FeedBack (Podcast) w/ Wes Nyle: Recent Episodes
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FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP34. The Strokes.02.10.13Last Night
Bands attempting to reinvent themselves aren’t uncommon. I feel like bands that successfully reinvent themselves regularly however are a needle in the hay.
Anyone who talks to me for more than 2.2 seconds about my music taste will find out who my three all-time faves in music are. Radiohead, The Flaming Lips, and Modest Mouse. And probably not in that order all the time, although that is how it frequently comes out.
It’s because bands like these make me feel uncomfortable when I hear their rock. Lyrics that cut deep, premises that only glimpse into my human struggles, but are still resonating from the first time I heard them till now. When your content is this good lyrically, it may be ok to let the instruments lye underneath as an afterthought. But good artists hardly take that chance. Their risks lyrically are almost always matched by depth and risk in the instruments.
The Strokes were discovered in New York, sometime between 98 and 2000 after playing at the Mercury Lounge in Manhattan. Allegedly a bidding war broke between labels after the bands EP The Modern Age was released in the states, along with a free download of Last Night via UK periodical NME.
Is This It?
New York City Cops
The band’s first full length was titled Is This It. Released on RCA in 2001, there was some controversy between the UK and US released track listing, and New York City Cops was scratched from the US track listing because of the events of 9/11.
In 2003 the band was in good company having Nigel Godrich, long-time producer of Radiohead behind the board for their second release Room On Fire. An album that seemed a lot like an extension of Is This It. And probably because for whatever reason the group decided to drop Nigel for their old flame Gordon Raphael: producer of Is This It. With flashes of innovation, like the tone of Nick Valensi’s guitar in 12:51 and the The End Has No End, the group was beginning to show they were not afraid to experiment with their sound.
12:51
The End Has No End
Vision of Division
In September of 2005 what was to be the bands third album First Impressions of Earth was leaked and passed around the online community. This convinced the band to release an online version of the album before the official hard copy release in January of 2006. The album was an obvious departure from the original Strokes format, with David Kahne controlling the knobs this time around. Julian’s teenage friend, from a Switzerland boarding school, and lead guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. showed more skill with soloing and Julian pushed his pitch limits on vocals. The effort was greeted with initial success, with the band selling out 15 UK dates, but then fell off for critics as more people began to hear it. After completing the US side of the Casablancas told fans that the band would be taking an extensive break. The band may have been having issues, but also Casablancas had admitted that he needed to address his alcohol abuse that was affecting his passion for writing. A tribulation that may have been expressed in On the Other Side.
On the Otherside
Two Kinds of Happiness
Three Years later, after solo projects from every artist in the band. Julian began working with Valensi on music that was to be official Strokes tracks. But is wasn’t till almost a year later the band officially released a statement saying they would be in the studio with legendary producer Joe Chiccarelli (Beck, Elton John, Etta James, the White Stripes). Julian commented on the tracks saying they had the stylings of “1970’s Rock from the future”. With glimpses of original Strokes progressions, the band’s vacation showed promise bringing in elements from every artist and showing a more diverse and creative side of The Strokes we may not have heard without the four year hiatus.
Life is Simple in the Moonlight
Late next month The Strokes are scheduled to release their fifth full-length Comedown Machine, already available for pre-order on TheStrokes.com. You can get a one track taste of the new album at the home page as well. The track title is One Way Trigger and borrows the feel of Ah-Ha’s Take On Me, with modern and dark undertones. With more and more commercial artists seemingly afraid to takes risks it is comforting to hear the artists that changed my world with their lyrics and sounds taking a chance on making their fans uncomfortable with changes that speak to them.
This is The Strokes.
One Way Trigger
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP31. Political Skews. 11.12.12This past election has me reminiscing of who I was in my teens. Certainly who I am now is shaped by the music I’m listening to currently. But how much of my views were shaped by artists when I was showing up late to class and smoking cigarettes in the parking lot of my high school. In my early twenties I had good friends of mine tell me that I helped shaped who they were, their style, the music they listened to, political opinions. And I’m sure that’s true because I’m amazing in almost every way. But was it all me? Or were my beliefs molded by artists like Justin Sane of Anti-Flag, and Tim Armstrong of Rancid, then simply regurgitated while sitting in technical theatre class learning nothing.
I didn’t come from any type of hardship. Not like the musicians I respected and emulated. I grew up with a dad who taught Government, and Economics and a Mom who remarried a Pharmacist. There was nothing left to be desired, materially. But there is something inside a teen, a fire that can’t be explained or quenched. When I had the time I would spend too much of it at a second hand music shop, being molded the guy that worked there. I can’t remember all the music he introduced me to but I do remember one day before I left he, convinced me I needed to hear Plastic Surgery Disasters by the Dead Kennedy’s. I took it home and sat in front of my stereo, wondering what kind of cruel joke was this that the older guy I trusted with my musical development was playing on me. Jello Biafra’s chipmunk voice blasted my eardrums as I waited for the real singer to jump in at any time. Later on, the lyrics meant more and I thought about who I was and if I was going to turn out like the adults in my life. The track Halloween started me on this path of dress and attitude. I was going to be whoever I wanted to be. As long as I looked and acted like my heroes.
