Congratulations to The Ugly Kids Club for winning our Artist of the Month Poll. The duo has been winning Nashville hearts and minds with their method to electro-pop music: go back to the initial spark of the 1980’s and take flight from there. What results is bright, fun, and entirely organic. Their nomination is just a fraction of the flurry of attention they’ve been recieving since the release of their single "Good Love," which has only intensified after a stellar show at The High Watt last Tuesday with Field Day and Lylas. Keep up with them at: http://www.uglykidsclub.com/ -Terra James-Jura
Chicago
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American Wrestlers
I don’t know a lot about this new band, American Wrestlers, but I’ve been streaming their new 7-track digital album AW. It is classified as dream-pop and there is a certain amount of haze, but it is the subtle use of electronics and the higher pitched vocals that remind of American Analog Set that I really connect with.
NYC
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Fun indie folk from New Jersey: Pine Barons
Forming in the basement of Keith’s parents house whilst the guys were still at school in New Jersey, Pine Barons (Keith Abrams, Brad Pulley, Shane Hower and Collin Smith) write tunes constructed of off beat rhythms underneath simple chord structures: the product is a sound reminiscent of Frank Turner or City and Colour. Last year they put out their seven track debut EP, a collection of rugged tracks from a group of like minded souls who see themselves as troubadours. ‘Carnival’ twinkles with electrics as it fuzzes, but this is probably the only track (together with lo-fi piece ‘Chamber Choir’) to veer off piste, even momentarily, from the record’s folk’n’roll vibe. Despite appearing to be buoyant and rhapsodic, the lyrics are not always so happy, the most pertinent and powerful perhaps being on ‘Smile America’ (‘the end told me that I don’t deserve to breath’) and the most radio friendly ‘Since I’ve Been Away’ (streaming): ‘it’s raining on my head sometimes I wish my head was dead.’ Bounding along with positive boisterousness, Pine Barons is perfect for intimate end of summer festivals when the sun is dipping and the rugs come out (although there are a heck of a lot of references to rain.) Folk with a hint of attitude; we like. – Francesca Baker
We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best Rootsy songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!
Chicago
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Bitchin Bajas
The local label Drag City released the latest from Bitchin Bajas last week. The self-titled double LP or double cassette with full relaxation versions. The tracks are each a new exploration in sound, space, and mind. Below is the video for the 12 minute track, not the longest track on the album, "Bueu".
Philadelphia
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Free Download: “Got It” – Mumblr
Here’s a new track from Mumblr‘s forthcoming album Full of Snakes called "Got It," which you can stream and download for free. It’s the third single from the record, and is about "being a strange, confused young man; feigning confidence and asking people to take him as he is," according to frontman Nick Morrison. Full of Snakes will be available on September 16 via Fleeting Youth Records, and the band will be celebrating its release on Friday, September 19 at Golden Tea House.
NYC
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Spotlight on CMF artist: Madisen Ward & the Mama Bear
This week, we are highlighting some of the artists playing the 10th annual Crossroads Music Fest. For more info or ticketing information, please visit cmfkc.com.
Madisen Ward & the Mama Bear quietly released their first album, We Burned the Cane Field, in 2012 (recorded/produced by Joel Nanos at Element Recording). It was relatively unknown and received very little press (The Deli KC published a review in 2013). The mother/son duo of Ruth and Madisen Ward continued performing week to week in coffeehouses and smaller venues, gaining a reputation for its profound songwriting, having two intriguing powerhouse voices, and an earnest charm that connected with audiences.
Mostly by word of mouth, Madisen and Ruth’s music has captured the attention of many in the KC area and beyond. We talk a bit with Madisen Ward about how the band came to be and what they have planned.
The Deli: How would you describe your music in one sentence?
Madisen Ward: An organic tribute to imperfection.
The Deli: Give us some background on the band. Why did you and your mom decide you would play together?
