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January 16, 2012

Bargain Bin Beauties: My Favorite Finds of 2011

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2011 was the year of the record for me. Not a single collection of songs, but rather a physical entity and a format. When 2011 started, my record collection fit in a corner of a bookshelf. As 2011 ends my collection fills three full shelves, three empty boxes of cat food for 45s, organized by loose genres and alphabatized within collections: Pacific Northwest, Pre-War Blues & Jazz, Country and Folk, Post-Genre (New), Dance Party and my “Most Played” section so I didn’t have to debate what a “classic” was (and if a bad Ringo Starr record was a classic, because he’d been a Beatle). Last time I tried to count the records, I stopped near 400, having not even begun to touch my crammed 45s, and I realize this is just the beginning.

These are ten of my favorite finds over the last year of crate digging. What was your favorite find of 2011?

10. Dillard and Clark – Through The Morning, Through The Night Found: Sonic Boom – Ballard

Here’s why taking the time to comb through your local record stores is better than the instant satisfaction of buying your holy grail record online, beyond the whole supporting a local business. This out of print Dillard and Clark record goes for over $40 on sites like discogs and ebay, if you can find it, but if you patiently thumb through used bins, you might find an impeccable copy for $8. You also might yelp in excitement and frighten Sonic Boom browsers around you … but for this little known classic, it’s totally worth the embarrassment.

If it weren’t such an obscure record, I’d think it was seminal listening for anyone playing Ballard Avenue twang today. Featuring the duo of bluegrass banjo virtuoso Doug Dillard and original Byrd and country rock forefather, Gene Clark. At the forefront of what we now call “Americana”, Through The Morning, Through the Night is full of great original songs, traditionals like “I Bowed My Head and Cried Holy” and “Rocky Top” and perhaps my favorite Beatles cover ever, a down-tempo twang rendition of “Don’t Let Me Down.”

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09. Numero Group #17: Eccentric Soul – The Deep City Label Found: Mississippi Records – Portland, Oregon

I’m kind of cheating on this inclusion, as I bought it brand new … but it is cover-to-cover all-killer, no-filler and if you ever see it at a record store forsake all other purchases and pick this one up. The price tag may seem a little steep, as most Numero Group releases do, but remember it is a double LP and it is worth every penny spent. Put this record on when you’re alone and its an instant, soul and booty shaking party. Put this record on when you’re not alone and its a make out soundtrack extraordinaire.

08. Arthur & Yu – Don’t Piss in the Fire Found: Everyday Music

With Grant Olsen’s latest project Gold Leaves being one of my most listened to albums of 2011, I was giddy to find this dreamy creamsicle colored Sub Pop single from his last project Arthur & Yu in the used bins. My find was confirmed as victorious by the nodding approval of the guy behind the counter, followed by a grumbling, “Damn, I wish I’d seen that first.”

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07. Gene Clark – White Light Found: Twist and Shout Records – Denver, Colorado

After Greg Vandy recommended picking up this record on his excellent blog American Standard Time, I wasn’t the only vinyl lover who went looking for it in Seattle. Store after store, a perplexed clerk would tell me that I was the third or fourth person coming in to look for Gene Clark’s stellar second solo album and that no, they didn’t have it. So I was delighted when a gorgeous copy stared back at me in Denver’s cavernous Twist and Shout Records. White Light is a hidden classic and on it Clark helps invent what is known and loved now as “Americana” and cosmic country. It rambles at all the right places, like the cover of Dylan and The Bands “Tears of Rage” and the original songs that have inspired local bands like The Moondoggies and Sons of Warren Oates leave you wondering why Clark isn’t recognized as one of his generations finest songwriters. An album like White Light is ripe for a reissue and however you get your hands on it, even if it takes leaving the state, I recommend you do.

06. S – I’m Not As Good As You Found: Sonic Boom Records

Coming in at #7 on our 25 Favorite Northwest Records of 2010 and #4 on my personal list, finding a copy of the import only I’m Not As Good As You was a bit like discovering unicorns exist by stumbling on one in the wild. I had no idea this beautiful bummer was ever pressed to wax and while $18.99 was a bit steep for the reality of my bank account, there was no way this record wasn’t coming home with me. Because I’m Not As Good As You has only gotten better with time, more devastating in its honesty, more lovely in its loneliness. And were I writing that Best of 2010 list today, I would fight for it to be ranked much higher. Since her days with Carissa’s Wierd Jen Ghetto has been writing the best sad songs in all of Seattle, if not the country. She continues to do so solo as “S” and I’m Not As Good As You is equal parts heartbreak and stunner.

