Author Archives: othersideoflife

P.G. SIX, NATHAN SALSBURG, and LUKE ROBERTS at ZANZABAR, Tuesday, May 8th

Leave a reply


(Flier by Elliott Turton)

Cropped Out and the Other Side of Life are proud to present:

P. G. SIX (from New York, on Drag City)
NATHAN SALSBURG (from Louisville, Kentucky; on No Quarter)
LUKE ROBERTS (from Nashville, TN; on Thrill Jockey)

Tuesday, May 8th
at ZANZABAR
2100 S. Preston
8 PM, $5, 21-and-0ver

P. G. SIX is the moniker for Pat Gubler, former string man with the Tower Recordings, and current solo artist for Drag City, who released his fourth solo album, Starry Mind, last year. He’s touring with a full band, which features Bob Bannister and Robert Dennis (both of Fire in the Kitchen and Tono-Bungay), and this show will be his Louisville debut. Don’t miss it!

NATHAN SALSBURG is an archivist, producer, guitarist and writer based in Louisville, Kentucky. He has worked for the Alan Lomax Archive since 2000, for which he currently serves in the capacities of production manager, photo and video archivist, and general digital catalog editor. Since 2006 he has produced and hosted “Root Hog Or Die,” a vernacular/traditional music program on East Village Radio, and is curator of the Twos & Fews recording imprint, also a vernacular music entity, and a collaboration with Chicago’s Drag City label. SALSBURG maintains an index of on-line vernacular music resources at his blog, roothogordie.wordpress.com, and contributes occasional music writing to the Louisville Eccentric Observer and the Other Music weekly update. Last August, the Tompkins Square label released Avos, a collaboration between SALSBURG and Chicago guitarist James Elkington (formerly of the Zincs), and SALSBURG’s first solo album, Affirmed, was released last November on No Quarter.

Listen to “Sought & Hidden” off Affirmed here: http://noquarter.net/mp3/sought.mp3.

In the year since LUKE ROBERTS recorded his debut Big Bells and Dime Songs a lot has changed. Luke now owns a guitar that his sophomore album was written on, he has moved from Brooklyn to Montana to Nashville, his childhood home, and the songs were written over a long period of time in his Brooklyn apartment (as opposed to largely on the bus down to the studio on the debut). The combination of changes made a significant and noticeable impact on the songwriting and arrangements found on The Iron Gates at Throop and Newport , recently released by Thrill Jockey.

Check out the Facebook invite here: http://www.facebook.com/events/451756884838877/.

To join our email list, send an email to hstencil@gmail.com.

CAVE and TODAY THE MOON, TOMORROW THE SUN at ZANZABAR, Friday, May 4th

Leave a reply

Cropped Out, The Other Side of Life and Zanzabar are proud to present:

CAVE (Chicago, Illinois; on Drag City)

with special guests

TODAY THE MOON, TOMORROW THE SUN (Atlanta, GA; on Greyday Records)

Friday, May 4th — OAKS NIGHT!
at ZANZABAR
2100 S. Preston Street
9 PM DOORS, $6 cover, 21 and over

CAVE began in Columbia, Missouri, playing mostly improvisational live music. CAVE is now located in Chicago, Illinois. In September 2011 Drag City released the new full length CAVE record Neverendless, which they describe as “a motorik masterwork! The new CAVE is roller-rinkin’ rock for the next generation!”

Watch the video directed by Miss Pussycat for the song “W U J” off their Drag City album Neverendless here:

TODAY THE MOON, TOMORROW THE SUN is a band of four. 2 boys. 2 girls. Noisy. Dancy. Loud. Sincere. Sweaty. Loveable. Hardworking. A real good time. Touring full-time since August ’09.

Check out the Facebook invite here: http://www.facebook.com/events/370220876357398.

To join our email list, send an email to hstencil AT gmail DOT com.