I remember going to Wal-Mart and buying a navy blue sweat shirt. I cut it down the middle and buttoned it up with safety pins so I could look like Billy Joe Armstrong in the Green Day poster I had hanging in my room. I cut my hair and spiked it like Matthew Lillard in SLC Punk minus the blue hair die because, well you know, my parents weren’t having that. I learned all the quotes from I Blow Mind’s For A Living: Jellow Biafra’s spoken word, and read it in speech class for an A. I listened to Rage Against the Machine when I skipped class and drove to Chick-Fil-A with my buddy. This was before they were raging against their own machine. I was convinced I was changing the world. There was no question that I completely understood what these bands were fighting for. So I fought with my dad, the high school government teacher about how a socialist society could be great, and how anarchy was a peaceful alternative to democracy. I told everyone to vote for Ralph Nader. And never saw the contradiction in any of it.
The summer I graduated I turned eighteen and fought with my dad about not wanting to send in my selective service card. I wasn’t going to potentially be forced to fight for a fascist régime I didn’t believe in. Eventually I sent it in, because I wasn’t going to move to Canada as an alternative either. It’s too cold. Along with that the election was happening and I should have been rushing out to register to vote but, at this point I was to interested in all the other things I could do that were slightly more exciting and debaucherous. By the next election season I was more apathetic to the internal conflicts of the US and instead wanted to make art, write, and listen to others interpretation of the world. The closest I ever came to voting was when someone signed me up to vote under the Green Party while I was walking into Eeyore's Birthday while living in Austin. It wasn’t at that moment but I did later understand that I didn’t know anything about America, or how any of the systems work. Nor did I care. I didn’t vote that year and George W. Bush won his second term.
This podcast isn’t a statement. The anti-establishment, anarchist me died when I turned eighteen for some reason. Did big brother win? Or did the thrill of making a difference with my voice die when I turned the appropriate age? Like knowing you can stay up as late as you want once you have your own apartment. I’m not sure. But recently as I listen to the music that shape my teenage mind I feel like maybe I’m more like those heroes than ever before. I embrace my apathy. The more I listen to the cries of that slightly older generation, the more I think that maybe they weren’t trying to warn me of what was happening to me now. But who me and my friends would become if we chased these impossible pursuits, or tried to perpetuate these futile mottos.
Turns out all these songs I believed were political… All these songs about the government’s manipulative tendencies… were really just a squeal for understanding from our pears. Well if that’s the case I understand. I understand that frustration of an artist isn’t something an elected official can cure better than a ripping guitar solo and loving fans that admit they are in the same boat.
Solidarity – Rancid
Rotten Future – Anti-Flag
Anarchy In the U.K. – Sex Pistols
Halloween – the Dead Kennedy’s
SLC Punk – Look Like A Bum Speech
No Pride – Green Day
Take the Power Back – Rage Against the Machine
Die For Oil Suckers – Jello Biafra
American Jesus – Bad
Open Your Eyes – Goldfinger
Motto – Less Than Jake
Pride – No Use For a Name
I’m So Bored With The U.S.A. – The Clash
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP33. Twelve Tracks of Christmas 12.13.12Hey Donkey Punchers,
For me this year has proved promising. I am not the type of person to sit by and watch opportunities fly past me. I certainly seize the carp, and I am positive that amazing things will happen for me this year because I work hard to make my life meaningful.
I started this podcast because I wanted to create a DEMO, or portfolio that people could hear and scrutinize. But the more I listened to bands and the more I played around with my editing toys the more it became less of a resume and more of a labor of love. I hope that you have enjoyed these episodes as much as I have enjoyed making them for you. Please tell your friends to listen if they enjoy discovering new music and the meaning behind the artists that create, what I consider cutting edge rock and roll… or really whatever I like listening to.
This episode was created for the listener to count down the days till Christmas from the 13th of December. Kind of like an advent calendar. But feel free to listen to it however you like. Consider it my Christmas present to you.
May your new year be filled with as many donkeys as you can punch.
Twelve Tracks of Christmas:
1. ColdPlay – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
2. The Killers – Don’t Shoot Me Santa
3. Pedro The Lion – I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day
4. Deer Tick – Christmas All Summer Long
5. Best Coast and Wavves – Got Something for You
6. Florence + The Machine – Last Christmas
7. Flaming Lips – A Change at Christmas (Say It Isn’t So)
8. Julian Casablancas – Christmas Treat
9. Sufjan Stevens – That Was the Worst Christmas Ever
10. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs – All I Want for Christmas
11. Arcade Fire – Jingle Bell Rock
12. The Beach Boys – I’ll Be Home For Christmas
Until next year, sayonara,
Nyle
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP32. Tame Impala. 11.07.12
I’m back and I hope you’re all doing well. Thanks for sticking with me during my move and the podcast dry spell. The truth is I’ve hardly had any time to think about recording with the move. I have, however had several ideas floating around in my head. For instance I am thinking of changing the name of this podcast to Digital Spray Paint. And I am going to make the format a bit different, offering more variety, in the ways of interviews with bands, alongside phone conversations with my radio alumni, and comedian friends.
With that said I am going to give you one more traditional FeedBack podcast the way it’s been since I started this little project. Also listen for a series I’m calling the 12 tracks of Christmas, that will IV drip songs throughout the month of December for your listening pleasure, as we get ready to start the new podcast format that will beguine soon after the new year.
Thanks for listening now here’s the Podcast.
A phone conversation with my friend recently had me thinking about how much great music comes out of Australia. With the obvious bands out of the way I posted a FaceBook comment and received several comments from you guys as well, listing a ton of iconic rock, that hails from the land down under. I’m not 100% certain of what it is they do differently there but I can say that Australia has yet to produce a rock band that disappoints me.