See my top five vinyl finds of 2011 (more…)

July 25, 2011

Bargain Bin Beauties: My Five Best Vinyl Finds of June

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There are few things in the world as calming and invigorating for me than digging through the used bins of my favorite local independent record stores. The act alone turns me into an explorer and when my thumb flips to the record I’ve been hoping to find, that buried sonic treasure, my creaky knees and the 200 copies of Steely Dan’s Aja I passed are totally worth it.

Ever since I became a regular comber of the used bins of Seattle record stores, I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to share my favorite finds and shops with you here on Sound on the Sound, but with the news that both Sonic Boom and Everyday Music are closing their current locations on Capitol Hill, finding a clever way seems less important than just letting you know about the great shops and finds out there. So while this might not be its permanent form, here’s the first edition of my monthly 5 Most Treasured Vinyl Finds.

1. Hoquiam – s/t Found: Spin Cycle Records Cost: $12.00

This record was meant to be mine. You see, back in March of 2010, Hoquiam hosted their record release party at Cairo with a limited number of hand made album covers. I debated back and forth between this one and another that said “Zombies Eat Your Flesh” with a torn map of King County modge-podged to the scrap paper. Taking into account “Zombies of the Sea,” one of my favorite tracks off the album, I settled on the zombie cover and made my way back into the cramped concert. About five minutes later, trapped in the far corner of Cairo, I realized I made a terrible mistake and the cover I should’ve chose declared “Drake and Kurt: we were born here.” Drake being Drake Jurado of Hoquiam and Kurt, of course, being Kurt Cobain. I ignored politeness and made my way back through the crowd to the small merch table to exchange records, but it was gone. Someone, probably one of those people I’d ungraciously passed on my way out, had bought my record.

Fast-forward to my first visit to Spin Cycle, Broadway’s new record store. As I’m flipping through their excellent used indie section, I spy it, my record. I gasp audibly and grab it as if some ghost in the otherwise empty store is going to snatch the record from under my nose again. When I go to the counter the owner nods approvingly at the record and says, “Nice find.” “You have no idea,” I tell him.

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2. Songs from the Taverns of the Pacific Northwest Found: Sonic Boom – Capitol Hill Cost: 15% Off Something I found in the “Collector’s” Section

Usually, I don’t bother even thumbing through the “Collector’s” section at record stores as the prices are usually way outside anything I can conceivably afford to spend on a record. But one sunny Sunday, I made the mistake at Sonic Boom and stumbled upon this gem of “Songs of the Taverns of the Pacific Northwest.” Budget be damned, I had to have it.

Recorded in the summer and winter of 1975, featuring tavern (we call those dive bars now) artists from Seattle, Vancouver BC and Portland, Oregon. The album is described as being “Put together by the musicians who attempt to make a living in the taverns, it is a tribute to the good times had and the good music that is played in the local bars where people gather to talk, drink, shake it off, meet, and dance.” Featuring songs from dive bar bands like Les Clamtones, Lance Romance & the 3 Minute Boogie, Cement City Cowboys and Lance Romance — it’s a fascinating glimpse into what I would’ve been watching at The Blue Moon if I’d been born 30 years earlier. And a song like “I’ve Been Playing Guitar on the Toilet Too Long” is worth what I paid for the record alone.

See the rest of my favorite finds, (more…)

January 31, 2011

Sound on the Sound’s Top 25 Northwest Albums of 2010

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Damien Jurado Dan Mangan Drew Grow & The Pastor’s Wives Fences Pearly Gate Music Ravenna Woods The Head and the Heart The Lonely Forest The Moondoggies Wild Orchid Children Sound on the Sound Presents
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We’ll be the first to admit this list is arriving, oh, at least a month late. On the other hand, 2010 was an expansive year for Northwest music in many regards and worthy of chronicling one last time with thoughtful and focused intention. So we hope you will see that the extra time we’ve given this piece has led to more in-depth reviews of each release in a way that a December 31st publish date didn’t allow. Hopefully you’ll read one of them and discover a great local record that you missed in 2010 proper.

Unlike some other lists who will cite being on a Northwest label as being a candidate for a “Best of the Northwest” list, ours only includes bands from and making music in the Northwest right now. We’ve expanded to include Vancouver to the north, south to Cottage Grove, west to Forks and east to (at least) Billings, however there’s no denying, our list is heavily Puget Sound area-centered, and mostly Seattle at that. We didn’t pay as close attention to Portland and Vancouver as we should have in 2010, something we plan on remedying in 2011.

