Category Archives: Other People's Shows

Maserati, Majeure, Trotter Riles at Zanzabar, Friday, November 16th

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LEO Weekly ran my interview today with Coley Dennis of Maserati:

B-sides
By Joel Hunt
Give the drummer some

Maserati’s latest album, VII, is a tour-de-force of danceable rock grooves recorded in Louisville with engineer Kevin Ratterman. They play Zanzabar Friday. Guitarist Coley Dennis answered LEO’s questions.

LEO: In the nearly three years since the tragic passing of (drummer) Jerry Fuchs, what have you learned about living life?

Coley Dennis: The most important thing I’ve learned through all of that is to live every day like it could be your last, tell your friends and family you love them, and do what makes you happy, because you might not be here tomorrow.

LEO: How easily did new drummer Mike Albanese mesh into recording with Maserati?

CD: We’ve known him for over 10 years, so when we were thinking of who to ask to interpret the drum parts from the demos, he was first on the list.

LEO: How was your experience recording with Kevin Ratterman?

CD: Kevin was working out of the church where he recorded the last My Morning Jacket record. The studio was set up next to the church in the house where the priests lived. It’s a huge old house, it felt like recording a Zeppelin record.

LEO: Did Kevin’s experience as a drummer bring anything special to working with Maserati?

CD: Kevin being a drummer definitely helped a lot. Like the drum solo in “Abracadabracab.” We had the basic idea that we wanted this Cerrone/Phil Collins-style drum solo section, but we were not sure how to do it. We mentioned the idea to Kevin, and he said, “Oh, I have some Ludwig concert toms that would be perfect!” We ran the cables in the sanctuary in this huge room. Mike did a bunch of passes of the drum solo, and we said, “Kevin, you should try a take, too, dude!” His eyes lit up, and he did a couple of takes. After that, we all did takes of the drum solo. It was pretty hilarious.

You can catch them this Friday night at Zanzabar with Majeure and Trotter Riles, who are making their Louisville debut.

Black Moth Super Rainbow at Zanzabar, Thursday, November 8th

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LEO Weekly ran my preview today of Thursday’s upcoming Black Moth Super Rainbow, Casket Girls, and Karass show at Zanzabar (scroll down to Thursday’s entry):

Thursday, Nov. 8
Black Moth Super Rainbow
Zanzabar
2100 S. Preston St.
zanzabarlouisville.com
$13-$15; 9 p.m.

Hailing from rural western Pennsylvania, Black Moth Super Rainbow traffic in a sort of murky, low-fi but high-tech psychedelic pop, equal parts new wave and krautrock (though sometimes not resembling either). Their fifth album, Cobra Juicy, was just released last month, and some might say it’s their most ambitiously accessible record yet. Main man Tobacco still sings enigmatic lyrics through a vocoder, but the melodies seem a bit more straightforward, almost like radio hits from an alternate universe. Much like the vintage arcade games that line Zanzabar, Black Moth Super Rainbow offer a trippingly fun look backward. With opening sets from Casket Girls and Karass; tickets are available at Astro Black and Underground Sounds. —Joel Hunt

Sic Alps and CROSS at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Friday, October 19th

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LEO Weekly ran my preview today of Friday’s upcoming Sic Alps and CROSS show at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft (scroll down to Friday’s entry):

Friday, Oct. 19
Sic Alps
Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft
715 W. Main St.
kentuckyarts.org
$6-$8; 8 p.m.

Sic Alps have a not-unpleasant tendency to sound like scraps of an overheard conversation interrupted by a 10-car pileup. To perhaps understand the stops and starts, the utterly lo-fi, heavily fragmented style, know that frontman (and only constant) Mike Donovan drives a cab in San Francisco when he’s not touring. On their new album, the new lineup ditches noisy home recording techniques in favor of a clear, crisp style (including some string arrangements), and the result is like graduating from The Crying of Lot 49 to Gravity’s Rainbow. While former versions have been mystifying, enjoyable and unique, this new recorded version is more cohesive, expansive and epic — without being yawnsome “epic rock.” However, expect a white-hot live performance — their set at the 2010 Cropped Out festival was one of the more blazing moments. —Joel Hunt

Not sure why mention of Lexington’s excellent CROSS was excised, but they’ll be opening the show. Their new album, Die Forever, is now available from Sophomore Lounge.

