In Pictures: Cowboy Mouth @ Highline Ballroom

by Dino Perrucci


Cowboy Mouth - Highline Ballroom, NYC 1/30/10



Cowboy Mouth - Highline Ballroom, NYC 1/30/10

In Pictures: Cowboy Mouth @ Highline Ballroom

by Dino Perrucci

Cowboy Mouth - Highline Ballroom, NYC 1/30/10

LimeWire Store Releases FREE "Ear To The Ground: New Orleans" Compilation

EAR TO THE GROUND: NEW ORLEANS

by Various Artists

Of all the great music that's come out of Louisiana - jazz, zydeco, Cajun - it's surprising New Orleans has never had more influence in the rock world. There ha...ve been some middling national acts (Better Than Ezra, Cowboy Mouth), some great metal (Pantera, Zebra), and a few one-hit wonderboys that wouldn't even make a good pub quiz question.

In the last few years, that's been changing - especially since Hurricane Katrina. The city's DIY approach to recovery has been applied to the local music scene as well, with great results. Theresa Andersson's one-woman acoustic performances (taped in her kitchen) have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube. Just this month, New Orleans' top power-pop combo, Generationals, were named to the New York Times' "Nifty 50" list of upcoming national talent.


These are just two of the artists spotlighted in EAR TO THE GROUND: NEW ORLEANS, a collection curated by the staff of Gambit, New Orleans' alt-weekly paper. We still love our jazz and our brass bands, but this collection is like wandering off Bourbon Street and going deep into the neighborhoods where the people live and play. Enjoy!

GIVERS - "Ceiling of Plankton"

Meet southern Louisiana's Of Montreal or Dirty Projectors. The Lafayette quartet sends rainbow waves of shining Afro-beat, sing-along psychedelics and colorful dance-pop, all wrapped around mountains of smiling guitars and electronics and the playful harmonies of vocalists Taylor Guarisco and Teddy Lamson. (Alex Woodward)

One Man Machine & The Powers That Be - "Get My Sound"

The one man in One Man Machine, Bernard Pearce, is the perfect mascot for this new age of New Orleans music: he's both challenging and rewarding, gregarious and scarily intense. "Get My Sound," the title track from his 2008 debut, offers a typically narcotized haze of psychedelic texture, brass-band exuberance and unbridled funk. (Noah Bonaparte Pais)

Lovey Dovies - "Sheepskin and Stone"

The latest effort from the veteran punks (read: Red Beards, Big Baby, Faeries, Hatchback) is another reliably brilliant notch in the members' belts. Lovey Dovies genuflects at the altar of '90s indie rock, recalling shoegaze with pop hooks and loud, loud, loud rock 'n' roll, à la Sebadoh, Sonic Youth, and Dinosaur Jr. (Alex Woodward)

Big Rock Candy Mountain - "Rocketship"

Trumpet-for-hire Michael Girardot takes center stage with this nascent quartet and proves his singing voice is just as impacting as his instrument's. The lead-off track from the band's 2009 debut, Hey Kid, "Rocketship" veers from searing guitars and synthesizers into a mellifluous vocal base jump. (Noah Bonaparte Pais)

Caddywhompus - "Fun Times at Whiskey Bay"

The psychedelic thrash duo bounces from light-hearted head-bobbing gymnastics to total sonic explosions, sometimes in the same breath. Drummer Sean Hart and vocalist/guitarist Chris Rehm take their cues from their noise-pop contemporaries, as well as pop deconstructionists Animal Collective and the ear-destroying duo Lightning Bolt. (Alex Woodward)

Giant Cloud - "Rainbows"

Songs by this Ruston-cum-New Orleans quintet play out more like movements in a rollicking psych-rock sonata. The opener of its debut EP, Old Books (Park the Van), "Rainbows" is all moody melody: angelic vocals and keyboard and guitar arpeggios raining down on shimmering cymbals for seven dramatic minutes. (Noah Bonaparte Pais)

Loren Murrell - "Watching the Clouds"

With a busker's aesthetic and the pull of a pied piper, Grand Rapids, MI, transplant Murrell entrances using only a reedy, windswept voice and feathery guitar work. "Watching the Clouds" is his "Long and Winding Road," a player-piano backing track and soft gospel chorus lending a lush, dreamlike quality to this '70s soft-rock crush. (Noah Bonaparte Pais)

Silent Cinema - "Sleepy Time on Bourbon"

Micah McKee's whiskey-caked growl carries the fire of New Orleans music, performed none better than by these old souls in new bodies. A brass duo and perfectly in-the-pocket rhythm swim against reverb, guitars, and keys, all bursting with melancholy and joy - barstool blues and a chorus in concrete heaven. (Alex Woodward)

