It’s a local invasion in Maryland this weekend as O.A.R.(above), SOJA, and Virginia Coalition dominate the stage at Merriweather Post Pavilion on 8/13. From basement shows, to VH1 Top 20, to worldwide fanbases, this bunch have come a long way, and MPP wants to make sure you are there. So we’ve got passes to give away! All you have to do is email us (please include first/last name), and let us know what your favorite song is by any of the featured bands and why, by 5 PM on Thursday August 11. The winner will be chosen at random, emailed back, and announced on this blog.
Check out this video for Virginia Coalition’s song "Sing Along."
Baltimore’s answer to dub pop soul with a tropical edge is absolutely Co La, and this week they’ve debuted another glorious track, "Blanketing Marrakesh", paired with a hallucinatory collage of warped images. It’s part of their series called "Fugitive of Leisure" which you can check out on Soundcloud now.
Here are some sweet words from fellow Baltimorean, Ken Seeno of Ponytail, on Co La, "This is the music that I want to wake up to every morning while a Rube Goldberg Contraption pours fresh coffee and makes hot waffles. For me, Co La embodies the memory of coasting through a dry Mexican town with the windows open, shirt sleeves rolled up, drinking a Coke out of a glass bottle, and soaking in the vivid hues of color. Co La is the passport from Spring to Summer. Crisp, Heady, Co La."
DC’s resident party starter, DJ lil’e, is bringing the power of pop to her Saturday 8/6 gig at the 9:30 Club with a clash of Gaga vs. Madonna vs. Britney. In case you missed out on buying your way in (nearly sold out), then here’s your chance to score free passes, courtesy of 9:30 Club. All you have to do is email us (please include first/last name), and let us know what you hope DJ lil’e will spin and why, by 6 PM on Thursday August 4. The winner will be chosen at random, emailed back, and announced on this blog.
Check out this starter to a set she did for Lady Gaga vs. Madonna vs. M.I.A last year.
It’s that time again! Run For Cover is back (for the 9th time) at the Black Cat to benefit the awesome ongoing music fest Fort Reno (<–click there for a sched of upcoming shows.) If you’ve been, you know it’s one of the most fun events to take place in the DC summer, with various locals coming together to cover some of the most least likely covered bands from every genre. (Rumor has it, there will be a cover band of an actual cover band this year- omg!) And if you haven’t been, then we recommend you get familiar with a little taste of some Huey Lewis & The News coverage below from last year’s RFC! Tickets always sell out, so get there early for the madness which starts at 8:00 PM, Saturday July 30. $10
Hey, cool, check this out. So the interns up in NYC have been looking through all the past poll winners throughout all the cities that the Deli covers, and reached out to some of their faves, including DC’s garage punk band The Electricutions. Repping them in this interview is Scott Wilson who hints to more recording this summer, a possible tour in the Fall, and the shocking truth behind their name. Check out some of their tracks below from their 7” Forgetten City, now available on vinyl through Windian Records. Now on to the interview… (Photo by Sasha Lord)
DC’s own rock & rollers US Royalty have been jamming out their hits off their debut album Mirrors all over the summer fest circuit with more to come, but most importantly- they’ll be hitting the 9:30 Club stage Friday July 29. And 9:30 wants to make sure you get in on it, so we’ve got some passes to this show! All you have to do is email us, and let us know what your favorite US Royalty song is and why, by 6 PM on Wednesday July 27. The winner will be chosen at random, emailed back, and announced on this blog.
Check out this sweet video for the track "Equestrian" off Mirrors, now available. Photo By: Geordy Pearson
Since DC’s the Vita Ruins recent departure from the stage (aw!!), mulit-instrumetalist Tim Kratzer has moved on to a new solo project called Honest Haloway. With this project, Kratzer can focus on sharing his art as soon as he finishes, rather than waiting to record, master, etc etc etc entire albums. With a foot in the world of music since age 11, he can pretty much do it all, and this debut video for "What I Leave Behind" off the upcoming EP The Towns makes us want to see and hear what awesomeness he’ll come up with next. (Shot and directed by Tim Kratzer and Sara Nabizadeh.) –Dawn
Combining epic sound scores with equally epic visuals in their live sets, it’s no wonder DC’s Drop Electric topped the charts when it came to fan votes in our recent band of the month poll. In case you aren’t familiar with this troop, we’ve got the entire lineup together for a little Q&A, including Ramtin Arablouei (Drums), David Garber (Keys), Neel Singh (Guitar), Sho Fujiwara (Guitar), Kristina Reznikov (Guitar), and Patrick Ryan Morris (Visuals.) With an album under their belt, and a new EP this Fall, Drop Electric fills us in on a possible upcoming film project, growing up on Kris Kross cassettes, and the upsides of the DC music scene. Check out the interview here…
And get yourself acquainted with their sounds courtesy this free download of their album Finding Color In the Ashes! It’ll surely get you amped for their upcoming show at the Rock & Roll Hotel on August 5th with Constant Alarm and Oh So Peligroso. Want more? Check out their video for "Robot Funeral" that just debuted last week. Holler! (Photo by James Lawler Duggan)
I first heard Margot MacDonald singing entirely by accident. I was walking through the Reston Town Center during one festival or another – who can keep track of how many festivals are held there? In the distance, I heard the familiar heartbeat rhythm from my days of programming computers while listening to Massive Attack records on headphones. Someone was covering "Teardrop" in a semi-a-capella fashion, apparently with the aid of some digital loops. I pushed through crowds of suburbanites to work my way closer to the heartbeat. When I finally found the makeshift stage setup, I was surprised to find a petite red-headed teenage girl absolutely wailing the lyrics by herself in perfect harmony with her own voice, which was pulsing through the loop pedal on the ground. There were at least three photographers with expensive, telephoto rigs photographing her performance as if this Reston festival were Lollapalooza.