Also, you can stream Sic Alps’ new self-titled album here: http://www.spin.com/articles/hear-sic-alps-fantastic-studio-recorded-self-titled-lp.

CROPPED OUT is a WEEK AWAY!

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We’ve got one week until the first day of this year’s CROPPED OUT festival, beginning next Friday, September 28th (which, coincidentally, is my birthday!), so let’s take a look at this year’s lineup, schedule, and tomfoolery. Firstly, if you haven’t seen this preview video yet, what planet are you from? Well, you better get in your saucer and get here soon! Check it out:

The entire schedule, broken down by venue, is available here: http://croppedoutmusic.com/cropped-out-2012-schedule/. Let’s take a look at each day’s offerings, shall we? Our “picks to click” are in bold:

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28th at the TURNERS CLUB —
Turner Tavern: SHE MIGHT BITE, MICROWAVES, THE SEDIMENT CLUB, TWIN SISTER RADIO, TV GHOST, CHAIN & THE GANG
Scully Alley: DISCO DOOM, GANGLY YOUTH, BUCK GOOTER, LANTERN, EUGENE CHADBOURNE
Phreedom Hall: THE RITCHIE WHITE ORCHESTRA, JANDEK, STREET GNAR, SLUG GUTS

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29th at the TURNERS CLUB —
Turner Tavern: BINARY MARKETING SHOW, CAVE BEARS, GRAY/ZERANG DUO, COOL MEMORIES, SHAVED WOMEN, DAVID LIEBE HART, R. STEVIE MOORE
Scully Alley: WET, KARK, GLOBSTERS, WHITE WALLS, NEW MOTHER NATURE, GUERILLA TOSS, NEIL HAMBURGER
Phreedom Hall: BLACK KASPAR, RAW THUG, CRYS, PC WORSHIP, MERCHANDISE, LIL B
Spooky Beach: ASHCAN ORCHESTRA

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29th at the WORKHORSE BALLROOM —
PAPA M, WOODEN WAND, JOZEF van WISSEM

Wait, you want more? Well, we’ve got more for ya! How about a DOWNLOADABLE MIX of lots of this year’s CROPPED OUT performers, put together by CROPPED OUT homie James Ardery? Sound good? Well here it is! And here’s the tracklist:

1. Jozef van Wissem, “Lux Divinitatis”
2. PC Worship, “Tides”
3. Wooden Wand, “Servant to Blues”
4. CRYS, “Pass on the Third”
5. Shaved Women, “Circles”
6. Eugene Chadbourne, “Wine Me Up”
7. Globsters, “Roll You Up and Smoke You”
8. White Walls, “The Milk of a Lonely Man”
9. Microwaves, “Hammerspace”
10. Lil B, “Still Cookin'”
11. Guerilla Toss, “Breeding Snakes 4 Variety”
12. Buck Gooter, “Consider the Grackles”
13. Merchandise, “Time”
14. Wet, “Wetter than Wet Pt. 2: Pink Pearl”
15. Gangly Youth, “Jangly Youth”
16. The Ritchie White Orchestra, “Matt Says 2”
17. Chain & The Gang, “If Only I Had Your Brain”
18. R. Stevie Moore, “Schoolgirl”
19. Lantern, “Dreammine”
20. The Phantom Family Halo, “Black and White Magic”

It’ll only be up for a limited time, so grab it like it’s hot. Yeah. And enjoy.

Of course, a wealth of information, including tickets, is available at www.croppedoutmusic.com. Don’t miss what promises to be an awesome weekend! And we’ll see you there, by some bonfire, tellin’ jokes or something…

UPDATE, 9/27/2012: CROPPED OUT IS A DAY AWAY!