Madisen: We have been a band for 4 years now. My mother started singing at the age of 19; living a semi-nomadic life, singing in coffeehouses throughout the US. I grew up listening to her sing in coffeehouses, never realizing the impact her music and inspirations would have on me in the future. I picked up the guitar in my later teens and started singing even later. After high school, we discovered how much we enjoyed performing together, so I began writing music for both of us to sing in coffeehouses. We’ve been playing wherever we can, and as much as we can ever since.
The Deli: Madisen, what’s it like to be in a band with your mom? And Ruth, what’s it like to work with your son?
Madisen: It’s a very interesting and unique experience working with my mother. We were already connected as mother and son, so connecting as musicians was a very natural process.
Ruth: It’s a great experience, and I’m learning a lot from my son while enjoying the process as well. I feel like we’re tackling music in ways I never have before.
The Deli: Your first album, We Burned the Cane Field, came out in 2012. Do you have any new stuff in the works?
Madisen: We have lots of new material. Songs that we’re real excited to share with everyone, but the actual recording date is undetermined at this time. We’re looking forward to recording as soon as possible!
The Deli: What has been your biggest accomplishment as a band?
Madisen: We just recently announced that we’ll be opening for the legendary B.B. King on October 1 at The Midland (Facebook event page). This is probably our greatest accomplishment so far. It is a humbling honor to share the evening with such an amazing blues icon!
The Deli: What does the future hold for Madisen Ward & the Mama Bear?
Madisen: Touring and recording is what we’re wanting to accomplish for the upcoming months. We just recently signed on with the William Morris Endeavor Agency, and we couldn’t be more excited to embark on this journey!
The Deli: Who are your favorite local and non-local musicians right now?
Madisen: A couple of Mama Bear’s favorite musicians are Tracy Chapman and John Gorka. A couple of mine are Nick Drake and Tom Waits. Kansas City has a very unique and vibrant music scene; we’d rather not pick any one local musician as our favorite.
The Deli: Who are you looking forward to seeing at Crossroads Music Fest this year?
Madisen: I’m excited to see many bands, including The Philistines whom we’re sharing a venue with. Me Like Bees is a band I’m excited to see as well.
The Deli: Where can we find you on the web?
The Deli: Always go out on a high note. Any last words of wisdom for the Deli audience?
Madisen: No matter what you pursue; respect others while pursuing it. With all due respect, We’re all due respect.
Madisen Ward & the Mama Bear will be playing at The Tank Room for Crossroads Music Fest on Saturday. They will be playing at 10:00 pm, right after Maria the Mexican and right before The Philistines.
–Michelle Bacon
Michelle Bacon is editor of The Deli KC and plays in bands.
NYC
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Spotlight on CMF artist: Scott Hrabko & the Rabbits
(Photo by M. Krebotchnik)
This week, we’ll be highlighting some of the artists playing the 10th annual Crossroads Music Fest next Saturday, September 6. Please visit cmfkc.com for more information.
Scott Hrabko has been making music for over 25 years now, but only recently released his debut album in late 2013. The singer/songwriter composes thoughtful, reflective tunes with a backing band that provides the soul, swing, and twang that gives his music a classic country feel. We talk with Hrabko about his history and how he got back into the music scene.
The Deli: Down and dirty: 1 sentence to describe your music. What is it?
Hrabko: Singer/songwriterly, semi-autobiographical songs with rambling lyrics, played in a somewhat offbeat country/folk/blues hybrid with an emphasis on soulful three-part harmonies.
The Deli: How did you get back into writing and playing your own songs again?
Hrabko: After I moved from KC in the ’90s, I had some good bands in Chicago and Austin that maybe 20 people knew about. When I came back, though, I was having trouble meeting musicians who had any interest in the kind of stuff I write. I grew kind of disillusioned about writing songs for awhile and my only connection to music was this cover band, The Original Sinners, playing semi-obscure R&B songs from the ’50s a few times a year at parties. When the urge to write started pestering me again, my wife strongly suggested that I get out and play some solo acoustic shows. That was when I asked Howard Iceberg for advice and he introduced me to Elaine McMilian. Elaine booked gigs for me and helped get my music back out in public. She and her friend, the late Tom Ryan, were huge supporters early on. That helped because I was very nervous about the whole thing and had no idea how it would be received. It’s not easy to go out and perform without a band, but I’m glad I did; I really learned whether my songs can stand on their own, without all of the seductive instrumentation.