OLD BABY Record Release Show with 200 YEARS and STATE CHAMPION at Zanzabar, Wednesday, April 11th

Leave a reply

Cropped Out and The Other Side of Life are proud to present:

OLD BABY (Louisville, KY, featuring members of YOUNG WIDOWS, SAPAT, SHIPPING NEWS, WORKERS; on Hawthorne Street Records)
RECORD RELEASE SHOW

with special guests

200 YEARS (Members of Six Organs of Admittance and Magik Markers, on Drag City)
STATE CHAMPION (from Louisville/Southern Indiana/Chicago, on Sophomore Lounge Records)

Wednesday, April 11th
ZANZABAR
2100 S. Preston Street
9 PM DOORS, $5 cover, 21 and over

OLD BABY is a new Louisville-based band consisting of Todd Cook (SHIPPING NEWS, KINGS DAUGHTERS AND SONS), Jonathan Glen Wood, Neil Argabright (SAPAT), Drew Osborn (WORKERS) and Evan Patterson (YOUNG WIDOWS). This will be the release show for their debut record, Misunderstanding Human Behavior, on Hawthorne Street Records.

200 Years is the new project by Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance, Rangda) and Elisa Ambrogio (Magik Markers). As we wrote in the LEO WEEKLY, their self-titled debut on Drag City “is superficially akin to Chasny’s Six Organs project as it features primarily acoustic guitars, delicately sweet melodies and the occasional accompaniment by harmonium. But the band is really Ambrogio’s showcase, as her voice dominates the album. However, unlike her usually confrontational work with Magik Markers, the overall aesthetic of 200 Years is one of dreamy, contemplative harmony between her voice and Chasny’s guitar.” This show is their official Louisville debut, and is definitely not to be missed!

STATE CHAMPION started in 2006 as a moniker for the early acoustic experiments of Ryan Davis. It has since evolved into a rock n’ roll band with a Chevy van and not one, but two vinyl records. Their sophomore record, Deep Shit, was released earlier this year on Sophomore Lounge Records, and has received quite a level of acclaim. Because it’s awesome! Welcome them home from a long, grueling, fun spring tour.

Check out the Facebook invite here: http://www.facebook.com/events/345013978884718.

To join our email list, send an email to hstencil AT gmail DOT com.

Howlin Rain, The Russian Wilds (American Recordings)

Leave a reply

This week’s LEO Weekly ran my review of the new album by Howlin Rain, The Russian Wilds:

Not so many years ago, Ethan Miller’s band Comets on Fire provided a perfectly psychedelic shot in the arm — their loud, histrionic MC5-style rock ruled the day, and it seemed like a number of copycat bands have since sprung up in their wake. Nothing good lasts forever, though, and while Miller has a new band, Howlin Rain, they pack a much less potent punch. To add to the potential misery of the overly long retro retreads on their new album, The Russian Wilds, which features a number of miscues and missed opportunities, the most egregious is an embarrassingly poor faux-Latin coda (think recent Santana) on “Phantom in the Valley.” Produced by Rick Rubin, who once tried to turn The Cult into AC/DC, The Russian Wilds is thankfully no longer than an hour, though it’s an hour that unfortunately seems much, much longer.

Buy it here.

WOODS, MMOSS, and GANGLY YOUTH at ZANZABAR, Sunday, April 22nd

1 Reply

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES RECORDS, CROPPED OUT and THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE present:

WOODS  (Brooklyn, NY; on Woodsist)
MMOSS (New Hampshire)
GANGLY YOUTH (Louisville, KY)

Sunday April 22nd at ZANZABAR
2100 S. Preston Street
Doors at 8pm, show starts at 9pm – $10
Tickets can be purchased in advance online here: http://www.ticketfly.com/event/98769/

WOODS from Brookyln, New York create a distinctive blend of spooky campfire folk, lo-fi rock, homemade tape collages, and other noisy interludes, all anchored by deceptively sturdy melodies. Check out a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUfDu147PVM

MMOSS is a quartet based in Dover, New Hampshire that derives its energy and inspiration from late 60’s psych rock. Take legendary freak folk outfit Comus, pipe their music through a PA and fling that PA into space. That’s what MMOSS sounds like. Like psychedelic-prog broadcasted through Mir’s internal sound system. Check out a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPfA4poE6XM
Image

