It is an innovative concept, dedicated to bringing the best of new music to an unplugged, intimate, unusual space or venue. Mix in a crowd of dedicated music lovers, other artists, and industry professionals, and you have an evening which promises electric performances and new networks.
Currently Sofar has branched off to New York, London, Paris, DC, Sydney, LA, India, Dallas…and now Philadelphia!
The video was recorded on January 29, 2012 at a living room in Queens Village by Jeremy Quattlebaum (The Angry Mountain Man). It features performances by The Spinning Joneses (“She’s a Dreamer” – at the 8 min mark), Asbury Park’s Lightning Jar, and the spoken word of Ms. Wise. Special thanks to The Key for bringing it to our attention.
It’s starting to become commonplace to find singer-songwriter Meg Baird on oddly match bills, which is what you’ll have when she opens for operatically-trained indie darling Zola Jesus (a.k.a. Nika Roza Danilova) and noisy female duo Talk Normal (Best of The Deli NYC 2009 Poll Winner). But I’m confident that the local folk songstress can win the crowd over with just an acoustic guitar and her mellifluous vocals. After all, I’ve seen it done time and time again. Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden St., $13, 8pm, All Ages – H.M. Kauffman
Since debuting at The Station last year on March 15 during a crazy show that also featured their longtime friends Tough Shits, Gold Crowns have gone on to perform at some big shows at Kung Fu Necktie and events like the Art Star Craft Bazaar. However, the band that features former members of Dark Horse & the Carousels, Sweatheart, and The Invisible Friends has taken a bit of a break since the fall to concentrate on some much-needed recording. Their first offering is a 7” that will be released on a new local label Founding Fathers Records (run by their bassist Max Jonas). The band will celebrate their debut album at the bar where it all began tonight, and they’ll be joined by the always impressive Adam & Dave’s Bloodline as well as Far-Out Fangtooth’s Joe Kusy & the Big Shirts. The Station, 1550 McKean St., 9pm, $5, 21+ (Photo by David Turcotte) – Bill McThrill
North Philly’s ASAAD (born Saayid Asaad) has no hate in his heart…“just an extreme distaste for the unjust that appear to be just.” The prolific 21 year old emcee/producer certainly has no lack of confidence, but that’s exactly what you need to make it in the entertainment industry (as well as a good sense of humor). With music being part of his life practically since birth, you’ll find that it has naturally become his weapon of choice as the “working class hero” tells his story of the “#DIRTYMIDDLECLASS” in his latest album, and it has also led him to the top of the Best of The Deli Philly’s Fans’ Poll for Emerging Artists. You can read our recent interview with ASAAD HERE. (Photo by Chicquelo)
Since opening Tuesday at The Fire, the 2012 Northern Liberties Winter Music Fest has seen its fair share of those killer gifted acts, like Paper Masques and North Lawrence Midnight Singers, that, with every chord, help morph the Philly music scene into a newer, more cutting-edge breed. For its Thursday and Friday installments (and until it closes Sunday), the PhillyVenues.org-presented fest will continue to showcase those beloved local acts. Thursday’s set will have Toy Soldiers‘ Ron Gallo crooning his solo work (look out for new Toy Soldiers material – recording started in January), windswept six-piece Spirit & Dust squandering your soul, and Jersey’s brusque folk-meets-Southern bar gang, River City Extension, taking you to end of the dusty road (their sophomore album, Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Your Anger, drops June 5). And on Friday, you can count on the Homophones, Circadian Rhythms, and Early Ape to offer a phonically-diverse night of freaked out acoustics, pop-punk missives, and melodic irony. Can’t say you have the wintertime blues anymore, can ya? The Fire, 412 W. Girard Ave., 8pm, $10, 21+ (Thurs & Fri) – Annamarya Scaccia
Diplo mentioned that he was working on a new EP called Express Yourself last year. It still hasn’t surfaced, but a track by the same name just did as a single on Mad Decent’s Jefree’s imprint. It features Nicky Da B, and you can check it out HERE.
Below is BITBY’s February Episode featuring Summer Fiction performing “Chandeliers” and “Throw Your Arms Around Me” from their self-titled debut full-length album. Enjoy!
The Mural Arts Program made an announcement about several items yesterday regarding the year-long TheRoots Mural Project. It will tell the story of The Roots – focusing on founding members Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter – from the start of it all to the present day. The Mural Arts Program officially announced that the mural will be located on 6th and South St. (but we already knew that). After a national open call for artists, the program selected a group of Philly muralists to create The Roots Mural Project. The artistic team will be known as the Amber Design Collective featuring Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, and will also include David Guinn, Ernel Martinez, Charles Barbin, Willis Humphrey, and Keir Johnston. Individually, these artists have each created murals for the program, but this project will be their first collaboration together.
“The first meeting with the artists was amazing; we shared ideas of what the final mural could end up looking like. It’s beyond anything Tariq and I ever dreamed of,” said ?uestlove. “And to have it along South Street, near the same corners we were kicked off of for playing our music is fantastic.”
A part of the project that looks really interesting is an education program called “The Roots 101.” “The Mural Arts Program’s Art Education Department partners with a diverse group of schools, social service agencies, nonprofit, and municipal organizations to provide free innovative art programming for young people. Passionate teaching artists lead classes twice a week at sites across the city. The Roots Mural Project is rooted in engaging and empowering students to tell their stories through various medium, including drawing, photography, collage, and more. The artist team will conduct workshops with students to ascertain their areas of interest and design concepts for the mural and incorporate their ideas into the mural design. In addition, students will be part of the project programming, as attendees and, in some instances, panelists.”
?uestlove and Black Thought weren’t able to make it for the announcement so they sent the video message below and The Roots’ bassist Leonard “Hub” Hubbard. (Photo by Chad Griffith)
?uestlove recently made an ad video for the Barack Obama 2012 Campaign – African Americans for Obama, which was specifically posted in time for Black History Month. He defends the need of eight years for Obama to make real change happen. Whether you believe it or not, do you really think Mitt Romney can do it? Or…hehe…can Santorum pull it out of his ass? We don’t think so. Now, the only real question is: Where the hell did ?uesto get that fly hair pick with the Obama Campaign logo? Special thanks to Philly Weekly for bringing the footage to our attention.
The Menzingers made their new LP On The Impossible Past available today for streaming via Punknew.org. The album will be out next Tuesday, February 21 via Epitaph Records. The band will be performing again in Philly on April 21 at Road to Ruin Fest.
You might have read about 19 year old multi-instrumentalist and Lehigh Valley recluse DJ Brown a.k.a. Our Griffins in our What’s This? column HERE a while back. Well, the teenager is starting to brave the waters of the local Philly music scene. He’ll be headlining tonight upstairs at World Café Live so you’ll get an early chance to experience his rich, wise-beyond-his-years vocals for yourself. Our Griffins will be joined 60’s influenced Brit-poppers The Really Cooks and the pretty lo-fi psych pop of Your Children is Beautiful. World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 8pm, $6 + fees, All Ages – H.M. Kauffman
BITBY will be premiering their seventh episode tonight on the big screen upstairs at Tattooed Mom’s. This month’s featured artist is Summer Fiction a.k.a. Bill Ricchini who will also be deejaying along with the ladies of Lady.Bang.Beat. – Attia Taylor and Madeline Thomas. It’s free.