Tame Impala is a band that popped up about two years ago with their debut record Innerspeaker, and shares an ambiance similar to America’s Interpol. The band was originally known as The Dee Dee Drums and is a c ollaboration of other indie groups fronted by Kevin Parker who also plays drums in Pond: A band that compares to other Australian notables like the Vines and Wolfmother. It’s also comprised of Tame Impala members Jay Watson and Nick Allbrook.
Kevin’s drumming would show up again in his work with Mink Mussel Creek a group that was comprised of his friends in the Australian underground music scene as well as members of Tame Impala. The group started recording in 2008 but because of setbacks weren’t able to officially release their record, however in this technology age there is a way to find anything online, and the recordings were eventually released. Which is good for me because otherwise I wouldn’t have a song segue right here.
There’s more to Parker than rhythm, he also shows intuition towards recording and effect pedal usage, with nearly 20 pedals in his arsenal while on stage. In an interview with UnderCover TV he elaborated on his take towards using pedals in a new way that helps create a sound that newer musicians are wishing they thought of.
This past October Tame Impala released their latest full length titled Lonerism an album that embodies the atmospherical, environmentally, synth blanketed rock that fans have grown to crave. A mention of this new album by one of my FaceBook followers has me leaving you with two tracks from these guys. Go by my site WesTexasMedia.com for a full track list of this episode, check out the video for Expectation, and listen to some more poddy deliciousness.
Tracks Heard on this Podcast:
It’s Not Ment to Be – Tame Impala
Jeremy’s Storm – Tame Impala
Fantastic Explosion in Time – Pond
Doesn’t the Moon Look Good Tonight – Mink Mussel Creek
Expectation – Tame Impala
Mind Mischief – Tame Impala
Music to Walk Home By – Tame Impala
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP30 .Simply New Music (Nude Beach/Explorers Club). 10.28.12As music continues to drown my every waking moment I have noticed a trend in new bands that gives me hope for a brighter future: Simplicity.
I use the term “Simplicity” synonymously with “Roots” and for me roots are early 90’s rock. I define this because I know that others around me are still wandering through the desert looking for a band that sounds like Bango Tango, Def Leppard or Ratt, and I make no apologies in saying that I am done with trying to understand what 80’s hair metal had to offer their generation. Even though I was born in the eighties I didn’t raise myself on that style of music for what has now become a drawn out reason. I don’t feel that there will ever be a time when Quiet Riot will try to be emulated again. There is less nostalgia in bands that harness an attitude of tits and booze over a message, or playing an instrument as wasted as possible over stepping up for an oppressed people. And I won’t support a lead singer with hair teased up further than a Judd sister. There is not nostalgia but this concept is dripping with novelty.
But this podcast isn’t about bashing 80’s hair metal bands. It’s more about how I felt as I started hearing bands consisting of members that were near my age starting to understand what normal music means to a generation. How genuine art work can show what that generation stands for. And most of the time a message is more genuinely sent simply.
A group out of New York is gaining critic attention for what is being called their second LP titled II. But from what I can tell it’s Nude Beach’s re-released earlier EP. If I close my eyes I am taken back to my smoke filled efficiency apartment enjoying what was my first taste of independence. Chuck Betz, Ryan Niadeau, and Jimmy Shelton power through 10 tracks that sound original yet familiar. Like a band you heard on a compilation or a stalker’s mix tape but never followed up on.
While the majority of critics can’t help but compare the sound of Nude Beach to “Top Petty meets Bruce Springsteen”, to me the simplicity and warmth of the trio’s sound has the feel of what Indie rock always wanted to be. Like early Strokes (Also from NY), the Presidents of the United States of America, or Face to Face. Really the only aspect of this band that lends them to the 60’s and the 70’s is an album with 10 tracks. A move that the band admits was done strategically with the idea of and A side and a B side in mind.
While the subject of new nostalgia is on my mind let me bring up the South Carolinian sextet The Explorers Club a band I was awakened to by David Wild of Huffington Post and a regular on the Adam Carolla podcast. There is no doubt that sometime in late 2007 I heard these guys on an episode of The O.C. a show that I’m not ashamed to admit I watched every episode of when I was living in a one bedroom apartment with four other dudes.
The Explorers Club released their 2nd full length Grand Hotel earlier this year and in a way it feels good not knowing about a band until you have something to catch up on. Both albums remind me of taking extended road trips with my dad in his baby blue 64 1/2 Mustang Convertible. I listened to the entire Beach Boys collection through cheap foam head phones with the biggest chromed out Sony cassette player ever to be created. The likeness of this band to the Beach Boys, can be traced back to the producer Mark Linett, who worked with the band on their teaser EP’s for Grand Hotel. Mark has worked with the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson, and also digitally re-masterd Pet Sounds for it’s rerelease some years back.
I feel like as time progresses this younger generation is being led to an auto-tuned, dubb stepped, electronic version of what 80’s cock rock used to be. Like they may be frightened by a song with an understanding or enlightening message. Hearing Mumford & Sons and Modest Mouse on an younger persons Pandora station recently gave me hope that youth still wants more than songs about “Boats and Hoes”.
I do want to say that I believe there is a place in the world for fun music, but it doesn’t keep me from celebrating the Isaac Brocks, Zack De La Rochas, Chris Cornells, and Fat Mikes that made me want to write, and listen to music. And more than being a music snob I want to express my admiration for new bands that embrace classic techniques, garnished with modern subtext.