GANGLY YOUTHis a five piece band from Louisville, Kentucky. Led by Dan Davis along with Brent Mills, Daniel Tilford, Ashley Urjil-Mills, and Nate Woodard, the band writes jangly, fuzzy, reverb soaked “pop” songs. Pulling from a wide array of influences and a very small amount of technical skill, GANGLY YOUTH applies a shared punk mentality and manages to make songs that are refreshing and new, yet familiar all the same. Check out a video from there 2nd show here: http://vimeo.com/35433108
Image

Check out the Facebook invite here: http://www.facebook.com/events/336546453054488.

To join our email list, send an email to hstencil AT gmail DOT com.

Lots of Shows This Weekend!

1 Reply

So we’re gonna tell you about a few things going on in Louisville over the next few days that are worth your attention. First, on Saturday night at Harley’s Main Street Tavern, Michigan’s Child Bite performs with locals Opposable Thumbs and Friends & Relatives. Here’s the flier:

Harley’s is located at 122 W. Main between 1st and 2nd Streets. Music gets underway around 10 PM and costs five bucks.

On Sunday our favorites PARLOUR play at the Chestnut House (714 East Chestnut Street, between Clay and Shelby) with Dischord recording artists Edie Sedgwick, Julie of the Wolves (a new band consisting of members of Venus Trap, Second Story Man, Minnow, The Frequent Sea, and Madame Machine) and Life at Home (Don’t know anything about them, unfortunately). Here’s another flier:

Also on Sunday at RYE (900 E. Market at the corner of Market and Campbell), Bro. Stephen plays with Joan Shelley. Cost for that one is $15, which includes food, and it starts at 7 PM.

Last but not least, on Monday Brooklyn noise merchants VAZ play Cahoot’s with Trophy Wives, Alcohol Party, and Neighbor. We’re seriously considering breaking our no-Cahoot’s rule for this one. Maybe we’ll see you there?

UPDATE: We knew we forgot something! There’s also another show on Sunday at Zanzabar with SOFTCHEQUE, Y/Y, and the Ecstatic Girth Survival Sextet. Or something. Info on the flier:

Rumor has it one band is TROPICAL TRASH-related, who killed it last Tuesday at Harley’s. So there’s that. Enjoy!

THE PHANTOM FAMILY HALO, BALACLAVAS, and ALCOHOL PARTY at ZANZABAR, Tuesday, April 3rd

1 Reply

Cropped Out and The Other Side of Life are proud to present:

THE PHANTOM FAMILY HALO (Brooklyn-via-Louisville; on Knitting Factory Records)
BALACLAVAS (Houston, Texas; on Dull Knife)
ALCOHOL PARTY (Louisville, Kentucky)

Tuesday, April 3rd
at ZANZABAR
2100 S. Preston
8 PM Doors, $8, 21-and-over


(Photo of The Phantom Family Halo by David S. Rubin)

Since their relocation to Brooklyn, THE PHANTOM FAMILY HALO have announced the release of two records in 2012 on Knitting Factory Records – a “dark” and a “light” album.  When I Fall Out is the first of the releases, issued on February 14, 2012. The second of the albums will be released in the fall of 2012. THE PHANTOM FAMILY HALO has shared stages and/or toured with Slint, The For Carnation, Guru Guru, Hawkwind. Black Angels, Black Mountain, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and Roky Erickson, and are about to commence on a tour with Acid Mothers Temple. Read an interview with THE PHANTOM FAMILY HALO here: http://leoweekly.com/music/phantom-family-halo%E2%80%99s-future-now.

BALACLAVAS are from Houston, Texas where everything is eternally blistered, chemically altered, and forlorn. They are a band in the realest sense — they come on like a gang, play with one mind, hunt in one pack, party and fight together in a flat wild nowhere. Unlike the common livestock being unloaded into music, this is a band of predators. Perpetual outsiders; there will always be a wrong side of the tracks and they’ll always be from it. Ennio Morricone and scratchy noise guitars on storm-dub rhythms like if the heaviest incarnation of 1970s Pink Floyd were a future punk band invested by Jodorowsky to score Dune. You can hear storms approaching and sandworms underfoot. It’s an evil dance they’re bringing.