Some lineup changes to note: DAHM is unfortunately sick, so he will be missing this year’s CROPPED OUT. Get well, Dahm!

In his place are not one but two doozies: 90’s power-violence pioneers SUPPRESSION (from Roanoke, VA) and FAT HISTORY MONTH (from Boston, MA; on Sophomore Lounge).

Lots of food trucks and vendors and whatnot will be there too, so don’t forget the tomfoolery!

São Paulo Underground Tomorrow at Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft

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LEO Weekly ran my preview today of tomorrow’s upcoming São Paulo Underground concert at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft (scroll down to Thursday’s entry):

Thursday, Sept. 13
São Paulo Underground
Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft
715 W. Main St.
kentuckyarts.org
$5-$10, 8:30 p.m.

Living in Chicago in the 1990s, it was nearly impossible to miss trumpeter/cornetist Rob Mazurek’s many projects. Whether he was gigging with Tortoise, workshopping at the Green Mill, or playing with drummer Chad Taylor in Chicago Underground Duo, Mazurek’s signature style (reminiscent of Dark Magus-era Miles Davis) was inescapable. After adding electronics to the mix, Mazurek’s sound got even bolder, charting a new course that wasn’t quite jazz in the traditional sense but was exciting in its boundary-crossing openness. After moving to Brazil, he started São Paulo Underground with Mauricio Takara (drums, percussion, cavaquinho, electronics), then enlisted Guilherme Granado (keyboards, electronics, samplers) and Richard Ribeiro (drums). The result is a smoothly rendered Brazilian/American melodic hybrid, held together by a fluid rhythmic sensibility. This rare performance — part of KMAC’s “Storytelling As Craft” exhibit — should not be missed. —Joel Hunt

I actually will miss the concert, due to work. Don’t be as unlucky as me. Read more about São Paulo Underground, and listen to a killer track, here: http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/saopaulo.html.

CROPPED OUT 2012 ANNOUNCED!

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Hey people! Most everybody’s favorite completely-DIY, underground-ish music festival for Louisville’s weirdos is back and… hey… wait a minute… DOES THAT SAY JANDEK IS PLAYING IN LOUISVILLE?!? HOLY SHIT!!!

SEPTEMBER 28-30, 2012 IN LOUISVILLE, KY, USA.

You read it right, folks! The time is yet again upon us. Cropped Out’s annual extravaganza is back for 2012. This Fall (September 28th-29th), we will be taking over the American Turners Club — our home for year one, as a few (literally, a few) of you might remember. Last year at the Crummy Den was not only a blast but also a milestone for us as an organization. However, as fun as it was watching Scratch Acid play in a crowded warehouse shortly after cops accosted them at gunpoint, having mistaken them as armed robbers, we decided it was time to take our festival back to more…”welcoming” grounds of operation.