With that please enjoy our take on the 25 most significant records we heard from the Pacific Northwest in 2010.

 

 

 

25. Fences – s/t

“Clocking in just over 30 minutes, the long-awaited debut establishes it was worth the wait with the first strums of “Girls With Accents,” whose chorus of “I’m fucking up, I’m fucking up everything” is destined to become a teenage anthem. But this album isn’t just for moody teenagers. Fences sings sad songs filled with snide sweetness, self-deprecation and a confessional honesty that hits home to anyone whose been brave enough to admit they fucked up and flawed enough to do the same thing all over again.” [abbey]

 

24. Wild Orchid Children – Are Alexander Supertramp

Were you ever young? Nod your head “yes.” What did you do when you were young? I’m not talking elementary school age, that’s real kids stuff. Let’s focus on the beast that is adolescence. What did you do when you were young? Did you do what your parents told you? If so, you probably listen to (insert conventional musician using complex social analysis matrix here). Were you a bookworm or liked to secretly play with action figures even though you were probably too old for it? If so, you probably listened to Hum. (editor’s note: Hum totally rules…I swear I left the GI Joe’s alone.) Did you get inebriated in the woods behind a strangers house on the beer you kept buried in the ground, then had Roman Candle fights in a neighboring cul-da-sac? Did you go skating at night and drink beer out of your own Vans sneaker? Did you do acid and see thousands of David the Gnomes come parading out of your bathroom as you tried to sleep? If so, you probably listen to Wild Orchid Children.

That’s exactly what this album is like. It’s like lighting your friends’ parents roof on fire by accident then instead of calling 9-1-1, you decide to make Smores on the ashes. The insurance company has its eyebrows raised. Are you an arsonist? You tell them to fuck off go kick rocks. You are Alexander Supertramp. [Phil]

 

 

23. Lesbian – Stratospheria Cubensis

Lesbian enjoys buttering up the listener with unassuming riffs at the beginning of their songs. Take the beginning Raging Arcania or Black Stygian for instance. The former being otherwordly while the latter is an obtuse delight. Eventually Lesbian decides your peace of mind is a bad joke and they’re not laughing. Insert weird metal breakdown here. Lesbian does something a lot of metal bands don’t but should. The band will throw in thrashy parts out of nowhere, creating quite the tempo shift. During these “brutal” fits, you would expect conventional usage of blast beats but Lesbian will not cave in to the needs of mundane metalheads across the globe. They stay true to their original outlandish form. After a few minutes of putting your mind in a blender, Lesbian decides that your pain bores them. The magical mushrooms that the band ingested before they decided to fuck-with-you-for-the-fun-of-it have worn off. They decide against taking you to Harborview because you don’t have insurance. They suture your skull back together with rusty, mostly heavier gauged guitar strings. That’s exactly what listening to this band is like. A prime example of this occasionally interrupted mayhem is the album’s title track. [Phil]

 

22. Language Arts & Def Dee – Gravity

Though it was a tough choice (a really tough choice) between the two full length albums LA put out this year (the other being Roll With The Winners with producer Blu-Ray), it may have been the warm feeling of nostalgia that surfaced while listening to Gravity that kept it on repeat for such a large part of the year. LA is arguably the most lyrically sound MC in the area code, from street-side cyphers to formidable entries on wax, and Def Dee’s classic east coast style, lowest-fi production, the sixteen tracks feel timeless. [Todd]

 

 

21. Baltic Cousins – s/t EP

“I’m the same as I was that day…” – Break Bread

It’s like they were there, but they weren’t.

All of us can reach back into our past and select a day. Depending on which day we take hold, the meaning and the outcome of those moments would be different. Close your eyes and think for a second. What day did you choose and would you change anything about it? Did you say the right things? Did you make the right decision? Has anything about you changed from the brief moment you selected? Is regret a shadow that follows you constantly even though we never see the sun around here?

The self-titled demo released by Baltic Cousins resonates heavily with those who hear it. There is not much to their bare approach to songwriting. No bass. No keys. No additional percussionist. This Bellingham supergroup doesn’t need the bells and whistles of the current dog and pony show that is indie rock. What Baltic Cousins lacks in number of members or presentation they make up for with remarkable honesty that is manifested in both lyrical and musical form. [Phil]

 

20. Frog Eyes – Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph

My husband suggested the following review for this album: “Weird, but worth it.”

Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph is an intricate concerto of noise, Bach for the rock and roll era. Seemingly influenced by everything from Dinosaur Jr. to Baptist preaching, this record is a master class in bringing together a slew of disparate influences into a harmonious – if not particularly melodic – whole. Sometimes delicate, sometimes rushing and rattling like a runaway train, Paul’s Tomb is a howling journey through frontman Carey Mercer’s brain. [Brittney]

 

Read the rest of our Top 25 Northwest Albums of 2010 after the jump (more…)

January 16, 2011

Abbey’s 20 Favorite Local Records of 2010

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Damien Jurado ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Our big, written properly, not just a list of The Top 25 Northwest Albums of 2010 is coming soon, really, WE PROMISE. But today I wanted to share my personal favorites of 2010. Also, my number one most listened to local album of 2010 was basically a “Best Of” compilation, so I decided not to include it. If I had though, Carissa’s Wierd’s They’ll Only Miss You When You Leave would be perched near the very top.

1. Damien Jurado – Saint Bartlett 2. The Moondoggies – Tidelands and You’ll Find No Answers Here 3. The Head and The Heart – s/t 4. S – I’m Not As Good At It As You 5. Dan Mangan – Nice Nice Very Nice 6. Avians Alight – s/t 7. Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives – s/t 8. Hoquiam – s/t 9. Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam Band – Where the Messengers Meet 10. Ravenna Woods – Demons and Lakes

Ravenna Woods ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

11. Lemolo – Singles EP 12. The Lonely Forest – s/t EP 13. The Lights – Failed Graves 14. What What Now – Fingers and Toes 15. Baltic Cousins – s/t EP 16. Joseph Giant – s/t 17. Salmon Thrasher – What Gives and Thrashin’ USA 18. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis – The Vs. Remixes 19. Hobosexual – s/t 20. Shannon Stephens – s/t

Four albums I love that I haven’t had enough time with to make a judgment … my best guess though? Had they come out earlier in the year, they’d be in that Top 20:

The Solvents – Forgive Yr. Blood Drew Grow – The Comfort Feel EP Le Sang Song – s/t Cobirds Unite – s/t

January 12, 2011

Josh’s Favorite Records of 2010

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Since I’m later than everyone else and am expounding (and have expounded) elsewhere plenty on 2010 I’ll keep this one short. The following is a list of the most compelling records I heard in 2010. Not coincidentally these really were the records I actually listened to most. To my mind, every one of my choices exists as a whole record, and not just a collection of individual singles, so, in my humble opinion, every single record on this list is worthy of taking the time to listen all the way through to be absorbed fully.

Since I only did twenty songs for 2010, I also limited myself to an unordered list of twenty records (plus a few stellar EP’s). Click the link on a band name to see what we’ve wrote about them in 2010.

(more…)

December 16, 2010

Abbey’s Favorite Songs of 2010

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Sharon Van Etten “Love More” ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

If my 2010 was a mix tape (or a couple mix tapes as it were), these would be the tracks. These were the songs that were my most frequent and adored companions of 2010. They’re the songs I’ll know the words to for the rest of my life. They’re largely local, though my favorite song of 2010 hands down, no questions asked, comes courtesy of Sharon Van Etten. I’ve listened “Love More” at least a hundred times more than any other track. I still think in just over 5 minutes, Sharon Van Etten manages to accomplish what most artists spend a lifetime trying to attain: perfection.

This list only covers my favorite songs released in 2010, though many of my most cherished discoveries and companions weren’t born of 2010. (A list not specified by date of release would include a lot of Carissa’s Wierd, Baptist Generals and early Damien Jurado.) Speaking of Damien Jurado, he’s noticeably missing from this list, despite releasing one of my favorite records of 2010. Why? Because Saint Bartlett is an album, in full and despite a hundred listens, I couldn’t single out one song as a favorite and saying “all of them” seemed like a cop out. Also, you won’t see “Airplanes” by Local Natives, “What Took So Long” by The Moondoggies or “Vanderlyle Cry Baby” by The National on this list, though they were doubtlessly favorites. That’s because they made my lists for 2009 … that’s what you get for being ahead of the curve.

p.s. I say “favorite” because I can’t say these are the best songs of 2010, my listening isn’t broad enough to make such a statement, but I hope you find something you love all the same.