(Alcohol Party photograph by Bryan Volz)

Conjuring an intense, claustrophobic ‘more is less’ framework where every moment is scarred with pummeling bass, jagged guitar and ADHD drumming, ALCOHOL PARTY is a three-headed noise rock project from Louisville, Kentucky.

Find the Facebook invite here: http://www.facebook.com/events/240466442709508.

To join our email list, send an email to hstencil AT gmail DOT com.

THE LADYBIRDS and NATURAL CHILD at ZANZABAR, Saturday March 31st

Leave a reply

(Flier by Mikie Poland.)

Cropped Out and The Other Side of Life are proud to present:

THE LADYBIRDS (Louisville, KY)
NATURAL CHILD (Nashville, TN; on Infinity Cat Recordings)

Saturday, March 31st
at ZANZABAR
2100 S. Preston
9  PM, 21 and over, $6

(Photo of The Ladybirds by Eddie Dant)

THE LADYBIRDS masterfully balance a mean juggling act. The Louisville, KY-based five-piece -Jaxon Swain, Max Balliet, Anthony Fossaluzza, Brett Holsclaw, and Sarah Teeple, articulately summons greasy garage rock and lush Spector pop sans kitsch or tribute act fluff. Their main influences are the years 1954 to 1973, when it was just about fun and swingin’ grooves, not the droll, heavy-handed, over-serious approach to songwriting oft employed in the contemporary American underground. Their 2007 debut, Whiskey & Wine, was well received in the region, and saw the group sharing the stage with the likes of Wanda Jackson, Dex Romweber Duo, Heavy Trash, The Greenhornes, and many more. The Ladybirds’ sophomore album, Shimmy Shimmy Dang, as demonstrated in the title, is truth in advertising. Flavors of surf, rockabilly, doo wop, and dusty retro bubblegum pop all take a front seat. Yet, as Jaxon explains “we’re all punk rockers in the end.” And that’s what separates THE LADYBIRDS from a simple nostalgia offering – modern and original twists on familiar sounds, influence by the genres the band describes as “rock at its most authentic.”

Watch the video for THE LADYBIRDS song “Hum De Dum” (courtesy Everybody’s Hugging): http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=31084096&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00adef&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0

Summer 2009 Wez ate brownies had a vision. He told big black Zack and called Seth 3 times. They started the Nashville-based three piece rock band called NATURAL CHILD. Maybe known as much for their incessant rambling on-stage banter as their unprecedented pure rock sound, NATURAL CHILD are often described as “the greatest rock n’ roll band in the world”, a title which the trio has worked mercilessly hard to gain… and they have the balls to show for it. NATURAL CHILD want to play in Jamaica and want to play at the pyramids. They have a plan that involves Jack White to befriend Keith Richards and be the opening act on Rolling Stones farewell tour, thus having “the greatest rock n’ roll band in the world” torch officially passed on to them. Not Jack White. These guys love to party. And they love to ride in that van. Oh man.

Watch NATURAL CHILD cover “Born to Be Wild” in Louisville here:

Find the Facebook invite here: http://www.facebook.com/events/357209240968905.

To join our email list, send an email to hstencil AT gmail DOT com.

UPDATE 3/27/12: Fantastic lady DJs KIM SORISE and BLYTHE SHADBURNE will be spinning lots of tasty cuts in-between bands! Don’t miss it!

WOODEN WAND, JEFFREY LEWIS, and TENDER MERCY at ZANZABAR, Friday March 23rd

Leave a reply

Cropped Out and The Other Side of Life are proud to present:

WOODEN WAND (from Lexington, on Fire Records)
JEFFREY LEWIS (from New York, on Rough Trade Records)
TENDER MERCY (from Louisville, on Dunkenstein Records)

Friday, March 23rd
at ZANZABAR
2100 S. Preston Street
9 PM DOORS, $6, 21 and over

James Jackson Toth has been playing and recording (and releasing) music for over a decade, most notably as leader of the now-defunct New York-based collective Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice. After a solo album in 2007 on Rykodisc, and Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace! label and the Mad Monk label, he continues under the name WOODEN WAND. Toth is a maverick, good-hearted troubadour whose blend of smoky Americana has been garnering plaudits for the last decade. Unafraid to mix psychedelic workouts with sweet and soulful country, his varied and prolific output has resulted in a wealth of lyrically rich songs; the kind whose lines stick in your head for a lifetime.

