Tag Archives: l;isten now

DIY Engineering in a Custom Mobile Rig: In The Studio (sort of) with ATTENTION SYSTEM

PRE-PRODUCTION

What was your pre-production like on this project?

This record was very different for us; we’re all technophiles, so we decided to pull out of the big studio zeitgeist and do some mobile DIY audio engineering in weird places.

So the pre- was probably the most difficult part to intellectualize. We did the entirety of the record in Pro Tools, so all the standard pre-pro stuff had to be done on the computer (the track planning, plug-ins, session building and all that), and we’d map out a method for recording each instrument in odd ways.  Continue reading →

Spotlight on Pretty & Nice

GENRE: Experimental Pop
HOMETOWN: Boston, MA
ARTISTIC APPROACH: To teach an advanced pop crash course.
www.prettyandnice.com

Digesting all of the idiosyncrasies that define Pretty & Nice would be quite the challenge. Their quippy nature is surprisingly charming – the members in the band are even more so. And the fact that they’ve been so modest about all of their hard work makes the news that they’ve signed to Rory Records, an imprint of Equal Vision, that much more satisfying. The boys got sweaty on 2008’s Get Young, a debut album that was more than just rattling guitar and irrefutable hooks – it was downright sprawling, untamable, and sheer fun. Being handpicked by Say Anything frontman Max Bemis for Rory Records would seemingly have an inherent amount of pressure attached to it, but Roger Lussier possesses a different point of view on the matter.  Continue reading →

Spotlight on The Black Apples

GENRE: Psychedelic Motown Surf
HOMETOWN: Los Angeles, CA
ARTISTIC APPROACH: Fraternal collaboration and musical experimentation.
www.blackapplesmusic.com

Campbell and Andrew Scarborough – singers, songwriters, guitarists, and brothers – have literally spent a lifetime together as musicians and collaborators. The brothers’ musical roots are planted firmly in their childhood home. Their father toured as a guitar player during the ’60s, playing surf rock as well as the music of Motown and the British Invasion. Campbell and Andrew recognize their father as a major influence on their commitment to music and the sound of The Black Apples, which they like to call “Psychedelic Motown Surf.” Their mother also worked in the industry and both parents set the boys on a musical path early on; they’ve been playing together ever since. “My whole family plays” says Campbell, “I don’t know anything different.”  Continue reading →

Sandrider: The April 2013 Cover Story

Taking Advantage of Studio Limitations

Seattle’s Sandrider is a gnarly, loud and ferocious trio of veteran musicians, hell-bent on destroying eardrums and bass drums in equal numbers. The band is about to re-release their self-titled LP on 180 gram wax, courtesy of Good To Die Records, and we had a chance to catch up with frontman Jon Weisnewski about the group’s back story, their favorite gear, and their creative process both in and out of the studio.

Can you give us a brief rundown of how the band formed and where you’re at today?

I’d been playing in the band Akimbo with Nat, our drummer, for about 15 years. I originally learned to play music on the guitar, but switched to bass in Akimbo. And I had a real desire to play guitar again, and to play with other musicians. So I asked Nat if he wanted to start playing some songs, and we wrote some music and had some other bass players come in and fool around. Never really got a serious bass player for a while, until I was getting tattooed by Jesse, Sandrider’s bass player, and we started shooting the shit. He played in a band I liked a lot, and they were in the middle of a hiatus at the time. So I told him he should come down and play bass with us.

That first practice was just out of this world. It was great; we had an amazing chemistry together.

 

Continue reading →

VINYL OF THE MONTH: The Purrs

The Purrs
Rotting On The Vine (Single)
Seattle, WA
(Fin Records)

“Seattle’s Answer to Britpop and Drugged-Out Psychedelia”

The Purrs’ latest vinyl single blasts out a triumphant blend of psychedelic garage rock and Britpop, replete with swirling fuzz guitars and Stone Roses-esque vocal harmonies. There’s a certain looseness to the track, which when listened to through headphones, really makes things sound “alive.” If only more rock bands recorded like this, perhaps we wouldn’t have to endure a never-ending parade of Beyoncé clones on the radio. At times, “Rotting On The Vine” may sound a little too Stone Roses, but in an era of lip-synced, Auto-Tuned musical diarrhea, is that such a bad thing?

