St. Vincent - DVF Runway Show

St. Vincent talks playing DVF Runway Show, we couldn't agree more Annie how music and fashion connect! Great interview, must watch! 

An Interview with Gold Cult

Gold Cult is a fresh new sound on the Chicago scene. Though they've only played a few shows, they've hit the ground running and are beginning to make a name for themselves as a Chicago band.

The 5-piece just released their first EP, Been Still. The name speaks to the time in bandleader Blaine Welsh's life when he wrote most of the songs. He'd traveled back to his hometown and felt stagnant. "I felt like I was just still," he said.

The dream-pop EP can be categorized with the likes of Beach House.

As far as the band name, Blaine said that he thinks of it as a commentary on society and consumerism.

He sees the band as having a 60s influence, but said that each musician draws from vastly different sources of inspiration.

"We all have significantly different influences as a band," Blaine said. "I really like it a lot." The various members love everyone from The Who to Wilco to Grizzly Bear.

Gold Cult has a Daytrotter session scheduled for May 24, and they hope to tour to New York and back during the summer. Checkthem out this Thursday, April 4, at Schubas. They'll be opening for Sean Nicholas Savage and Doldrums.

An Interview with Greater Alexander

"My songs aren't forced," Alexander Vlachos said. "They just kind of come to me like moments of wind passing."

Listen to any track on Greater Alexander's Bandcamp, and you'll understand what he means. His debut, Positive Love, vibrates with gentle guitar picking, piano, and quiet falsetto. 

There's so much good music coming out of Michigan right now. Maybe there's something in the water, and I'm all for it.

Alexander's music has been a process that's taken over a decade. He said he's always had a lot of songs and dreams, but he wasn't always pursuing a career in music. Though he went to college for recording and international studies, he'd had over 30 different jobs. Nothing felt quite right.

By chance, Alexander became friends with another musician and showed some of his songs to him. His friend became upset that Alexander had about 40 songs that he wasn't sharing.

"You're sitting on this splendid music," he said. "Why aren't you giving it to the world?"

So Alexander decided to share it.

We're treated to his debut release thanks, in part, to Kickstarter.

"I'm just so thankful that I figured out Kickstarter," he said. "I'm just extremely thankful for all that's happened so far."

Listen below.

The Gaslight Anthem at Lollapalooza

Lost in Concert did an amazing interview with The Gaslight Anthem while they were at Lollapalooza.
You can read the interview in full here, or an excerpt below.

The band recently released their new album, Handwritten, which has generated an enthusiastic buzz that is deeply exciting the band’s long-time fans and also attracting new followers. “I don’t think this record is any more exciting than the other records we’ve done,” says Horowitz. “The build-up before every record we have, I always have this crazy anticipation to let people hear it because I think it’s good. But the reaction we’ve had during this week since the record’s come out, and a lot of the stuff that’s happening – we’re all like, ‘something’s happening for this record that maybe hasn’t happened before.’ Maybe it’s the mixture of the timing and the record and the new people behind it and stuff like that. Something’s different but I don’t know if it’s happened long enough to really know what the fuck is going on yet.”

SOTW interviews Adam Wakeman of Black Sabbath

Photos by Brendan Shanley of Lost in Concert

Did you listen to our interview with Adam Wakeman of Black Sabbath yet?
We sat down with him in the "Black Sabbath Compound" to talk music.

An Interview with Garrett Borns

After seeing Garrett Borns' fantastic cover of "Criminal" on YouTube,

I immediately shot off an email to his manager to set up an interview.

He found the time to talk to me in the midst of pre-SXSW preparation.
"I've been listening to music for a lot longer than I've been playing, really," he said over the phone Saturday afternoon.
For a long time, Garrett wanted to become a filmmaker. Throughout high school, he wrote music, but didn't share it with many people.
"That was kind of my journal or my diary," he said.
Garrett ended up recording a demo in Grand Rapids and met a local filmmaker, Jeff Joanisse.  Jeff told him that if music was ever something he wanted to pursue as a career, he would be interested in managing him and investing in him.
Garrett had never considered music as a career before.  He began taking classical piano at a local community college, which opened his eyes to the world of music theory.
Not too long after, Jeff told Garrett that he was going to be in Paris, and offered to fly him out to film him playing music.  Garrett agreed, and he traveled to France in the springtime.
"I felt this weird feeling of home there," Garrett said.  "The response I got for my music was not what I expected at all."  People kept asking who he was, and where he was from, and if he had music online.  At that point, he didn't have much recorded.
Jeff offered again to become his manager, and Garrett accepted.
After that, things started happening. Garrett was asked to be the musical guest at a TEDx event in Grand Rapids.
"We played a montage of Paris footage behind me," he said. Again, he got a great response.
"People were like flipping out. I was like, 'Wow. Maybe I could do this.'"

