August 2011

Joe Pug, Live Session #92

by oz on August 24, 2011

Joe Pug released his first EP around the same time folks started noticing this music blog. I vividly remember the day Nation of Heat arrived by mail and how my jaw slowly dropped as I listened to Pug’s songwriting. Music blogging is a labor of love and musicians like Pug are the reason we continue our evangelism. In addition to rising to the top of the ranks in folk songwriting, Joe has won over fans with humility and a blue collar work ethic each time he takes the stage.

This session was a reunion. It’s our second live session with Joe and our first with him since he recorded his 2010 album, Messenger, in the very same studio with Steve Shirk at Shirk Music + Sound. I once said that it’s hard to put a price tag on Joe’s music – its importance to me is hard to put into words. My admiration for his song craft has been reinforced over the years seeing him perform at festivals like Lollapalooza and SxSW (where he joined us at two of our parties) and at small venues in different cities. His stage presence has matured over the years, but the gratitude for his fans is always an emotion worn on his sleeve.

I saw Pug in Atlanta at The Earl this summer accompanied by his 100 Mile Band that includes Greg Tuohey on guitar and Chris Merrill on upright bass. If you missed the experience of seeing this threesome, then this session will be extra special for you. Joe is finishing up work on a new album with producer Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine, etc) and in addition to the few tour dates listed below, will be announcing more in the coming days/weeks. If you miss him in your town, you can catch him in Sweet Tone, USA (see the prelude to “Unsophisticated Heart” for context). We’ll be sure to keep you apprised on the future details.

Tour Dates:

August 26 Woodstock, VT–Suicide Six w/ Levon Helm Band
August 28 Ottawa, ON–Ottawa Folk Fest
Sept 4 Seattle, WA–Bumbershoot
Sept 5 Bellingham, WA–The Green Frog
Sept 7 Spokane, WA–The A Club
Sept 9 Portland, OR–Music Fest Northwest @ Alladin w/ Horse Feathers
Sept 10-11 Sisters, OR–Sisters Folk Festival

Joe Pug Band Introduction

Exclusive: Joe Pug – Call It What You Will

Exclusive: Joe Pug – How Good You Are

Exclusive: Joe Pug – Unsophisticated Heart

Exclusive: Joe Pug -Nobody’s Man

Exclusive: Joe Pug – Dodging The Wind

Download the Joe Pug Live Session as a zip file.

Video: Joe Pug – Nobody’s Man (Live in Chicago at Shirk Music + Sound)

Video: Joe Pug – How Good You Are (Live in Chicago at Shirk Music + Sound)

Video: Joe Pug – Call It What You Will (Live in Chicago at Shirk Music + Sound)

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Dead Man Winter – Bright Lights [Album Review]

by oz on August 23, 2011

Dead Man Winter is the country-rock side project of the Minnesota Bluegrass band, Trampled By Turtles. TxT’s Dave Simonett, Ryan Young and Tim Saxhaug are joined by drummer Noah Levy and country blues guitarist Erik Koskinen to escape a world of acoustic bluegrass and enter a realm where electric guitars and amps are front and center and down tempo country songs are right at home.

If you aren’t a Trampled By Turtles fan, visit our live session and get acclimated. If you fancy yourself a fan already, then you undoubtedly appreciate the combination of songwriting and warm vocals offered by Dave Simonett. Those traits are put to the test in Dead Man Winter. While the band is still incredible, it lacks the frenzied bluegrass pace and performance of the Trampled By Turtles collective that can sometimes distract you from the lead vocalist and his lyrics. Thus, Simonette is thrust to the forefront.

The album opens with their single, “Nicotine.” It has all the catchy traits of a pop song, fueled by electric guitars and fiddle. The lighthearted country-jam “Wasteland” follows with sounds of fiddle floating above bouncing bass lines and lyrics:

Religion scares me daily.
Just the wind and the water can save me.
It’s just me and the stars tonight.

The fiddle and acoustic are thrown out and brash rock n’ roll emerges a couple songs later in “Get Low.” This song is all about big guitar riffs and percussion. Another highlight on the album is Dead Man Winter’s alternate version of Trampled By Turtles’ song “New Orleans” that was also performed on our live session. I want to high-five Erik Koskinen for this. His guitar owns this song and converted it into a song that could be owned by Willie Nelson.

But for all the album’s best moments, I’m most drawn to Dave Simonett’s ballads. “Where In The World Have You Been?” and  “Bright Lights” are desolate and incredible pieces of acoustic songwriting. After hearing that this was a Trampled By Turtles side project, I admit that I wasn’t quite prepared for the change in sound on Dead Man Winter. After allowing it to grow on me for a few weeks, It’s safe to say that I’ve developed a serious crush – to the point that I can’t listen to much else.

