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11/11: High-school Wishes On a Few Acoustics–No Fun House

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EPF--seemed appropriate.

Singer against meadow. That’s about the sound of the show tomorrow night.

It’s going to be a Kalamazoo kind of night, right? There are some locals, or used-to-be locals, looking to provide some excellent acoustic-based music for No Fun House goers tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. Apparently there will also be pasty, nervous, film-maker there pleading for interviews, but it may be safe to ignore him as just another victim of too much music, schooling, and un-protected basement crawls. Remember, never sweat next to exposed dry-wall.

The proficiently productive performer recently returned to Kalamazoo as part of his vinyl-release tour Small Houses will be featured tomorrow night. To go with the release tour, Jeremy Quentin has also prepared a 4-piece band to back his guitar/harmonica combo, although this isn’t quite kosher with the No Fun House dialect, so it’ll be a surprise. Back to the music. The Ron-Swanson looking fellow has been featured everywhere from Daytrotter to A.V. Club, but for reasons beyond his formidably hirsute lip. Jeremy Quentin’s sound seems founded in the same love shared  for his shirts–trotting on the edge of the country as a cowboy, singing a tune with a voice that seems grasped with the tinge of Marlboro’s. Most songs sound sad; more tears than whiskey.

Another Kalamazoo native, Elisabeth Pixley-Fink will be featuring her willow-the-whisp, Gary Jules-esque, deep-forest vocals that are as childishly playful as they are nervously morose. While usually paired with piano, EPF’s sound is vaguely reminiscent of She & Him, but more complicated in its experimental poetics and its bloody exploration of folk-songs. Fiddling with a banjo, an ever-so bitterly tuned piano, and a bowler hatted guitar player, Pixley-Fink seems to be the natural progression of a new-folk movement. Even if performing solo (without common companion Andru Bemis), EPF would be treat to for those that wish to see the state of all those summer-backyards that we used to play tag in, underneath the willow, and beyond the hills. As fun skipping down a dirt road, while enigmatic as the hole burrowed behind the oak tree.

Silphium Blooms is the on-going solo project of Tyler Basset (of the currently on-hiatus Neu Spryghts), an exhibition in meandering, grumbling, technical acoustic guitar playing–sounding a bit like an independent film-soundtrack from the 90’s. Most of this is based off the demo released this past Wednesday on Silphium Blooms’ bandcamp–so I suppose your opinion is just as fine as mine, mayhaps better. Listen for yourselves below:

Respect all things, including the music, yourself, and the house.

Donations are always nice.

10/12: The La De Les, Analecta, Keyoung, Brass Bows, & Shuffle @ The Courthouse

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SHOW BILL

Oh hey der

A rock-band, some shoe-gazers, a spoken word artist, an indie-duo, and a straight-edge trio walk into a courthouse, but instead of a lame punch-line that I can’t come up with, there is a show hosted by a new house venue this Friday night at 8:00 p.m.
Making its premiere is The Courthouse with its first in a series of shows beginning this weekend followed by their Spelling Bee show featured October 21st. But rather than sticking to a single genre, these folks have an eclectic group of performers to stretch those musical muscles of versatility. Don’t like one band? Take a smoke-break, beer break, or jam some fingers into those eardrums for 25 minutes and there will probably be something for even the most persnickety listener.
On-tour for the past six shows  with Analecta and The La De Les is Peoria, Illinois native, spoken-word poet Keyoung. Inspired by faith and Christian imagery, Keyoung batters beats with breathless exasperation, often sounding off a plea to the poetry he speaks. Some pieces are ponderous notions on creation to the common theme of the girl that floated away like cloud in the sky.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJfglCy7ZY4
Labelmates Analecta also manage to explore various realms from an abstract area of straight-edge post-rock. The band itself draws from many different genres–their name means “to sample” in fancy English major terms. These South-benders like to sit on the ether twixt noise-rock and post-metal with zephyrus tones for good measure. Noise without too much complication.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH3f1jEZ290

Rounding up the trio of headliners is experimental/electronic-shoegazers the La De Les.
Their newest effort, Carlo, is a tribute to their former drummer and in and of itself a statement of change for the group past their rock-tendencies. The premiere track “Too Small of Hands” straddles between the mix of ambient healing, with electronic beeps and whirs imitating the hum of a hospital, along with the static screams of pain howled out from the blips of grey and black. The La De Les have the depth and darkness of a pool during a humid summer night. Fans of The Shins will dig ’em and DIT followers can also expect a DIT Session with them sometime in the near future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87CDQIM_7x0&feature=related

For those of listeners that get florescent butterflies in their stomach when they think of “ambient,” “experimental,” or “poetry,” the Brass Bows will be providing some nitty-gritty rock to jump and pump those hearts and legs. Expect dirty jokes, but a good deal of sweaty fun as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdEE6P84jbk&feature=relmfu

   Two-piece, indie-rock group Shuffle will also be performing on the bill Friday night, and will be showcasing a batch of reinvented material, which will be a treat considering their only available music online is a sixty-second demo. From that glimpse you can surmise some late 90’s style post-hard core, but who is to say what might turn up this weekend.

