NYC

Rahiem Supreme’s Visuals for “JL2M”

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In an entertainment world that seeks to promote one version of the type of music that rap artists are creating today, I still believe in pure hip-hop and creativity. I still believe in the hip-hop artist’s ability to deliver a message in the music. When I first saw Rahiem Supreme’s video for "JL2M," my beliefs became validated. Bringing the focus back to smooth lyrical ability dancing over boom-bap beat, Rahiem Supreme delivers what I’ll call an artistic masterpiece in a sea of artists who are unable to break free of the hold that "trap rap" seems to have on our culture. Captivating visuals full of "real life" moments such as chillin’ in the crib, and conversations with the homies allows Rahiem Supreme to bare his artistic soul in this video. Straying away from cookie-cutter visuals, "JL2M" comes hard with it’s gritty filters, dark lighting, and impeccable transitions between scenes.

Hip-hop thanks you, Rahiem Supreme. I thank you for renewing my faith in music that I love. –Opal Rose

Portland

Otis Heat to Release ING at Star Theater 9.5

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Many moons have passed but these righteous dudes are at again. Alas, we have a second full-legnth album from Portland’s funktabulous grunge rock supreme, Otis Heat. This Friday, they are playing the Star Theater to celebrate the release of ING along with Brad Parsons & the Local Talent and Marca Luna.

This album features all four songs from The Ugly EP as well as ten new ones. Songs such as “Circles” has been tested at many of their past shows and the piercing chorus can ring in your head weeks after hearing it. “ING”, the albums opening song was set to a music video to promote the band’s upcoming fall tour. For their live show, you can expect a big sound to come from this three piece. With front man Sean O’Neill’s slap-heavy bass playing, his high-pitched vocals, a drummer who can carry seven different beats at once, and guitar shredder that puts a wide range of melodies on top of huge rhythms, turns their music into a giant thunder cloud of awesome sauce mixed in with sexy butter served over-easy with a handle of whiskey. Guaran-Fucking-Teed. $7 advance, $10 at the door.

– Colin Hudson

Philadelphia

Communion w/TJ Kong and The Atomic Bomb (EP Release), Levee Drivers, Ron Gallo & More at Underground Arts Sept. 4

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TJ Kong and The Atomic Bomb will be officially dropping a special digital edition of their EP KONG with bonus tracks on September 9 via American Diamond Recordings. They’ll be celebrating the release at Underground Arts tonight during the monthly edition of Communion, and will be joined by New Orleans’ Crash, Portland/Brooklyn’s Diane Birch, and some members of their American Diamond family. With Ron Gallo still riding high from the release of his LP RONNY and Levee Drivers recording material for their American Diamond debut, the crowd should be filled with plenty of familiar faces. Underground Arts, 1200 Callowhill St., 9pm, $15, 21+ – Bill McThrill

NYC

NYC Songwriter Johnny Lewis announces debut LP + plays Mercury on 09.08

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Johnny Lewis’ tracks are hearty acoustic gems interlaced with perfectly panned ambiance. The Minneapolis songwriter – now based in Brooklyn – manages to create pieces that are equal parts nostalgic and eclectic, adding elements of unfamiliarity to songs that otherwise hit home. He’s recently shared with us a dream-folk track “Familiar Chime” (streaming), a single off of his forthcoming self-titled debut album, which is set to be released on September 23. This will be a bit of a shift from his background in electronic music production, and we’re excited to see what he comes up with this time around. Next week Lewis will perform with his six-piece ensemble at Mercury Lounge in NYC on Monday, September 8th at 7pm. – Jillian Dooley

We added this song to The Deli’s playlist of Best Rootsy songs by emerging NYC artists – check it out!

NYC

Money Wolf’s songwriter stage at CMF promises musical diversity

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(Photo by Todd Zimmer)
 
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 tickets or more information.
 
