The musicians in most DC bands have pretty respectable day jobs: lawyers, programmers, government workers. The crazy nomads in the hippie funk band Watermelon strike me as the type to do what they want and wear what they want 24/7. This video by Mike Hsieh of Bowery Pictures captures the vibe of Watermelon’s Fall 2013 tour, set to an as-yet-unreleased song. Grab Watermelon’s excellent EP Sleepover from earlier this year, and mark your calendars for Friday January 10th to catch Watermelon blow the lid off of the Fillmore in Silver Spring with Violet Rocker & Awthentik, Incwell, Harmonic Blue and Super Nike Nando.
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Category Archives: video
Lowercase Letters – Lollipop video
Here’s a different take on a well-known hit song. Soulful group Lowercase Letters spins Lil Wayne’s 2008 single Lollipop into a sultry acoustic jam for House Studio DC‘s $5 Music Video series.
Tereu Tereu – Gratitude video
Ryan Little and Brendan Polmer make some excellent 90s lo-fi influenced indie rock as Tereu Tereu. They put out one of 2013’s best DC indie rock records Quadrants on Ryan’s label Bad Friend Records, alongside releases from Drunken Sufis, Fredricksburg’s Raw Feels and an archival single from Travis Morrison Hellfighters. Yesterday DCist premiered TT’s newest music video, the catchy earworm Gratitude with accompanying visuals by director Rahmin Atarod. Learn the lyrics and sing along next Thursday as Tereu Tereu opens our all-DC showcase with Showlist DC at Tropicalia, with Heavy Breathing and The Jet Age! I am even more pumped about next week’s show after this music video. Get your tickets now through ShowClix!
Marian McLaughlin – Before You Leave video
Marian McLaughlin has a refreshingly abstract take on folk music. The “dérive” technique she’s developed over the last few years involves a more subconscious and improvisational take on creating music. Marian’s debut release, an 8 song EP called Dérive, comes out January 15th, and she recently released a music video for the song “Before You Leave”. Zambia, the video’s director, captured the moody spirit of the song perfectly in the visuals. For more background, check out All Songs Considered’s recent First Watch post.
RDGLDGRN – Power Ups video
The eye-catching music videos from high-profile rap-rock act RDGLDGRN continue with Power Ups, a tribute to classic video games and especially Nintendo’s beloved Mario franchise, from their 2013 self-titled debut album. After touring the world as part of the Vans Warped Tour 2013, the colorful trio brings their sounds to headline U Street Music Hall on Sunday December 29th with support from ACME and Nike Nando.
The Thiefs – Desperate Man video
Rockville’s The Thiefs like to rock hard with sweet guitar solos and fast drum fills, but not take it all too seriously. Their newest DIY video, “Desperate Man”, features a pretty epic neighborhood chase from a scary dude in a gas mask. Grab the debut EP It’s Not You, It’s Us from their ReverbNation store, and see them next at the venerable Grog & Tankard in Fredricksburg this Saturday.
We Were Pirates – Kill Me (Pt. 3) video
Ok DC, I know it’s almost Thanksgiving and you’ve already checked out of this week, but we’ve got a lot to cover in this post. The excellent Calvin & Hobbes documentary Dear. Mr. Watterson is now out in theaters and video-on-demand at home, either through iTunes or directly from the filmmakers through VHX. You probably know that HTS fave We Were Pirates composed the score for this film, available for streaming and purchase at Bandcamp. Well the talented Mr. Mike Boggs also directed a music video for the score’s song Kill Me (Pt. 3), an eventful walk in the woods for a familiar-looking bird watcher. The fine folks at This American Life also used a song from the score in this past weekend’s episode, 512: House Rules. And mark your calendars for December 9th when WWP plays a hometown show on the rooftop of the W Hotel. Whew! Got all that?
And props to Mr. Boggs for rocking a fine Movember ‘stache.
The Cowards Choir – Where The Hand Don’t Hold Me Down (Live on The Cirus Life)
TICKET GIVEAWAY BELOW!
Our week featuring videos from Justin Trawick’s The Circus Life podcast comes to an end today. Circling around to where we began, today we’ve got another video from Andy Zipf’s new band The Cowards Choir featuring Ryan Walker, Ben Tufts and Adam Neubauer. “Where The Hand Don’t Hold Me Down” comes from their debut EP Reunion, a generous pay-what-you-want download courtesy of NoiseTrade.
The Cowards Choir is one of 5 bands playing at The Circus Life’s live event Saturday night at the Rock & Roll Hotel, including The Sweater Set, Black Masala, M.H. & His Orchestra and Justin Trawick’s own group. This is your last chance to enter to win a pair of tickets! Just leave us a comment below with your favorite DC band or musician. The contest ends at 4 PM this afternoon, so get on it. See you at the show!
Jasmine Gillison – I Get It (Live on The Circus Life)
Justin Trawick’s podcast The Circus Life is blowing up! In advance of the big show this Saturday night at the Rock & Roll Hotel, Justin and all-things-technical man Sean Russell are featured in a story in this morning’s Washington Post Express. The photo alone is worth the click! All this week we’re featuring live performance videos from the show, and today it’s singer-songwriter Jasmine Gillison’s turn, performing her signature tune I Get It.
And don’t forget that Hometown Sounds is giving away a pair of tickets to the live show on Saturday featuring M.H. & His Orchestra, Black Masala, The Cowards Choir, The Sweater Set and Justin Trawick’s own group. To enter the giveaway, just leave us a comment below telling us your favorite band or musician in the DC area. There’s only one more day left to enter, so don’t delay!
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