I’ve found this to be the curious paradox of Margot MacDonald. On one hand, she has been massively successful in her music career, especially considering she is only 19 years old. She began singing with the Washington National Opera when she was 10 and was recording her first album with a Grammy-nominated producer by age 12. She was the 2010 Washington Area Music Award "Artist of the Year", her seventh "Wammie" award to date. And yet, to my knowledge, as of this publication, she is yet unsigned.
To be fair, MacDonald wasn’t interviewed for this piece, and maybe she isn’t looking to be signed right now. To be even fairer, she is extensively involved with non-profit organizations and is constantly playing out at these local festivals and seems nothing short of thrilled to do so. And to be beyond fair, she has graced stages no less prestigious than the 9:30 Club and even the Kennedy Center itself and doesn’t have a thing left to prove to anybody. But, honestly, it’s hard to hear a voice so refined, so bold, so versatile, and so fresh being showcased at a quaint, town festival and not have that old "Piano Man" thought, "Girl, what are you doin’ here?"
I feel like I’m sounding negative, so let me clarify my stance: Margot MacDonald is an absolutely bad-ass singer. And I am nothing if not a sucker for her obsession with (and mastery of) the loop pedal she’s become so associated with. And, I love that I can find her singing her heart out at a cute little festival just as hard as she would on a huge stage. She writes great original songs and has an arsenal of unique, gutsy covers, like Imogen Heap’s "Just for Now." To me, the detached observer, it seems like you can almost see her true artistic soul and edginess in the way she plays those cover songs than even in her own original music. But, there’s no doubt that her original songwriting is moving rapidly in a direction that is unmistakably her own and in a direction that really highlights her unstoppably strong voice that seemingly is unbounded by range limitations.
Margot is definitely an artist to watch, and I suspect we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg that is her music career. And, speaking of watching her, why not check her out while she’s still playing local festivals? Her next appearance is Friday, July 15, at the Wheaton TGIF Series.
Baltimore’s Romantic States have produced some gorgeous lo-fi gems on this long awaited 6 song EP Still Petals, with internet singles and a S/T full length cassette (only 50 exist!) preceeding it. The EP kicks off with Jim Triplett’s perfect mix of soft and speedy in "The Fourth", an uber jingly-jangly jam fest of rapid guitar strums over a sweet and fun melodic dance beat. It sets the pace for the rest of the tracks, each offering their own spin on shoegaze, fuzzy rhythms, and echoey vocals.
"Mirror Mirage" and "Sea Skulls" have sparks of lullaby qualities that would make for a fitting soundtrack to watch waves roll in or to accompany a summer romance. Keys get quirky in "Unreal From the Beginning" before flowing into another trip of pop trancey-gaze. "Down Your Spin" builds up into a splendiferous wall of lushness. And "Rifle Range" takes us out on a melodic ride that makes one want to hit the play button again. Most excellent.
From being well fed on vegetarian meals to repping rock of the Federal City, DC’s The Fed were the recent front-runners of our band of the month poll, so we just had to find out more about what makes these guys popular in our scene. Cory Chimka (vox,/guitar), Ben Burdick (vox/guitar/bass), Kevin Brown (drums/vox), and Keith Fishcer (guitar) come together to tell us the story of their journey from open-mic nights to packed rooms in West Africa, their latest EP, and DIY spirit. Check out the full interview here…
The Fed’s latest EP "Birth of the Pipesnakes" is available now through iTunes, local DC record stores, and www.thefedmusic.com.
With a handful of singles and a full length cassette under their belt, Baltimore’s Romantic States are releasing a new six song EP, Still Petals, on July 4 via BEKO-DSL. Romantic States is the creation of Jim Triplett with keyboardist Ilenia Madelaire joining in on live performances. The long-awaited (on my part) album features gorgeous tracks of echoing melodies which can be heard in this preview clip on Youtube- well worth the click!
And for a taste of their past gems, here’s one of their stellar singles…-Dawn
