Indie Music Blog, Live Sessions, and Daily MP3 Downloads.
Dax Riggs’ live session with us was the most appropriate to dig up for Halloween. I’m pretty sure his voice pulls spirits from their graves.
Dax Riggs – Say Goodnight To The World (HearYa Live Session)
Dax Riggs – Let Me Be Your Cigarette (HearYa Live Session)
Dax Riggs – Sleeping With The Witch (HearYa Live Session)
Dax Riggs – I Hear Satan (HearYa Live Session)
Dax Riggs – Heartbreak Hotel (HearYa Live Session)
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WATERS is the band that emerged after Port O’Brien dissolved. Founding POB front man Van Pierszalowski fled the States for Oslo, Norway after the breakup before continuing his travels to Alaska where he’d spent time working with his father, a commercial fisherman. Then off to his hometown in Northern California, over to Brooklyn, then back to Oslo to put a band together and form WATERS.
Port O’Brien was a band near to my heart after discovering them shortly after I moved to the Bay area in 2007. I saw them in four different cities, had a few pints with them in Boston, and became a close enough acquaintances to garner a bear hug from Van every time we crossed paths – although I don’t think he’s stingy with his hugs. Needless to say, I was devastated to hear that Port O’Brien broke up and I became extremely nervous to see Van’s new band name in all capital letters. A band name in all caps? I was picturing neon colors, LOTS of synthesizer sounds and the word “experimental” in the genre description.
Out In The Light turned out to be better than any Port O’Brien record. According to Van, “The record is about waking up. It is about getting out of a situation that seems endless, and realizing you’re not too old to make dramatic and sudden changes in your life. It is about starting over.” It’s also about unleashing something more bold, loud and complete than anything he’s released before.
Out In The Light makes a statement with the fuzzy “For The One.” The familiar sound of the acoustic was set aside for brash guitars, clashing drums and harsh vocals that put your speakers to the test. “O Holy Break Of Day” is the signature tune on the album, balancing tempo changes, heavy handed guitar solos and poignant lyrics:
feeling reckless but there’s a light at the edge of my room
i never imagined i could be a free man this soon
take my warnings just to find my way back through
home isn’t waiting oh lord i am overdueoh i can’t believe this all was for free
i dreamed the fucker right out of me
i can’t believe i took it for granted
o holy break of dayfeeling weezy but there’s a way i can’t let it go
hold my hand softly if you hold my hand at all
never imagined i could be a free man this soon
wade through water, there’s a light at the edge of my room
The album lightens up on songs like “Out In The Light,” the acoustic ballad, “Ones You Had Before,” and the liberating anthem “If I Run.” The closer, “Mickey Mantle,” is the clincher. It’s a beautifully crafted solo acoustic number with light keys, late blooming percussion and female vocal harmonies. Van’s songwriting is showcased again:
never thoguht to light a candle
never thought i’d have to gamble
I was feeling micky mantle wasteddriving up the 1 and frantic
turning into an old romantic
I was sleeping n the attic waitingcan’t nobody ever see
don’t make a mess of me
i ain’t to old to give a shiti could turn a train around
i could take your country down
i aint’ too young to regretforever, forever, forever
i ain’t too young
The song will resonate even more with you if you’ve been belittled by Mickey Mantle after asking for an autograph. But enough of my emotional scars.
My hat goes off to Van Pierszalowski. WATERS is a triumph and one of the year’s best albums.
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I had the pleasure of interviewing Jason Isbell about his latest album, Here We Rest, and it continues to hold up as one of my top 3 favorite albums of the year. It may be my top pick. My phone conversation with him is certainly one of my highlights of the year and restraining my fan-boy gushing was not easy. After four or five IPA’s, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have an itchy trigger finger ready to speed dial him.
When I first got an advanced copy of Here We Rest, I immediately left town for a drive from Atlanta to Columbia, SC and back. This album never took a break. “Alabama Pines” was a perfect road song for a drive in the South. Look out for Isbell and his Unit (the 400 one) on Letterman Nov 4th and touring this fall/winter.
Tour Dates:
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I was talking about Deer Tick to some guys that had never heard of them before. My description was one of an old time rock and roll band who are about drinking canned beer, smoking reds and wearing their hearts on their sleeves. In any Deer Tick album, you’re going to have a few moments that are filled with no-holds barred raucous behavior, a few moments that are truly sentimental and some in between.
Deer Tick’s fourth album, Divine Providence, starts off on the raucous side and has much more of that hard party vibe than their previous (and much darker album), The Black Dirt Sessions. Two of the first three songs could blend seamlessly into The Replacements Let It Be or Pleased To Meet Me without missing a beat. Opener, “The Bump,” proudly boasts “We’re full grown men, but we act like kids.” As a 41 y/o dad of three, I can relate. My wife has said the same to me on more than a couple of occasions. “Let’s All Go To The Bar” is almost juvenile in its approach, but will no doubt prove to be a concert favorite. I know for sure that I will be singing right along with them, canned beer in hand over head.
But while these songs are great fun and the comments between songs like “you fuckin’ douchebag,” “let’s go get drunk,” and various belches are slightly entertaining, an album that contained nothing else would grow very tired. And it’s the ability to shift gears into a more serious side that makes Deer Tick so compelling. “Main Street” and “Chevy Express” give McCauley the freedom to bear his soul.
And lest we fall into believing that Deer Tick is John McCauley and nothing else. Drummer Dennis Ryan takes the mic for the very deep “Clownin’ Around” and guitarist Ian O’Neil handles “Now It’s Your Turn” and the rocking “Walkin Out The Door.” And while it is a little jarring to not hear McCauley’s grizzled vocals at first, “Clownin’ Around” and “Walkin Out The Door” have become two of my favorites.
As a longtime fan of the aforementioned Replacements, Divine Providence has really struck a nerve with me and I can’t seem to get it out of the player. Where it stands in Deer Tick’s catalog is going to be up for discussion. But I will say this is their best effort in capturing their live performance. For a taste of how they made it, see below. Parts 1 and 2 can be found here.
They’ll be in Chicago on 11/14 at Reggie’s. I plan on being there and HearYa has a couple of free tix to hand out. Email us at freeshit@hearya.com to enter.
Deer Tick “Main Street” by Partisan Records
Deer Tick – Main Street (performed on David Letterman)
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