Along with The Record Machine (see our spotlight on them earlier this week), Money Wolf Music will be curating its own stage at CMF this year for the first time. This Kansas City collective/production house/record label has helped put musicians on display to different audiences in unconventional settings; for instance, they often put on exclusive secret shows and coordinate a private hotel showcase at the annual Folk Alliance International conference. By also co-organizing networking and informational sessions, recording and releasing albums, and advocating for its artist roster—which includes Dollar Fox (pictured above), The Hillary Watts Riot, Dead Ven, and others—Money Wolf is an important resource to Kansas City music.
 
This year, Money Wolf will host a songwriter showcase at Celina Tio’s Crossroads district restaurant, Collection. The event will feature songwriters’ circles: four sets of four artists will trade off songs. Tommy Donoho, one of the main forces behind Money Wolf and the frontman of Dollar Fox, talks to us about what we can expect from Saturday.
 
The Deli: The Money Wolf stage at Collection features 16 different acts. Tell us why festivalgoers should make a point to check out this showcase.
 
Tommy Donoho: We worked hard to put together a lineup that truly represents the amazing diversity in this city. From folk to punk to blues to instrumental to pop to country to full-on freaks, we wanted people to really experience a taste of ALL the great songwriters this city has to offer. Plus, we’re doing a very intimate, simple mic set-up—kind of the old time approach—to capture the real essence of what these people sound like. It’s a songwriter-focused stage in every possible way.
 
The Deli: Do you have any surprises in store?
 
Donoho: You know us all too well. For us, the surprise was the diversity of the lineup. It’s something we’re really reaching towards—getting people to see ALL the music KC has to offer. Of course, you get this many folks together, I’m guessing someone is going to bust out something that inspires collaboration.
 
The Deli: Why did you decide to curate a stage at CMF?
 
Donoho: Last year, Justin [Penney] was hired to run sound at the venue for CMF and it went well. Over the last year, he and I have had more contact with both Celina and Bill [Sundahl] and it made sense to bring us back this year.
 
The songwriter circle idea came from Bill. I think he saw the potential of what we were pulling together with our involvement with Folk Alliance International some of the songwriting circles we’ve been hosting with a variety of artists. What can I say? Bill trusted us to make something unique.
 
The Deli: What value does this have for the KC music community?
 
Donoho: I’m hoping musicians make new friends and fans. I’m hoping fans find more musicians they weren’t even aware existed. And mostly I’m hoping we’ll get more and more people out to see a wider variety of shows in the future. The town and the people who write songs in it are fucking amazing. I’m starting to see the city embrace this notion more and more. I’m hoping they’ll embrace our vision of how there’s no difference between Mikal Shapiro and Mike Alexander. They write songs and damn good ones; music fans should see the musicians at the core of what they are. And that’s the biggest benefit we can hope for: to have people walking away saying, “Holy shit, those people can write some songs.”
 
The Deli: What else does Money Wolf have coming up that you’re looking forward to?
 
Donoho: We’re actually hosting our second Sonic Saturday Social Club at 3:00 on the day of CMF. It’s an event we’re working on with Coda, where we bring in rock bands on the first Saturday of each month. Day drinking, rock and roll, all ages, good food. It’s all about exposing people to great music.
 
On September 22, we’re hosting another of our infamous Secret Shows. We have Zachary Lucky from Canada rolling in. He blew people away at the FAI conference and we’re hoping to get him in front of more people. He writes some of the best sad bastard tunes around. He picked the most depressing day of the week to hit town. So we’re going to celebrate all the sadness by serving up some delicious competition smoked BBQ and music. We’re calling it All Your Hopes Go Up in Smoke. It’ll be limited to a mere 20 tickets. We’ll be announcing all of it soon.
 
The Deli: Tell us what some of Money Wolf’s artists have going on.
 
Donoho: The Hillary Watts Riot has been playing a ton in and out of town and are about to release a new video. Dead Ven is playing everywhere, including a set with the Ataris, I believe. He’s a really spectacular songwriter. Dollar Fox is woodshedding for a while, but I’m always out playing. And we just did the Records with Merritt live show, recording. It was a huge success and songs are being mixed to ship out to press here very soon.
 
