Category Archives: Folk

Download This!, Folk, Indie, Music, Music Video, Outlaw Country, Pop, Rock

Those Darlins Made My Day

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Before I even begin this blog, props need to go to my good pal Matt at Addicted To Vinyl for his assistance in helping me through rather vulgar texts on some mp3 help…  Thanks jerk.

I had one of those days today.  It was a bad day at work.  It was just too much for me and I really wish I had a special remote control to help fast forward through all the BS.  Unfortunately I do not so I had to go through my work day at a regular speed hating stressful moments.

Those Darlins indeed...
Those Darlins indeed...

Finally getting home I just needed some chill time and what better way to do that than to geek out on the laptop.  I checked my emails and one in particular grabbed my attention.  It was an email inviting me to check out a band called Those Darlins who are currently touring with Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys).  Having never heard of them and being a huge Black Keys fan I decided it could not hurt to listen to the attached MP3.

What I heard completely changed my entire day and I am not just saying that.  After hearing the song “Wild One” I just felt better.  It was a fun folky honest song of sorts and something I really needed to brighten up my day.

So who are these three darlins I speak of? Those Darlins are a folk/country/indie/punk/appalachian/blue grass (hope I did not miss anything) band featuring Kelley Darlin on bass, Jessi Darlin, on guitar, and Nikki Darlin on, get this, baritone ukulele.  Awesome.

The trio currently resides in the college town of Murfreesboro, TN a city that rests somewhere between the country capital of the world Nashville and the Woodstock replacing town of Manchester, the city Bonnaroo is held in.  Taking their love of playing music and love for a variety of bands of all genres Those Darlins created their own style of music and released the sassy Wild One EP.

Before I even continue you should just click on the link for the song and listen to it for yourself…

–Download This! – Those Darlins – “Wild One”

With one song not enough of a sample I headed to their MySpace page to check out a few more tracks.  The vocals on some of the tunes reminded me of a female version of Hank III as well as a twangy Jenny Lewis or even Zooey Deschanel.  The music is classic at times and all around enjoyable.

I have a feeling these three cuties and their mustache sporting drummer really will be going places with their unique and chipper sound.  To make things even better, I just found out that Those Darlins are coming to the Beachland Ballroom next week.  I have to go see them in person and I think I will.  Look for an update next week.

-To pick up the EP for just $5.00, or to purchase some of their self-made merchandise visit their site at:

www.thosedarlins.com

Until then check this video out…

70's, 80's, 90's, Electronic, Folk, Hip Hop, Indie, Live Shows, Metal, Music, Rap, Rock

More Bonnaroo 2009 Bands Confirmed

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I have to say that Bonnaroo 2009 is looking pretty good this year. Tickets go on sale this Friday and I already envision a sellout with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street band performing as well as Phish (2 shows mean major hippie joy). I am more excited to see Coheed & Cambria, the Beastie Boys, NIN, Andrew Bird, Wilco, Elvis Costello, Down (seriously???), and Jenny Lewis.

Here’s the current line up taken from Bonnaroo.com:

Tickets go on sale this Friday.  They will run you about $224.50 at first and then will escalate to $249.50 after the early tickets sellout.  Pricey, indeed, but this year Bonnaroo is making it easier for you to go as they have introduced a payment plan.  Call it a rock layaway of sorts…  Here is some info on that:

BONNAROO 2009 TICKETS ON SALE SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7th, 2009 AT 12:00 PM EASTERN. PURCHASE PAYMENT PLAN TICKETS.

GA PAYMENT PLAN
General admission tickets will also be available for (5) payments of $50.00 plus applicable fees through our payment plan.

Payment plan ticket fees are $28.90 per ticket, which includes a $6.00 facility fee, $3.00 contribution to Coffee County, $1.00 charity donation, and $5.00 payment plan fee ($1.00 per payment), and service fees.

There is a limit of (10) general admission payment plan tickets per order.

GA Payment Plan Schedule*
Payment 1    $90.90 including all fees    DATE OF PURCHASE
Payment 2    $50.00                                Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Payment 3    $50.00                                Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Payment 4    $50.00                                Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Payment 5    $50.00                                Tuesday, May 19, 2009
*For each GA ticket purchased starting on Saturday, February 7, 2009.

