The MARC train shuttles commuters around in Maryland, but doesn’t get any closer to Virginia than DC’s Union Station. The members of Annandale “dream rock” band A MARC Train Home can’t actually take the rail to their homes, and perhaps that’s just part of the dream. The fuzzy 90s-influenced quartet released their FREE debut full length album It’s Easier To Make A Mess back in late 2014, along with this curious music video for “Now What?”. Cynthia Sofia Cabrera’ video showcases the band rocking out in a leaf-strewn backyard while also presenting a strange narrative of a gorilla eating a banana and getting busted for drugs by Batgirl and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. What’s not to love? Catch them next at Tree House Lounge on Wednesday June 10th.
Hometown Sounds
Showing The World How DC Rocks
Monthly Archives: May 2015
Podcast for May 27th, 2015 feat. Sam McCormally of Fellow Creatures
Special guest DJ Sam McCormally of Fellow Creatures picks out some of his favorite DC songs!
Tracklisting:
Slow Machete – Gray Eyed Bird [Mango Tree]
Louis Weeks – Antelope [haha]
Redline Graffiti – Appetites [End the World+]
Caitlin Schneiderman – Your Way [Your Way single]
Tigers Are Bad for Horses – I.V. (Poisoned) [I.V. (Poisoned) single]
The Bumper Jacksons – When the Sun Goes Down in Harlem [Sweet Momma, Sweet Daddy, Come In]
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We’ll Be Back Shortly
We’re taking a little break from the DC music podcasts and videos this week while Paul moves to a new apartment in Arlington. Back next week!
Loud Boyz – 4 The Ladies video
Like funk and go-go, hardcore punk will always be a respected part of DC’s musical DNA. Loud Boyz are a hardcore band equally well suited to screaming and fast drum beats as they are posing for dramatic photos on and off stage. Their debut LP Tough Love, Hard Feelings doesn’t come out until July 5th, but local label Cricket Cemetery teased us with a powerful track from that release, “Knives”.
Their debut track, the party anthem “4 The Ladies”, got this fun music video treatment a while back from Scott Pitocco and Jack Eddy, and is currently available on 7″ vinyl in boring black or debaucherous absinthe colors. Catch them kicking off the Beach Fuzz record release party from Shark Week this Saturday at the Dance Loft on 14th, sure to be the party of the weekend.
The Orchid – Beyond The Vast, Endless Sea video
This Saturday at the Velvet Lounge instrumental post-rock skygazers The Orchid return to the stage after a two and a half year absence. We featured their most recent release Shadowing Lull on a recent episode of the Hometown Sounds podcast, and today we’re throwing it back with this short music video from a few years ago. This is a short “album teaser” for their 2012 release Beyond The Vast, Endless Sea, shot by Zach Robbins out in picturesque Charlottesville. If you like interesting sonic experiments with hauntingly beautiful strings and creepy electronics, this is a band to check out! Catch them with The Dealbreakers, A Troop of Echoes and our fave instrumentalists ShowPony at Velvet Lounge this Saturday night.
Brutalism – New Empire video
Earlier this week the fine folks at WAMU’s Bandwidth premiered the first music video from dance music trio Brutalism. Though some might be dismayed that a band called Brutalism doesn’t play some form of metal, the 80s style synthpop from producers Gavin Holland and Ben Bruno and the dominant, shouty vocals from Zach Carter really light up the dance floor. Though official album or EP releases are still to come, the trickle of single tracks continues with this dark tale of Soviet oppression. The video is a mix of old movie footage complimenting the feel of the song and lyrics, so you don’t miss the song’s demented message. I can’t wait to see these guys live!
Prinze George – Upswing video
Swimming against the tide, the synthpop trio Prinze George returned to their homeland of Prince Georges County from Brooklyn a couple of years ago. Perhaps it had something to do with the name of their band, comprised of vocalist Naomi Almquist, drummer Isabelle De Leon and producer Kenny Grimm. The second single from their recently released debut self-titled EP, “Upswing”, is also their first music video, and the visuals are nothing short of impressive. The crisp and powerful production from the song go well with director Chavvah Stuart’s haunting images of Naomi plunging into a forlorn, leaf-strewn swimming pool. The synthpop scene in the DC area continues to grow stronger, poised someday soon for the widespread recognition it deserves. Catch Prinze George at the Firefly music festival kickoff party at the Howard Theatre on Saturday June 6th.
JunkYard Band – Freak Inn video
As an enthusiastic music fan, it’s a bittersweet rush to know in advance that you’re seeing someone’s last performance ever. Speaking from experience, farewell shows are often rollercoasters of emotion for their hardcore fans.
DC go-go legends JunkYard Band played a phenomenal set at the second annual DC Funk Parade this year, as new fans drawn by the hype mingled with longtime fans singing along to their 1986 hit “Sardines” at full volume. It’s the sort of show that DC needs more of, crossing barriers of race, class and musical tastes to celebrate this city’s culture.
However, everyone was shocked and saddened to discover that Saturday’s show would be the last for JunkYard bassist and manager Derek Anthony “House” Colquitt, who died in a motorcycle accident just one day after their show. The best one can say after such a horrible tragedy is that House went out at the top, bringing that unmistakeable go-go beat and bassline to an enthusiastic crowd of old and new DC.
Quality, presentable videos of JunkYard Band are hard to come by, but here’s a music video they made back in 2010 of a soulful and dirty song called “Freak Inn”. If you were elsewhere at 4 PM last Satudray, check out toolboxdc’s live video of “Sardines” at The Lot at Union Kitchen/Atlantic Plumbing and kick yourself for missing it.
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