We stay busy here at Money Wolf Music. And this CMF event is something we’re crazy excited for. It’s gonna be a great night.
 
 
Start your day off early at Coda and catch Money Wolf’s Sonic Saturday Social Club at 3:00 p.m., with The Thunderclaps (our artist of the month!) and Oldfield Victory. Facebook event page. Then, at 6, be sure to hit up the showcase at Collection, with 16 different songwriters. Facebook event page.
 
–Michelle Bacon
 
 

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NYC

Spotlight on CMF artist: Onward Crispin Glover

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(Photo by Mark Peterman)
 
This week, we are highlighting some of the artists playing the 10th annual Crossroads Music Fest this Saturday, September 6. For more info or tickets, visit cmfkc.com.
 
Onward Crispin Glover released its first and only album, The Further and the Faster, in 2001 on Anodyne Records—a Kansas City-based label that has released albums from the likes of Shiner, The Architects, Roman Numerals, and Meat Puppets. The band had a punchy, glammy pop vibe infused with boisterous punk, starring a cast of experienced musicians from groups such as Frogpond, TV Fifty, Truck Stop Love, and Rocket Fuel is the Key. And though it released just the one album, Onward Crispin Glover has remained on the minds of many in KC music ever since.
 
One of those minds was that of Bill Sundahl, who has organized every CMF since its inception in 2005. Sundahl specifically requested for OCG to reunite for this year’s festival. “Every now and then I would run across The Further and the Faster, put it in my CD player, and it always held up,” he comments. “I can’t think of many recordings from 2001 I can say that about.”
 
And it certainly does hold up, even 11 years after the band’s demise. Though OCG’s style was heavily rooted in ‘90s power pop/punk—comparisons to Superchunk and Archers of Loaf have often been drawn—it was far more expansive than that. The members cite Elvis Costello and The Afghan Whigs as influences, which immediately eliminates them from being stuck with a simple power pop branding—something you can tell after a single listen to The Further and the Faster. Costello had a penchant for writing some of the hookiest and most timeless pop songs ever, with a new wave/punk attitude; this is absolutely evident in OCG’s songwriting.
 
“It began with a very pop-oriented sensibility and progressed toward a noisier, more chaotic sound,” says bassist Kristin Conkright.
 
Elements of that chaotic but catchy sound has manifested in Knife Crime; three of the band’s four members are also original members of OCG: Byron Huhmann, Conkright, and Brad Huhmann. With Byron’s striking, pronounced vocals at the helm—he is also primary songwriter of both bands—Knife Crime is something of a modern-day, slightly more grown-up version of its members’ previous incarnation.
 
Onward Crispin Glover formed in 1999, with Byron on vocals and guitar, Brad on guitar, Conkright on bass, and Billy Johnson on drums. Brad chose not to tour with the band and was replaced by Marty Robertson—who, along with Johnson, was in Frogpond. Robertson later handed the reins off to Steve Tulipana. In 2003, the band folded and went on to a number of other successful projects, such as Federation of Horsepower, Anvil Chorus, and Red Kate. 
 
Conkright also lists “the KC affinity for really, really fucking loud guitars” as one of the trademarks of OCG’s sound. On Saturday’s reunion show, the group will once again deliver on this promise more than ever before. The lineup will include a triple axe arsenal of the Huhmann brothers and Robertson. Conkright tells us that the biggest, yet most rewarding challenge is “figuring out how to work all three guitar players into one set without smashing eardrums.” Chris Fugitt of Federation of Horsepower will be sitting in on drums, as Johnson will be out of town.
 
For now, old and new fans will have the chance to experience Onward Crispin Glover at Crossroads Music Fest this weekend. But the members note that they’ve had so much fun revisiting the songs that they might play more after the reunion show. And as well as OCG’s songs hold up more than a decade later, we’ll probably want them to.
 
