The penultimate (look that one up here, folks) spotlight for Shine A Light Productions falls to Earl Greyhound, a hard-rocking trio from Brooklyn who have been touring madly over the past couple of years to rock faces across the nation. They have packed houses in L.A., they have toured the whole continent opening for Chris Cornell, they have been featured in the NY Times Magazine as Fusionista style mavens to watch... in short, they have been kicking ass and it's time you knew why.
The videos featured at Shine A Light's Live Music page come from their appearance at 2008 Langerado Festival in Florida, and a recent concert they played at (le) Poisson Rouge (a newly-refurbished classy joint that used to be the hallowed Village Gate). Earl Greyhound was invited to play this Obama Fundraiser by none other than Living Colour, and the sights and sounds of these videos deliver the pure EG experience.
Earl Greyhound is currently criss-crossing the country, rocking faces on both coasts right through the end of November. They are touring with an arsenal of mighty new material which will get laid down in the studio in LA come December. They are sending word from the road in the form of video updates, like this one from Cleveland...
New Yorkers will get a very special trick or treat next FRIDAY the 31st when Earl Greyhound will be scaring you with their monster riffs and rhythms! Get your tickets to the Halloween Bowery Ballroom extravaganza before they disappear...
After a lengthy blogging absence, we are jumping back into the thick of things here at Shine A Light Productions, and we are going to be providing you with some of what we've been working on over the summer months.
Over the course of the next five weeks, we will release live footage of some of our favorite artists every Friday through a series we're deeming ROCKTOBER. These exclusive videos will be released via the Shine A Light Productions Live Music Page and through our Facebook page, so be sure to become a fan so you will receive updates announcing the latest live video releases.
The first featured artist is Surprise Me Mr. Davis, an innovative electro-folk quartet which is comprised of singer-songwriter Nathan Moore and what is surely the most under-rated band in modern rock, The Slip. The story goes that Nathan was on the road as The Slip's merch guy when the acoustics in some hotel shower convinced the Boston-based trio that they should begin collaborating musically with Moore.
Many years later, we are lucky to be witnessing the bounty of this musical partnership in venues all across the country, and nowhere are the boys more at home than at the High Sierra Music Festival, where they have reigned as unofficial good times amabassdors for the last decade. Shine A Light was on hand at the 2008 festival to capture some of the many sets that these fellas offered, from the Davis performances at all hours of the day and night, two rare and hotly anticipated sets from The Slip, and solo sets from Nathan Moore (which didn't necessarily feature Mr. Moore... a late-in-the-festival troubadour timeslot saw Brad Barr fill in and play the songs of the vocally-overworked Nathan Moore).
The Davis boys did a quick run through the North-East in August, landing in New York during what was surely the most heavily-laden week of music in recent memory, with an All Points WestRadiohead double-header sandwiched in between shows from Trey Anastasio, Wilco, and Bob Dylan. However, Union Hall played host to SMMD for a fantastic Sunday evening show, and the following day before the boys left town, Shine A Light caught up to the boys to shoot a music video for their new song, "I'm No Good At All'.
Surprise Me Mr. Davis doesn't have any tour dates on the radar until their huge New Years Eve show with their good friends the Benevento-Russo Duo at B.B. Kings in New York (conveniently located down the street from what promises to be a monster celebration at Madison Square Garden when My Morning Jacket rings in 2009). However, the Davis boys will be busy touring in other incarnations: the fall season will see The Slip touring with Sonya Kitchell all over the lower 48, and Brad Barr will be promoting his new instrumental album, The Fall Apartment, by doing solo performances to open most shows; Andrew Barr and Marc Friedman will appear in Marco Benevento's trio in November, and Nathan Moore will be the featured opener for a handful of these dates.
Rocktober's inaugural live release is featured below, and remember that you can only check out the rest of these exclusive (that means not on YouTube) videos at the Shine a Light Live Music webpage.
It had been just over 8 years since my last trip to Big Cypress Seminole Reservation, and as I drove up snake road I had many flashbacks to the 24-hour period of anguish and anticipation that I had endured on the same stretch of pavement in 1999. This time we were driving at speeds that cars normally go on highways and not staring at tail lights through the night. So that was a good thing. I hoped it was a sign that Langerado had made the right move by upping from Markham Park and heading further from the environs of Fort Lauderdale.
However, I think that Langerado’s leap to the swampy interior of Florida was perhaps premature. I felt that the size and scope of last year’s festival was ideal—I still claim that last year’s offering might have been the most perfect festival I’ve yet attended. Last year’s success can be attributed to the incredibly dense and diverse lineup, a perfectly-sized venue, and it goes without saying that Florida’s weather in early March is simply a wonderful way to awaken slumbering senses. Sadly, this year’s festival paled in comparison, as the size of the venue seemed larger than necessary, the lineup was thinner and less astutely arranged, and the combination of torrential rains, tornado warnings and a Saturday night cold front plagued the festival this year.