The Pharmacy - "WAYDWYL"

These Seattle transplants shacked up in the Bayou St. John neighborhood and turned into New Orleans music fanboys. Warm soul now punctuates the garage rock trio's approach to classical pop - all the fuzzy melodies and psychedelic hooks of the Kinks and Zombies for punk-rockers. (Alex Woodward)

Theresa Andersson - "Birds Fly Away"

Swedish-born songstress Andersson metamorphosed on 2008's Hummingbird, Go! (Basin Street) from roots-rocking fiddler to wings-spreading pop seraph. "Birds Fly Away" shows off her proficiency with recording pedals, layering handclaps, girl-group harmonies and drums, and pizzicato plucking - all played and looped by Andersson. (Noah Bonaparte Pais)

Thou - "The Song of Illuminate Darkness"

This is the shift from the southern sludge of the likes of Down and Eyehategod. Thou revels in Black Sabbath worship and doom-like drone, preaching from the pits of the bayou. Sharing thrones in both Baton Rouge and New Orleans, the band rules a demon world of crushing, low-end obliteration and endless riff dirges. (Alex Woodward)

Why Are We Building Such a Big Ship? - "No Blood, No Blooms"

Big Ship performs the songs for when the music stops. It's apocalyptic folk, the stuff you'd expect the Bywater septet - all brass, banjos, accordions, and other miscellany — to glean from rotten streets and the gloom of lifeless neighborhoods, capturing a decayed city better than any post-Katrina bluesman. (Alex Woodward)

The White Bitch - "Hurricane Party"

Music teacher Michael Patrick Welch co-opted the derogatory handle awarded him by some pupils, so it's no surprise that his "Hurricane Party" is the ultimate Katrina deflator: a nostalgic New Wave intro, funky Of Montreal falsettos, and the ne plus ultra of Dirty Coast refrains ("There should at least be a fuckin' beach"). (Noah Bonaparte Pais)

Big Blue Marble - "Had Enough"

BBM has been quietly churning out quality pop-rock without much flash for the better part of the past decade. Led by singer/guitarist Dave Fera and supported by a cast that reaches 11, the band is at its best on "Had Enough," whose staccato strings and forlorn tones give way in the last minute to a heartbreaking, hair-raising finish by Fera. (Noah Bonaparte Pais)

MyNameIsJohnMichael - "Misery Runs"

Singer-songwriter John Michael Rouchell's 2008 song-a-week recording project blossomed in 2009 into a superior live act, with a performing polish and kinetic prickle that's unmatched in New Orleans outside of jazz circles. Slick showcase "Misery Runs" glides by on group-shouted hooks, a wistful brass bridge and galloping percussion. (Noah Bonaparte Pais)

Fatter Than Albert - "Panda King"

This six-piece ska powerhouse started building its empire in high school. Now twenty-somethings, the crew (West Bank born and raised), grew up with a steady diet of jazz, reggae, and hardcore punk, and thrives with constant tours, sweat ethic, and a DIY attitude. (Alex Woodward)

Brass Bed - "Summertime"

With a strong dose of '60s nostalgia, this sunshining pop-rock outfit smothers bright, fuzzy riffs over doo-wop country-folk, with the happy psychedelics of the Elephant 6 collective and the current indie-pop sensibilities of the Apples in Stereo, The Shins, and Olivia Tremor Control. (Alex Woodward)

Rotary Downs - "Indian Summer"

Stalwarts of the local rock scene, Rotary Downs broke out in 2007 with Chained to the Chariot, which balanced pop appeal and the band's spacey experimentalism. "Indian Summer," the first single from the group's as-yet-untitled 2010 album, pushes the former even further with four-alarm guitars and a transformative "ba-ba-ba-ba-ba" vocal bridge. (Noah Bonaparte Pais)

Generationals - "Faces in the Dark"

Sepia-tone soul butts up against Casiotone pop on Generationals' 2009 debut, Con Law (Park the Van), whose songs sound not just like they came from different bands, but different eras. Consider "Faces in the Dark" the time machine: a shuffling Spoon strum, bubbly Motown bass, and a lovely, loping Brill Building chorus. (Noah Bonaparte Pais)

Upcoming (in NoLa): The Domino Effect, a Star-Studded Tribute to Fats Domino

see also: Revel With a Cause

An extravagant tribute concert to honor Fats Domino doubles as a fundraising boon for the Brees Dream Foundation — and the final push to fulfill a two-year-old promise.