The show is free, although donations are encouraged. Doors are at 8:00 p.m., music starts at 9 p.m.

Respect the house, respect the crowd, respect yourself.  

Already Dead Family Reunion Preview: Emperor X

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Emperor X

With the days counting down to the second Already Dead Family Reunion, we here over at DIT figured we’d do an extended preview of sorts about a few of the artists that are near, dear, or just plain cool. On each day of this week we are going to be posting a new artist. saying  a little bit about them, and why they are going to make this year’s AD Fest just that much more unmissable.

Los Angeles-based artist Emperor X has only twice visited Kalamazoo in three times as many years (ADFR will be his third time to the city), but with a passion for touring and physical musical media, the Already Dead Family seems a proper fit. The dedication for the original, creative, and representation of physical music is so intuitive, that with the latest Emperor X release Western Teleport (2011), 41 purple cassette tapes were hidden around  North America as part of a meta-game which would unlock extra MP3s. Only 15 of them have been found.

While founder Chad Matheny first came to Kalamazoo years ago with a full band behind him, Emperor X has since simplified into a solo set that has toured all over the United States– it was a show in Willimantic, CT with Forget The Times that initially introduced Matheny to Already Dead Tapes co-founder and festival starter Sean Hartman. While designs for a 4-way split featuring Emperor X on Already Dead Records were thought up, they have since been changed to a normal split twixt Dan Doyle and the Hermit Thrushes, Hartman has assured that “we’ll get something with him eventually.”

Though reduced to the company of himself, Emperor X‘s sound is not by any means meager. The one-man-show is rounded out with loop pedals, multiple microphones, and song lyrics pumped full of  science-savvy terminology, geek-culture references, and heart-throbbing angst that provide oodles of experimental-pop sound. Everything is as catchy as fish-hook strung through Ben Gibbard’s upper-lip, and as hauntingly vexing as a Sam Beam solo set.

Those that want to sneak a peak at Emperor X can check out his song “Erica Western Teleport” from Western Teleport below.  For a more intimate feel, listeners and viewers can witness him live at Louie’s Trophy House and Grill, this Saturday from 10:30 p.m. to 11:15p.m.  as part of the Already Dead Family Reunion. Tickets $7 now,  $10 at the door, or $12 for the whole weekend.

Respect the Bar, Respect the Crowd, but don’t forget to enjoy yourself.

Tonight 8/22: The Reptilian, The Marine Electric, and The Bulletproof Tigers @ Milhouse 9 p.m.

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Fuck that yeti

Hey guess who forgot about the article they were supposed to write about the show that starts at 9 p.m. at Milhouse?

The Bulletproof Tiger sounds deliberate. Listening to is like starting and stopping dominoes with deft hands to create pools of black and white indie-rock paint that just oozes inky perfection—all while notes dance atop a snare drum to an electric-guitar conductor. These four lads out of Toronto are skilled instrumental math-rockers (no lyrics here folks), eschewing typical pop-styles such as when one would expect the structure of the song to be dependent on “verse-chorus-verse-chorus” for less predictable instrumental constructions, sometimes having 5-6 different, distinct sections to a song. Each song is seemingly out-of-sync, only to take a tip and twist in which tempered tapping of the guitar strings rush listeners back into confidence.

Providing some jumping-and-pumping music, sure to get chests sweaty and fists wailing about in the air, will be four-piece emo-punk group The Marine Electric from Brooklyn. Screams and grunts are reminiscent of 90’s skate-punk, less violent and more bloody heart-thumping angst, only further enforced with a throaty growl that is present in most songs that rumbles its way over the flighty choruses. Plenty of cymbal crashing and momentous punk-chords are here to get the circulatory system going, and Minutes fans should also give these guys a look as well.

Providing the most pop influenced sound of the night, the providentially named Cherry Cola Champions—never mind they aren’t coming due to familial injury. BUT SUPPORT THEM/ CHECK THEM OUT ANYWAY:

And hey, give the locals some love too—The Reptilian will be all over the grittier, free-formed, edge of punk tonight, sounding all ramshackled and ready to battle with the boot stomping heart to their music with outlying mechanical guitar playing and spacey drums. With twangy guitar solos paired to punk-chords and rambunctious break-downs The Reptilian is a raucous, rough and roaring addition to the night.

Donations for the touring bands are always accepted, but tom-foolery involving the destruction of the house is not.

Respect yourself, respect others, respect the house.