More MMS Multimedia Madness - the official video for Adam Green's "What Makes Him Act So Bad?"

MMS Multimedia Madness - Join the Cursive Army for a Good Cause

Cursive recently released their new single, Discovering America, on Saddle Creek on March 9.  The track is a statement against the mistreatment of the Native American community.  The band has released the song as a standalone single, with all profits benefiting The American Indian College Fund.  Give it a listen.

Four, Six, er, Eight Questions with Javelin

Today I had the pleasure of speaking with George Langford and Tom Van Buskirk, the Brooklyn-by-way-of-Rhode-Island electro-MacGyver duo known as Javelin.  If you're not familiar with them, their music sounds a bit MGMT-y juxtaposed over the sampling wizardry of Dan Deacon.  Their famously lo-fi live sound is accomplished via a custom-built stack of spraypainted boomboxes and an FM transmitter.

Their April 3 show at the 9:30 Club with Yeasayer is already sold out, but I'm sure you know where to find tickets if you're enterprising enough.

MetroMusicScene: Did you really play 16 shows in 4 days?  How was SXSW?  Did you have a favorite SXSW venue/set?
Tom Van Buskirk: Totally misreported, and we are the likely source of that misinformation.  We played 11 shows in 4 days.  We heard Dam-Funk was playing 13 shows, so we started saying we were playing 16.
George Langford: On the east side of town, there were a lot of BBQ backyard type shows.  Those were good parties.
TVB: The Hype Machine party was really cool.  Todd P's show at Ms. Bea's.  The Pitchfork/Windish show was our best show.

MMS: On Melophobe, I read that Yeasayer owed you money.  Are they bad poker players?
BOTH: Laughter
TVB: Yeah, man, they're crooks. Cards up their sleeves.
GL: Scam artists.  You can print that.

MMS: You two are heading out on tour with Yeasayer again?
TVB: We meet up with them on 4/3, and head out for another two weeks.

MMS: That's the show at the 9:30 Club, right?
TVB: Sold out!
GL: Capacity of 1200, which is maybe a record for us.

MMS: Aside from the late J. Dilla, any other artists who really influenced you?  Are there any records you'd hand to someone who asked you to explain the evolution of the Javelin sound?
GL: As of the last 3-4 years, Arthur Russell has shaped a lot of production textures I've been really into. 
TVB: The Dust Brothers produced a couple of albums - Paul's Boutique and Odelay.  California albums, a junk sampling aesthetic.  When I heard that the Dust Brothers were producing Hanson's record, I wasn't sure if those were still cool references to list.

MMS: One of the Hanson brothers is in that supergroup with Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne and one of the former members of the Smashing Pumpkins... [Ed. note: the band is Tinted Windows]
GL: Isn't one of the guys from Cheap Trick in there, too? [Ed. - Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick is the drummer for Tinted Windows]
TVB: It's like a reality show band. Celebrity House or whatever.
GL: Celebrity Making the Band

MMS: How would you describe No Mas if you were in an elevator with someone? How did the recording of No Mas compare to Jamz n Jemz?
GL: It depends on who's in the elevator!
TVB: Talking to Quincy Jones - Quince, you gotta check the reverbs...we’re making sonic spaces, environmental sounds, a whole lotta warmth, pop music of all eras, full-fledged songs, scraps of ideas taken as far as their natural course could take them.  Kind of like a scrapbook we’re really proud of.  Goosebumps. R.L. Stine Goosebumps.  Then I’d offer him a shot of Maker’s Mark.
GL: Fucking Goosebumps
TVB: Jamz n Jemz was never meant to be a complete entity, it was meant to be an evolving idea.  The copy that finally made it out to the world and onto the Internet, that’s when we stopped evolving it.  We tried to make something more comprehensive with No Mas.  Jamz n Jemz is great because you can break it apart so easily.  All the songs on No Mas resonate.
GL: They sort of fit together.

MMS: Anything else you want to share with the DC music audience?
TVB: Working hard.  We are working hard.

Photo courtesy of Tell All Your Friends PR

Harper Blynn @ DC9 Saturday 3/27

Pete And J- Loneliest Generation- Live on Fearless Music from fearlessmusic.com on Vimeo.

Need something catchy to listen to this weekend? New York-based band Harper Blynn will be bringing their soulful brand of pop to DC9 this Saturday night, March 27th. Formerly known as Pete and J, their sweet harmonies and hooks caught me by surprise a year or so ago when they rocked IOTA as the opening act for The Damnwells, and I’ve been waiting patiently for their return ever since. But now they’re back with a new name (opting for a more formal combination of the last names of the two lead guys in the band) and a new album, Loneliest Generation. Check ‘em out.

MP3: 25 Years – Harper Blynn

David Ford and Jeanne Jolly at Iota - Concert Review

 

I'll confess that I went into the David Ford show at Iota this past Sunday not knowing quite what to expect.  I had seen the viral "Go To Hell" video that had become something of a YouTube sensation.  I had given his new album, Let the Hard Times Roll, a listen, finding it to be a pleasant record somewhere between David Gray's melancholy soul and Damien Rice's hardscrabble folk.  And yet, I still didn't quite have a good feel for what the show might be like.  More on that in a bit.

 

Opening for David this night was Jeanne Jolly, a striking North Carolinian singer/songwriter whose voice carried hints of Linda Rondstadt's early power with the delicate lilt of Alison Krauss.  Along with original numbers which included a touching tribute to a newlywed brother in attendance, Jeanne (pronounced Jean) covered Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again" and was joined onstage by David for a set closing rendition of Tom Waits' "Downtown Train".

After a short hiatus, David took the stage solo.  I was vaguely puzzled, as there were enough instruments onstage for an Edward Sharpe or Polyphonic Spree set.  David picked up a trio of noise-making implements and launched into a set that was decidedly more furious than his album or his video would have indicated.  He had a bit of blue-eyed soul to his voice, and more than a little of that prototypically British folk angst.  He also had an edge, a dynamism borne of necessity, imagination and probably more than a touch of insecurity.  He sounded like he had something to prove as he railed about loving the wrong woman in a number entitled "She's Not the One", which is the first and only love song about Margaret Thatcher that I've heard.  He explored heartbreak on both a personal and national level with "Stephen", a lament about the 2009 murder of a police officer in Northern Ireland that was the first in more than a decade. 

All of these words simply can't capture the spirit of what David was able to do, through sheer manic effort, on stage by himself.  His versatility and virtuosic command, not only of the multiple instruments onstage but also of the looping pedal, enabled him to simulate how a full band might sound supporting him.  Andrew Bird, Liam Finn and Theresa Andersson, all masters of the looping pedal, could learn a thing or four from him.  David restlessly prowls the stage like an errant Kaiser Chief or a lost Campesino!  His voice turned unexpectedly guttural as he exorcised his demons, musical and otherwise, on the stage at Iota that night.  I was exhausted watching him.

The finale of the show, not surprisingly, was similarly unexpected.  David advised the audience that he didn't do encores, that he didn't believe in playing that game, especially given the size of Iota.  He was going to lay whatever he had to give out there in a single set, with a special request of the audience at its conclusion.  He drew the crowd's attention to a bell, the kind you might find at a hotel front desk, sitting on his piano.  He told the audience he would ring that bell once at the conclusion of his last song, at which point he wanted the audience to put all their energy into a single clap.  Not a single round of applause...one solitary clap.  He would then walk off the stage in complete silence until he was safely out of view, at which point the audience could applaud in whatever manner they saw fit.  Strangely, agonizingly and a bit surprisingly, it worked.  David rang the bell, the audience gave it their all in a single clap, and then David walked offstage and out of sight.  The crowd then exploded in appreciation of a set that, at least for me, is an early contender for best concert of the year.  

My advice to you is to find a David Ford solo show as soon as you can.  I imagine that word of mouth of his live show and album sales will afford him the luxury of bringing a few more musicians with him the next time he mounts a tour, should he decide to shed his mantle as a one-man band.  No number of accompanying musicians could replicate the frenetic energy David expended onstage, one man desperately tilting at musical windmills.

In Pictures: Interview with Photographer Kyle Gustafson

As a fan of both music and photography, the well-executed combination of the two is like the union of chocolate and peanut butter. Concert photography can capture the intensity of a performance, the beauty of the lighting, the essence of the performer, and it can plain just look cool. But all this is often easier said than done. Shooting usually occurs under difficult conditions, with little control of limited light and sporadic movement of subjects.