Garrett attended a Britney Spears concert in Grand Rapids not long after.
"I had the chance to meet her," he said.  "I was chilling backstage with her kids, playing video games.  They're adorable. They have big Britney eyes."
Covering Spears' song "Criminal" just sort of happened
"The whole video was in one take," Garrett said. He also says the contentious toothpick-in-the-mouth was unintentional.
"[The band members] were smoking, so I just popped a toothpick in," he said. Then they went inside and covered the song. "It was kind of just a winged thing."
After Garrett released the video, he got to meet Britney's manager and the songwriter, who liked his cover.

So what's next for Garrett after SXSW?
"Hopefully I'll get a day off one day in there," he laughed. "I'm hoping to do a lot more video work this summer."
He's also going to be recording and writing music with his band. A full-length album may be in the works. Whatever happens, we'll surely hear much more from Garrett Borns.

Pre-SXSW interview - Fort Frances

This year marks Fort Frances' first foray to SXSW.  So far, they have two shows in Austin, including our Grape Stic on the Town party on the 15th.
I spoke over coffee with David McMillin (vocals, guitar) about Fort Frances' plans for the future.
"We are in the midst of working on a new EP," he said. "I'm really excited about the songs."
They're also going to release a cover each month - they've just released one of Beck's "Guess I'm Doing Fine." Download below!

An Interview with Walk the Moon

Walk the Moon recently rocked the Riv with Young the Giant.  As previously mentioned, I was in the emergency room while they were doing their thing, but I chatted with their bassist Kevin Ray on the phone after the fact.

"It's a dream come true," he says about his band's growing popularity.  They're on a break in Cleveland while I'm talking to him, but heading to an emergency room - one of their members might have food poisoning.  I offer my condolences, and ask how the journey to prominence in the music world has felt.
"We were so out of our minds a year ago,"  Kevin says. Everything was happening so fast, but now that they have a great team behind them, they feel a bit more prepared, he says.
"We feel like we're a little more mature."

So, I asked him, if you could have dinner with three musicians, alive or dead, who would they be?
This is not an easy question.  He takes his time and ponders, which I like. Quick answers aren't always the best.
His first choice is Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers.
"He helped define what it means to be a live performer, especially for a bassist.  I'd love to pick his brain," Kevin says.  His second choice is either Keith Moon or John Bonham - unique drummers and performers that he admires. Last (but not at all least), Michael Jackson.
"He was such a kook.  It would have been amazing to get to know him myself."

It's not just about the music for Walk the Moon - there's a package (which you can see from their video).
"We all really, really like performing," says Kevin.  "All of us are very big on letting our personalities show on stage."

I ask if he has anything else to tell Chicago.
"We're so thankful for all the love we've gotten," he says.  "It feels like sort of a second home for us."

I'm sorry to have missed their show. I'll have to catch it next time around, and wear some face paint.

Morning Sleigh Bells

Erik Hall - Wild Belle & In Tall Buildings

Erik Hall is a music-playing beast.  I caught up with him before his band In Tall Buildings opened for Tennis at Lincoln Hall, and found out he had a second show later that night at the Hideout as the guitarist for Wild Belle.

Wild Belle! I said.  I just posted about you guys on my blog.  Well, come to the show! he said.  So me and my friend Dan went.

From what I can tell, the music world is beginning to notice Wild Belle, with good reason. "Keep You," the A-side on their debut single, is a sax-layered dub pop mix that I can't get enough of.  I danced through the whole set - and so did lead singer Natalie Bergman (looking stylish in black slacks and an amazing green shirt/jacket that buttoned up the front). Each song made me sigh with joy. Natalie's playful vocals fell perfectly against the groovy backdrop that the other musicians created.  And isn't it so cute that they're a brother/sister duo?  (Elliot thanked Natalie for letting him take the lead vocals on one song during their set. Charming.)
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Playing all this music comes naturally to Erik.
"I never thought to pursue anything else," he said.  "I started playing piano when I was eight years old and I just never stopped."
His advice for those who want to make it with music: just do your thing, and work hard.
"You have to make it your job," he said.