As always, we’ve carefully chosen a solid stash of local, national, and international performing artists to spotlight in our hometown of Louisville, KY. There will also be a familiar face or two from festivals past, along with the usual “tricks up our sleeve.”FRIDAY + SATURDAY: Our third year kicks off at over 30 bands spread across 3 days (two main days with an unforgettable closing party on Sunday, 9/30). A short list of attractions lined up for Friday (9/28) and Saturday (9/29) include the proto-doo-wop sass of Chain & The Gang led by DC legend Ian Svenonius (The Make-Up/Nation of Ulysses), a very rare performance from elusive Texan blues/folk outsider Jandek, the silky lo-fi New Wave croon of Tampa, Florida’s Merchandise (ft. members of the late great Cult Ritual), the bitingly sour, self-deprecrating social stabs of “World’s Funnyman” Neil Hamburger, live music by David Liebe Hart of Adult Swim’s “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job,” and as always, plenty of organically grown, freshly picked, fairly traded locals like Twin Sister Radio, Gangly Youth, and Kark, just to name a few…
FEATURING PERFORMANCES BY:
Ashcan Orchestra (Brooklyn, NY)
Binary Marketing Show (Little Rock, AR)
Buck Gooter (Harrisonburg, VA)
Black Kaspar (Louisville, KY)
Cave Bears (Providence, RI)
Chain & The Gang (Washington, DC)
Cool Memories (Chicago, IL)
Crys (Indianapolis, IN)
Dahm of Phantom Family Halo (Brooklyn, NY)
David Liebe Hart Band (Los Angeles, CA)
Disco Doom (Zurich, Switzerland)
Eugene Chadbourne (Greensboro, NC)
Gangly Youth (Louisville, KY)
Globsters (Hazard, KY)
Guerilla Toss (Boston, MA)
Jandek (Houston, TX)
Kark (Louisville, KY)
Lantern (Philadelphia, PA)
Merchandise (Tampa, FL)
Michael Zerang/Darin Gray Duo (Chicago, IL/St. Louis, MO)
Microwaves (Pittsburgh, PA)
Neil Hamburger (Los Angeles, CA)
PC Worship (Brooklyn, NY)
R. Stevie Moore (Nashville, TN)
The Ritchie White Orchestra (Louisville, KY)
The Sediment Club (Brooklyn, NY)
Shaved Women (St. Louis, MO)
Slug Guts (Brisbane, Australia)
Street Gnar (Lexington, KY)
TV Ghost (Lafayette, IN)
White Walls (Cincinnati, OH)
& others to be announced!
FIND OUT MORE: Stay tuned for all sorts of exciting updates to come at http://croppedoutmusic.com/.

Holy CRAP! I could not possibly be any more excited! Never in my life did I think I’d get to see THE REPRESENTATIVE FROM CORWOOD in my hometown, on my birthday weekend to boot! The rest of the artists and bands booked, at least the ones we know, are pretty awesome in their own right, too. And with lots of names I haven’t heard of, it’ll be another great opportunity to hear some new sounds as well.

Last-Minute Show TONIGHT: JASON AJEMIAN and the HIGH LIFE at the Nach Bar, 10 PM, FREE!

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JASON AJEMIAN and THE HIGH LIFE play at the Nach Bar in Germantown tonight. What are they like? Well, check out their site for some free tunes, and this description:

Formed at the Harold Arts Residency in Ohio, Jason Ajemian pulls all of his previous conceptual musics together under a solid roof with the HighLife.
Ajemian creates scores for the band in the architectural drafting program AutoCAD.  Titled Motion Maps, these scores guide the musicians through spaces and hallways of musical structures. His blueprints dictate the flow and motion of a musical set, opening the performers up to visual and descriptive influences, while leading them through a diverse musical landscape consisting of Ajemian’s orchestrated poems, American folk forms, Native American chants, Canadian sea shanties, Orbison, jazz expressive motion and balladry — all filtered through the creative/improvised process in a unique communication of the moment.

There’s a Facebook invite here, too: http://www.facebook.com/events/366962806710107/. Did I mention it’s FREE?

Some Good Shows This Week

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Tonight Vice-subsidized living legends PIERCED ARROWS play Headliners, with OLD BABY and DON’T (who have some sort of WIPERS connection). PIERCED ARROWS consist, of course, of Fred and Toody Cole from the amazing DEAD MOON, who we never got to see because they never played Louisville back in the day. Let’s hope tonight makes up for that. 8 PM doors, 18+, $10.

On Saturday, SONIC YOUTH‘s LEE RANALDO plays Zanzabar with his new band, which also features SY‘s drummer Steve Shelley as well as guitar slinger Alan Licht (one of our favorites). Opening is another favorite of ours, the ever-quotable WOODEN WAND. James Toth is a certifiable genius, or at least he’s married to one. Some other band called SEA HERO plays too. 9 PM, 21-and-over, $16 advance tickets (here), or $18 day of show.

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

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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.

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

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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
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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
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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.