I've long admired the work of local concert photographer Kyle Gustafson. You've probably seen his photos on websites such as DCist, the Washington Post, or Pitchfork. His keeps his website interesting, posting mini-show reviews and shooting conditions along with his concert pics. I finally caught up with him to discuss his love of Oasis, shooting DC shows, and handling moshpits. You can check where Kyle's shooting next on his twitter page.

So what initially drew you to taking pictures at concerts? Do you have a musical background?
Not in an "I play an instrument" way. I became obsessed with music in high school. Nirvana blew up my senior year of high school and it opened up a whole new world for me. When I went to college, I DJ'ed at a club and also became music director of the campus radio station. Through that job I was able to score an internship in the college department at Epic Records (Oasis was - and still is - my favorite band so I wanted to intern at their label) in New York City. That was an incredible summer. I saw 100 concerts in 3 months. I was in heaven, so naturally I wanted to work in the music industry when I graduated school, which I did. I moved to NYC 2 days after graduating and I worked in the music industry for seven years. I've been going to 2 or 3 concerts a week for most of my adult life. I always tried to take photos at these concerts, but it wasn't until I moved to D.C. that I could actually afford a decent camera and started working at getting good results. Originally I wanted good photos to go with the concert reviews I was doing on my blog, Information Leafblower, and also DCist. It just kind of snowballed from there.

What are the primary factors that make shooting at a concert challenging?
There's not much about taking photos at concerts that isn't challenging. Generally, credentialed photographers are only allowed to shoot the first three songs of a concert. You basically have about 10 minutes to work. Lighting is the other main issue. It varies from club to club and different artists have different approaches to lighting. Rappers tend to like their lighting really, really low and when you combine that a hat and a hand with a mic, it's almost impossible to get a clean shot of their face. Photo pits are also an issue. The 9:30 Club and Verizon Center are the only two venues in town that generally offer a photo pit. If there's no pit then I have to get to the club when it opens and get a good spot up front. That can mean standing there for three hours in order to take 10 minutes worth of photos. And then I have to fight the crowd depending on the artist. I need that space in front of the stage because if I end up in the 2nd or 3rd row and the people in front of me like to jump around and hold their hands up the whole time, it means I can't get my shot.

Another challenge that is becoming more and more common is artists making photographers sign a contract, called a photo release, which depending on the language can take the copyrights of the photos taken during the concert and transfer them to the artist without compensation to the photographer. It's a sleazy tactic, especially from bands that speak out against people stealing their music via p2p. Not every band has them, and some are more restrictive than others. You don't have to sign a release to shoot U2, Springsteen or Metallica, but you do to shoot Taylor Swift, Cheap Trick or AFI. Pearl Jam had my favorite release ever. It basically said "Don't sell the photos you are about to take commercially, stay out of our crew's way while they are working and HAVE FUN." I can get behind that.

Are you constantly doing trial and error with different settings while you're shooting during a show?
When I go to a show, I generally set my ISO at 2000 and aperture at 2.8 and adjust my shutter speed from there. Once the show starts I adjust ISO, shutter speed and aperture as necessary. I check out Flickr and YouTube before every gig to try and get an idea of lighting and stage spacing. Flickr groups and Twitter have become invaluable resources as other photographers share the lighting conditions and stage setup as the tours come through their town. A friend may tell me that of the 3 songs I get to shoot for Kings of Leon, only the second one really has good light, so then I can spend the first song finding the best angle to get the shot I need during the second song.

Do you ever miss being able to just sit back and watch a show without having to snap pictures?
Occasionally. Although generally I only get the first three songs to shoot and then I have to put my camera away. So if I am shooting a show at the 9:30 Club, I shoot the first three and then take another song or two to pack up my gear and work my way to the back of the club. At that point I can either stay for the gig if I like the band or head home and start editing. Lately it's been more of the latter, but I try and stay for a bit of the show so I can get a feel for what the artist is doing on stage. The longer I stay the more I am punishing myself because I have to edit all the photos I just took and get it filed by the next morning.

What are your favorite concert venues to shoot at in the area, and why?
The 9:30 Club, obviously. It's a world-class venue with a world-class staff. A really great group of people work there and they are very, very accommodating to me and I am very appreciative of that. Same for the Black Cat (although obviously their lighting capabilities are much different than the 9:30 Club). I love going to both venues to see and shoot shows.