Tracks Heard In This Podcast:
The Explorers Club – Grand Hotel
Ratt – Way Cool Jr.
Nude Beach – Walkin’ Down My Street
Nude Beach – Looser in the Game
The Explorers Club – Lost My Head
The Explorers Club – Forever
NoFx – Eat the Meek
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP29 .Rene Villanueva of Hacienda (interview). 10.12.12On this EP I talk to Rene Villanueva who is the bass player for San Antonio indie band Hacienda. The entire talk was set up through Twitter and E-mail, I feel like this opportunity was a “mile-stone” for me and the podcast. It’s exciting for me to watch this show develop, and fun to have a creative outlet that others enjoy. Please share the show with your friends and go subscribe on iTunes/Zune/or Stitcher. Big thanks to the boys in Hacienda for the chat this week.
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP28. Sinkane / On-Line Meia. 10.06.12Originally this podcast was supposed to highlight the work of Sinkane but somewhere along the line my Attention Deficit Disorder got the best of me and I began to think and write about all the amazing music I have downloaded in the past few years. I started this podcast to highlight bands that my listeners haven’t heard of yet and hopefully expose them to genres that they may not have known they could like, while at the same time keeping my production chops fresh. Along the way I have discovered some amazing talent that I wouldn’t have even known about without this online underground music society and to me that is awesome.
I would like to start interviewing underground bands that have at least one album out, and are willing to sit on the phone with me and discuss their craft, and what it feels like to do what they do. If that sounds like fun to you then hit me up on FaceBook/WesleyNyle or find me on Twitter/WesleyNyle. I would love to listen to your work, do some research and call you up or meet you some place in the Dallas area and talk shop.
So with that said here’s the podcast:
Without the internet, many bands that are currently the focus of the independent music scene would otherwise be lost in obscurity.
The rabbit hole of current indie rock trends continues to go deeper with bands like Yeasayer as a prime example: a group originating in Brooklyn nearly six years ago, and in some aspects sharing the traditional tale of touring and peddling vinyl singles, to rise form the primordial ooze that is indie rock obscurity. But also gaining traction from online publications and being boasted as the “Most Blogged About Band” in 2010. Let’s hear the Doors, Janice Joplin, or Queen brag about that.
It’s true that the majority of entertainers are jumping on the online band wagon. And why not? Aside from the monetary aspect of it, producing and publishing your own music or media, is less mess altogether, no agents, no labels, no censorship, no contracts, and with home studios becoming more and more reasonable to build and operate. Bands essentially have all the time you need without paying a studio to play. Radiohead’s last two self-releases, In Rainbows, and The King Of Limbs are shining examples. Doing extremely well as digital downloads that were presented initially as a “Pay What You Think It’s Worth” experiment. Even comedian and writer Louis C.K. made an impact, with his self-releases that he made available only on his website for the ridiculously low price of five dollars, knowing that the media could easily be pirated, but trusting his fans to pay for the easier experience of simply downloading the content directly from his website.
Ahmed Gallab, a relatively obscure, yet insanely talented multi-instrumentalist, who has toured with Caribou, Of Montreal, and now has landed a solid role as Yeasayer’s multi-instrumentalist. Is following in the footsteps of many other successful, and established musicians; like Albert Hammond Jr. of The Strokes, and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of The Marz Volta, in the vein of branching out into his own solo project, under the name Sinkane.
Really, Gallab has been creating music on his own for several years. It’s only now through the miracle of sites like SoundCould, ReverbNation, and BandCamp that artists are able to take risks, and show off their work with less capital, green lighting new music attics like myself to discover and share what would normally only be a local treat. This is helping smaller artists make a living with their music, and for artist like Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, generate revenue for causes in a more creative way than selling an autographed bass. Example being Flea’s solo album Helen Burns: a solo, self-released, pay what you think it’s worth album, that’s funds benefit the Silver Lake Conservatory of Music. The online liner notes warn, or boast that this is not a Red Hot Chili Peppers album, and stands on its own merits with spaced out experimental jazz, giving this newish idea of posting your own self-produced media some serious street cred.
Even though some of Sinkane’s work is out on the internet for our enjoyment his entire body of work can’t be found entirely in digital format. A shrewd business decision, and yet still an artsy move. His entire discography consists of 2 EP and 3 LP’s that majoritively can only be purchased on vinyl through his site. Since early this year this native Sudanian has been teasing Bloggers with talk of a new LP titled Mars, but right now it looks like the single “Jeeper Creeper” on his SoundCloud is the only proof of new material.
This is Sinkane, an artist that you wouldn’t have heard of without the online music community.
Tracks Herd On This Podcast:
(intro background) Sinkane – Color Voice
Yeasayer – Blue Paper
Yeasayer - Longevity
Radiohead – Morning Mr. Magpie
Sinkane – Apache Beat
Fela – 333
Sinkane – Jeeper Creeper
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP27. Silver Ships (Interview w. Chazz and Kat). 09.19.12On this podcast Wes Nyle chats on the phone with one of the coolest, newest, and insatiably creative indie rock artists in Austin right now. Chazz Bessette of Silver Ships, and his girlfriend Kat Hernandez are working in an all analog home studio they’ve created in their master bedroom and will be releasing an album on vinyl as well as a digital release as soon as January.
Before the album is released Chazz elaborates on a few songs, shares some hope recording tips, and shares a FeedBack (Podcast) exclusive track: Summer's Gone. Wes also talks with them about the struggles and triumphs of owning and operating a home studio, the differences between digital and analog, Mexican candy, and drunken hamsters.