My Favorite Songs of 2010

* “Love More” by Sharon Van Etten | download song| * “Down in the Valley” and “The Sea Beside Me” by The Head and The Heart |watch video | download song| * “It Just Makes Sense to Me” and “It’s a Shame, It’s A Pity” by The Moondoggies | download the song | * “Ghost of the Beast” by Kelli Schaefer | watch video | * “Go Back to Virgina” by The Maldives | watch video| * “Song for November” by Chris Pureka | Download the Daytrotter Session| * “War” by Le Sang Song | listen to song | * “King on the Throne” by Drew Grow | stream the song | * “Live There” by The Lonely Forest | download the song | * “Unico” by Avians Alight | stream the entire debut album | * “It All Comes Right” and “Spider” by Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives | watch video | * “Finish With Starting” and “Neck Bones” by Hoquiam | watch the video | * “Not a Problem” by S

* “New New” by The Lights |download the song| * “Road Regrets” and “Pine for Cedars” by Dan Mangan | watch the video| * “Otherside” (Remix) by Macklemore and Fences | stream the song | * “Excuses” by The Morning Benders | watch video | * “My Silver Hands” by Case Studies | listen to the song| * “Fara” by Baltic Cousins | listen to the song| * “Albatross” by The Besnard Lakes | download the song| * “Night Might” by The Strange Boys | download the song | * “Never Wanted You” by Dave Bazan | watch video| * “Right Angle” by What What Now * “Mr Peterson” by Perfume Genius | download the song| * “Grey Wizard” by The Sandwitches | download the song|

* “Who Loves” by Lemolo * “Days in my Room” by Nick Jaina | watch the video | * “Penthouse Lover” by Hobosexual | listen to the song| * “Grow” by Land of Pines | stream their debut EP| * “Shades of Blue” by Luke Stevens |stream the song| * “Nothing But Our Love” and “Simple Girl” by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. | watch the video | * “Ex” by The Mallard| download the song | * Stumbling 22nd St.” by Moon Duo | download the song | * “Love is All” by The Tallest Man on Earth | watch the video | * “Crows” by Cousin Dud | download the song | * “Girls With Accents” by Fences

December 7, 2010

Abbey’s Favorite Concerts of 2010

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Zoe Muth The Moondoggies The Maldives The Head and the Heart Shabazz Palaces Fresh Espresso Damien Jurado Columbia City Theater Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival Sasquatch! Music Festival Sound on the Sound Presents
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If you hadn’t gathered, we go to a lot of shows here at Sound on the Sound. For the past four years, I’ve been at shows more nights than not and with the surge of amazing music happening in Seattle, I could truthfully go to two or three shows a night and still miss something great. Reflecting on all the phenomenal performances I’ve been treated to in 2010, I feel spoiled and humbled. Knowing there’s still a few weeks left in 2010 and that there’ll surely be at least one more show that would qualify for this list, makes me feel excited.

Knowing that and that I will surely fidget with the order of the list after I hit publish, here are my 20 Favorite shows of 2010. They span festivals and venues big and small and the list, while not enumerated, is in a ranked order with my very favorite at the top. I tried not to include every single Drew Grow & The Pastors’ Wives show I saw in 2010, but it was hard. This list, since its a photographic representation, only includes shows where I was allowed to have my camera, which means hands down one of the best shows of the year is not on it: Shabazz Palaces at Neumos back in January. With those disclaimers, I’m happy to share my favorite shows of 2010. And, of course, I want to know: what was your favorite show of 2010?

See you in the front row in 2011!

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The Head and The Heart at The High Dive

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Justin Townes Earle at Birds on a Wire – Pullman, WA

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Doe Bay Fest

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BARE at The Fremont Abbey

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Columbia City Theater’s Grand Re-Opening Weekends

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Goldfinch and Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives at The Comet

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The Maldives and Zoe Muth at The Blue Moon for Our Birthday

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The Moondoggies Surprise Acoustic Set at Bumbershoot

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Hoquiam at Cairo

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Every Sound on the Sound Presents Show at Columbia City Theater

After the jump the rest of my favorites and a few videos from them: (more…)

December 6, 2010

Our Year in Photos (and Videos) 2010: Hoquiam

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Hoquiam ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Few musicians have been more prolific than Damien Jurado in 2010. Not only did he release the stunning Saint Bartlett, a new song every week in the months leading up to the album’s May release and a cover album with Bartlett producer Richard Swift, he also released a pleasantly haunted hyper-local album with brother Drake, under the moniker Hoquiam. Singing about the Pacific Northwest of my childhood, of Ocean Shores and Gray’s Harbor tragedies, a headstone made by Mt. Rainier and begging to be buried in the Puget Sound — its quickly gained the status of quintessential local album.