Any preference shooting acts that you’re familiar with versus acts that you’re not?
It depends on the act really, but I have no problems shooting bands multiple times. Obviously I'd rather shoot bands that move around on stage and actually perform for the audience, but I'll go wherever they send me.

That said, It's always nice to go see and shoot a band that I've never heard of before and be blown away. I shot a band called Dawes at Iota a week or so ago and Cory Chisel opened for them and he was AMAZING. He won me over as a fan that night.

Can you recall any instances of getting your camera broken or confiscated by angry bouncers or performers...or audience members?
I've never had a problem with bouncers. If I am not approved to shoot the show I just don't pull my camera out. It's not worth it. And as I mentioned earlier, it's a give and take thing with the crowd. They are there to see the show and not watch me take photos, and I totally get that. I try and stay as incognito as possible but at the same time I have to get my shot (or shots). I try and do my work and get out of there. But there definitely have been some instances when crowd members take offense to what I am doing, and it generally happens when they are drunk. That happened at an Eric Church show at the Sate Theater last year. Some drunk lady got all mad at me and started yelling at me and bumping in to me while I was shooting. She kept trying to convince her boyfriend to kick my ass. I just kept shooting and got out of there after the third song.

I don't do many hardcore shows, but you always have to be mindful of your gear when there are moshpits, but those shows can also be a lot of fun. Those crowds are generally very respectful of everyone else at the show but you always have to have your head on a swivel and keep a look out for the errant swinging limb or crowdsurfer.

I heard you recently changed your gear. What are you using now?
After shooting Canon for four years I switched to a Nikon D3 in January. I had six different Canon bodies over the course of those four years and I just could not find a body I was totally happy with. I worked my way up from a G6 point and shoot to a Rebel XT, 30D, 40D, 5D and 1Ds Mk II. All of them more or less did a lot of things right but were ultimately missing that final something. I generally lost faith in Canon the last few years because they weren't releasing the cameras that their customers wanted. The 5D Mk II was four years in the making but had the same focusing systen as the original 5D. The video options on that camera are amazing, but that's not why I buy a DSLR. I had read a bunch of things about how great the D3 was, and when my buddy offered me his at a very attractive price, I jumped at it. I was about to sink a lot of money into some expensive Canon prime lenses (so I could get better low light performance) but I took that money and switched systems instead. Nikon's D3/D3s and D700 are the kings of low light shooting right now and after I thought about it, I decided that there wasn't any reason to stay with an inferior product (for my needs). So I'm about 8 weeks in to my time with my D3 and I couldn't be happier. I definitely feel like I made the right decision. I'm getting shots that I never would have gotten before with my Canon bodies. I should note that I never owned a 1D Mk III, which was the Canon flagship camera. I might have been happy with that camera (or the new 1D Mk IV) but I ultimately decided that I wanted a full frame body and Canon does not offer a full frame body with a pro focusing system and 9 frames per second.

I get asked about gear constantly and what I tell people is to start with a starter or mid level body and work your way up. I wouldn't recommend starting out with a Nikon D3 or a Canon 1D Mk IV. It'll be too much camera for you. Buy a lower model and learn that camera inside and out until you reach the point that you've mastered it and it's holding you back. Bodies are disposable. Invest in good lenses. You'll have those forever and they hold their value much better. Start out with a 50mm/1.8 and work your way up from there.

Any particular favorite photo shoots where everything turned out just right?
Two that immediately come to mind are with two of my favorite artists. The first time I got the chance to shoot Morrissey was a huge treat. The show at D.A.R. in November of 2007 was a sort of make up from a string of dates he canceled earlier in the year. I had wrangled photopasses to shoot him at Wolftrap, at Ram's Head in Baltimore and PNC Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ (all with different publications) and the latter two got cancelled and Morrissey didn't let anyone shoot the Wolf Trap show because he was sick. I was gutted. But he came back and the show at D.A.R. was the best show I've ever seen him do and I took some of the best photos I have ever taken, including my favorite shot ever. I was walking on air when I left the venue that night. The best part of all was Morrissey (unknowingly) hit me in the face with his mic cord when he was whipping it around on stage. The cord was duct taped right in front of me on the lip of the stage and when he cracked it, it smacked me righ tbetween the eyes just as I was changing cameras. I'm a huge Morrissey fan and to see and shoot him was a huge treat.