The B-Side, “You, The Medicine And Me,” enters the fray with a more surreal, atmospheric wash of droning guitars and female background vocals. Continue reading →

Spencer Pope – The Dark The Light

Spencer Pope
The Dark, The Light
Atlanta GA
(Self-Released)

Spencer Pope’s The Light The Dark is an introspective, instrumental album featuring Pope on piano backed by guitar, bass, drums and horns. If you’re thinking jazz, think again. Certainly, Pope draws influences from the genre. The one solo piano track on the album, “The Last Beautiful Thing,” is reminiscent of Keith Jarrett’s solo improvisations. The overall feel of the album–ominous, passionate, and full of existential angst–might remind a jazz fan of Taylor Eigsti, The Esbjörn Svensson Trio or The Bad Plus. Continue reading →

Ted Russell Kamp – Night Owl

Ted Russell Kamp
Night Owl
Los Angeles, CA
(Poetry of the Moment Records)

“A timeless, carpe-diem appreciation of Mother Earth and its inhabitants”

The ability of an artist to so accurately and richly capture a moment in time has long been a testament to their creative prowess.  A celebration of the rural countryside in the realm of Fleetwood Mac, down-home simplicity shines throughout the Americana stylings of Night Owl. “I wanna be the first in the morning to see the sun, and the last man standing when the day is done, ” songwriter, bassist, and producer Ted Russell Kamp sings throughout “The Last Drop,” a perfect representation of his character.

When this sensibility is combined with tracks that evoke the desire to ride with the top down (“Right Down to the Wire,” “Another Love Song”) and to sit fireside (“Fireflies,” “Santa Ana Winds”), the result is timeless, something that could only be put forth by a gifted storyteller.  Even the album’s opener, the Will Hoge co-written “Smile Alone, ” has the potential to be an anthem for romantics, with its weaving of elements of Levon Helm and 1970s-era Eric Clapton, to the chorus of: “We’re never gonna be those kids we used to know, but I wanna try it with you ’cause I’d rather cry with you than smile alone.” Night Owl is destined to have a profound impact on listeners and remain with them throughout the passage of time.

Produced and Mixed by Ted Russell Kamp & Charles Berolzeimer
Mastered by John Golden
www.tedrussellkamp.com

Pissed Jeans – Honeys

Pissed Jeans
Honeys
Allentown, PA
(Sub Pop)

“Spray paint the walls, piss on your jeans”

Pissed Jeans is what most would consider “classic hardcore,” meaning their simple, stripped-down approach to hardcore has more to do with black coffee and SST than it does with flat irons and eyeliner. Comprised of four angry dudes, Honeys is the group’s fourth album, and third for Seattle label Sub Pop. Opening up with a one note, 20-second bass solo from hell, Pissed Jeans smashes through their opening number “Bathroom Laughter” with the intensity and neurosis that will make this album a instant hit with any fan of Henry Rollins.

Although there are a few low moments (“Cafeteria Food” and the way too Danzig-ish sounding “Loubs”), Pissed Jeans should prove a treat for their longtime fans, as well as anyone looking to fill the void of the OFF! LP only being 15 minutes long. Again, if you are down with early-’80s sludge rock, this is your new favorite band. It’s like going into your old record collection and all of a sudden finding out your favorite band has a new record you never knew about. Don’t believe it? Go listen to Pissed Jeans’ song “Cat House.” Right? Exactly.

www.whitedenim.com/pissedjeans

Matt Hudgins – Better Days Are Coming

Matt Hudgins
Better Days Are Coming
Athens, GA
(Self-Released)

“Songsmith’s mission to find hope through trials, struggles”

“Better Days are Coming,” the title track off this deep and riveting album of prose and promise by Matt Hudgins, is filled with color and metaphor, and chock-full of the honest brutality of getting through tough days and years.

Hudgins sings with sincerity and a humble heart – “Better days are living says the mother to the child, when she wonders where the next meal’s coming from, every day’s a battle, they just take ’em as they come.”

The album is simply produced and mixed in a lo-fi manner, as Hudgins haunts at the helm, vocally. The acoustic guitars are beautifully orchestrated, and the backing harmony vocals give it great color and balance. Recorded with the hiss of audio tape in the room, Better Days Are Coming features songs with both strong and dark themes of love and loss, insomnia and gun control, battling through life’s tough struggles, days and nights of jail time, dying young, the sirens of police cars, sons and daughters of the South, God, souls and seeking mercy, and just about everything else you can pack into a brilliant singer/songwriter album.

The chords and arrangements are simple and immediate, bringing forth the most of emotion and meaning as each line of verse echoes from the stereo into the listener’s soul. It’s a delightful listen by an Athens music legend, worth revisiting throughout the year, season to season. Think of it as a 10-song album of Southern lullabies, ready and available to ponder along with, and calming and easy enough to fall asleep to when needed…

Mixed and Mastered by Drew Vanderberg at Chase Park
Recorded to 4-track cassette at House of Horrors

www.hudginscountry.com