The Domino Effect: May 30 at New Orleans Arena
New Orleans Benefit Concert to feature B.B. King, Chuck Berry
Little Richard, Wyclef Jean, Keb' Mo', Taj Mahal & Junior Brown

B.B. KING For more than half a century, Riley "B.B." King has defined the blues for audiences the world over. In that time, King has developed one of the world's most identifiable guitar sounds with the aid of his beloved guitar, Lucille and entranced millions with his deep and expressive voice. CHUCK BERRY Chuck Berry's music, lyrics, and devil-may-care spirit have made an indelible impression on millions of people, including such legends as the Beatles and Rolling Stones. He celebrated the birth of rock and roll in 1955 and remains, to this day, one of its most electrifying performers. LITTLE RICHARD Little Richard is the originator, the emancipator, and the architect of rock and roll. Exploding into the American consciousness in the mid-'50s...awop-bop-a-loo-mop-alop-bam-boom.... he helped lay the foundation and establish the rules for a new musical form that would come to be known as rock and roll. OZOMATLI The music of culture-mashers, Ozomatli is a notorious urban-Latino-and-beyond collision of hip hop and salsa, samba and funk, merengue and comparsa, East LA R&B and New Orleans second line, Jamaican reggae and Indian raga. Ozomatli has the unique ability to take you around the world without leaving your seat. WYCLEF JEAN Haitian-born Wyclef Jean is a Grammy Award-winning musician/producer, social activist, Goodwill Ambassador, and diplomat for positive cultural evolution. Wyclef is a founding member of hip-hop sensation the Fugees as well as a prolific solo artist. JUNIOR BROWN Junior Brown is an American country guitarist and singer whose work is a mix of traditional and alternative country with accents of blues and Hawaiian steel with surf-style instrumentation. He is well known for his stringed creations, such as his "guit-steel," a double-necked guitar that marries a traditional six-string on top with a full lap steel on the bottom. TAJ MAHAL Taj Mahal is an internationally recognized blues musician who folds the worldly sounds of the Caribbean, Africa, and the South Pacific into his personal style. He is a self-taught singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose mediums include the guitar, banjo, harmonica and more. KEB' MO' Keb' Mo' is an American musician known for his songwriting and vocal stylings as well as his proficiency with the guitar, banjo, and keyboard. Though primarily a blues artist, his wide-ranging talents have lead him to venture into genres as varied as gospel and calypso in his long and rich career.

About The Domino Effect The Domino Effect is a star-studded tribute concert celebrating the life and influence of rock and roll legend Fats Domino. Musical legends from far and wide are gathering in New Orleans for one historic night to pay tribute to Fats and his feats throughout his lifetime. A portion of the proceeds from this music extravaganza will benefit the Brees Dream Foundation bettering local playgrounds and outdoor recreation sites for the children of New Orleans. About The Brees Dream Foundation Since 2007, The Brees Dream Foundation has contributed more than $1.65 million to the New Orleans community as part of its partnership with Operation Kids. Drew and Brittany Brees are committed philanthropists to the city of New Orleans and are a vital part of the rebirth and revitalization of the city's youth. About The Producers Illuminated Entertainment LLC (IEG) and its partner Rozone Productions LLC (RPI) managed by David E. Rosen promotes elite music events at a wide range of venues across the country. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, "The Live Music Capital of the World", the company is firmly positioned within the epicenter of cutting edge, traditional and talented live musicians and artists. Often partnering with 501(c)(3) philanthropic organizations, IEG and RPI work to create awareness of a community's needs, whether in a city, a region, or an entire country, IEG and RPI support these 501(c)(3) by donating portions of the proceeds from their scheduled events. One of the primary missions of IEG / RPI is to provide the patrons, business colleagues, and artists it collaborates with an experience that is substantially more rewarding than that of our competitors. This uncompromising approach is the bedrock and soul of our success.

In Pictures: Trombone Shorty @ Highline Ballroom

By Dino Perrucci Photography

Trombone Shorty - Highline Ballroom, NYC 4/17/09


Trombone Shorty - Highline Ballroom, NYC 4/17/09

Upcoming: Bill Malchow & Alex McMurray @ Sullivan Hall, Rodeo Bar & D.B.A.

Contact bill@billmalchow.com
Myspace:www.myspace.com/billmalchowmusic

Next Shows:

Fri, 3/20/09
opening for Tab Benoit

Alex McMurray & Bill Malchow
8 pm (one set) - 18
Sullivan Hall
New York, NY

Sat, 3/21/09

Alex McMurray & Bill Malchow
4 pm - 6 pm
D.B.A. (Williamsburg)
Brooklyn (Williamsburg), NY

Sat, 3/21/09

Bill Malchow and the Go Cup All Stars
10 pm
The Rodeo Bar
New York, NY

Myspace:www.myspace.com/billmalchowmusic

Morning 40 Federation call it quits

Sad news out of New Orleans: celebrated inebriates Morning 40 Federation have announced that this Friday night’s gig at One Eyed Jacks will be their last. I guess the band that brought us such classics as “Dumpster Juice,” “White Powder,” and “Stinky” was never built to last, but for many who heard and saw in them the essence of everything New Orleans, this abrupt ending is quite a heartbreak.

