Make sure to check out Club Crossroads:
TONIGHT THURS FEB 25TH 9-11PM
DOWNSTAIRS MISSIONS CROSSROADS
Live DJs playing the latest Electronic Dance Music, fun dancing, free food/drinks and good times!
Bryce Carr - USD Radio/The Vista
For fans of alternative music that want just a little bit more dance in their lives, a two man group from Denver, Col. have arrived in time to fulfill your cravings. Breathe Carolina has worked to create techno style music with a solid dose of catchy guitar riffs and punchy vocals. These elements work to blend genres together and incorporate fans from different areas. The resulting music has kept the band growing a steady fan base since they began in 2007. This is partially due to the fact that the band has spent much of this time touring across the country, participating in Warped Tour and playing festivals such as Bamboozle. Yet this band comes from very humble beginnings.
The band started as David Schmitt began playing with his friend’s new Mac and stumbled upon GarageBand. He played around for a bit and soon asked Kyle Even to collaborate with him. After playing numerous instruments his entire life, the project soon became Even’s first opportunity to add vocals. The duo self produced their first works and put their songs on MySpace. In 2008, the band had over 10 thousand plays on MySpace but in 2009, plays jumped up to over nine million.
In July of this last year, Breathe Carolina came out with their newest album titled “Hello Fascination.” Overall, the album builds upon the success seen in earlier work to recreate the fusion of electronica and aggressive rock seen before.
The marketing behind the album has also been quite strong, with a definite attempt seen to expose the band to as many people as possible. Even tells me that the band’s manager worked to have their music be included as promo music in the commercials for “The Jay Leno Show.” As the band made the switch to Fearless Records, the new label worked to release “The Dressing Room” as a playable song in the iPhone and iPod Touch game “Tap Tap Revenge.” For those of you who must know, the band did admit to playing the game.
Overall, it seems as though the band will continue to ride the success of their most recent release into the New Year. They’ve just embarked on a national tour and will return to San Diego on June 24 as part of the 2010 Vans Warped Tour. This show will kick off the tour and the band will play every date across the country.
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Matt Hires In-Studio
Tampa, Flor. based singer/songwriter Matt Hires dropped by for an in-studio today. Colleen Dunn interviewed Matt about his musical background, influences and more before he played four of his original tunes for us. Matt will be playing at the Casbah at 6 p.m. tonight.
Full Interview + Songs:
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“Honey, Let Me Sing You a Song”:
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“Out of the Dark”:
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“A Perfect Day”:
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“State Lines” Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Swedish rock band The Soundtrack of our Lives (also recognized as TSOOL) have returned from their memorable 2003 Grammy nominated album, Behind the Music, with new music on their 2010 EP release Immaculate Convergence.
The overall sound of The Soundtrack of Our Lives is a beautiful clash of traditional folksy rock combined with classic alternative sounds, such as the low soft voice of vocalist Ebbot Lundberg. In their first song, “The Passover,” the lyrics will immediately grasp the attention of listeners with the opening line ,“Don’t Pass it on, if you know its wrong,” and listeners will continue to float along with the melodic drums and repetitive chorus.
In “Take Me Back,” the pace is slightly faster than that of other tracks. There seems to be a stronger focus on the acoustic sound of the song, yet the underlying piano and keyboard prove to be more powerful. In “From This Moment,” the simplicity of an acoustic guitar blended with the four vocalists delivers listeners to a dreamlike state.
Finally in “Snuff Parade,” a track with an upbeat and cheerful sound, the band sings about talking to “paranoia,” “hypochondria” and “psycho drama (who is never satisfied with anything).” I feel that I could see the tune being fused into future commercials or movies. The Soundtrack of Our lives will be visiting San Diego at the Casbah on Feb. 24 and will perform their unique folksy twist on what we always thought was called “alternative.” See you there!
“The Passover”
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“Snuff Parade”
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Samuel Stewart - Casbah - This Monday - $5
How’s that for a few too many S words?
Monday will bring two very special things to San Diego: Samuel Stewart’s show at the Casbah as well as intimate in-studio here at USD. Pending a few final details, it looks like the artist will go on live around 12:30 p.m. as a featured guest during Bryce’s show. If you’re unable to listen live, we encourage you check out the audio from that segment, which will be posted on the site after the event.
For those of you who might not be familiar with Stewart’s work as a musician, he is best introduced along the lines of indie rock. However, comparisons quickly spread out from there. Many songs seem to mix gypsy punk along the lines of Gogol Bordello with more raw, rock based sounds reminiscent of the Cold War Kids. Overall, the resulting sound creates the atmosphere of an Old West saloon, complete with burlesque dancers. Stewart’s music is finely mastered, incorporating string sections, brass arrangements, ballroom piano and distorted guitar riffs.