Dead Man Winter – Nicotine

Trampled By Turtles – New Orleans (HearYa Live Session version)

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Okkervil River B-Side + Your Past Life As A Blast [new mp3]

by oz on August 22, 2011

Okkervil River’s latest album I Am Very Far is one of our favorites of the year so far. They recently released a 7″ for “Your Past Life Is A Blast” and they performed a b-side from I Am Very Far at The Crystal Ballroom in Portland, OR. The song is called “I Guess We Lost” and the band is kicking into full tour mode as we speak. Dates below.

Okkervil River – Your Past Life As A Blast

Video: Okkervil River – I Guess We Lost

Far From Home Ep#17 Okkervil River “I Guess We Lost” from Into The Woods on Vimeo.

TOUR DATES:

08/22/11 Redmond, WA- Marymoor Amphitheatre w/ The Decemberists, Fruit Bats
08/23/11 Vancouver, BC- Malkin Bowl w/ The Decemberists, Fruit Bats
08/25/11 Troutdale, OR- Edgefield Ampitheatre w/ The Decemberists, Point Juncture,WA
08/26/11 Troutdale, OR- Edgefield Ampitheatre w/ The Decemberists, Ages & Ages
09/09/11 Ithaca, NY- State Theatre of Ithaca w/ New Villager, Bird of Youth
09/10/11 Columbia, MD- Virgin Mobile Freefest @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
09/11/11 Richmond, VA- The National w/ Wye Oak
09/13/11 Raleigh, NC- Lincoln Theatre w/ Wye Oak
09/14/11 Athens, GA- 40 Watt Club w/ Wye Oak
09/15/11 Pensacola, FL- Vinyl Music Hall w/ Wye Oak
09/16/11 New Orleans, LA- Tipitina’s w/ Wye Oak
09/17/11 Dallas, TX- Granada Theatre w/ Wye Oak
09/19/11 Lawrence, KS- The Granada w/ Wye Oak
09/20/11 St. Louis, MO- The Pageant w/ Wye Oak
09/21/11 Milwaukee, WI- Pabst Theatre w/ Wye Oak
09/22/11 Chicago, IL- Vic Theatre w/ The Felice Brothers
09/23/11 Cincinnati, OH- Midpoint Music Festival
09/24/11 Rochester, NY- The Club at Water Street w/ Wye Oak
09/25/11 Burlington, VT- Nor’Easter Festvial @ Waterfront Park

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Three Blind Wolves give away Sound Of The Storm [Free Album]

by oz on August 21, 2011

I reviewed Three Blind Wolves’ Sound of The Storm back in May and compare their sound to a blend of Frightened Rabbit, Mumford and Sons, and Frontier Ruckus. The band hails from Scotland and, thanks to a tremendous debut and a tour with Frightened Rabbit, they are garnering some buzz in the UK.

The band has graciously allowed us to offer Sound of The Storm as a free download. (Removed at request of band due to miscommunication).

Three Blind Wolves – Captain of a Ship

Three Blind Wolves – Echo On The Night Train

Video: Three Blind Wolves – Emily Rose

Episode #33.1: Three Blind Wolves – “Emily Rose” from Off The Beaten Tracks on Vimeo.

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The Wilderness of Manitoba, Live Session # 91

August 18, 2011

Canada is secretly conspiring to take over the United States in the Folk/Americana music category. The Wilderness of Manitoba are a chamber folk quintet from Toronto comprised of multi-instrumentalist and vocalists.  We fell in love with the band’s latest album, When You Left The Fire, with its lush ambiance and warm four-part harmonies. Their communal [...]

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The Middle East – Jesus Came To My Birthday Party [Music Video]

August 17, 2011

My kids took me to play putt-putt on my birthday in 100 degree heat. It was so fucking hot, I thought I saw Jesus. But I think I was just having a flashback or going through menopause or something. Anyway, the now-defunct Aussie band called The Middle East has just put out this video for [...]

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Is 2011 2008 redux?

August 16, 2011

The weather is absolutely glorious in New York today. It poured rain earlier this week and the parks are bursting with green hues. The humidity has dropped and there is a slight breeze coming up off the rivers and flowing through the streets. There’s not a cloud in the sky. It’s been a while since [...]

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New Track from AA Bondy – New Album Coming Soon

August 13, 2011

AA Bondy is pretty close to being the Pippa Middleton of HearYa – we (and our readers) are obsessed with him. Not only has he done two fantastic HearYa Live Sessions (see session 1 and session 2), we also named his 2009 release, When the Devil’s Loose, our top album of that year. It’s held [...]

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D.B. Cooper, Drinking Champagne

August 2, 2011

I’ve been relishing the revival of the D.B. Cooper story in the headlines. It’s such an incredible story that was first introduced to me by folk singer, Todd Snider. The song has been an addiction for me for many years and tells the D.B.’s story vividly. I’ve been under a bit of duress in the [...]

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