Last week electronic rock duo Catscan! unleashed the second single from their unbelievably catchy full length album Challenger Deep, a generous pay-what-you-want download on their Bandcamp. Mason Shelby and Paul Tsiaperas still know how to do a proper single release in 2015, making a goofy music video for “Voodoo Dollhouse” with plenty of burning dollhouse footage, and a dance remix by Eric Randall with rapping from Height Keech. Furthering the generosity, both the remix and the original are available for further manipulation under a Creative Commons license, so other bedroom noodlers should see how far this earworm can go. Mark your calendars for Catscan!’s next live show on Saturday October 17th at the Velvet Lounge with Electric Grandmother, ShowPony and Aggressive Pedestrian.
Hometown Sounds
Showing The World How DC Rocks
The Grey A – Dumb Fool
Georgetown’s classy Americana-focused venue Gypsy Sally’s celebrates 2 years of music with an anniversary show this evening featuring Jim Lauderdale and Human Country Jukebox. But their intimate Vinyl Lounge space hosts another in their free Capital Americana series, tonight featuring a fantastic lineup that includes Uptown Boys Choir and The Grey A. In true Washington fashion, The Grey A’s single “Dumb Fool” speaks to the need for campaign finance reform as a precondition to tackling the big issues of the day. This slick music video, a classic noir tale of murder and mistaken identity, comes from NYC film maker Adio Ash of Impaired Films. See them tonight for free and grab their 2014 debut full length album My Country.
Clones of Clones – Somebody Else
A vibrant music scene needs more than just great bands. Bloggers, show promoters, labels, photogs and podcasters (ahem) all play a vital part in getting crowds interested and involved. DC is rather lucky to have a videographer like Nigel Lyons to craft such polished visuals for acts as diverse as Paperhaus, The North Country, Outputmessage, ACME and the Jonathan Parker’s Panel Counsel jazz ensemble. Indie rockers Clones of Clones are the latest to get the video treatment from Lyons for their new single “Somebody Else” off their upcoming full length Monster Heart. The lovesick plot might seem straightforward at first, but the finish is worth a second glance.
Podcast for September 8th, 2015 feat. Bobby Thompson
Blues rocker Bobby Thompson drops by the Hometown Sounds podcast to talk about his favorite tracks and preview his new record “Live At Iota”.
Tracklisting:
Bobby Thompson – Down To Here [Live at Iota]
Lauren Calve – Sweep [Between The Creek And The Tracks]
Laura Tsaggaris – Only In Daydreams [Live at the Atlas]
Whisky Legs – Needy Woman
Bobby Thompson – Nobody’s Fool [Live at Iota]
Laura Cheadle – The Best that It Could Feel
Or listen in SoundCloud:
Subscribe to the Hometown Sounds podcast in the iTunes Store or your favorite podcast app! (and tell a friend too!)
Brutalism – Friday Night (Home Invasion)
Kids, let me tell you about a glorious time us old folk lived through called the 80s. It was glorious. Hair like you wouldn’t believe. And cars! Those spiffy cars even got their own TV shows, like Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard.
Brutalism, the over-the-top synthpop group featuring Gavin Holland, Ben Bruno and Zach Carter, mine this treasure trove in their newest music video for the deranged single “Friday Night (Home Invasion)”. The first few times I heard the single I got lost in the feel-good dance party grooves, but the music video doesn’t let you miss the dark lyrics about home invasion and murder. So why not pair that song with visuals of cheesy computer graphics, hardcore action flicks and the carefree joy of taking a Pontiac Stinger on the beach? Brutalism seems to know a hidden formula for genius, because I’ve never seen modern synthpop, 80s video clips and murder work so well together anywhere else.