Needless to say, when Stewart arrives this Monday at the Casbah, one can expect a show that should not be missed. As part of Tim Pyles’ Anti-Monday League, the show is only $5, but USD Radio has a few extra tickets to give out. If you’d like to get into this show for free, hit up [email protected].
Robot Love warming up the crowd.
INDOORS
The indoor section of Lucent L’amour this year was truly unreal. With sparkling sea creatures, black light paintings and a huge tree, the entire indoors area was littered with some seriously visually stimulating pieces.
The first to lay down their set on the indoor stage was Robot Love. This duo did an amazing job of pumping up the crowd as people slowly flooded the venue. With some great dubstep and pounding beats, Robot Love definitely set the mood for the rest of the night.
As Robot Love rounded out their night, Patricio took over and laid down an epic set. Complete with his own set of bongos, Patricio dropped some serious beats and drew a major crowd with his balance of dance and dubstep. Patricio’s set was an amazing one to watch that definitely got the crowd going.
N.A.S.A.’s set was without a doubt one of the best shows of the night. With a faster paced techno sound, N.A.S.A. played some insane remixes and dropped some classic crowd favorites. N.A.S.A. played hit after hit and really set the bar high for the following sets.
With N.A.S.A. throwing down such an awesome set, I could only guess what kind of set Bassnectar was going to roll in with. As he took his place on stage, Bassnectar dropped some of the dirtiest and heaviest bass I’ve ever heard in my life. Those slow, pounding beats shook me to my core and had the entire crowd going absolutely nuts.
Stanton Warriors finished with style as they introduced a fresh dance sound to the awesome dubstep beats that most DJs at Lucent L’amour had been spinning. With some epic techno beats and just about the loudest set of the night, the Stanton Warriors made for a perfect ending to an insanely awesome night.
The aforementioned tree con art shack.
OUTSIDE
I don’t know about all the stuff that Coto kid was trying to tell you, but the real action at Lucent L’amour this year was outside. Outside housed the majority of the art, including a live-art auction, bathroom area complete with an amazing bathroom attendant, and another stage for music. Combine these with the refreshing night air, and you have a formula for a grand old time.
When you first walk outside, to your left is a sort of flea market where people are selling hand-made things, like jewelry and couture clothing. Only a few feet away was the bathroom attendant who, solely working off tips, offered an array of items like gum, cigarettes, lotions, hand sanitizers and even blow-pops. Along the inner wall was a row of blank canvases that artists slowly turned into masterpieces as the night progressed. There was a live auction held for the works, and all of the proceeds will be donated to a charity to keep arts in public schools. At the very front of the outdoor area was the stage that hosted acts such as Lazer Sword and LYNX & Janover. It also hosted acts like The Lucent Dossier Experience and Yard Dogs Road Show. The first is sort of a Cirque du Soleil-lite. They had amazing acrobatics and interesting music. It was quite a delicious feast for the eyes.
Yard Dogs Road Show, on the other hand, was more of a sketch comedy troupe. They were easily the most entertaining act of the night. Each song that they performed was a different show altogether. It could go from a Pineapple Queen and her beautiful pineapple dancers to a punk rocker in skin-tight zebra pants in the blink of an eye. They even had a magician who made an entire live chicken appear from nowhere. The rest of the space outside that wasn’t filled with exuberant concert-goers was filled with large-scale works of art, including a large, metal spider and an attendee-run “Hug Deli” that offered hugs for the low, low price of 2 compliments. Ultimately, it is obvious that The Do Lab know what they are doing. Undoubtedly, Coachella this year will be amazing, but for those with shallow pockets, I recommend trying out Lucent L’amour.
Yard Dogs Road Show - blowing minds since 2005.
You know it when you hear it. Juliana Hatfield’s high-pitched voice is unique. Most critics have described it as “sweet,” or “innocent,” but some have called it “frail” and “thin.” One journalist even remarked that her voice “gives hope to everyone trying to sing.” Even though her voice has matured over the years, it still doesn’t diminish the fact that no one else sounds like her, which is a rarity in music, pop and rock music especially.
So it’s hard to believe, but also understandable, that she’s confessed in the past to hating her voice. Nevertheless it’s a voice that has given her one of the most solidly consistent careers in rock music. She’s learned to love it and use it to her advantage.
Peace & Love is Juliana Hatfield’s 10th full-length studio album and her follow-up to 2008’s How to Walk Away. Peace & Love is reminiscent of her critically acclaimed 2000 album, Beautiful Creature; both are mellow, introspective yet outwardly observant, and heavy on acoustic guitar and vocal harmonies.
P&L is entirely acoustic, however. Staccato strumming, wisps of guitar and piano solos, and her first ever instrumental track fill out the album. The sonic ambience is homegrown and relaxed. Hatfield’s longtime themes of love, loss and struggle are ever present, as is her ability to capture and balance light and dark musically, vocally and lyrically all at once. It’s a hallmark style of hers and one of her strengths as an artist.