There were highlights, of course. Grace Potter’s Sunday afternoon set was one such gem: try as you might to dismiss her as a pretty face with hot red boots, there’s no way you can deny the vocal talents and showmanship that this girl is blessed with. Add to that firstly some charisma on the keys (indeed, she was playing Marco Benevento’s organ that day and fearlessly channeling his rock-neck expression) and secondly some chops on the guitar, and you’ve got a Grade A performer that is a delight to behold. The full-band drum breakdown was an entertaining indication of how Grace and her band-members interact playfully and intrepidly while creating music, and I would endorse their act to any fan of rootsy rock n roll--or to anyone who simply likes to watch babes in boots belt it out. (I think that's most of us...)
The Wood Brothers were my Saturday-in-the-sunshine pick, delivering some tunes from their forthcoming album, Loaded, along with some of the stellar tunes from Ways Not To Lose. Their harmonies and plucky breakdowns are candy to my ears: having seen their very first gig at Tonic in March of 2005, it is a real pleasure to see how they have grown ever-more comfortable making music together, and it is a sound that isn’t being played better by any duo out there.
American Babies had an early set on Saturday, but my fave musical offering of the Brothers Hamilton, Sir Russo, and Scott Metzger was a fortuitous stroll by the JamCruise tent where they were delivering an acoustic mini-set, and Russo invited Metzger up onto his lap for some brotherly love of his own. Danjaboots in action:
Bands I had hoped to see for the first time (and love thereafter) included Of Montreal, The National, and Ghostland Observatory. I was distracted by shaving cream and histrionic stage-wear at Of Montreal, and felt that their music wasn’t as compelling live as it was on my iPod (huh? I know… I, too, thought bands were supposed to be better live than on your F train commute). The National disappointed me by sounding like a thinner, less-spirited version of Arcade Fire, with all the live gusto of a dead legless lizard (see above). And Ghostland Observatory escaped me for scheduling reasons, as I was packing up gear from shooting the previous Chickee Hut pair, The Benevento-Russo Duo.
It is hard to evaluate the musical merit of shows that you are committed to capturing in other ways, so take my shout-outs to The Duo and Earl Greyhound with a grain of salt. But Joe and Marco delivered a truly solid set, in classic Duo form, and their large, enthusiastic crowd (on-stage as well as off) was surely treated to one of the best sets at the festival. Tommy Hamilton sat in for a trio of songs, and while at the time I was more concerned with capturing him in the frame than listening to his sonic output, I will say that he played harder and faster than I knew he was capable of, and I’m beginning to like the sound of the Duo with a guitar. But, hey, I like my breakfast cereal with a guitar, too.
Earl Greyhound had an opening slot on Friday that was well-attended considering the seemingly premature time slot for such hard rock. They have a sound that is very hard for most soundboards to translate: their intricate vocal harmonies need to be balanced with thundering drums and lightening quick electric guitar shredding, so the high winds and short soundcheck didn’t do EG any favors. But they delivered their Soft Targets standards tightly, and their newer songs show great promise in the Rock Your Face category.
Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars were a lovely Friday evening sunset feel-good dance party; Citizen Cope was a mellow but mellifluous surprise; the Beastie Boys were nothing but fun; Phil Lesh sounded kind of like every other Phil Lesh show I’ve seen before; Mickey Hart gave me nothing to complain about but nothing to blog home about either: hosting Steve Kimock and former Deep Banana Blackout front-woman Jen Durkin (whom I recognized solely from her signature spinning moves).
But the biggest surprise (read: disappointment) of the festival was R.E.M. Granted, their music isn’t exactly what I would have selected for a Saturday night headliner (you could never top last year’s Sat Night rocker from My Morning Jacket), and granted they had to deal with a brutal change in weather that severely stunted the festival revelry, but the morose and political set –even while peppered with those cool throw-backs like Orange Crush--was just not what the doctor ordered. And there was slim pickins for alternatives between 9-12, so patrons were pretty much forced to stick those sets out. Absolutely none of the late night options (Phix, Disco Biscuits, STS9 and the like…) were enough to tempt me to turn into a pumpkin, so this festy patron got two rare solid nights of sleep. I don’t regret for one moment missing any of the pre-dawn activity—my only regret is not making it to MMW and Scofield’s set post-Duo. That might have provided me with enough warmth to stick out Stipe and company.
It will be interesting to see how Langerado responds with next year’s festival: either they will need a deeper lineup to justify having such a large, remote location or they may have to consider a return to the safe haven of Markham Park. Unless the lineup sees a return to something rivalling last year’s highlights, I have reservations about returning to Big Cypress—pun intended.
All photots courtesy the lovely and talented Mercy Southam.
Good news for New York: Kamara Thomas is on 'Earl Greyhound vacation', albeit a short one, which means that Big Apple denizens are getting treated to a bountiful slate of yumminess as she performs (on a seemingly almost-nightly basis) with her band, 'Larune'. Thomas performed with Gordon Hartin and Serena Southam in a stripped-down version of Larune in Williamsburg at Sound Fix, and delivered some of the most incredible renditions of songs like 'Texas' and 'You Call Everybody Baby' that yours truly has ever witnessed. (You can sample those songs here...) The crowd in this fantastic new music space was held absolutely rapt as she and Gordon delivered tasty duets. (Sidenote: if you haven't caught Widower yet, you're too late, because they're moving to Seattle, but you can still check out their incredible sound here...)