The other show that comes to mind is Oasis at the Patriot Center at the end of 2008. As I said before, Oasis is my favorite band and back when Britpop was big, I would buy any and every magazine with Liam or Noel on the cover and obsess over the photos. Most of those shots were from Jill Furmonovsky, probably my favorite photographer ever. Her photos were a big influence on me. So to finally get to shoot them really was a dream come true. I think every concert photographer hopes to one day shoot their favorite band and really cherishes that experience. I was so nervous. I never drink when I'm working but I had a beer during the openers to calm my nerves a bit. And when the time came, I just buckled down and concentrated on my work and not the music that was being played or the Gallaghers that were 3 feet in front of me.

I thought I would get to shoot Oasis earlier in 2008 at the Virgin Festival in Toronto but it was not to be. I went up there specifically to shoot them but they turned away most of the photographers before their set, only a select few got access to the photo pit to shoot them. Again, I was gutted. But the Virgin staff told us we could shoot them from the crowd, so after I had a few gin and tonics, I jumped up on a picnic table and broke out my long zoom lens just to get a few photos for me. It just so happened that while I was doing that, some punter rushed onstage and attacked Noel. I was the only photog there that got the shot. I was able to sell that photo to newspapers and magazines all over the world. And if the band had approved me to shoot their set I never would have had my camera out. That just proves you have to be ready at all times. And no matter how good a photographer you are, a little luck certainly doesn't hurt.

Scroll over above images for info / Kyle Gustafson portrait shot by Brandon Wu

David Ford at Iota on 3/21

"He's the happiest sad guy you'll ever meet", or at least that's how David Ford's publicist described him to me in an email.  That's saying quite a bit, given a) David has quite a lot of competition as a sad guy in his native England, and b) I've seen both Bob Mould & The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt in concert.

After listening to an advance of his new album, Let the Hard Times Roll, I have to agree with his publicist on a couple of accounts - he is an exuberantly sad guy, and his new album is gorgeous.  His downtempo numbers come across as living at the intersection of David Gray's British soul and Damien Rice's quietly desperate introspection.  Let the Hard Times Roll is available electronically via iTunes or Amazon's MP3 store, although the physical media purists among you will have to catch him live or wait until April 20th.  David had said in the past that Philly is his favorite place to play in the US.  Come on out to Iota on Sunday at 8:30 to show him otherwise.  The show starts at 8:30, and the cover is $12.

You Can Say You Knew Them When....

Fresh off a turn as an NPR Song of the Day and a write-up in the Washington City Paper, area rockers Daddy Lion are playing tomorrow in support of their eponymous debut EP  at the New Orleans-themed Red & the Black.  They'll be opening for Louisville instrumental rockers Rest Assured, with Connect the Dots (La La Lala) filling out the lineup.  Daddy Lion, which started out as a solo record that's been fleshed out into a full band, play moody 70s & 80s-inflected rock and folk.  The show starts at 8:30, with a cover of $6.

Here We Go Magic at the Rock and Roll Hotel

 

 On Saturday night I ventured forth to H Street NE and the Rock & Roll Hotel to catch Here We Go Magic with April Smith & the Great Picture Show and Glass Ghost.  I missed about half of the Glass Ghost set, so I'm not going to say much about them, but my first impression was that they sounded like a more synthesized Doveman.

Despite a late start that was attributable to a problem with April Smith's acoustic guitar, she and her band The Great Picture Show were in fine form.  I think her new album, Songs for a Sinking Ship, will be a breakthrough for her.  Her rollicking brand of retro Western folk-rock, a Sylvie Lewis or Nellie McKay meets the Squirrel Nut Zippers, works.

One final word on April and her band.  While many up and coming artists don't put much thought into what they wear on stage, that is obviously not the case with this group.  April herself was festooned in a short red dress, appropriately large post-ironic belt buckle, and the most fantastic pair of red heels.  Her band rocked dress shirts, ties, vests, and the occasional hat although they made the wise move to leave any suit jackets backstage given how infernally warm it was in the R&R (a frequent problem there).  That kind of attention to detail really surprised me.

