Philadelphia

Tin Horses, Levee Drivers & Bronze Float at KFN Dec. 8

Posted on:

There is a sweet local lineup tonight at Kung Fu Necktie that will make braving the sudden chill worth it. Philly’s latest answer to “What would Crazy Horse sound like if they were influenced by our local music scene?” will be laying down some feedback and raunchy guitar licks this evening from KFN’s cozy, little stage. Led by Purling Hiss bassist Kiel Everett, Tin Horses will be handing out some fine countrified roots rock to us city slickers. And helping them keep the sounds and fashion of denim-clad rural rock in vogue for the night will be Bucks County good ole boys Levee Drivers with the lonesome prairie howl of lead vocalist August Lutz. (I’m really excited to hear that they are finally recording some new material.) This one-two combination should bring out the whiskey drinking modern day cowboy in all of us tonight. Opening the bill will be the sensitive chilled out experimental pop of Bronze Float. Definitely looking forward to this one! Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 8pm, $8, 21+ – Q.D. Tran
 



Philadelphia

New Music Video: “They Call Me Castro” – Curly Castro

Posted on:

Below is a new music video from Curly Castro for the track “They Call Me Castro,” which was produced by Blueprint and will appear on his upcoming LP Fidel that will be available early 2012. It features some nice footage from Occupy Philly and various locations in West Philly as well as archival footage of the Black Panthers and the march on Selma, Alabama (courtesy of the National Archives). The video was directed by Mighty Joe Castro (no blood relation).
 

Philadelphia

Dion Paci & Bob Lovelace w/G. Calvin Weston and Special Guest: Bernie Worrell at The M Room Dec. 7

Posted on:

Dion Paci and Bob Lovelace have bonded over music since the young age of 6. And throughout their childhood and adolescence, they have both studied under local guitar guru Bob Neuburger honing their skills in progressive rock/jazz and jam band/blues based music while sharing the bill with their different bands. After going their separate paths in college, both established their foothold on two different sides of the country – Paci in the East and Lovelace in the West. Now the duo has gotten together to form the collaboration that has been building for over two decades, and when they perform at The M Room tonight, they will have the serious players that you’d want for this momentous occasion. G. Calvin Weston earned his musical prowess by touring extensively in North America and Europe with Ornette Colemans Prime Time Band at just the ripe age of 17. Since then, the no nonsense drummer has extended his skills to projects with talented performer like Billy Martin (Medeski Martin and Wood), Tricky, and Vernon Reid. Tonight he’ll definitely be in his element, especially when legendary keyboardist Bernie Worrell, who is a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and former Talking Heads conspirator, takes the stage. Their collaboration is destined to take a funky ride through outer space. The M Room, 15 W. Girard Ave., 8pm, $15, 21+ – Bill McThrill

Philadelphia

Catnaps Opening for Kathryn Calder at JB’s Dec. 7

Posted on:

Catnaps (formerly When I Was 12) make tunes about falling in and out of love that simply remind me of my first kiss over and over again. But like all first kisses, they eventually have to end, and I wish that I had their full-length album Why Don’t You Whisper? to help get me through that time period, well, when I was twelve. The local twee four-piece will get their chance to woo the audience at Johnny Brenda’s tonight when they open for the “bright and vivid” Kathryn Calder from The New Pornographers and Absolutely Kosher’s Himalayan Bear. Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 9pm, $10, 21+ – H.M. Kauffman

Philadelphia

Reading Rainbow Has Changed Their Band Name to Bleeding Rainbow – Seriously!

Posted on:

Woah – Reading Rainbow has changed their band name to Bleeding Rainbow! That’s the big news that they were talking about yesterday (via their Twitter). Hehe – now they have the difficult task of coming with a new Twitter name. We definitely like it better though. Below is why they changed it (via their Tumblr).

 
REASONS WE CHANGED OUR NAME FROM READING RAINBOW TO BLEEDING RAINBOW:
 
– We like the name Bleeding Rainbow better.
 
– It is trippy as shit.
 
– We didn’t want to get a cease and desist letter from PBS.
 
–  We were sick of being named after a children’s t.v. show.
 
– We were sick of people fixating on it and making dumb jokes/comments about it. (even though it was our own damn fault.)
 
– Carrie Brownstein didn’t like the name Reading Rainbow.
 
Philadelphia

Yikes The Zero Scaring Up Grooves at KFN Dec. 6

Posted on:

Yikes The Zero is the hip hop home-recording project from West Philly producer and emcee Jarrett Blair. He has a few mixtapes under his belt, and on his four-song EP Strange Brew (which you can download for free HERE), you’ll find some eerie, fuzzed out material that might sonically feel like it is treading on the “witch house” landscape to jazzed out tracks influenced by hip hop legends like De La Soul and Gang Starr. Tonight at Kung Fu Necktie, you’ll get a chance to hear Yikes The Zero live scaring up grooves for your listening pleasure. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St., 8pm, $5, 21+ – Alexis V.
 

Philadelphia

The Roots’ undun Is Out Today!

Posted on:

The Roots’ first concept album undun is out today! The LP is an existential re-telling of the short life of one Redford Stephens, the main protagonist who was heavily influenced by Sufjan Stevens’ song “Redford.” You can read the band’s explanation of the tale and view the full short film (which was directed, shot, and edited by Clifton Bell) that coincides with the album below. undun is also still streaming in its entirety HERE, and its app for both iPhone and iPad is available HERE.
 
undun is the story of this kid who becomes criminal, but he wasn’t born criminal. He’s not the nouveau exotic primitive bug-eyed gunrunner… he’s actually thoughtful and is neither victim nor hero. Just some kid who begins to order his world in a way that makes the most sense to him at a given moment… At the end of the day… isn’t that what we all do?