The Obsessives – Camping
“Camping”, the debut music video from emo duo The Obsessives, is firmly rooted in the high school experience. Childhood friends Nick Bairatchnyi and Jackson Mansfield recently left that ordeal of youth behind, but the plaintive lyrics and intense but unhurried music reflects that time when everything seems to matter so much. The video footage is what I expect smartphone-equipped youth assemble these days to remember the important times with friends that are about to change and vanish forever. The Obsessives’ debut full length album Heck No, Nancy comes out September 18th on Near Mint Records, but you can make their day and pre-order it now.
BRNDA – Snacks
Sometimes Dave wears a dress. Sometimes Leah wears a tie. Sometimes Johnny wears a full suit. Sometimes Alex wears a totally sweet hot pink blazer. BRNDA infuses the post-punk aesthetic with a hugely welcome dose of wackiness, as balloons, streamers and painted banners cover the debut music video for “Snacks” and render the well-known DIT venue Paperhaus almost unrecognizable. “It’s a party!” Dave howls, and BRNDA’s high-energy performances always make it party-time, with or without snacks. BRNDA’s new album Year of the Manatee is out now on Babe City Records, and their next show is at the newly relocated Bathtub Republic on Saturday September 19th with Puff Pieces, Positive No and Teen Liver.
Podcast for August 24th, 2015
Facebook wants Paul to invite his mom to everything, and Tony is obsessed with a certain spooky TV show from the 90s.
Tracklisting:
The Do-Likes – Time to Take You Home [The Do-Likes]
Clones of Clones – Somebody Else
Collider – Collide [Collider Demo]
June Gloom – Anniversary [Sad Summer 2013]
Jason Mullinax – Hello, Human! [Home World]
Fort Knox Five – Blowing Up The Spot feat. Akil Dasan [10 Years of Fort Knox Five]
Or listen in SoundCloud:
Subscribe to the Hometown Sounds podcast in the iTunes Store or your favorite podcast app! (and tell a friend too!)
#TBT The Cowards Choir – Is This A Wrecking Ball
Here’s the thing about being a fan of local bands: the only thing constant is change. Local bands can come and go, change their names, lineups and style, sometimes before you even realize what happened. Casual music fans don’t have to worry about this so much with Walk The Moon or The Weeknd or whoever, but at the local level, all bets are off.
Andy Zipf’s talented quartet The Cowards Choir, with Ben Tufts, Adam Neubauer and Ryan Walker, came together by accident but quickly developed some powerful chemistry and one of last year’s best releases, the four song EP Cool Currency, which you can still download for whatever price you like at NoiseTrade. When people would ask me who was worth checking out in the DC music scene, I’d generally first steer them towards The Cowards Choir, and made them as many new fans as I could.
Sadly in 2015 things stalled for the band as they prepared material for an anticipated full length album. First percussionist Ben Tufts announced his imminent departure, and recently drummer Adam Neubauer followed suit. The last two shows featuring the original lineup are tonight at the Black Cat and Saturday at the annual Ben Tufts & Friends charity fundraiser at Jammin’ Java. While Andy Zipf will continue on both solo and with other supporting musicians, these are your last chances to see his finely crafted songs backed by two of the finest drummers in this town.
It’s #TBT so watch the excellent music video they made last year for “Is This A Wrecking Ball”. See you at the show.
Jonny Grave – Tear Me Down (Live at the Corcoran)
The mellowness of DC in the middle of August provide some excellent opportunities for local musicians. Tonight DC’s blues troubadour Jonny Grave headlines the prestigious 9:30 Club with support from Derek Evry & His Band of Misanthropes and Olivia Mancini & The Mates. Jonny, Derek and Olivia are three very different musicians who share a love of the city and its musical scene. If you don’t yet know them personally, you might be surprised at the level of enthusiasm these talented personalities are going to generate at DC’s finest venue tonight. For a Friday afternoon warm up, watch Jonny Grave perform “Tear Me Down”, from his 2013 solo album The Hammer, live at the Corcoran in the Salon Doré last year. See you tonight, obviously.
Hometown Sounds 