But the truth is, it wasn’t Damien Jurado who most captivated me most during Hoquiam’s release show at Cairo back in early March, it was little brother Drake. Slight in his long frame and stoic, wearing sunglasses indoors and at night, Drake was so focused in his performance it made you want to take a step back. But crammed into a room the size of a small apartment’s living room and over-flowing with people, there was no stepping back and I stood paralytic, transfixed by the human-ness of the performance happening just inches away. It was as awkward and challenging to witness, at the same time it was lovely and sweet.

After a particularly intense song, where Drake broke from his statuesque stance and shook the room like a storm, he collapsed onto his keyboard for a moment of respite, recharge and perhaps to hide from what he’d just shown to a room full of strangers. That’s when I snapped the above photo (probably my favorite I took all year) and just as older brother Damien asked with a quizzical look on his face, a mix of concern and amusement, “You doing okay over there brother?” Drake, in his bellowing baritone, responded in the affirmative from folded arms, not yet ready to face the rest of the set. He stayed like that for another minute or so as a silent room buzzed internally … What would happen next? What was happening now?

When Drake arose slowly, the corners of his mouth were ever so slightly turned upwards in a smile. He may not be the best known of the Jurado brothers, but that night and in that moment, it was he who had us in the palm of his hand. And he knew it. He hadn’t been hiding in his arms, he’d been relishing.

And that makes me love this photo even more.


September 16, 2010

Hoquiam – “Zombies of the Sea” [video]

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Hoquiam ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

As a child growing up in Seattle in the ’80s, my family would drive every summer to the Peninsula. With our suitcases haphazardly strapped to the top of my parents old Subaru we would make the drive through the damp cedar forests of Western Washington and the small towns that had thrived and died on their wooden flesh. Depression clung to the air in the same way moisture did, its heavy presence was palpable and undeniable. We drove through towns like Hoquiam, WA, which seemed as far away from home as any place separated by thousands of miles, save the persistent gray that warmly cloaks my memories of a Northwest childhood. Passing through once booming mill towns, hacked and clear cut plots of land that all but bled and eventually the towering dense forests where I was certain we were being stalked by Sasquatch, this was the Washington of my childhood.

So is Hoquiam, the band. The project of Gray’s Harbor natives Damien and Drake Jurado, the band evokes that Washington more than any other music. Listening to their self-titled vinyl-only debut I can almost smell those cedar forests and the sickly sweet scent of seawater and rotting kelp that awaited us on the Washington Coast. I can feel the heaviness and desperation of those dying towns who still had the good old days fresh in their memory and the wildness that awaited just beyond their Main Streets.

Damien Jurado’s songs have often been described as “haunted” and Hoquiaum’s are haunted as well, but not in the same way. Damien’s solo songs are haunted with regret, with longing, with disappointment. Hoquiam’s songs are haunted as in a ghost with a murderous vendetta and malevolent spirits who’ve figured out how to wield chainsaws. Or as it is in Hoquiam’s brand new debut video, zombies from the sea.

March 2, 2010

Damien Jurado Video Round-Up: New and Old Favorites

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Last Friday Damien Jurado played a rare Seattle show to a packed house at the Sunset Tavern. That evening Damien treated the audience to new and old favorites alike, from Caught in the Trees, his forthcoming Secretly Canadian album Saint Bartlett, and three new songs that he has (or will be) featuring on his myspace in his new song a week challenge. Listen to “Arkansas” the first single off of Saint Bartlett courtesy of Secretly Canadian

I recorded my favorite of Damien’s newest new songs, “You For A While” and am so pleased to share the first video of the track here with you. After leaving the sold-out Sunset,  I realized there were some long forgotten and never uploaded videos of Damien from last fall’s “Show Me Your Tiffs” opening party  of two of my favorite tracks from the brilliant Caught in the Trees: “Sheets” and “Everything Trying.”  “Everything Trying” even features a little cameo of Damien’s wife, local photographer extraordinaire Sarah Jurado, helping him remember the first few words to the song. It was one of my favorite musical moments of last year and I’m so glad I caught it on camera.

Damien will be releasing a new song on his myspace tomorrow, the sold-out Sunset got a preview of it last Friday and I promise that you’ll be wanting to stop by his myspace for a listen. If you weren’t able to make last Friday’s show (or if you’re like me and you saw Damien last Friday and then again on Sunday and still can’t get enough), you can see catch him with brother Drake, this Friday as they celebrate the record release of their side-project, Hoquiam.