The next show for Erik is in California with Wild Belle. In Tall Buildings is part of the SXSW sendoff at the Hideout on 3/10, and then both Wild Belle and In Tall Buildings are playing in Austin. ITB has another show coming up at SPACE in Evanston on 3/27. Erik is also part of the band Nomo.

Adam Arcuragi & The Lupine Choral Society

Adam Arcuragi's brand-new album, "Like a fire that consumes all before it," comes out today on Thirty Tigers (you can stream it free at NPR for a while longer).
I caught up with a busy Arcuragi at the Empty Bottle last night, before his show.  He's been on tour for about a week and a half, with another two and a half weeks to go.
"This whole trip has been very satisfying," he said as he sprawled out on a questionable-looking couch in the basement of the Bottle.
From the beginning of the process, Adam said his album has been two-and-a-half years in the making.
"The biggest challenge was getting all the pieces to work at the same speed," he said.  "It was totally worth it. Thirty Tigers is a great label." His video also just premiered (you can watch it below).
Adam has felt called to music for most of his life.
"It was this horrible decision my brain made when I was 11 or 12," he said. "I heard 'Be My Baby,' and I just remember my whole mind changing.  You know that warm, hot feeling a good song gives you?"
Shortly after that, he heard Ben E. King's version of "Stand By Me," and the same thing happened. His mom fueled the fire by giving him his first Bob Dylan tape, which Adam said he literally wore out.

It's easy to see his passion for music when he's onstage.  His songs are a raw, visceral experience - they move through you like a long-forgotten instinct.  Adam is a captivating performer, throwing himself into each song headlong and emerging from the other side radiant and sweating.  The entire band flowed through the set effortlessly. I don't think that anyone in the room was standing still by the last song.

When I asked Adam what being a musician has taught him, he said, "To listen."
It's apparent that he's done a lot of listening; I think now we all need to listen to him for a while.

Jonny Rumble Exclusive Stic Interview

Come check out Jonny Rumble TONIGHT at the Beat Kitchen along with California Wives. 

AM Taxi--Exclusive Stic Interview and pictures from show @ Beat Kitchen

Catching up with Andrew Belle

I had a chance to catch up with Chicago native Andrew Belle at Rockit Bar & Grill Wrigleyville on Sunday night. This laidback, personable, and very talented musician and I spoke about his big break and what made him move from Chicago to Nashville last year. Belle and I slowly made our way thru the packed bar and down the stairs, while he embraced excited friends and fans with a hug and a smile of gratitude. As we walked down the stairs he said, “being back in my home town was great, but also overwhelming.”

Belle described his first big accomplishment as when his EP, All Those Pretty Lights, came out in the fall of 2008. Andrew had been in Chicago’s music scene for about three years performing at Rockit Bar & Grill frequently, along with a plethora of other venues, like coffee shops and bars.  He even has a live CD recorded at Rockit, which can be purchased on iTunes along with his other CD’s.  He had a friend that lived in Nashville and impulsively decided to pack up and move last June. Belle said, “I just seem to fit into the whole Nashville scene more than Chicago’s”.  His mother told me she used to help Andrew manage his music, but he grew so quickly that he needed to hire more help.  This proved to be a wise decision since his music has received national attention since then.

His song “I’ll Be Your Breeze” was featured on 90210 in September and then he performed in the Ten Out Of Tenn music tour with other Nashville musicians. He found his inclusion in Ten Out Of Tenn as having the most impact on his career. For people that don’t know what Ten Out Of Tenn is, it's a community of ten talented individual musicians based in Nashville that have produced a compilation album, three tours, and a documentary  Check out this you tube video from the tour. Recently, Belle’s song “Open Your Eyes” from his sophomore album The Ladder, was featured on CW favorite One Tree Hill. You can check it out at the cwtv.com.  Talk about a dream come true for this brilliant star! 

Listen to The Ladder:
 

Random YouTube video: