Monday, May 27, 2013

Q & A with Dan Miller of Mission South


DC based Mission South released their latest EP, Migration, Vol. 2 in April. The album has gotten a good deal of play here at QNYC Headquarters.  It’s one of the few albums released in the last couple of years that gets played from beginning to end without a track being skipped. It’s also the first album released this year that I’ve fallen completely in lust with.  It’s earthy. It’s bluesy.  It’s soulful.  It’s tight.  It’s beautiful.  It’s excellence.  As I sit here writing this, the track “Free” is playing.  It’s rainy out with a bit of a chill and all I can think about is grabbing a blanket, a cup of tea and going to sit on the porch with my headphones on.  It’s one of those kinds of records.

I threw some questions out and Mission South guitarist/vocalist Dan Miller threw some answers back.  And this, is the result.

Quirky NY Chick (QNYC): How would you describe your sound to the uninitiated?

Dan Miller (DM): It's somewhere between bad and terrible.  As if Phil Collins had a baby with Pantera.  Haha, no.  It is all over the map though.  It's got some blues/rock grit, with pop sensibilities, and folk sensitivity.  


Sunday, May 26, 2013

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros To Release New Album in July + New Single


When last I glimpsed Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros it was at the Newport Folk Festival where they were playing for a jam-packed crowd. The area by that stage looked like some sort of trippy tent revival.  Just the tiny bit I witnessed was a sight to be seen.  They are among those whose live energy translates well to record.  That being said, there's good news for ESMZ fans. Come July 23 here in the US and Canada they will release their third studio album via Community Music.  The self-titled work was produced by frontman Alex Ebert.

They premiered the single "Better Days" last week.  The song stole me with one utterly simple line, "We don’t have to talk, let’s dance".  You can check out the track below. 

Track Listing
  • Better Days
  • Let's Get High
  • Two
  • Please!
  • Life is Hard
  • If I Were Free
  • In The Lion
  • Country Calling
  • They Were Wrong
  • In The Summer
  • Remember To Remember
  • This Life

Edward Sharp & The Magnetic Zeros are on tour.  They'll be in New York on June 8 at Governors Ball Music Festival on Randall's Island.



Ghost & Gale To Release Debut Album This Summer + Video


California based duo Brodie Jenkins and David Lunning, who perform under the moniker Ghost & Gale, will release their self-titled debut EP this summer. They released a video for the track "Take Me To The Fire" in April.  The clip, directed by Jesse Fleece, is dramatic and intense and left me saying, "say what now? I need to repeat that!" to properly process it.  Check it out below.

Rooted in country folklore, the music video for “Take Me To The Fire” was directed by Jesse Fleece, a childhood friend of Jenkins. In his own powerful interpretation, Fleece tells the story of a mother and daughter pulled apart in a stunning but harsh western landscape. Though the video is brutal at times, keep watching until the end; a thrilling twist reveals power within an unexpected hero.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Around New York ... May 26 - June 1, 2013

Upcoming Shows in the New York area ...

Della Mae at The Rockshop, 5/28 & Pianos, 5/29
May 26 -- Macy Gray at City Winery
May 26 -- Math The Band / What Cheer? Brigade / Cherie Lily / .357 Lover at Glasslands
May 27 -- Cubano Bowl feat. Pedrito Martinez Group at Brooklyn Bowl
May 28 -- Royal Southern Brotherhood at Brooklyn Bowl
May 28 -- Della Mae / Margaret Glaspy at The Rock Shop 

May 28 -- Dumpster Hunter / Cathy / Taurus / Alan Hampton at Union Hall
May 29 -- Della Mae at Pianos
May 29 -- Sasha Dobson at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2
May 30 -- Dirty Dozen Brass Band / Jamie McLean Band at Brooklyn Bowl
May 30 -- Snowden / Isadora at Mercury Lounge
May 30 -- Tall Tall Trees at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 1
May 30 -- Emil / The Midnight Hollow / moses / Cezaire at Cameo
May 30 -- Shilpa Ray / Waltz ? The Veda Rays / Haybaby at Union Pool
May 30 -- Breakfast in Fur / Slam Dunk / Babysitter at The Rock Shop
May 31 -- Rachael Yamagata / Matt Sucich at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2
May 31 -- Snowden / We Barbarians / Steel Phantoms at Cameo
May 31 -- Wolff and Tuba / Spires / Slonk Donkerson / Hard Nips / Honduras / Lunchbox at Pianos
June 1 -- Anna Haas at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2
June 1 -- Jet City Lovers / Vera Flash / Moxiie at Arlene's Grocery

Men Of North Country Release New Video


Men Of North Country released a video for the track "Ringtone (at the Caffs)".  The song can be found on their debut album The North.  The footage was shot on tour in Germany this past April.  Check out the clip below.