Last night, Larune had a more robust lineup of happy Honkytonkers as they played to a packed house at The Living Room. Witness crooning at its finest below, featuring the velveteen vocals of Thomas, Serena Jean, Amal Bouhabib, and Suzan Hurtuk, as the lovely ladies share "Novena".
In true Honky Tonk fashion, Gordon Hartin supplies the sweet slide guitar, and Matt Whyte swaps up the Les Paul he shreds in Earl Greyhound for the softer sounds of an acoustic six string and occasionally the keys. Thomas has penned some truly dazzling ditties over the years, and you are as likely to stomp your feet and sing along as you are to wipe tears from your eyes. You can sample two of her finest songs here: My Kentucky and Slow Sally.
Be sure to catch Larune performing this Sunday at The Living Room with Periodic Label-mates Gabe Berezin (doing an acoustic Monuments session), Vaughn Montgomery, and Basement Band. And for that matter, be sure to check out all the incredible acts on the Periodic Label calendar, as this a a family of talented musicians who are well worth whiling away your summer nights with.
Don't believe everything you've read. But if you happened upon a recent copy of The New Yorker that suggested that Earl Greyhound just might be the second coming of Led Zeppelin, you probably wouldn't believe it until you witnessed the trio live. The hype this band is generating isn't unfounded: this is rock n' roll in its truest form.
The multi-talented duo of Kamara Thomas and Matt Whyte are certainly easy on the eyes up there, and now that they've joined forces with drummer Ricc Sheridan, the Earl Greyhound unit now finally seems complete and ready to dominate the rock scene here in New York.
It speaks volumes about the drawing power of a band to say that on a recent night at Tonic (09.06.06), it was well past 1 a.m. and the band had yet to begin, but the room grew more packed as the night slipped away and people eagerly awaited the buzzed-about band. Despite the fact that the monstrous sound that these three produce would perhaps be more suited to arena-rock stages than this intimate room on the Lower East Side, the crowd happily lapped up every loud note.
They began the set with two new tunes, including the stellar "The Ghost and The Witness" where Thomas trades up her bass for a Fender Rhodes. Both new songs show potential for the album which will follow up their critically-acclaimed current release, Soft Targets. There are indeed moments onstage which channel mighty Zepp, like the face-melting solo in "Monkey", but Earl Greyhound has crafted their own gritty sound, with searing guitar riffs from Whyte and a thunderous energy from Sheridan. That's not to say it's all hard-rock riffs, because the trio have their share of undeniably catchy tunes like "Like A Doggy" that will stick in your head for days.
A don't be deceived by the presence of a lady on the bass: while her vocals occasionally add a soothing touch (as they do to introduce "Yeah, I Love You"), Thomas' lungs will just as quickly launch an unfathomably fierce banshee wail that will knock your socks off. And she was recently featured in Bass Player magazine, to boot.
Gigs are piling up fast and furiously across the nation for the trio, and you won't want to miss their free show at The Hook in Brooklyn this weekend (09.16.06). They play as part of the "Freedom Festival", a day of free music in festival format conceived by Kamara Thomas which showcases many incarnations of her incredible talented musical posse. The day kicks off at 2 p.m. with the Honky Tonk Happy Hour, where you can witness the folkier side of Thomas (who in this lineup sings and plays guitar) and Whyte (who will man the keys). The talent will be overflowing at the Freedom Festival, and it is a chance to catch some rising rock n' roll stars for free... I think Page and Plant would approve.
i hold every person i meet like a treasurei defend the ones i love to whatever the end isthat's why i take it to you through the musiccause when the music's connectedit's like everyone's protected -the slip
The penultimate (look that one up here, folks) spotlight for Shine A Light Productions falls to Earl Greyhound, a hard-rocking trio from Brooklyn who have been touring madly over the past couple of years to rock faces across the nation. They have packed houses in L.A., they have toured the whole continent opening for Chris Cornell, they have been featured in the NY Times Magazine as Fusionista style mavens to watch... in short, they have been kicking ass and it's time you knew why.
The videos featured at Shine A Light's Live Music page come from their appearance at 2008 Langerado Festival in Florida, and a recent concert they played at (le) Poisson Rouge (a newly-refurbished classy joint that used to be the hallowed Village Gate). Earl Greyhound was invited to play this Obama Fundraiser by none other than Living Colour, and the sights and sounds of these videos deliver the pure EG experience.
Earl Greyhound is currently criss-crossing the country, rocking faces on both coasts right through the end of November. They are touring with an arsenal of mighty new material which will get laid down in the studio in LA come December. They are sending word from the road in the form of video updates, like this one from Cleveland...
