Book The Grizzly Owls
We are both teachers and next week is our last week of work. We are ready for summer break and anxious to get out on the road and play some shows.
If you are interested in booking The Grizzly Owls contact either:
or on Myspace:
EXCLUSIVE NEW DOWNLOAD: D. Charles Speer & the Helix - Shorty, A Bastard Cat
(Photo: Victor Harshbarger)
You can’t not like a song when the first line goes, “I’ll be your bastard tonight,” especially when it comes in a full-throated voice like D. Charles Speer’s. “Shorty, A Bastard Cat” is some boogie rock of the highest water, gathering a half century of American music traditions — Bakersfield country and deep-Texas psychedelia, chiefly — into a rollicking concoction that’s kinda like whipping out a fission bomb in the middle of a saloon fight: Everyone just goes, “Whoa!” Speer (a.k.a. Dave Shuford of No Neck Blues Band) has a posse of real heavies in the Helix (Hans Chew is a badass on the piano); their album Distillation arrives next month on high-quality vinyl and download from Three Lobed (pre-order and hear another tune here). “Shorty” closes the album in full gallop, toward the horizon where the desert meets permanent sunset. Play me out, Johnny!
FEATURED: Phosphorescent Performing Tonight on Willie Nelson's Sirius XM Radio Channel
You know, Matthew Houck neé Phosphorescent was a fixture in these cyberparts long before he got all fancypants and HUNG OUT WITH WILLIE NELSON. That last bit of news might be the product of poor reporting, but it is true that Houck—after releasing his Nelson tribute, To Willie, last month—not only met up with the Red Headed Stranger recently, but was cordially invited to perform on his Sirius XM Channel, Willie's Place, as part of a 76th birthday celebration. You can find that on the dial tonight at 9 PM EST on Sirius 64 and XM 13, while above we've got some fresh new HD video of Houck performing for Seattle's KEXP at the Cutting Room in New York.
DOWNLOAD: Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band - Nikorette
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(Photo: Butch Hogan)
Debuted last fall on Late Night With Conan O'Brien, "Nikorette" is the first single from Conor Oberst's new album Outer South, the first record he's credited to his Mystic Valley Band, who also played on his self-titled 2008 effort. The track is somewhat unsurprisingly a jammy, barn-bred rocker, hammered out on downbeats, overdriven single-coil riffing and Conor's detailed scenes of a life where the little things mean the most. Outer South hits May 5th through Merge, the band head out in June for a run of dates in support, itinerary up at their MySpace.
Sounds like: Bright Eyes, Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, The Hold Steady
Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band - Nikorette
Previously:
DOWNLOAD: The Handsome Family - When You Whispered
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Albuquerque's Brett and Rennie Sparks are indeed family, and have been for two decades, an accomplishment that inspires and pervades their new record, the aptly titled Honey Moon. It is at turns lush and prickly, and this track highlights the former, showcasing the close harmonies and classic country sound that they've been able to perfect with all of that quality time together.
Sounds Like: Deer Tick, A.A. Bondy, The Felice Brothers
The Handsome Family - When You Whispered
The Handsome Family's RCRD LBL Page
DOWNLOAD: The Felice Brothers - Penn Station
Courtesy of the Catskills, The Felice Brothers brings us back to our whiskey-soaked, free-wheeling Americana roots. Take this track "Penn Station" from their much-anticipated new album for Team Love; while his Dylan-esque vocal chords strain and crack like leather being stretched, lead singer James Felice wails about Penn Station as if it was an abandoned stop on the First Transcontinental Railroad mid-1870s. As The Felice Bro's does best, this track closes with a spontaneous, country breakdown harnessed by a homemade orchestra of washboards, pots, pans, bells, guitars, and weeping harmonica.
Sounds like: The Avett Brothers, Deer Tick, A.A. Bondy, Bob Dylan
The Felice Brothers - Penn Station
Previously:
The Felice Brothers - Frankie's Gun
The Felice Brothers - San Antonio's Burning
DOWNLOAD: The Strange Boys - Heard You Wanna Beat Me Up
I first started writing with the Strange Boys in 06 and first met the fellas not long after when I was told while at my job that "there are a bunch of teenage boys here to see you." The Strange Boys dropped off a CDR of songs that day, some of which have been refined for their debut LP on In the Red The Strange Boys...And Girls Club. The new album is full of bluesy, rock, punk, country music, yelped by dudes who don't sound like they have enough years under their collective belts to possibly conjure up that much passion. "Heard You Wanna Beat Me Up," is a classic 'I did somethin I shouldn't" song about violence, lust and aggression - fitting for four young dudes from Texas. In June the fellas are embarking on a massive tour with Mika Miko, check their space for dates.