SPOILER ALLERT: There’s hardly any.
Support Silver Ships Here: FB/ ReverbNation
Listen to Silver Ships FeedBack (Podcast) exclusive track @ www.WesTexasMedia.com/FeedBack
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP26. Lambchop. 09.10.12Many credit the early nineties as the dawn of indie music. And at the helm of this movement, even if by accident, was Lambchop. A group fronted by Nashville native Kurt Wagner. One that started distributing self-recorded tapes in nineteen-ninety, and is now titled as one of the most original country bands around.
You won’t find Lambchop touring much, simply because Wagner’s supporting cast is constantly changing, and even now when on the road, Kurt admits live shows are an interpretation of the current album. Albums that always try to carry a concept; a feat that Wagner admits is getting more drawn out as he moves into his late fifties.
Through the years the band has dawned many names, albums, members and even genres. The lineup of each record is impossible for me to comprehend as the list of Kurt’s companions in Nashville continues to expand. And with elements of Soul, Jazz, Lounge, and Country Western, mashed with nonobjective lyrics, even the music snobs settled on defining this eclectic sound as simply Alt-Country.
This year Kurt celebrates the release of his 11th studio album Mr. M an album that was recorded with his longtime friend and famous Nashville producer Mark Nevers, and is highlighted with help from Crotney Tidwell, his partner in crime from his folk duet KORT, that coverd 50’s and 60’s country classics from Chart Records.
The first track If Not I’ll Just Die vaguely references The Carpenters, and was written while Wagner was spending Christmas with his family in his crowded house as he picked up on bits and pieces of conversation and action. This seems fitting to me as the track almost harnesses the feeling of a fifties Christmas classic. But with lyrics that put you in a quite tailspin like only Lambchop can.
This is Kirt Wagner as Lambchop.
Soaky in the Pooper
Grumpus
Gone Tomorrow
B2B
If Not I’ll Just Die
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP254. Walk the Moon. 08.17.12Like anything worth doing, it takes time to get where you want to be. This year Cincinnati locals Nick Petricca, Kevin Ray, Eli Maiman, and Sean Waugaman have signed with RCA, and their self-titled album Walk the Moon is gaining traction with it’s current hit Anna Sun sitting 24th on Billboard’s Rock Song charts.
Only three years before the success of the RCA release Nick was trying to build the bands reputation by touring local venues and pedaling two self-made albums. Petricca says, Walk the Moon’s current lineup, the lineup that freshens up tracks from their harder to find 2010 self-distributed I Want! I Want! on the new self-titled, has only been around since this year. But with the bands new found following, and touring schedule changes are a survival tactic at this point.
There is something endearing about a group who pays attention to their audience in aspects that most artists wouldn’t. Face paint on the band and crowd is now a trademark at most live shows. This is a call back to the Anna Sun music video where Nick walks through a sea of friends in costume and face paint in between moments of Thriller and Westside Story style dance offs. In the spirit of keeping his friends involved, the video was the brain child of Nick’s friend who is an indie director, and used a local Chicagoan dance group to choreograph the five and a half minuet continuous shot.
As a band with relatively newly found success it’s hard to say what lies in the future for such a fanccentric group. Something that has been promised in interviews with Walk the Moon is evolution. The quartet sites the Talking Heads, David Bowie and The Red Hot Chili Peppers as influences. And with such a blatant Police reference as the band’s name I’d say the shoes to fill are quite large. However this debut effort is a good place to start.
This is Walk the Moon.
Tracks Heard In This Podcast:
I Can Lift A Car (All By Myself)
I Want! I Want!
Anna Sun
Tightrope
Jenny
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP24. Givers. 08.17.12When you hear stories of the modern music era success, stories of youtube, iTunes, and social networking seem to be a centralized theme. It’s refreshing to know that bands still create buzz and build a fan base the old fashion way. By playing what they love, being recognized by local clubs, and expanding through traditional word of mouth outlets.
During January of 2009 in Lafayette, LA a quintet was developing from the idea that traditional African, Cajun and Zydeco elements, can be held together with an experimental glue. Taylor Guarisco and Tiffany Lamson were home from the University of New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina. The two had been playing since 2005 and were now experimenting with, Kirby Campbell on drums, and Josh LeBlanc who then was known as one of the most impressive trumpet players in the area, but now on bass.
Kirby was attending Berklee College of Music but after a late night jam, Guarisco posed the question that they should start a band. The chemistry must have been magic that night, because Kirby decided to stay, and a few months later Taylor received a call from a local venue looking to fill a last minute opening. At that point the band had found their six-pieces, with Will Henderson on keys, sax and whatever else he could blow into, alongside him multi-instrumentalist Nick Stephan. The groups years of improvisational practice had finally paid off, the band would play two hours that night, and forced them to come up with a name. They decided on Givers a track from the band Lucky Dragons.
As time has marched on the group has lost Will as a member but this band is steamrolling their way into notoriety. Finding their debut full length In Light on Glassnote Records: a label that houses acts like Childish Gambino, The Temper Trap, and Mumford and Sons.
This is Givers.
Download Givers first full length effort In Light for five buck on Amazon.
Tracks Heard In This Podcast:
Saw You First
Up Up Up
Ceiling of Plankton
Givers – Lucky Dragon
Meantime
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP23. Hacienda. 08.10.12Music has a special harmony and rhythm when a band is bonded by blood. The Allman Brothers, The Kings of Leon, The Jonas Brothers!