Finally, it was time for HWGM to take the stage.  I had seen them open for Grizzly Bear last year, and was generally pretty pleased by what I heard.  Their eponymous debut takes a decidedly lower-fi tack than their live show, sounding like a more electronic version of Yo La Tengo or Sonic Youth than their stripped-down Stars sound live, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from their headlining turn.  I came away very pleasantly surprised after hearing their set.  Although HWGM started out as a Luke Temple solo project fleshed out into a full-band record, the band built around Luke - guitarist Michael Bloch, drummer Peter Hale, bassist Jen Turner, and keyboardist Kristina Lieberson - have really gelled over the last year.  They were very good opening for Grizzly Bear last year, and now they're on the verge of being great.  Their shimmery take on an updated psychedelic folk sound washes over and around you.  At the same time, you never lose sight of the painstaking attention to detail in their songs, the texture that the twin guitars, keyboards, percussion, impart on the music.  I expect to hear big things about this band coming out of SXSW.

Evan Bliss Q&A, CD Release and MMS-exclusive MP3

Evan Bliss is a singer-songwriter who's a native of Bethesda, Maryland, a holder of several single-season and career lacrosse records at Kenyon College, and the former frontman of DC reggae rockers The Low Life.  Evan celebrates the release of his new solo record, ShhhPOW, at the Hard Rock Cafe this Thursday, March 18, at 8:30 pm ($10 cover).  A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the album will be donated to benefit the Holster Project, a philanthropic initiative of Evan's label Holster Records.

In addition to readying his new album, Evan's been busy in the world of extreme sports.  His music has been featured in ads for Reef, a leading maker of surf-inspired footwear, and he and his band were recognized as a local band to watch on the Baltimore stop of the Mountain Dew Action Sports Tour, a nationwide extreme sports summer tour.

I interviewed Evan for the blog, and he was gracious enough to provide MetroMusicScene readers with an exclusive first look at a track from ShhhPOW.

MP3: Big Decisions, Little Things - Evan Bliss

Evan, why don’t you tell us where you came up with the name of your new album, ShhhPOW? What is the central theme or message of the album?

Initially I was searching for something profound, a title that could end hunger or make rockets explode with jellybeans, but I had nothing. So I named it ShhhPOW, because the album is part Shhh and part POW, and it's fun to say out loud or to yourself.

I know it’s probably a bit like asking a father to pick his favorite child, but what’s your favorite track from ShhhPOW? Why?

It'd be easier to pick a favorite child. Sonically I love them all for different reasons depending on mood or present company. The bonus track, Pula Aena, stands out for me because it was a live performance at Sirius/XM Studios with The African Children's Choir. Not only were they unbelievable singers and amazing kids, but they learned a song I wrote for my brother in only a couple days while touring the east coast. Emotionally overwhelming in the best way imaginable. 

What are the similarities you see in your music now and the music you performed with The Low Life? What do you see as being different from that music?

Both sounds are heavily reliant on vocal harmony and percussive rhythms, but The Low Life was a rock reggae band with external influences, whereas ShhhPOW's sound is more a rock band with external influences, one of them being reggae, if that makes any sense.

Frank Sinatra was known as an “athletic” singer, doing breath-holding exercises underwater to improve his breathing ability while singing. You were a college lacrosse player at Kenyon. Tell me about how your athletic experience informs your music.

Didn't know that about Sinatra, I just heard he used to pay a guy to wake him up from his cat naps so he could stay out partying all night. I heard the wrong story I guess. Music is much more physical than people realize and having an athletic background taught me focus when the stamina starts to fade. If you lose focus because you're tired in the studio you miss changes or timing and ruin takes, and on stage you risk sounding and looking like an idiot. The central union between band and sport is team. Everyone is performing different tasks to attain a shared goal. Plus there's lots of yelling and butt slapping, and I couldn't give that up.

While we’re on the subject of sports, you’re gaining quite a name in the extreme sports world.  How did that come about?

Honestly that's been an pleasant surprise. We've been lucky enough to get contacted by athletes, companies, video biographers, webcasts, etc, and that's something we'll always say yes to. I feel a strong connection to those guys. They're out there everyday doing what keeps their heart pumping out hot blood and go above and beyond for their fans. If our music can keep providing a piece of their personal soundtrack we'll never say no.

Your lyrics are occasionally deeply personal. Are they mostly autobiographical, or is your approach to songwriting a bit like writing fiction?

Laced within all the lyrics I write is truth and fiction. Sometimes one more than the other, sometimes I think one and it's really the other. Life is lived and watched. Too much of one is unhealthy and revealing, so I'm always trying to attain some sort of equilibrium.