The Deli: How did you hook up with the rest of the Rabbits?
Hrabko: I met Emily Tummons a few years ago at the Howard Iceberg tribute show at Crosstown Station. My old band, the Splinters, was invited to play a couple of Howard’s tunes; Emily and her sister Beth sang a couple by themselves and with Scott Easterday. Their sound really knocked me out. It was very old-timey—the kind of harmonies you just don’t hear these days. I thought, “I have to find a way to sing with those girls, somehow.” I figured we might run into each other eventually, but right after the show as I was loading up my car, Emily came right up and introduced herself and asked if I ever needed any backing vocals. Beth was too busy with her home life to commit to anything, but Emily wound up singing on my album and then joined the Rabbits.
Josh Arnold was the first musician who joined us after that. He had gone to school with Emily and played bass with the Tummons Sisters. He and Emily had sung harmonies before, as well, so they already had all this history. I knew immediately that we had a good combination. He’s a great, intuitive bass player, and the two of them just have this telepathy when they sing together. With previous bands I was probably guilty of micromanagement, not letting the musicians be themselves and find a flow, but with Josh and Emily I just say, “here’s the song—go to it,” with only an occasional suggestion of what they should do. They’re also great people, and very funny.
We just lost our badass guitarist, Kirk Scott, who moved with his family to Massachusetts, so we’re a trio now, but we have a fourth member lined up; it’s just not official yet. Emily sang some harmonies on my CD, Gone Places and we started rehearsing with Josh about a year ago in preparation for the CD release, which was last November at Coda.
The Deli: What have been your greatest accomplishments as a band?
Hrabko: I think it has been developing our own unique sound in a very short period of time. I always dreamed of having a band with a strong element of harmony and the first time we sang together I knew it could be something special. And, for me, personally—I was really out of the music scene for years, so getting back into it and being so warmly received is really gratifying.
The Deli: You released your debut album Gone Places last November. What can people expect from it?
Hrabko: Gone Places came out late last year. That one was me and some old friends and some guest musicians I’d just met, recorded mostly in my basement. Scott Hrabko & The Rabbits are putting the finishing touches on a new album which will be out some time this fall.
The Deli: Who are you most looking forward to seeing at Crossroads Music Fest this year?
Hrabko: There are a lot of bands I already like that I want to hear, as well as some I’m curious about. It’s very nice that it all takes place within a few city blocks. After our set I think I’m just going to go wherever the wind takes me. It all sounds good.
The Deli: What does supporting local music mean to you?
Hrabko: It’s about acknowledging how lucky we are to be in a small-to-mid-sized major city smack dab in the middle of the country and we’re absolutely surrounded with good music. Can’t swing a dead cat. I’ll give you an example: we have this local, non-touring band, Dead Voices, who are making music that is just historically good, and they’re like our little secret. For the time being we have them to ourselves. It’s really lovely to see all this music happening here, because I can remember a time when it wasn’t, aside from a handful of true believers.
It’s not the product of hype, or a response to some kind of market pressure, either. It’s just growing on its own, taking its own quirky course.
The Deli: What has changed about the local music landscape? Why do you think it’s growing at a rate it wasn’t before?
Hrabko: There seems to be a convergence of musicians who came up together in the ‘90s and early ‘00s, who are all friends and play in each other’s bands. Many of the bands just seem to be part of one organism! It kind of sustains itself. It helps that the music is worth listening to.
Second, it seems that there are more entrepreneurs around who are musician-friendly or musicians themselves who are starting up venues and record labels, organizing festivals, etc. That infrastructure definitely wasn’t around back in the day when a band like mine could play a Monday night at The Grand Emporium or maybe open for somebody at Parody Hall.