Wooden Wand – Winter In Kentucky from fire records on Vimeo.

Born and raised Lower East Sider JEFFREY LEWIS leads a double-life, as both a comic book writer/artist and a musician. In 2001 JEFFREY LEWIS signed to Rough Trade Records (home of The Smiths, The Strokes, Belle & Sebastian, etc) and has since released five albums, in addition to touring the world and performing with Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Devendra Banhart, Black Dice, Thurston Moore, The Fall, The Vaselines, Beth Orton, Frank Black, The Fiery Furnaces, Daniel Johnston, Scout Niblett, The Mountain Goats, The Moldy Peaches, Cornershop, The Cribs, Dr. Dog, Kimya Dawson, Adam Green, Akron/Family, Roky Erickson, Au Revoir Simone, Peter Stampfel, and other luminaries.

TENDER MERCY is the brainchild of singer/songwriter Mark Kramer and can best be described as contemporary minimalism with strong acoustic leanings. Debuting with a track on the infamous Dunkenstein Record’s Doctors Of Dunk Vol. 2, TENDER MERCY began playing around Louisville, opening for the likes of Jamie Barnes, Tamara Dearing, The Deloreans, Ben Traughber, The Parade Schedule, and Nerves Jr. TENDER MERCY is about to release a 6 song EP next month entitled The Road To Good Intention Is Paved With Hell in the spring of 2012. It will be available through Bandcamp.com digitally and physically through Dunkenstein Records.

Check out the Facebook invite here: http://www.facebook.com/events/261920943884959.

To join our email list, send an email to hstencil AT gmail DOT com.

DISTONAL LAUNCH PARTY with PSYCHEDELIC HORSESHIT, NATIVES, WET HAIR, TROPICAL TRASH at HARLEY’S MAIN STREET TAVERN, Tuesday March 6th

Leave a reply

Cropped Out and The Other Side of Life present:
The Distonal.Com Launch Party with…

PSYCHEDELIC HORSESHIT (Columbus, OH; on Fat Cat Records)
NATIVES (Louisville, KY; on Rad Tantrum)
WET HAIR (Iowa City, IA; on Night-People/De Stijl)
TROPICAL TRASH (Louisville, KY; on Loin Seepage/Sophomore Lounge)

Tuesday, March 6th
at HARLEY’S MAIN STREET TAVERN
122 W. Main (between 1st and 2nd Streets)
8 PM, $6, 21 and over.

This is the launch party for a new Louisville-based web publication called Distonal (from the creative forces that brought you the recently retired Decibel Tolls). In the words of the head honcho himself, Michael Powell:

Distonal is an online magazine spread across an anchored open source WordPress home and an accompanying Tumblr that will cover… well, whatever I feel like writing about. It’s the opposite of The Decibel Tolls in that regard, and it’s hard to say what will end up there, which excites me. The thread that binds everything, though, will be thoughtful and attitude-laden writing from myself and others (to be announced) that reaches toward broader universal topics, as well as articles that retain a strong commitment to the happenings of my native Louisville. I’ll still be reviewing records and photographing shows, but I may also drop some secret Bloggins curry recipes, March Madness picks, gastropub critiques, absurd manifestos, and my thoughts on the body politic. Distonal promises to be fluid and freeform, while brandishing a distinct voice all the while. It should go live sometime in late February, or early March at the latest. It’ll be a fun ride, and I hope you’ll follow me over there.

Check out the Facebook invite here: http://www.facebook.com/events/169598496483223. And like Distonal on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/distonal.

To join our email list, send an email to hstencil AT gmail DOT com.