Though Hatfield has been called a “confessional” songwriter, she points out that her lyrics are more personal on an emotional level than any real-life experience listeners might attribute to them. P&L does sound more intimate (the song “Evan” comes to mind), but perhaps it seems so because this album is not as production-heavy as others. It could also be due to her writing, producing, recording, mixing and mastering everything herself this time around.
Hatfield wrote track-by-track descriptions for P&L, the downside being that the songs are less interpretive for listeners; but because her songs have a history of misinterpretation, she’s had to set the record straight. Over the last year or so she’s also blogged in depth on her MySpace page about songs from prior albums.
Fortunately her notes for P&L are not as detailed and her blog has since been taken down, but one might wonder why she’s decided to explain so much. Maybe it was necessary for her to have more control over her songs’ meanings, or maybe it’s social networking’s effect that creates the obsessive desire to document our lives by the minute. As an artist who runs her own label (Ye Olde Records), maybe she can afford to be more forthcoming with audiences – it’s a just a part of the “DIY” movement.
A more accurate guess could be that Hatfield is more a writer than anything else. She has always written songs incorporating stories, humor and ironic wordplay with the kind of emotional depth and description akin to novels. She’s a fervent diarist; in fact, her recent memoir When I Grow Up is an expansion of a tour journal she kept a few years ago.
Hatfield is often described as a big talent who fell too soon from the cusp of fame and never regained footing, but that description is inaccurate. It’s basically the music press’s version of a Hollywood cliché. In truth, she continues to be reviewed and interviewed by the mainstream and alternative music presses with each album she puts out (she most recently was guest editor of Magnet Magazine online). As further proof, she has no plans to tour for Peace & Love. Not many artists can afford to take that kind of risk. It’s testament to her discipline, fortitude and mastery that she can.
USD Radio interviewed Juliana Hatfield on February 3, 2010.
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“What Is Wrong”
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Guayaki Yerba Mate
Alex Pryor, co-Founder of the yerba mate company Guayaki Yerba, took time out of his day to speak with us about his company, the story behind its creation, their vision and what exactly “Yerba Mate” is. Play the full interview below and check out Guayaki’s products in Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and other grocery outlets nearby.
Full Audio:
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Hey guys, here is volume 14 of Late Night Trance. Thank you so much to everyone who has been tuning in to the show! Feel free to contact me [email protected]
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Shearwater's "The Golden Archipelago" is Patrick Cornell's album of the year.
Before this album, I was struggling with a feeling of musical stagnancy. My interest was waning in the groups I was currently into, and I strived to find something new, something different. Then I was blessed to have Shearwater’s new album, The Golden Archipelago, fell into my lap. If I were to attempt to cram this album into a one-word description, I am almost positive it would be “beautiful.” Since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, allow me to paint you a picture.
The Golden Archipelago is the ultimate in a hat trick of complexly and masterfully interwoven albums by Shearwater. Following 2006’s Palo Santo and 2008’s Rook, this album continues with a theme of environmentalism and man’s impact on the earth. More specifically, The Golden Archipelago focuses on life on small islands around the world. In fact, a specific island inspires each song.
Shearwater’s singer Jonathan Meiburg spent several months camping around the world at various island communities to get first-hand inspiration for the album. As cool and deep as that is, there are surely some audiophiles out there only concerned with the aural experience. To them I say, “You, my friend, are in for a treat.”
The best comparison I can make for this album is to match it to ocean waves. At some points, like the premier track “Meridian” and the concluding tune “Missing Islands,” the album is as calm as could be. Then there are songs such as “Black Eyes” and “Castaways” where the music comes crashing down on you like a 40-foot wave.
The album as a whole shows great contrast amongst the songs, but this is achieved without losing the connectivity between them. “Landscape at Speed” offers juicy drum beats, “Hidden Lakes” provides smooth piano and “God Made Me” incorporates sweet acoustic guitar, but these opposing songs are sewn together by the ever-somber voice of Meiburg. It is not dullness or bareness in his voice, but rather it is seriousness, as if in response to the majesty of the places that inspired the album. It is a voice that will lull you into a trance and woo you into lingering on it all day.
In addition to the lovely music of The Golden Archipelago, Meiburg worked with designer Mark Ohe to produce a limited edition collection of documents and pictures to correspond with the album that they have entitled The Golden Dossier. Unfortunately, sales for the dossier are over. There are some sample pages online that I highly recommend perusing (link below). The amount of work put into this album is simply breathtaking. After hearing the album, though, you would not need me to tell you that. Despite just being a month and a half into things, I can safely say that this is the best album I have heard all year.
“Black Eyes”
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“Castaways”
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