It was raining all weekend in LA, and with the cold and nasty weather, nothing seemed to be going right. Plans kept getting canceled, cars were hydroplaning, grocery stores everywhere were running out of Swiss Miss and people were grumpy and confused. So, feeling dreary, we began work on our next mixtape: it was to be a depressing mix of Songs About Regret. But then, an amazing thing happened. The sun broke through the clouds and suddenly everyone cheered up! Needless to say, we threw the Regret mix on the backburner and put together an insanely happy and inspiring After the Rain Mix. With songs about colors and rainbows, this mix is the perfect soundtrack for frolicking in the sunshine!
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Check out these photos, taken by the wonderful Ginny Maxwell, from last Friday’s New York based Bob Dylan Birthday Bash. There are photos of the Pierces, Grant from the Morning Pages, Antony from Five O’Clock Heroes and more. If you went and have more pictures, send ‘em on over!
Los Angeles’ own Jonathan Wilson has started a program where he posts a new rare, unreleased track (apparently he has over 100 of them) every day/couple of days on his site for free. I have collected three so far, which I have reuploaded here.
Also, be sure to head over to his site and keep checking back everyday for new offerings. The current song available for download is called “Love to Love” about which Jonathan says, “This is a tune I wrote with the legendary Barry Goldberg, in Laurel Cyn in 2007, we recorded it at Canyonstereo, with Van Morrison/Steve Miller’s drummer Gary Mallaber, Gus Seyffert on bass, Charlie Wadhams and Z berg, backing vocals, Barry Goldberg organ, Josh Grange on Pedal Steel, JW guitars and vocals.”
Jared Flamm, of Los Angeles based group Biirdie, has given us his “Guide to the Greatest” Mixtape. It features tunes by Will Oldham, JJ Cale and David Crosby alongside Parisian wah-wah guitar playing gardeners and Black folk singers turned street preachers. You can catch Biirdie tonight at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles where they are opening for husband and wife duo Mates of State. They also recently appeared on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic. Check out the mixtape and some footage from their KCRW performance after the jump. Interesting side note: in addition to his lead singer duties in Biirdie, Jared also dabbles in the business side of music and is currently managing Akron/ Family.
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Following last week’s
Tree Mixtape, we thought we’d keep with the nature theme and share some of our favorite songs about the Mountains. It starts off with some real stomp and holler tunes, leads into a number of bluegrass classics, and then ends up with a pair of contemplative odes to the beautiful hills. This is the most bluegrass based tape that we’ve done so far (as bluegrass IS the music of the mountains), but there are some other songs thrown in for good measure (a little Blitzen Trapper and Neil Young to go along with your banjo jams?). Check it out after the jump!
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India and I went by the Echo Wednesday night to check out Seattle based group the Cave Singers. The trio, made up of Pete Quirk (formally of Hint Hint), Derek Fudesco (of Pretty Girls Make Graves) and Marty Lund (of Cobra High), put on quite the good show. I was particularly impressed with the live versions of their tunes “Seeds at Nights” and the stomp and clapper, “Dancing On Our Graves”. Check out more photos and videos of the band after the jump. Thanks again to India for the pictures.
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After a long struggle with emphysema, Larry Levine, 80, passed away on May 8. The audio engineer of Gold Star Recording Studios was the genius behind Phil Spector’s ‘Wall of Sound’, a production technique that stands as a milestone in recording history. With his utilization of the echo chamber, Levine worked with Spector on a number of collaborations from 1958 though the 1970′s, including groundbreaking records by the Beach Boys, Righteous Brothers, Leonard Cohen and more. He also won a Grammy in 1966 for Best Engineered Recording of Herb Albert’s “A Taste of Honey.” Check out a special When You Awake Tribute Mixtape to Larry Levine as we honor this very talented man.
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Celebration at Big Sur Movie Trailer
I first saw this movie when I was in Junior High and have been looking for it ever since. As it has never been released on DVD or VHS, the task had proven unsuccessful…until now! Some wonderful human being has taken the time to post the entire movie up on Youtube. The movie is set at the Big Sur Folk Festival back in 1969 (exactly one month after Woodstock). It features amazing performances by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Joan Baez, John Sebastian, Joni Mitchell and more. The Flying Burrito Brothers and the Incredible String Band also appeared at the fest but sadly didn’t make it into the film. However, Stephen Stills getting into a fight with a heckler and then going on to sing “4+20″ did (see Part 5). So without further ago, I present to you Celebration at Big Sur.
We finally made it out to the Echo’s weekly country music get together, Grand Ole Echo. I caught two bands, Los Angeles’ own Leslie and the Badgers and Salt Lake City’s Band of Annuals, and I was extremely impressed by both.
Out on the back patio, they were cooking up hamburgers (which were $5) and had acoustic bands serenading the crowd. All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable country filled Sunday afternoon and I will definitely be going back.
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