The point is: Credence is owed to Hacienda, a four-piece from San Antonio, TX who earned their first professional recording, before a Black Keys show, when they laid their six-song demo on Dan Auerbach. The boys form the Black Keys have been in my line of site a lot lately it seems. We talked about Patrick Carney last week helping with Tennis’ new release. In the same vein Dan has helped fellow indie two piece JEFF the Brotherhood with their new album Hypnotic Nights. And does it not strike you a little coincidental that along with the infamous album of the Keys’ titled Brothers that Dan also has his mixer fingers in the latest release from Hacienda. A band comprised of three brothers and one cousin.
Luck or persistence the group made it work after years of being unsatisfied with bands that didn’t understand what each individual was going for. Abraham Villanueva and cousin Dante Schwebel, were experiencing this in the early version of Hacienda with a rhythm section that wasn’t meshing. But as fate would have it Abraham’s brothers Rene and Jaime were having creative differences with their band. The natural fix was to create a band that was bonded by something thicker than talent or friendship.
The Beach Boys shine bright as an influence on Hacienda’s early work. And for critics to compare the music of this relatively young Texas indie band to an American classic has to mean something. Their third album Shakedown has taken on a life of its own, showing courage in experimentation. Heavier driving guitar and pounding 4x4 drums leaves me excited for what will come next from this band who has yet to create a full length less than two years apart.
This is Hacienda.
Download Hacienda’s new album Shakedown for only five bucks.
Tracks Heard On This Podcast:
Useless and Tired
Another Day
I Keep Waiting
Go To Get Back Home
Don’t Keep Me Waiting
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP22. Tennis. 08.03.12When a man and a woman really love each other they play in a 60’s style synth driven band together, go on sailing trips, and find no need for a bass player. This is where babies come from.
While attending philosophy classes in Denver, a relationship between Alaina (alaianna) Moore and Patrick Riley began to bud from a room of twenty-five people with only two girls in it. What started as common interests in philosophy, adventure, and travel would bloom into what we know now as the trio named Tennis.
Moore says that she hadn’t thought to even ask Patrick about the guitar in his closet until years after they had known each other, for fear of hearing a Dave Matthews cover form another college frat boy. The idea for Tennis’ music came to them while on a sailing sabbatical. Moore says the two of them were in the Florida Keys and heard The Shirelles’s – Baby It’s You, and wondered why more modern music didn’t have this aesthetic.
The theme for Tennis’ freshman album Cape Dory came from the couple’s inaugural sailing trip. Moore says that she doesn’t like to come up with music unless her and Patrick can determine even a vague theme for the groups work. After touring for their first album, the group sought more inspiration. Patrick said it was hard to be creative while on the road, so the two of them sold all of their equipment to fund another sailing adventure.
This husband and wife band with friend and drummer James Barone, have successfully found inspiration again. And I’m almost certain that there may have been some sparks from the producer of Tennis’ latest Young & Old: The Black Keys’ Pactrick Carney.
Tennis has just wrapped up playing almost every important late night talk show in America and plans on wrapping up their 2012 tour in October with dates in Houston, Dallas, and Austin’s City Limits Festival. And I’m in Texas so that’s important to me.
This is Tennis.
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP21. King Tuff. 07.27.12An artist worth their salt won’t stop creating their art, even if it only challenges a slight preconceived notion of who they may be, or what they’re able to do.
Our hero, Kevin Thomas’s, story begins in Battleboro, VT where meets a like-minded artist in the record store he works at. Kurt Weisman, and Thomas would collaborate on some songs and then seemingly by magic the two would start what indie rock critics label as a cult-like folk ensemble, by the name Feathers.
While gigging with Feathers Kevin, would attract the attention of Sub Pop legend, and Dinasour JR front man J. Mascis (Maskis). Mascis had the idea to lay off the guitar and sit behind a drum set, in the band Witch. A band Mascis had started with longtime friend and bass player Dave Sweetapple. The sound was an early 70’s version of heavy metal with Kevin on lead guitar and vocals.
A marriage of these two sounds would birth King Tuff: A persona taken on by Thomas when recording an album in his house. Even if it didn’t catch on right away word of mouth helped distribute this recording, and grow Thomas’s popularity in the deep-deep underground, indie music scene.
While working with his new project, Happy Birthday, Thomas says that people started asking about King Tuff. The word of mouth and popularity had grown so exponentially that the decision to go back to his old band seemed almost subconscious. Although not much of a stretch from Happy Birthday, four years later Kevin has created his second album with King Tuff. This self-titled effort was released on Sub Pop Records. Does the distribution come with help from former band mate Mascis? If not then I like to think that his Bob Dylan/ Mic Jagger vocal baby of a voice got him the record contract.
This is King Tuff.
Tracks Heard In This Podcast:
Feathers – Come Around
Witch – Seer
King Tuff – Sun Medallion
Happy Birthday – Subliminal Message
King Tuff – Keep On Moving
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP20. Ben Gibbard. 07.20.122With eight albums in the books from his most notable project Death Cab For Cutie, one of the hardest working men in the indie rock scene is trying his luck with flying solo once again.
The story for Ben Gibbard starts in Bremerton, WA where he developed an affinity for bands like The Pixies, Daniel Johnston, and Fugazi. His first official band went by the name Penwheel, and only released one six song demo.
A year later Ben was creating low-fi sounds of his own under the name All-Time Quarterback and released two EPs one, self-titled and the other titled The Envelope Sessions. That same year Gibbard change the name of his solo project to the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band song titled Death Cab For Cutie.