While we’re on the subject, what are your literary and artistic inspirations?

They're constantly in flux as they're so much great stuff out there. In 1000 years humans are going to be insane with all the great ideas this world has churned out, or we'll be a crispy ball of ash because of all the bad ideas this world has churned out. Either way, its pretty intense. I like Camus because of such probable dilemmas.

Your label, Holster Records, has a strong philanthropic component to its mission. Can you tell me a bit about the Holster Project, and what motivated you to seek out a label like this?
 
Growing up in the DMV is the only answer. DC's an amazingly strange city overflowing with hope and cynicism, comprised of young people fighting to express their voice, and those struggling to find it. Holster's goal is to awaken youth to philanthropy through art and music. The smaller the world gets due to the rapidity of information flying at you the scarier it becomes. Some people desire direction, I'd like to be a person that opens up a direction that benefits all of us, and being able to use my passions and talents to do so makes that an easy decision. Holster also has the softest t-shirts that have ever touched my skin.

Are there any artists and producers with whom you’d like to work?

I'll work with anyone, as long as they're open to ideas and willing to try all of them, and I expect the same from me. Obviously the perks would be that they are wholly invested in the project from artistic to professional to personal. If I could figure out what causes people to gel and make magic I'd zero in, but until then trial and error with the best looking girls getting first dibs. Presently, playing with Jason, Eric, Shareef and Josh makes it difficult to dispute silly ideas like fate and Calvinism. 

 Where is the favorite concert venue you’ve played, either here or elsewhere in the US? Where is the place you dream about playing?

That's tough. As much as I loved the 9:30 Club I hated playing there because I got so nervous. It’s the only show I have ever got nervous for because growing up it was the end all be all for me. So I'd either not drink and choke, or drink too much and suck. But that place is the epitome of class covered in tattoos. The Recher in Baltimore never failed to shock and awe. Touring Europe's been a dream, along with USO shows. Maybe the Grammy's or MTV Awards, but any sweaty packed house with people singing along and dancing their big hearts out is a close second.

A Case of the Fridays - I Don't Like Mondays Edition Live Roundup

The dust hasn't even settled on the weekend, and this week's musical calendar is already looking full. Here's a roundup of our picks for the musical happenings around town this week.

Monday, March 8
Tonight, of course, is the Jenny Owen Youngs show with Bess Rogers and Allison Weiss at Iota Club and Cafe. 8:30 pm, $12

Tuesday, March 9
If you didn't score tickets to the sold out Dropkick show at the 9:30 Club, mosey across the river to Iota Club and Cafe to check out Justin Trawick's monthly acoustic residency with special guest Scout Niblett. 8:30 pm, $10.

Wednesday, March 10
Title Tracks is the new project from John Davis, formerly of Georgie James and Q & Not U. Catch him at the Black Cat Backstage with The Ambitions and Gary B & the Notions. 9:00 pm, $10.

Wednesday also witnesses a Goodie Mob Reunion, featuring Gnarls Barkley singer Cee-Lo, at the 9:30 Club.  Bobby Ray, aka B.o.B., opens the show. I predict a sellout, so buy your tickets now. 7:00 pm, $27.50.

Thursday, March 11
The Low Anthem bring their spacey take on folk/Americana to the 9:30 Club, with MetroMusicScene favorite Vandaveer opening. 7:00 pm, $15.

California indie quartet The Morning Benders, whose Spectorian take on their song Excuses became a viral video sensation, hit the Black Cat Backstage in support of their new album Big Echo.  Miniature Tigers and Acrylics open the show. 9:00 pm, $10 adv/$12 DOS.

Friday, March 12
MetroMusicScene favorite Matthew Ryan headlines a show at Iota Club and Cafe with his thoughtful take on acoustic rock, with Garrison Starr opening. 9:00 pm, $15.

The Suckers play inspired, occasionally raucous and often 80s-inflected rock.  They're at the Black Cat with NPR favorite Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers, and Laughing Man. 9:00 pm, $12.

Saturday, March 13
Here We Go Magic headlines a show at the Rock & Roll Hotel with April Smith & the Great Picture Show and Glass Ghost on Saturday. 8:30 pm, $10 adv/$12 DOS.

