever have to choose one or the other.

The Deli: A music-themed Mount Rushmore. What four faces are you putting up there and why?

Tim: This one’s too hard.

The Deli: All right, give us the rundown. Where all on this big crazy web can you be found?

Tim: http://www.thegdft.com

The Good Foot will be playing the pre-party at Crossroads KC at Grinder’s this Friday at 11:30 with The Grisly Hand and The Supernauts. Check out their fabulous brand of soul!

–Michelle Bacon

Michelle is editor-in-chief of The Deli – Kansas City. She also has a weekly column with The Kansas City Star and reviews music for Ink. She plays with Deco Auto, Drew Black and Dirty Electric, and Dolls on Fire. Her grandmother is her favorite person on the planet.

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NYC

Artists on Trial: The Grisly Hand

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Our next featured Crossroads Music Fest artist is The Grisly Hand. This 5-piece group released its well-received EP Western Ave. earlier this year, and is currently working on a full-length album. The strong, melodious female voice behind The Grisly Hand’s music, Lauren Krum, talks to us a little about the group.

The Deli: Gun to your head, 1 sentence to describe your music. What is it?

Lauren Krum: WHY IS THERE A GUN TO MY HEAD OH MY GOD NOOOOO.

The Deli: Tell us about your latest release or upcoming shows. What can we expect?

Lauren: We are playing Friday with The Good Foot and The Supernauts. We love sharing the stage with The Good Foot and are excited to be back on the Crossroads stage. The sound is great and the stage is huge.

The Deli: What does "supporting local music" mean to you?

Lauren: Going to shows and paying the cover. Being positive and responsive to fellow musicians.

The Deli: Who are your favorite "local" musicians right now?

Lauren: Radkey, Tiny Horse, Mikal Shapiro, Dead Voices and we really enjoyed Loaded Goat & The Latenight Callers at Paris of the Plains Cocktail Competition this year!

The Deli: Who are your favorite not-so-local musicians right now?

Lauren: The Dirty Projectors, Sharon Van Etten, Menahan Street Band and The Reigning Sound.

The Deli: What bands are you most excited to see at Crossroads Music Fest this year?

Lauren: We already mentioned some of the performers as our favorite local musicians. Otherwise, My Brothers and Sisters is pretty intriguing.

The Deli: What is your ultimate fantasy bill to play on?

Lauren: Opening for Gary Floater at Hollywood Bowl.

The Deli: Would you rather spend the rest of your life on stage or in the recording studio?

Lauren: On stage. Though recording is pretty fun, especially with Joel Nanos at Element Recording.

The Deli: A music-themed Mount Rushmore. What four faces are you putting up there and why?

Lauren: I’d put 5, John, Ben, Jim, Matt and Mike. And if there can really only be 4 I guess Mike and Ben kind of look similar if you cross your eyes.

The Deli: All right, give us the rundown. Where all on this big crazy web can you be found?

Lauren: http://ww.thegrislyhand.com, http://www.facebook.com/thegrislyhand

The Deli: Always go out on a high note. Any last words of wisdom for The Deli audience?

Lauren: "Talkin’ aint’ walkin."

You can see The Grisly Hand at Crossroads KC at Grinder’s this Friday at 9:30 for the pre-party with The Good Foot and The Supernauts. Don’t miss em!

–Michelle Bacon

Michelle is editor-in-chief of The Deli – Kansas City. She also has a weekly column with The Kansas City Star and reviews music for Ink. She plays with Deco Auto, Drew Black and Dirty Electric, and Dolls on Fire. She was voted Most Changed in her senior year of high school and she still isn’t sure why.

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NYC

Soul Glimpse “Recollections Become Phantoms” Album Review

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Soul Glimpse is a "project" (created by Austin Sullivan,) not a band. According to the bandcamp page, his thesis is to "create textures that manifest overwhelming feelings that hurtful past experiences can create within us all." To translate that from Art Student into English, the album, titled Recollections Become Phantoms, is moodier than Kristen Stewart with PMS.

Bad jokes aside, Soul Glimpse hits the mark. Like a chemical concoction, the album seethes and boils, quietly sneaking its way under your skin. Mostly instrumental like Tangerine Dream, with the otherworldly quality of AIR, and occasionally Fever Ray-esque female vocalizations, Recollections Become Phantoms is a dark ambient piece that uses discomfort to keep the listener engaged. Shifting tones and white noise create bleak landscapes that may feel alienating, until you realize that is exactly what Soul Glimpse was going for. -allison levin

NYC

The Torn ACLS Playing The Rendezvous This Friday

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Photo Source: The Torn ACLS

The Torn ACLS are headlining a show at the Rendezous this Friday, September 7th. Orca Team and Hounds of the Wild Hunt complete the lineup.