That is a great idea if you ask me. Everyone these days are hard on cash so this payment plan will pull in those folk who may now have been able to dish out all the loot at once.  Keep in mind though that if you do the payment plan and miss just one payment, Bonnaroo will keep the ticket, keep your money, and still bill you for the balance.  I knew there was a catch to this.  Always make sure you read the fine print or in this case the part that says “IMPORTANT“:

IMPORTANT: If, for any reason, any of your payments are declined, in whole or in part, then all of the following will apply: (i) your order and your tickets will be canceled (ii) any payment received as of that date will be kept by Bonnaroo as partial offset for your default, (iii) you will still owe the balance of the full amount due for each ticket and you authorize Musictoday and Bonnaroo to charge your credit card for any balance due, (iv) Musictoday and Bonnaroo will be entitled to pursue all of their legal and equitable remedies to recover the full payment from you, and (v) you agree to pay all costs of collection incurred by Musictoday or Bonnaroo, including legal fees, that they may incur in collecting the balance of each ticket price. Payment plan tickets are subject to all of the other terms of the ticketing agreement.

I can only afford one festival this year.  That is my limit.  So far Bonnaroo is winning me over.  One thing about Bonnroo that deters me though is the camping.  I don’t camp anymore.  I especially do not camp with 80,000 other people with camps set up as far as 3 miles from the venue.

I went to Bonnaroo in 2006.  We stated in a dump hotel but it the the best thing we could do.  We could come and go when we wanted to as we were not jammed into to the camping area like sardines.  Trust me, once you park your car and set up camp you are done.  There was hardly any traffic movement during the whole weekend as if you camped you were stuck.

No showers, no air conditioning, no running water… yeah I am too old for that these days…  I can rock it at an all day long summer festival no problem, but at the end of the day I need a bed with some A/C cranking after a shower.

Just look at the picture below.  The lower half of the picture is the festival grounds.  The top half is the camping community.  There is also an equal portion of the camping community behind the festival grounds too.  Honesty it is an incredible site…

Aerial shot by Taylor Crothers
Aerial shot by Taylor Crothers

With tickets on sale at the end of the week I am really wishing the Virgin Festival line up would release so I can figure out which way I am headed this summer…  I lean towards the Virgin Festival mostly because I have been to all of them so far so why ruin a tradition?  This Bonnaroo line up though has me very interested…

To be continued…

Folk, Music Video, Post-Hardcore, Punk

Not So Much Of A Review: City and Colour – Bring Me Your Love

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I came across an artist the other day named Dallas Green who has a solo project he calls City and Colour.  The thing is, I have heard the voice before but could not pinpoint where…  After a minute of research I was amazed to find out that Dallas Green is also the lead vocalist for the post-hardcore act Alexisonfire.

Crazy.  I am so out of the loop.

I admit it.  I am not hip to everything so you can imagine how I felt considering I am a fan of Alexisonfire…a fan that does not necessarily know all the band members by name.

It seems that all of these punk rock / hardcore artists are doing solo albums lately and it appears it might be the new “in” thing to do, but before I continue I need to state that Dallas Green has been doing his solo project for a few years now.  Also “in” or not if an artist can pull off an amazing solo album, more power to them.

I have yet to check out the entire album called Bring Me Your Love as well as the rest of Dallas Green’s solo catalog.  Funny thing is that I have seen this CD before on the shelf but didn’t even give it a chance.  Looks like I was the one missing out.  If you like meaningful folk rock material you should check out this CD like I intend to do so…

Here is a really neat video.  Yes, I said neat.

The Girl

Folk, Music, New Release, Punk, Review

Tim Barry – Manchester – CD Review

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What do you do when you wake up one day and find yourself a little older, a little wiser, and still broke, even after you spend most of your life fronting a punk rock band?  Chances are, if you are like Tim Barry, you keep doing what you do when you can just so you can get by and love every minute of it.  The Avail front man recently has released his third solo project titled Manchester
again on Suburban Home Records and I must say it is outstanding.

Tim Barry - Photo: Travis Conner
Tim Barry - Photo: Travis Conner

Tim Barry rubs off more as a folk singer on Manchester, even though he is mostly known for being part of one of the more important punk rock acts from the 1990s.  Still touring with Avail but not as a fulltime gig, Tim Barry also performs on his own with family members and close friends.  I still have yet to witness a live show and after listening to Manchester I really hope he comes to my neighborhood again.

