Finally, I have a blog

Holy hell has it already been over a month since SXSW? Shit. Well. A lot has happened as per usual & I’ve been a giant fail when it comes to blogging. Here’s yet another bullet-pointed list to get you caught up & to remind myself that I’ve actually done something between now & then. Ah, memories:

• The last of SXSW! I got to interview Kitten & Charli XCX
• A whole boatload of music features with rad bands for SFAppeal: JAN, The Last Bison, Heartless Bastards, King Khan & BBQ Show, The Veils, Tartufi, The Airborne Toxic Event
• All sorts of other goofy (& newsworthy!) stories for SFAppeal, which you can catch up on here.
• Quite a few album reviews with everyone’s favorite mxdwn: The Mary Onettes, Wavves, Smoke Fairies, The Black Angels, The Thermals, Mudhoney
• Joy of all freakin’ joys: I got to review the incomparable Charles Bradley’s latest album for Antiquiet, which you can read right here.
• I gave y’all a boatload of recommendations for the free & fun French Quarter Fest: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4
• A real treat for me: my guest blog post for Melissa Gutierrez. Read it here.

I also wrote some hard news articles with Louisiana Weekly but this is a mostly music writing blog. If you’re that curious, just ask & you shall receive. Same goes for the other weird shit I’ve been up to. Did I tell y’all I kicked ass at air hockey on birthday? Because I totally did & this is important.

Now, I can’t promise much because I’ve been ultra-crazy busy but I am looking to finish a few reviews for this blog & write more personal things that are better than roundup posts. Cross your fingers & toes, y’all.

Courtesy of mxdwn & yrs truly, here are my SXSW reviews from all the stellar shows I’ve been catching:

[note: this post will be updated as reviews & photos are added. check back for all kinds of SXSW excitement]

Tuesday:
Houndmouth at Sennheiser + Paste Magazine Showcase
The Lone Bellow at Sennheiser + Paste Magazine Showcase
The Last Bison at Sennheiser + Paste Magazine Showcase

Wednesday:
WHY? at Epitonic // 1-up PR Stage
ON AN ON at BV Chicago
Ume at Epitonic // 1-up PR Stage
Those Darlins at Red Bull Sound Select
John McCauley & Friends at Red Bull Sound Select

Thursday:
Samantha Crain at Heartbreaker Banquet
Tegan and Sara at mtvU Woodies
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis at mtvU Woodies
mtvU Woodies Live

Friday:
Parquet Courts at SPIN at Stubb’s
UMO at SPIN at Stubb’s
The Flaming Lips at Auditorium Shores

Saturday:
Reignwolf at Rachael Ray’s Feedback
Steve Earle at Auditorium Shores
Robert Randolph and the Family Band at Auditorium Shores
Midnight Ramble Band at Auditorium Shores

So here’s what I’m doing this week:

Recurring: Wednesday through Friday I am going to eat the hell out of Red Bull Sound Select’s free food. & possibly network.

Tuesday, 3/12: Media Temple’s closing party featuring The Joy Formidable, Local Natives, & Deadmau5
maybe I can finally ask Deadmau5 about the other 4

Wednesday, 3/13: BV Chicago Party featuring Ume, Eric Pulido, WHY?,
& The End of America
WHY? NOT :D
Red Bull Sound Select featuring John McCauley and Friends, & sets by Deer Tick & Diamond Rugs
oh but how much free red bull can I drink?!

Thursday, 3/14: Heartbreaker Banquet featuring Jim James, Hurray for the Riff Raff, & more
it’s a party on Willie Nelson’s ranch. holy. shit!
mtvU Woodie Awards
look I’m on TV!

Friday, 3/15: SPIN SXSW Party featuring Kendrick Lamar, Solange, Churches, UMO
seeing Kendrick Lamar twice in one week? Why, I must be livin’ the dream!
the Flaming Lips at Auditorium Shores
free badassery!

Saturday: Rachel Ray’s Feedback featuring Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Kenny Loggins, & more
only doing this for Reignwolf
Auditorium Shores’ Leon Helm tribute
celebrating the life of a legend

Sunday: Gay Bi Gay Gay
keepin’ it queer, yo!

I’ll also be interviewing Charli XCX, Kitten, & Icona Pop. Woohoo!

I’ve got my eye on a few other showcases & fun as hell events too:

Wednesday: CoSigns II, CraveOnline’s SXSW Party
Thursday: WLFY’s SXSW Party, Manic Fest Destiny III
Friday: Berklee’s SXSW Party, Big Picture Media’s SXSW Party

SXSWxApril starts tomorrow! *cheers*
[Note: I’ll also be in town Monday, 3/18 & half the day Tuesday, 3/19. Let’s get weird in Austin. Get at me.]