Their newest release is Real Risks, a five song EP they dropped back in July. Although they clearly bear the badge of indie pop, The Torn ACLS do not diverge into twee or overtly saccharine territory.

"Easy For A Reason" pulls together clever, heartfelt lyrics with a jittering beat and slightly eerie backing vocals. The latter half of the tune floats along with a generous air that is sure to lift you out of your seat.

On "Mad," they start off simple and quiet – it is the jumpy snare transition that moves The Torn ACLS into more uptempo, nuanced songwriting. The supplementary percussion, keys, and handclaps help populate the track with catchy variables. The singer’s vocal style resembles Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie to some degree, but The Torn ACLS opt for understated, thoughtful melodies rather than grandiose, love-centric compositions. 

Check them out at the Rendezvous on the 7th of September – tickets are $5 for the 21+ show starting at 10pm. You can listen to "Mad" below and explore the rest of their EP on their bandcamp page. Pick up a digital copy for only $3, or a CD for $5.

– Cameron LaFlam

NYC

The Postelles release new track + play MOMA on 09.06

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NYC indie pop gentlemen The Postelles just released a new free track to promote their upcoming live shows and tour. "Running Red Lights" (streaming below) merges the sound of the American Rock of the 70s and 80s with classic pop melodies reminiscent of Elvis Costello, and offers lyrics focused on "whatever you’re doing in your life that you probably shouldn’t be, but you just can’t stop." The band will headline the MOMA PopRally in New York City on September 6th and the Cameo Gallery in Williamsburg on September 14th, and then leave for a US tour that will keep them busy from October 19th until the end of November.

Nashville

The Deli Presents… Ernie Halter, The Paranormals, Josh Foster

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It may be a school night, but clear your schedule and save the date. On Monday, October 15th The Deli Nashville will head to 12th and Porter for a night of booze and music. With an incredible lineup featuring Josh Foster, The Paranormals, and Ernie Halter, this show may be the best excuse to shirk on your weekday responsibilities and shake off your Monday.

The whole thing will kick off at 8 pm and is an 18+ event. It will cost you just $5, and once you’re inside, we encourage you all to come say hello.

For more information and to invite all of your friends, you can visit our Facebook event page.

Philadelphia

September’s Deli Philly-Curated Tuesday Tune-Out at PhilaMOCA Kicks Off Tonight w/The Homophones’ Jason Ferraro!

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Hey Everyone,

Tonight is the kick-off to my curation residency this month at PhilaMOCA for their Tuesday Tune-Out, which will feature The Homophones’ Jason Ferraro. Hopefully you should all know and love his work as much as I do. He’s a class act and a true entertainer. It’s guaranteed to be a fun evening! We’ll also be screening Bill Murray’s only directorial effort. Jason will be providing the popcorn and hot dogs as well as the kick-ass tunes. Other upcoming Tuesday Tune-Outs will include Tadoma + Arc in Round’s Jeff Zeigler (9/11), Arrah and the Ferns + The Extraordinaires’ Jay Purdy (9/18), and Vintage Kicks + TBA (9/25). I’m completely confident that these shows are going to rule! Hope to see you sooner than later. (Photo by Shadowscene; Video by Out of Town Films)

BTW: Also check out a guest post that I did for WXPN’s The Key HERE about this month’s events.

Much love!
Q.D. Tran
 

L.A.

Crooked Cowboy works on new EP + plays Echoplex 9.4

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This is a busy year for Crooked Cowboy, LA-based songwriter who, along with his band The Freshwater Indians, specialises in an experimental aesthetic straight out of a Western flick gone wrong, from post-punk-infused cavalcades of frantic country music to psychedelic orchestral alt-folk filled with droning vocals and eerie noises fuzzing through wide open sonic spaces. Delectably bizarre. With a latest five-track EP, Annalog And Her Hopeful Diaries released via Neurotic Yell Records, a next one in the making as we speak and a forthcoming collaboration with no other than Mr. Ariel Pink announced for November, the artist with the most self-explanatory name possible and a track record that would make anyone green with envy will be performing with the band a free show put together by Neurotic Yell at The Echoplex this evening (9.4).