Pour some out for our fallen homies…

UPDATE:

Morning 40 Federation calls it quits with farewell show tonight, February 20, at One Eyed Jacks

Posted by Ann Maloney, staff writer, The Times-Picayune February 20, 2009

The glorious, unruly blend of rock, country and the occasional kazoo that is Morning 40 Federation is coming to an end.

The bar-band favorite is calling it quits with a farewell show tonight, Feb. 20, at 10 at One Eyed Jacks, 615 Toulouse St., although saxophone player Josh Cohen says he will never rule out playing again with his long-time band mates.

"We're not as prolific as it used to be -- that's an understatement," said Cohen of the band, which he and a circle of like-minded Bywater musicians formed more than a decade ago. "It's not like we have animosity toward each other, but it just doesn't feel like the creative spirit is following us around anymore."

The band, which includes Cohen, Ryan Scully, Bailey Smith, Steve Calandra, Mike Andrepont, Dick Hukill and Clarence Slaughter, had already booked the gig at One Eyed Jacks before the members decided to split up.

Cohen said band members, who once reveled in their esprit de corps, writing songs that crackled with inside jokes and odes to drinking, are having trouble even finishing new material. With members not showing up regularly for practices, their sets were becoming rote.

"We have integrity," Cohen said. "When it feels like we've hit our peak, we don't want to be one of those bands that is washed up and just keeps going.

"What's the point," he said. "We could do it for the money, but that's not what we're about.

"It's obviously an emotional time," he said. "It was a very difficult decision to make."

But, he said, the breakup may bring great new music things to the city: "New bands may sprout up or maybe we'll miss it and see it in a new light."

Band members are already involved in side projects, including playing with other bands around town, such as the Happy Talk Band.

In a sense, the breakup feels preordained, Cohen said, citing the "excessive partying" that goes with a band named for a 40-ounce bottle of malt liquor, but it still hurts to see it end.

Cohen said band member Scully put it best: "It's like when you have a very old dog that you love very much, but if it's wheezing, got mange and can't walk, it's time to put it down.

"To me, that's where we are."

Upcoming: Johnny Sketch & The Dirty Notes @ Sullivan Hall (Tonight!)

JOHNNY SKETCH & THE DIRTY NOTES @ SULLIVAN HALL Saturday (9/27) @ 11:30pm

Saturday September 27th Opener Starts @ 7:30pm | $10adv - $12dos

Johnny Sketch & The Dirty Notes Formed in 2001, the legend of Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes is a noble tale of friends, funk and fortitude. It is the coagulation of classically trained musicians breaking the confines of the genre in a most likely musical haven; New Orleans. Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes has been known to boldly impress their audiences with more than music, which sometimes involves the removal of clothes, bizarre costumes and the coercion of certain audience members to partake in odd antics. The band is a collection of carefully crafted alter egos, mystical musicians hesitant to share their personal selves but collectively ready to funk beyond the call of duty. Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes is a collective, an ensemble, a six person phone booth in which mild mannered classical guy Clark Kent goes in and Johnny The Wild Superman comes out. And come to think of it, that also involves costumes and the dumping of garments.

In Pictures: Cowboy Mouth @ BB King's

Cowboy Mouth - BB King's, NYC 9/18/08


Cowboy Mouth - BB King's, NYC 9/18/08


Cowboy Mouth - BB King's, NYC 9/18/08

NolaFunk Song (& Video) of the Day: The Radiators' "Suck the Head"

In Pictures (On Location): Radiators @ Culture Room - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Joe Perez intro Lost Radio Confidential>Superstition>Confidential Hot Lube> High Heel Sneakers> Red Dress House of Blue Lights Light Up My Pipe Total Evaporation Furthur On Up the Road Dreamin' Out Loud Down In the Flood Nail Yur Heart outtro Joe Perez intro Barnburner Never Let Your Fire Go Out Diamond Joe Hungry Heart Crazy Mona>Wake Me Shake Me>Crazy Mona Salt of the Earth intro> Run Red Run Frogman > All Meat Morning Dew Highway 61 callin' em back Get Off My Cloud Screwloose outtro

In Pictures / NolaFunkyNYC Review of the Week: Bonerama | 06.21.08 | NYC

Bonerama :: 06.21.08 :: Sullivan Hall :: New York, NY

Words & Images by: Dino Perrucci

Check out the Full Jambase Review HERE.