Last week was cray, y’all. I wrote a lot but kinda slacked on the blog so here are some links to what I’ve been up to:

• continuing to tell SF & the Bay Area at large about awesome as hell shows: I wrote about (& interviewed) Radiation City, Darwin Deez, & Biv and the Mnemonics!
• picking the winners at Buku AKA giving you my must-sees for the fest for NOLA Defender
• & covering Buku Music + Arts Project itself for mxdwn :)
• Hell, I even got one of my snazzy tweets in Y@ Speak!

I also wrote some hard news, edited quite a few things, & plotted my hectic SXSW schedule. More of that should be up later today. Any of y’all headed to Austin or already there? Hit me up!

Slowly, slowly, I have returned to the realm of music journalism. The Super Bowl and ensuing Mardi Gras chaos kept me busy (& happy, don’t you worry) but I’m back. Here’s what you missed:

• The actual Super Bowl itself & all its ensuing fanfare, which I wrote about for SFAppeal here, here, & here.
• Some way awesome album reviews (Mother Mother! Buke and Gase! Feeding People!) from yrs truly on mxdwn.
• In SF: Marissa Nadler, Jennifer O’Connor, ON AN ON, BAGeL Radio turning 10
• In NOLA: Lonesome Leash, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Social Set

Okay, so maybe I didn’t take that much of a break but I definitely neglected my blog. Continuing on in this fun list business, here’s what you can look forward to quite soon:

• The final, meaty dredges of the Big Music Challenge.
• Full SXSW coverage featuring SXSW on the cheap, recaps, & more.
• Even more goddamn links to the many things I do, including my imminent guest post for Melissa Gutierrez’s blog.

Brand New Trash
“We Don’t Want”

Rating: 4 stars

Some artists and their names, man. Garbage is actually a kickass band and, well, Brand New Trash is pretty fucking cool too. This is trash pop, or so the band says, and it’s a catchy mix of distorted guitar work and rootsy harmonies like a trailer park on the edge of town. With such a genre name, you’d expect to hear mixes of trad. jazz and old-time hobo songs; most certainly nothing this polished. “We Don’t Want” has a psychedelic garage rock vibe that is slightly edgy but certainly enjoyable and all within a fun-sized package. Clocking in at a little over two minutes, the track is just repetitive enough to get lodged in your brain and short enough to absolutely beg for a few repeat listens.

K. L. Gross
Ghost Love EP

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Worth it Factor: completely

Y’all better yell at me if the Soundcloud for this isn’t working because it’s been kinda spotty for some reason. Anyway, greetings in January! As proof that sometimes you can’t do it all on time but you still may be able to do it all, I’ve got a few more album reviews for y’all. This one comes from Big Music Challenge favorite/repeat artist K.L. Gross, who I’d previously reviewed here.

After first hearing K. L. Gross’ singular song “I Can’t Wait”, I’d felt he was within the same realm as Badly Drawn Boy. Would a full EP change that opinion? Not in the least, though I do see further influences and evolutions within these four songs, of course. “I Can’t Wait” gets paired up with “Hideaway” in an effortless mix. Gross’ lucky-in-love ditty rolls to a more poignant crawl on its latter half. Brushed drums paint a more sincere picture, almost as if Gross has moved from new relationship energy to full commitment. Dreamy, right?

“The Worst Kind of Way” and “Start a War” are absolutely intoxicating jams and about the hardest Gross will get with his fervor. “The Worst Kind of Way” is a lusty number; slow-burning though just two and a half minutes long. Even within that short timespan, it’s fully formed and has the biting punctuations of She Wants Revenge from vocals to instrumentals. “Start a War” swaps those darker tinges for happier jangle pop. Another musical corner is turned, shining light on yet another facet of the singer-songwriter.

Though still a relatively strong song, “The Alchemist” proves to be the least memorable. It’s a little too monotonous in its riff, getting its message of introspection tripped up with complacency. For this reason and mostly because, hey, it’s just a few songs, Gross leaves the Big Music Challenge with 3 1/2 stars on his longer effort.

After one month, over sixty posts, & a very epic all-nighter, I nearly finished my Big Music Challenge. That’s right; I’ve still got six more albums to review. They’ll be coming to you within the week, then I can victoriously close the chapter on this really quite insane fit of writing & look towards future challenges… like taking a picture a day as I gear up for Super Bowl/Mardi Gras insanity.

Relive all the excitement of the Big Music Challenge right here.

Modern Inventors
“Hello”

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Modern Inventors is set to release their debut album in just a few weeks and from my brief advanced listen I can tell you that it is quite good. This first single from Trains & Aeroplanes follows the run of male singer-songwriters I’ve been reviewing; all of them are quality. Modern Inventors’ may be two men but their creative input coalesces beautifully. The breakdown towards the end of the song is reminiscent of Rick Springfield, with thrusting guitars and determined vocals. “Hello” is a fun mix of genres and years. At once Ryan Adams and Guster, yet entirely their own. Good influences make for a good band. Look for Trains & Aeroplanes January 15th.