The first album of Death Cab’s was another solo project of Gibbard’s released on a cassette. Ben thought the reception of this collection of songs merited a full band and recruited Chris Walla; who had helped on the original cassette; Nick Harmer, and Nathan Good to round out the four piece. Throughout their career the group has been nominated for 16 various awards but have only walked away with a Woodie and the Larry Award for 2003’s Break Through Artist. Even though the band had been around for almost 6 years at that point.
In 2001 Gibbard was introduced to electronic protégé Jimmy Tamborello, known as Dntel (dɪntɛl). The two worked on a couple of track with Ben on the vocals. Dntel was very happy with how they turned out and a few weeks later Gibbard was receiving CD-R’s in the mail with some of Tramborello’s, beats and melodies on them. Gibbard was given liberty to create what he wanted from the tracks and decided that his long-time partner and fellow guitarist Chris Walla would be an asset to whatever this creation happened to be. Every two months or so Ben was receiving packages that he would edit, add then mail back. Ten month of this would manifest into what we now know as The Postal Service: A heavily electronic oriented group dripping with romantic lyrics, and sprinkled with guest vocals from Jen Wood and Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis.
Ben’s appreciation for the writing of Jack Kerouac would land him a in a studio with Son Volt’s Jay Farr where they would create a tribute album Kerouac’s famous novel Big Spur, titled One Fast Move or I’m Gone.
Currently Death Cab is on tour for their 2012 release Codes and Keys, and once the band is finished with the year-long world-wide tour, Ben and his overactive creativity will be at it again with an album that will be titled Former Lives. The album will feature tracks that have been marinating for the past eight years as Ben has made some major life decisions like ending his marriage, and cutting back his alcohol use. Even if the official track list has not been released or even discussed, fans can hope that the album will harvest songs that are as introspective and creative as all of his other ventures.
This is Ben Gibbard
Track Heard In This Podcast:
Pinwheel - Honey & Acetylene
All-Time Quarterback – Rules Broken
Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band – Death Cab For Cutie
Death Cab For Cutie – Two Cars
The Postal Service – Clark Gable
Ben Gibbard & Jay Farrar - Big Sur
Ben Gibbard – Set Yourself on Fire
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP19. Jack White. 07.13.12July 9th marked the birthday for one of Detroit’s most notable musicians, a player who simultaneously revolutionized and resurrected true American Blues, but never let one type of music define who he was or who he would be collaborating with.
In the documentary It Might Get Loud Jack White stated that Son Houses’s Grinnin In Your Face is his favorite song of all time. The grit and simplicity of this song may shed light on the why White uses tried and true techniques to keep his relatively fresh concepts in a lo-fi time capsule.
White started banging on a drum set at age 6, and mulled around the garage rock scene of Detroit for years, contemplating where his overactive drive lead him. His Catholic upbringing would find him as an altar boy in younger years and nearly bring him to a seminary in Wisconsin, with aspirations of becoming a priest. His musical mind would eventually get the better of him when he realized that the school may not let him play his new amp in the dorms.
In 1997 Jack created The White Stripes, a highly stylized two piece, with his now ex-wife Meg White, known for their simplistic writing and garage band static. The early years of the band created rumors about what the true relationship was between Jack and Meg. And in 2003 as the duo’s infamy continued to expand, Wayne Coyne and The Flaming Lips touched on the hype, and insanity that surrounded The White Stripes, on the song titled Thank You Jack White.
Two years down the road Jack’s creativity and thirst for collaborative art would help cast the mold for The Raconteurs: a legit four piece featuring two members of the Greenhornes, bassist Jack Lawerence and precisionist Patrick Keeler. The band’s first full length was recorded in the home of the bands 4th member, Brendan Benson: a multi-instrumentalist and successful solo artist. Both Raconteurs albums claimed gold success in the UK.
2009 was the year of the super group, bringing the US rock genre powerhouses like Dead By Sunrise, Atoms For Peace, Tinted Windows, and Them Crooked Vultures. Jack White was not going to be left out. Even if the band didn’t admit to being labeled as a super group it was hard to deny The Dead Weather combined the talents of Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age, Allison Mosshart of The Kills and the other “Jack” Jack Lawrence. White and Allison credit Captain Beefheart as a major influence on the band’s sound as did the band I featured a couple weeks back Jukebox The Ghost. Here’s a taster of that influence.
It wasn’t till his 37th year on this planet; White would use his partners in musical genius to help create his solo album Blunderbuss. This new album defines what White is through and through. The album uses almost exclusively 1st takes with limited track doubling, coupled with recording done using analog tape, and ribbon mics. The signature sound brings forth exactly what White wants. A warm tone that sounds best played from vinyl. A vinyl that can be purchased from Jack’s record store/ label 3rd Man Records. Marketing ploy or not a thank you is deserved to a man who cherishes American music at its greatest and stopped at nothing to shine a beacon on what great music sounds like and how it is created.
Happy Birthday Jack White.
Tracks Heard In This Podcast:
Grinnin In Your Face – Son House
Let’s Build A Home – The White Stripes
The Hardest Button To Button – The White Stripes
Thank You Jack White – The Flaming Lips
Store Bought Bones – The Raconteurs
Cut Like A Buffalo – The Dead Weather
BlunderBuss – Jack White
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP18. Of Monsters and Men. 07.06.12For years Iceland has been the music muse for artists like Bjork and others that I haven’t ever heard of. In 2011 this 6 piece poked its head from the glacial rivers in an attempt to claim the affinity of the Americas, with their EP titled Into The Woods.