–Michelle Bacon
 
Michelle is editor-in-chief of The Deli KC and plays in bands. Crispin Glover scares her a little.
 
 
Onward Crispin Glover will be playing in the Mercy Seat Alley for CMF on Saturday, kicking off the evening at 7:00 pm. Don’t miss it.
 
 
 
Free Counters

Philadelphia

New Music Video: “Separate Songs” – Restorations

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Restorations shared a new music video with NPR Music yesterday for the first single, "Separate Songs," from their upcoming album LP3. It was co-directed by Mitchell Wojcik and John Komar. According to frontman Jon Loudon, "’Separate Songs’ is one of our favorite compositions off LP3. We got to do all the things we like in here: heinous feedback, giant chorus, too many guitar solos, etc. The song is about throwing your computer out the window." For this album, they teamed up once again with producer Jon Low (The Menzingers, Bleeding Rainbow, etc.), and the record will drop on October 28 via SideOneDummy Records.

Nashville

Tetherball to Release Full-Length “Whimsy” in October

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Sometimes it doesn’t take much for The Deli to dig a song.  Take, for instance, Tetherball’s brand-new single, "Bootss."  Yeah, it was interesting reading up on producer, musician, and major label expat Steve Voss’s overarching plans to eventually include film, print, and other media beneath the Tetherball umbrella (check out a music video teaser here.) Maybe learning that Philip K. Dick has a strong influence on some compositions had us fanning ourselves a little. But before this, we were already hooked by those first two gnarly chords in the beginning of "Bootss." The track beefs up around them as it goes on, and the resulting choppy, Daft-Punk-vs-Primus smackdown is so satisfying to listen to; Voss’ gift for weaving together discord had us eager to hear how he was going to make the next scrap fit. The band’s next show will be October 6th at The High Watt. Tetherball’s debut full-length, "Whimsy," will be released this October via Silver Point Records, and we can’t wait. –Terra James-Jura

L.A.

Zella Day plays at The Echo on 9.10

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Hotly-tipped pop chanteuse Zella Day has garnered heaps of attention for her sweeping, uplifting synth pop, a marked evolution from her days living in a small ranch in Pinetop, Arizona. At an early age, Day would perform at her family-owned coffee show, playing a variety of covers in what could be described as a stately, idyllic setting. These days, Day is pursuing a grander, more accessible sound, in which an atmospheric veil of droning synths and pompous, thundering drums crash against her simple, yet affective vocals. Day may write finely-polished ballads that have the potential to become big hits, but they’re also intricately produced and suffused with a sultry elegance that’s equally exacting and fulfilling. Expect her still nascent career to really take shape in 2015.Day’s debut self-titled EP is slated for a fall 2014 release via B3SCI records. And make sure to catch her play a set at The Echo next wednesday, September 10th.  

Toronto

Gen Gorman- 9/9 @ Bovine Sex Club

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Check out Gen Gorman Tuesday 9/9 @ the Bovine Sex Club. Be there before 10pm! Gen’s latest record Big Surf is a modern take of 90’s alt-rock, totally takes me back! With badass vocals and a grunge guitar, Watch out for this chick! Listen to the latest track-With The Radio below. Go to her facebook page and get deets on her next shows.

New England

Sundog touches down in Boston in new live video

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Our latest Artist of the Month is an astronaut with a loop pedal. Are you intrigued yet? Filmed in Boston, Sundog’s latest live video for “The Prairie” finds him sitting comfy in a city basement with a ukulele, microphone, drum machine and his signature looper (and, lest I forget, a bottle of Jameson nearby). On the track, a mesmerizing beat and Sundog’s soulful pipes are joined by a toy piano around the 3:30 mark, a slightly off-key surprise that even more surprisingly … fits. If you like what you hear, download Sundog’s latest album on Bandcamp now, and make sure to check out the recently released video for “The Wasted” featuring Jonathan Brown. – Jake Reed (@jakejreed)