Currently residing in Richmond, Virginia, the carefree musician has his day job, loves his beer, and continues his passion with music.  With help from friends and family Tim Barry has recorded a personal album that displays his thoughts as well as encourages you to think for yourself.

Not knowing Tim Barry had a previous solo album this was the first time I heard him minus Avail and I had no idea what to expect.  Opening track “Texas Cops” immediately perked my ears with a more personal track about the law, not missing home, and admitting that having a “bad time is better than no time any day”.   This track really reminded me of Hank III with the tough lyrics and fun country twang.

“On And On” is not as fast paced as the first track, but more a slowed down folk hymn.  I really could feel the emotion in this track.  The backing music was just amazing as well complimenting Tim Barry’s gruff voice.  “South Hill” was one of the few songs that I have heard where I actually got angry while listening.  The track tells the tale of a young soldier thinking he is fighting the good fight, only to return home  not knowing right from wrong.  I seriously was angry with the outcome of this story turned song and it was not because Tim Barry sung his beliefs, he left that up to me.

The cover of Avail’s “This November” was just awesome and sounded just as good slowed down a tad with the same message, take a breath and deal.  “Sagagity Gone” was fun jam about not caring what one more drink will do to you.

The album has its ups and downs midway through but Tim Barry really keeps up with his personal lyricism on all.  In “Tile Work” Time Barry declares “consider where I been” possibly letting everyone know why he is the way he is.  Slow jam “222” was very sad, yet passionate about not feeling alone, and was one of my preferred tracks on the disc.

For a guy who has been in the punk rock scene for years, it is great to see him continue even if it is a tad slowed down.  Where I am a fan of Avail, I can say I am even a bigger fan of Tim Barry’s solo material. It strikes me stronger with his approach at life and personal battles.

With so many artists recording material on their own, some may say that this is a trend.  For Tim Barry that is not the case at all as you can almost hear in each song that he is doing it for the sake of recording music, something you can tell he truly loves.  His mix of punk and folk throughout really is appealing and begs to be played over and over again.  The CD is genuine, honest, and a must have for any aging punker out there who is finally coming to terms with themselves that maybe it’s time to slow things down a little.

Want a taste of the CD?

“South Hill”

“222”

If you really want to hear more proof why I love the CD so much, click on Manchester, buy it, and check it out for yourself:

Head over to his website for some more music and info: http://www.timbarryrva.com/

Folk, Music, Music Video, New Release, Punk, Rock

Tom Gabel To Release Solo Material

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Against Me!‘s Tom Gabel has been doing a little sumptin sumptin on the side.  The front man of the ever popular Against Me! is doing things his own way this time.  He will be releasing a solo album on Oct 28th, 2008 called Heart Burns. 

Leading up to the release Tom Gabel has been releasing music videos via MySpace of songs that will be appearing on his project. I hadn’t had a chance to check them out until now…and now you can too:

100 Years Of War

Random Hearts

Cowards Sing At Night

Harsh Realms

From what I am gathering the EP to be released will actually be live performances.  This is really a highly anticipated release for me.  This comes from the guy who used to HATE Against Me! too. 

When I first got into Against Me! there was already a huge following and a couple of albums had been released.  I listened to a few tracks and tried real had to like them but I couldn’t.  It was mostly from fans telling me how awesome they were and how incredible they sounded before my ears even got a taste.  Scene kids jamming them down my throat was not helping the situation when I worked at a record store.

I still gave them a couple more chances and even saw them play with Smoke Or Fire.  Soon after hearing them a few more times I started hearing the more folk driven tracks and I suddenly liked them.  When I caught them live my opinion changed entirely.  They were so fun, full of smiles, and played their hearts out.  Sing-a-longs galore.  Suddenly I liked what I once hated…

I remember when New Wave came out earlier this year.  Die hard fans soon hated the band and called them sellouts.  They were upset the band went mainstream.  I became a bigger fan myself after hearing that album, it is insane.  That’s music industry for ya though…  You have to pay the bills some how and if selling out means helping ensure a financially sane future then I say go for it… 

Oct. 28th is right around the corner and if you like Against Me! you should support Tom Gabel and pick up his solo release.