According to Icelandic legend, front woman, Nanna Hilmarsdottir, sparked the creation of, Of Monsters and Men, when she joined her solo project Songbird with the solo projects of Raggi, Bynjar, and Arnar, three dudes with questionably pronounced first names, and completely unpronounceable last names.
Six piece bands shouldn’t leave anything on the table. This goes double for strange instruments. And Of Monsters and Men doesn’t disappoint. Four members of this group all play multiple instruments including the Melodica, The Accordion, any my personal favorite The Glockenspiel.
About three months ago the US was exposed to the band’s first full length My Head Is An Animal. This comes about eight months after the Philadelphian modern rock station WRFF exposed us to the band’s break out single Little Talks when they were yet a gleam in a hipster’s eye.
This is Of Monsters and Men.
Tracks Heard In This Podcast:
Dirty Paws
Six Weeks
Love Love Love
From Finner
Little Talks
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP17. The Darkness. 06.29.12 The sound and feel of Eighties Glam Rock is seldom recreated successfully by new artists. Probably because not many can understand how being under the influence of alcohol, heroin, and cocaine, while wearing a neon colored cat suit, or a furry corset ever attracted anyone, or was labeled as a good or even a decent business model.
In 2000 brothers Justin and Dan Hawkins discovered what may have been a hidden talent while in a Karaoke bar as Justin sang Bohemian Rhapsody, on New Year’s Eve. His voice and stage presence was enough to make them drop the current act they were in called Empire and peruse what we now know as The Darkness.
In 2003 the group would debut with the album Permission to Land. The album went quadruple platinum in their homeland the United Kingdom and yielded their best known material, I Believe In A Thing Called Love, Love Is Only A Feeling, and Get Your Hands Off Of My Woman.
Being a roadie has its perks, even if it’s short lived. While on tour for their sophomore release One Way Ticket to Hell… And Back, Frankie Poullain had left the band and was replaced by the bands guitar technician Richie Edwards. A year later Justin would leave the band and enter rehab program. The surviving members would tour as a band named Stoned Gods. The future of this group playing as The Darkness was growing more uncertain. Once Justin had completed his treatment he started his own project known as Hot Leg.
Earlier this year the band came out of hiding with a new single titled Nothin’s Gonna Stop Us. The video for this single stays true to the bands British roots with a cartoon video reminiscent to the Beatles 1968 film Yellow Submarine. The band’s first album in almost 7 years, Hot Cakes, is slated for a late August release and on June 25th their 2nd single from what will be their 3rd album was available for free streaming on Spin.com. It’s called Everybody Have a Good Time and highlights classic work from the glam quartet as they welcome back original bassist Frankie.
This is The Darkness.
Tracks Heard In This Podcast:
Giving Up
I Believe In A Thing Called Love
Get Your Hands Off Of My Woman
One Way Ticket To Hell And Back
Nothin’s Gonna Stop Us
Everybody Have a Good Time
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP16. Jukebox The Ghost. 06.22.12One year shy of a decade as a band, Ben Thornewill, Tom Siegel, and Jesse Kristin, should revel in the idea that only a few young bands have become as successful in such a short time.
Meeting in 2003 while attending George Washington University, this group would change styles and names only once, landing and sticking on the Captain Beefheart lyrically inspired name of Jukebox the Ghost.
Only a few years later the group would be touring with piano powerhouse Ben Folds, and by 2009 would be creating their 2nd release Everything Under the Sun and later would be headlining their own concerts.
Their latest album Safe Travels exposes maturity from a band that started when the average age of this three piece was 19 and a half. Hitting on topics of major life changes; good and bad, the lyrics of this June 12th release, hold nostalgic with dark lyrical undertones, breaded with falsettos, and pop piano/ guitar techniques that advances the band musically without accusations of selling out.
Right now for the low price of your Email address you can download the bands new single Oh Emily, directly from their website. And for any skeptics here is yet another amazing piece of art from a band that shows no signs of slowing down their awesomeness.
This is Jukebox The Ghost.
Tracks Heard In This Podcast:
Hold It In
Under My Skin
Half Crazy
Somebody
Oh Emily - Close
FeedBack w. Wes Nyle. EP15. Porcupine Tree. 06.15.12Few fictions bands have known more success than this late eighties band from Hertfordshire, England.
Porcupine Tree is a Psychedelic Progressive Rock four piece, honored in one of the top ten best live shows in the world during the summer of 2011; trumping Coldplay, the Black Keys, and even Radiohead.
Front man John Wilson is at the helm as a self-taught prodigy in the ways of audio-engineering, guitar playing, and song writing. Some of his most notable work shines in his keyboard and backing vocal work with Sweden’s infamous metal band Opeth.
Up until the release of their album Signify in ’96 the lion share of the music was created by Wilson and Malcolm Stocks. The two established an elaborate back story of how the band originally developed during the 70’s at an imaginary rock festival.
Since their first recordings Porcupine Tree has created exclusively conceptual albums, but Wilson has been in the industry long enough to understand how media has shortened the attention span of every consumer. In an interview with Swedish music blog FaceCulture, Wilson talks about what owning a physical copy of a piece of music means to him.
Tracks heard in this podcast:
Blackest Eyes
Lazarus
Trains
The Leper Affinity – Opeth
The Sound of Muzak