Third, the internet. Being able to post your music online for anybody to check out has been a godsend for socially challenged musicians like me, and all of the social media has made it much easier to get the word out. Going around, stapling fliers to telephone poles seems very quaint now. I would also add that there are more true music lovers—especially for live music—than you would think there would be in a town this size, so people do come out. And of course we have KKFI!
The Deli: Who are your favorite local musicians right now?
Hrabko: It kills me to leave so many out, but I am a huge fan of Mikal Shapiro, Dead Voices, of course — anything David Regnier is involved in, Jason Beers, Marco Pascolini, Howard Iceberg, Brent Jamison, Kasey Rausch, Old Sound. John Greiner, but he just moved to the east coast, so he’s no longer local. Emily and Josh from my own band kick my ass on a regular basis.
The Deli: Who are your favorite not-so-local musicians right now?
Hrabko: Lately I’ve gotten into these mysterious, English folky women, like Cate LeBon and This Is The Kit. Also digging back into the late Townes Van Zandt’s early catalog and finding I really didn’t know all I thought I knew about him. What a lyricist… like William Blake or something! Fred Neill, early John Martyn (a lot of dead guys, I guess!), Michael Kiwanuka.
The Deli: A music-themed Mount Rushmore. What four faces are you putting up there and why?
Hrabko: Leonard Cohen, Robert Johnson, Joni Mitchell, Jimmie Rodgers, Captain Beefheart (I know, that’s five): great music that has stood the test of time. I’ve had so many musical heroes that I’ve either outgrown, disavowed, or gotten sick of, but I still get chills when I listen to these people’s songs. It still has as profound an impact on me as it did when I was much younger and knew even less.
The Deli: What other goals does Scott Hrabko & the Rabbits have for 2014?
Hrabko: Stay healthy, stay busy, stay visible, write great songs, and grow as a band.
The Deli: Where can we find you on the web?
The Deli: Always go out on a high note. Any last words of wisdom for the Deli audience?
Hrabko: If it’s crap, don’t be deterred.
Scott Hrabko & the Rabbits are:
Scott Hrabko: acoustic guitar, lead vocals
Josh Arnold: bass, vocals
Emily Tummons: accordion, ukulele, vocals
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/t1.0-9/10562953_10100267506402489_8344873471633293832_n.jpg
Scott Hrabko & the Rabbits will be playing at The Tank Room for Crossroads Music Fest on Saturday. Their set is at 6:00 pm, followed by Old Sound. Facebook event page. You can also catch Hrabko at Coda every fourth Saturday, where he hosts a happy hour songwriter showcase.
–Michelle Bacon
New England
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The Sharpest takes an indefinite break as drummer moves to Calgary
After announcing an indefinite hiatus and playing their last show for the foreseeable future, I would like to say congratulations to the Sharpest on a successful run – and good luck to drummer Matt Huszar as he tries out something new in Calgary! In Amherst, Massachusetts, the band became a staple of basement shows and had fans throughout the Pioneer Valley, especially at UMass Amherst. I had the honor of playing alongside the psychedelic indie trio at both my former band Red Panda’s album release show in 2013, during which they broke a television onstage, and at my high school graduation party, where their set was promptly ended by the police. I’ve been a fan ever since a friend showed me “She’s Painting” four years ago, and the guys’ take on math rock certainly inspired a lot of our band’s writing. Although the band is calling it quits for now, you can still check out their catalog over at Bandcamp and hope that we haven’t officially heard the last from them.