Philadelphia

The Deli Philly’s September Album of the Month: Junior Violence – Ape School

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Ape School’s Junior Violence can’t decide what album it’s going to be. It takes on several different genres during its eleven tracks. At first, it’s a bit Apple-ad hipster – the deeply ironic sense of jubilance on opener “A New Low! It Sucks Itself!” would fit well next to The Envy Corps and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah on a Fuck Yeah, Denim! playlist – but then grows into this gorgeous sort of acid-beach record – what Surfer Blood might have made with a bit more adventurousness and lot more pot. Also, it’s briefly as unabashedly direct as an old Wilco b-side before things start getting distinctly darker, and then it’s bright once more for a last hurrah. Junior Violence sounds like it could hang with different, albeit pretty elite peers at various times, and for good reason. It is this way because mastermind Michael Johnson knows what he wants it to be.
 
With about decade of music making, a rotating door of collaborators, and a list of influences that covers everything from Prefab Sprout to Van Halen to Scott Walker, it seems Johnson’s project has resulted in a band less dedicated towards a singular artistic vision so much as they’re dedicated to the integrity of their songs. When Junior Violence switches up on a dime, it admittedly jars momentum, but in the act, Ape School chooses to not be pigeonholed, and a vision begins to form a picture of a band that would not have their songs any other way. It’s easy to imagine how another act might have just clothed everything in warm reverb to make the album feel more continuous, but with the way these songs are, such a choice would’ve been superfluous and distracting. It’s enough that a track like “Ready For Duty” owns what it’s doing – a decidedly open folk-twang – that it needs not sonically connect to the drug haze of its preceding front-side.
 
Johnson consistently evokes a sense of weight, lending it to foggy fuzz, synth-phase Bowie homage, and British-schoolboy sneer-punk alike. This means that Junior Violence, even if it calls up a variety of references, never feels like a compilation of several bands. It is by Ape School, a band whose deep love of music and the ability to evoke unease, tension, and heart ties the whole smorgasbord together. You can purchase Junior Violence via Hometapes Records. – Adam Downer

NYC

NYC Artists on the rise: Stone Cold Fox

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There are some records you bring along for a hike through your day, and a precious few that grab you by the hand and lead you down their own path for the time it takes to listen through. For new(ish) group Stone Cold Fox, ‘The Young EP’ possesses such a power. From the moment you’ll hear Kevin Olken Henthorn’s screaming tenor over the hook in opener ‘Pictures,’ you’ll be in it for the album’s duration. Like folksy powerhouses Arcade Fire and local wunderkids The Freelance Whales, this duo’s energy sneaks up from behind and overtakes you, and pretty soon you’re covered in sweat and have forgotten once again to do the dishes. Fall shows haven’t been announced yet, so you have some time to catch up, below, until they do. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

NYC

More Brooklyn noise: Cellular Chaos, live at Death by Audio on 09.13

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What is Cellular Chaos? The name certainly triggers trash punk notions; really, a no-wave and post-punk inspired band that spells untamable in a free-flowing eruption of drum slamming & guitar freakouts. The band was recently joined by the elusive, flashy-looking, knee-cap-bearing Admiral Grey, whose contorting vocals are featured in the latest EP "Prisonic Impendance" – released in May 2012. Perhaps for band founder Weasel (who also runs the band’s label ugExplode), this new adventure in its infancy is only a fragment of a boundary-pushing, decade-long noisemaking career, during which he surrounded himself with countless uninhibited, particularly talented instrumentalists and improvisers from Chicago to L.A. Perhaps. Still, it’s enough to keep him and his record label UgExplode settled on the East Coast, as he dives deep into Brooklyn’s underground. See the band live at Death by Audio on September 13. – Tracy Mamoun

NYC

Joey Sparrow releases solo debut “Paper Peaches”

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Former Dead Sparrows front-man Joey Sparrow released his debut solo album “Paper Peaches,” offering a solid collection of mellow acoustic melodies. The Brooklyn-based Sparrow performs with old band mates, including drummer Jon Airis and brother Stevie Hamm on bass, but exudes a much softer tone than the gritty garage band he used to front. The album is meant as a non-profit effort, with copies available through Sparrow’s Facebook page and plans to download free on a forthcoming Bandcamp page. – Devon Antonetti