Tracklisting:
Sarmust – Edison
Seaknuckle – It Won’t Last
New Canada – Great Big Window
The Far Exp – 11th and U
Fellow Creatures – Shuka Shuka
SECRET MYSTERY TRACK
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What else can be said about the Godfather of go-go and the heart of DC? Chuck Brown left us back in May 2012, but the posthumous release Beautiful Life just dropped a few weeks ago. On the album the title track features a guest spot from Wale, but the music video for the song swaps that for an emotional and uplifting verse from Chuck’s daughter KK Brown. From the streets to the clubs to the recent christening of Chuck Brown Memorial Park in Langdon Park, there’s absolutely no escaping Chuck Brown’s impact on the harmony, history and reputation of DC.
We here at Hometown Sounds are ginormous fans of the jazz + comedy series Under the Counter hosted by Jonathan Parker and BRNDA‘s Leah Gage. After the sad closure of The Dunes earlier this year, Under The Counter finally settles into their comfy new digs this Wednesday evening upstairs at Wonderland Ballroom. Jonathan’s ensemble Panel Counsel provides the cool jazz while Andrew Bucket, Chelsea Shorte and Michael J. Foody bring the chuckles. And yours truly will spin an all-DC set full of classics, new cuts and surprises. This show is eff are eee eee FREE! What do you have to lose? That’s right, not a damn thing.
Check out video of Panel Counsel strutting their stuff earlier this summer at Triangle House, shot by DC music video vet Nigel Lyons.
We can all agree that autumn’s pleasant chill has finally arrived in DC. Time to put away the jorts and dig out the jackets. Fall is my favorite time of year, but the brash punks in Loud Boyz clearly favor wild summer weekends at the beach. Their debut video for “Hard Feelings” was shot during a weekend playing shows in Ocean City MD, proving these guys have advanced degrees in partying. “Hard Feelings” gets a genuine 7″ release from Cricket Cemetery in November, but you don’t have to wait that long to blow out your eardrums with the Loud Boyz. The official-sounding DC Party Action Committee hosts the Brodown Throwdown all day and night at the Rock & Roll Hotel on Saturday September 20th with a crazy awesome lineup including Wanted Man, Typefighter, Baby Bry Bry & The Apologists and more top-notch DJs than should be allowed in one day. And with no cover charge, that’s more money to tip your hard-working bartenders.
It’s Friday, the weekend is here and I don’t know about you but I am ready to cut loose. Bethesda pop-punk band Boardroom Heroes headlines a fantastic night of spastic punk and ska music at Rock & Roll Hotel tonight to celebrate the release of their new 5 song EP New Wage on Sinking Ship Records. The music video for the title track, premiered earlier this week on BlankTV, immediately puts me in the mood to drink 40s, skate and do dangerous stuff with fireworks. Read the interview with the band published today by our comrades at DC Music Download, and catch the entire lineup of bands tonight that includes Centerfield, Walk The Plank and Kill Lincoln.
My love of music videos should be pretty apparent at this point, but these days my favorite ones are well-produced, well-edited live takes. I connect with a song more when I see the musicians performing it and feel their affinity as a band. It’s the next best thing to seeing a live show, without the challenging sight lines, close quarters and oppressive sweatiness (<3 you anyway Bathtub Republic). If you’ve somehow missed The Sea Life‘s rise from prominence to near-dominance in DC’s indie rock landscape, it’s well past time to get on board. While touring earlier this summer in Charlotte, the band took up the offer of The Dresden Sessions to record a live video in exchange for a crash pad for the night, which sounds like a no-brainer win-win situation to me. Jon Weiss’s distinctive woozy guitar sound and performance style come off perfectly here. Catch them late Saturday night at Comet Ping Pong with Paperhaus, BRNDA and a DJ set from Outputmessage.
Who: Louis Weeks with Mutual Benefit, Soft Cat and Stranger in the Alps
Where: Rock n’ Roll Hotel
When: Thursday, September 11, 2014
Song You Must Hear Today: “naïve_melody” (cover)
I can’t stay away from Louis Weeks. He’s all around me, playing shows, making blogs – a couple months ago he even showed up in my mail. His performance at the Strathmore this January appeared in their mailer for the upcoming performance season.
Another reason he’s all around me is that I can’t stay away from his Bandcamp page. The weird way I’ve come to describe it is (metaphorically) an android fumbling for mysticism by way of technology. The tracks are replete with mysterious keyboards and healthy sprinklings of glitch that are a most chic inducement of hypnotization.
Yesterday, he released a slo-mo cover of Talking Heads’ classic “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)”. I don’t generally like hearing covers of this song. I’ve heard too many of them that are just too close to the original to be of any interest, but this one’s a pretty great re-imagining of the song. Electronic percussion lumbers along, and Weeks’ effects-laden vocals sound bellowed out of the deepest canyon.
His stated motives behind the cover resonate with the frequently spiritual feel of his music. “I’ve always related to the particularly meditative aspects of this song. To me, it’s a song about living ‘in the moment’ – learning to make your home in constant change and the passing of time. My version takes this interpretation literally and slows everything down and tries to stay in the moment as long as possible.”
He performs tomorrow at Rock & Roll Hotel with the earnestly charming DC folkster Stranger in the Alps, Soft Cat (Baltimore) and Mutual Benefit (NYC), two other fine folk acts. You’re going because (a.) I am and (b.) Louis Weeks’ music compels you to.
Are you ready to get your blessings & light on, DC? Tonight join the Reverend Dr. Stevedore Maybelline Bidet Esq. and Youth Minister Kathy Piechota at the Some Souls Church Night upstairs at Wonderland Ballroom to save your soul and enjoy a communion of “shots & tots”. The service for this evening features sexy witness to faith Bella La Blanc, humorous storytelling from Hillary Scofield and praise band Go Cozy. Here’s a video of Rev. Bidet nuzzling with feline of the Lord CHAZ, appropriately set to “Make A New Friend” by truly blessed DC praise band BRNDA.
Gypsy Sally’s, one of DC’s finest new music venues, turns 1 year old this week. With a focus on twang, folk and Americana, they kick off their anniversary celebration tonight with a show curated by our buds at Listen Local First. “All Things Local” features many of our songwriting faves: Bobby Thompson, Jackson Edwards, Jonny Grave, Tom McBride, Justin Trawick and today’s featured musician Letitia Van Sant. Splitting her time between DC and her hometown of Baltimore, she frequently tours with Tom Liddle, David McKinley-Ward and Will McKinley-Ward as The Bonafides. Watch a live performance of her and David singing “Parts & Labor”, title track from an upcoming release, and don’t miss her playing solo at Gypsy Sally’s tonight!
At noon today DC’s highest profile rapper Wale released the trailer for his hotly anticipated The Album About Nothing. The three minute video has Wale recounting his personal growth over the last year that featured a number of high profile beefs and meltdowns. The new release’s title harkens back to Wale’s notable 2008 release The Mixtape About Nothing and features extensive collaboration with Wale’s obsession Jerry Seinfeld himself. While we wait just a bit longer for a release date, check out Wale’s most recent music video “Golden Salvation”, from the 2013 release The Gifted.
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