Jake Reed (@jakejreed)
Nashville
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Diarrhea Planet “Platinum Girls”
Okay, at this point Diarrhea Planet is hanging on the "Emerged" side of the playground, but we couldn’t resist posting this music video that premiered on NYLON last Friday. It just feels so good to have some local riff-raff on a national stage. "Platinum Girls" will be on their upcoming EP "Aliens in the Outfield," due to be released November 18th. While it’s shot at the original Pete and Pete house and features the Mr. Tastee of our dreams, our favorite part is the drummer’s GBV t-shirt. Because the devil is in the details. -Terra James-Jura
New England
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Jenna Paone proves herself on debut album “Hammers and Strings”
Boston’s Jenna Paone is gearing up to release her debut album, Hammers and Strings, on September 30, with a release party at New York City’s Rockwood Music Hall on the first of October. Having spent time studying at Boston’s Berklee College, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and Michigan’s Interlochen Arts Academy, Paone has crafted her own sound somewhere between jazz club headliner and adult alternative radio staple. Highlights include the catchy, horn-driven “Prove It” and the wary tango “Got Myself a Gun.” Be sure to give the whole disc a listen on September 30 – you won’t regret it. – Jake Reed (@jakejreed)
Philadelphia
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Krust Toons: “Down With The System” by Teddy Hazard
Krust Toons: "Down With The System" by Teddy Hazard – please feel free to drop him a line at teddandthehazards@gmail.com if you dig or have any funny ideas. You can also check out more of his illustrations HERE.
NYC
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The Record Machine brings a formidable lineup to Crossroads Music Fest next Saturday
This week, we’ll be highlighting some of the events and artists at the 10th annual Crossroads Music Fest on Saturday, September 6. Please visit cmfkc.com for more information.
This is the first year that The Record Machine will be curating its own stage at CMF. The record label, based in Kansas City, was launched in 2003, has released more than 50 albums, and has powered breakout area [and national] acts such as Cowboy Indian Bear, Minden, Soft Reeds, and Making Movies. The Record Machine also curated and has helped organize Ink’s Middle of the Map Festival each year since its 2011 inception.
Today, Nathan Reusch (who co-founded TRM with Mike Russo and Richard Robinett) owns the label and works with more than a dozen indie acts, many of whom are based in Kansas City. By booking them on widely attended showcases, helping them with touring, putting out records, among other invaluable services, The Record Machine has been a viable resource for the KC/Lawrence music community. We ask Reusch a few questions about what we can expect at the fest and in the future.
The Deli: Do you have any surprises in store for the CMF showcase?
Reusch: We will be unveiling some new branding for the label and we are excited about it. We will be launching a new website and video series from footage that we’re going to be making that weekend. We will likely have a pinata or two to smash in between bands.
The Deli: The showcase includes five artists on The Record Machine label. Why did you choose these acts?
Reusch: We are excited to have Max Justus, La Guerre, The Noise FM (pictured above), Chambers, and Ghastly Menace all on one show. They all have new records that either just came out or about to come out next year. So it’s really an accurate picture of where the label is at.
The Deli: What are some of the label’s greatest accomplishments?
Reusch: We are lucky to have released great records over the last few years from some of our favorites like Capybara, Cowboy Indian Bear, Soft Reeds, Spirit Is The Spirit, and a lot more. Between the work we do with The Record Machine and curating Ink’s Middle of the Map Fest, I feel like the label has hit a really great stride.
The Deli: Why did you decide to curate a stage at CMF? What value does it have for the KC music community?
Reusch: We were super honored to be asked to curate our own stage by CMF founder Bill Sundahl. I think it’s a great fest that shows a broad swath of what is going on in KC. It’s nice for us who have bands from around the region to join in the fest. A lot of our bands call KC a second home with The Record Machine being here.
The Deli: What else does The Record Machine have coming up that you’re looking forward to?
Reusch: We have an EP coming out this fall from Stolen Nations. It’s KC native Jon Terrey (The Chariot, The James Dean Trio). It’s really cool and fun to have Jon back on the label; he was in The James Dean Trio back in 2003 when we first started the label and was part of our first release. We also have new records coming out from Ghastly Menace, La Guerre, and Max Justus that we hope to have release dates for soon.
We’re currently starting work on 2015’s Middle of the Map Fest, which is always an exciting and fun event to plan but takes a lot of time for everything to come together. We also always try to throw a pretty sweet free Christmas party/winter showcase and looking at doing that in early December.
Be sure to make The Record Machine’s showcase one of your CMF stops on Saturday night. It takes place at Czar, with Ghastly Menace (6:00), La Guerre (8:00), Chambers (10:00), The Noise FM (12:00), and Max Justus (1:00). Facebook event page.
–Michelle Bacon