Sounds Like: The Soledad Brothers, Mika Miko, the White Stripes
DOWNLOAD: Lay Low - By And By
(Photo: Arnar Omarsson)
When you think of Iceland, depending on your interests, you probably think of either) midnight sun (which for the record only occurs in certain parts of Iceland), b) its active volcanos, c) really hot tall blue-eyed blond people, and/or d) the dear, crazy, beautiful Bjork. But here's a little gem out of the Iceland that challenges all those stereotypes: acoustic chanteuse Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir - a.k.a. Lay Low - who mixes country, strummed blues and quaint folk traditions in her newest release "Farewell Good Night's Sleep."
Sounds Like: Marissa Nadler, Loney Dear
EXCLUSIVE NEW DOWNLOAD: by:LARM Festival: First Aid Kit - You're Not Coming Home Tonight
Standing in a tent with make-shift wooden floors and snow falling steadily around Oslo at the by:LARM festival this past weekend, Klara and Johanna Soderberg walked on stage with just a guitar and a little keyboard and started singing a capella in perfect harmony. I wasn't the only one who got a little misty-eyed listening to these two, aged 15 and 17, sing full-throated and sure about love, life, monotony and great expectations. "You're Not Coming Home Tonight" is one of their more country-inspired songs, and the fact that these two teenagers can turn out songs that nod to Dolly, Emmylou and Loretta in such form is pretty staggering. In addition to working with Rabid Records, home to The Knife, they've landed a larger international deal Wichita Records, and it all stems from a Fleet Foxes cover recorded deep in the woods (above). Only in Sweden...
Sounds Like: Loretta Lynn, Ane Brun, Fleet Foxes
DOWNLOAD + TICKET GIVEAWAY - Phosphorescent
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Matthew Houck bka Phosphorescent just dropped an album of beautiful Willie Nelson covers last week. It is appropriately titled To Willie. Mr. Houck will be playing the album front to back at the Bell House in Brooklyn on the 28th, a very special affair to which we're giving away two very golden tickets. Download "Reasons To Quit" below and shoot us at an e-mail at contests@rcrdlbl.com with PHOSPHORESCENT in the subject header. We'll randomly select a winner in a week and hit you back with all of the details shortly thereafter. Godspeed.
Phosphorescent - Reasons To Quit
Phosphorescent - Phosphorescent - A Picture of Our Torn Up Praise
Phosphorescent - You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' (Righteous Brothers Cover)
Phosphorescent's RCRD LBL Page
Tour Dates:
02/26/09 Northhampton, MA - Iron Horse w/ Mike Bones
02/27/09 Cambridge, MA - Middle East Upstairs w/ Mike Bones
02/28/09 Brooklyn, NY - Bell House (performing To Willie) w/ Mike Bones
03/02/09 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Tavern w/ Mike Bones
03/03/09 Columbus, OH - The Summit w/ Mike Bones
03/05/09 Bloomington, IN - Jake's Nightclub w/ Mike Bones
03/06/09 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle w/ Mike Bones
03/07/09 Madison, WI - University of Wisconsin - Memorial w/ Mike Bones
03/10/09 Seattle, WA - Nectar Lounge w/ Nurses
03/10/09 Seattle, WA - Sonic Boom (Ballard Location)
03/11/09 Portland, OR - Holocene w/ Nurses
03/13/09 San Francisco, CA - Cafe Du Nord w/ The Donkeys
03/13/09 San Francisco, CA - Amoeba Records (Solo)
03/14/09 Los Angeles, CA - The Regent Theatre w/ The Donkeys
03/21/09 Houston, TX - Orange Show Center for Visionary Art
03/24/09 Birmingham, AL - Bottletree Cafe w/ Deer Tick
03/25/09 Atlanta, GA - The Drunken Unicorn w/ Deer Tick
03/26/09 Durham, NC - Duke Coffee House w/ Deer Tick
03/27/09 Baltimore, MD - G Spot: Audio/Visual Playground w/ Deer Tick
03/28/09 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's w/ Deer Tick
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