Jenny Owen Youngs w/ Bess Rogers & Allison Weiss at Iota, March 8 8:30 pm

Jenny Owen Youngs, the New Jersey born singer/songwriter known for her R-rated single "F*@k Was I", her "I Got Knocked Up by Jenny Owen Youngs" t-shirts, and her collaboration with the group Bell Horses, will be bringing her "Spring Break Forever" tour to Iota Club and Cafe on Monday, March 8 at 8:30.  For a $12 cover, you'll catch the lovely and talented Ms. Youngs joined by the equally lovely and talented Bess Rogers (who features prominently in the "Last Person" video above) & Alison Weiss.

All joking aside, Jenny's most recent album, Transmitter Failure, was one of my favorites of 2009.  She left the novelty act behind and demonstrated remarkable growth, both as a lyricist and musician.  Producer Dan Romer also helped put together an album with a great sound, incorporating Jenny's power pop and alt-country leanings into a stunningly cohesive whole.  The title track of the album is a lovely song, strident and strong and vulnerable with a lush arrangement surrounding Jenny's voice.  You should definitely come out on Monday to check out this show.

My 2010 "Best So Far" List...

I'm not sure I necessarily believe in yearly "Best of" lists, although I do confess that I like to assess what I've been listening to against the NPR listener-generated Year's Best and staff-selected Year in Music lists.  Perhaps it's a function of my disorganization with respect to the year's releases, or perhaps it's that I don't approach music in a terribly linear chronological fashion.  All that being said, a lot of really cool music has been released in the first two months of 2010, and I thought I'd share my picks with the MMS audience.

I'm not going to say anything about Vampire Weekend's Contra or Surfer Blood's Astro Coast that someone hasn't already said, but I think both albums are worth a listen.  I will say that I think this is the album that Vampire Weekend was trying to make with their eponymous debut, which showed a tremendous amount of promise but ultimately fell a bit short.  Compared to the debut by their upstate compatriots Ra Ra Riot, Vampire Weekend felt flat and stifled by comparison.  Astro Coast is good, old-fashioned surf-inflected power guitar pop.

After hearing "You Must Be Out of Your Mind", I really wanted to like The Magnetic Fields' Realism, the final installment of their "no-synth" trilogy.  I'm an unapologetic defender of Stephin Merritt (against the likes of Jessica Hopper and Sasha Frere-Jones).  I just couldn't find any other tracks to love; to me, there was no "Come Back from San Francisco" to serve as the companion to "I Don't Want to Get Over You".  The album is, as always, beautifully arranged and lovingly executed, so I don't want to dissuade you from buying it if you've been a fan of their prior work.

One album about which I am very excited is Basia Bulat's Heart of My Own.  The Canadian neo-folkie with the dusky alto returns with another densely layered album, full of her recondite lyrics, soaring string arrangements and characteristic autoharp.  She'll be playing a show at Iota on March 23rd; I recommend you check her out.  I was there for her phenomenal show with Vandaveer at DC9 a few years ago.

Yeasayer's ODD BLOOD is also garnering a lot of positive press, and rightly so.  Their follow up to 2007's All Hour Cymbals shows them heading into the direction of danceable but experimental pop in the vein of Dirty Projectors and Brian Eno.  The percussion is still present, as are the strong vocals, but the world music focus of their prior album gives way to a more heavily synthesized sound.  I jokingly told a friend that Yeasayer had made the best 80s album of 2010, and I was only half-kidding.

While we're on the subject of eighties-inflected music, Four Tet's There is Love In You is absolutely stunning.  "Angel Echoes" is an early pick for Song of the Year.  Kieren Hebden is to electronic music as Nico Muhly is to classical, a talented young barbarian at the gates of tradition.

Albums I haven't listened to but intend to are Local Natives' Gorilla Manor, OK Go's Of the Blue Color of the Sky, The Knife's Tomorrow in a Year, and Adam Green's Minor Love.  The buzz about Local Natives is gathering, with an exclusive first listen on NPR and a SXSW set.  OK Go has produced not one, but two, of the most imaginative videos of the year for their single "This Too Shall Pass" (a la Weezer's "Island in the Sun").  The Knife's Dreijer siblings, who wrote the single "Heartbeat" popularized by Jose Gonzalez, return with an opera inspired by Darwin's On the Origin of Species.  And finally, former Moldy Peaches vocalist Green channels his inner Leonard Cohen and Serge Gainsbourg on his latest release.