Blog Archives

December 30, 2011

Our Ten Favorite Local Records of 2011

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Cataldo Bryan John Appleby My Goodness Fleet Foxes Gold Leaves Radiation City Zoe Muth Wild Flag Shabazz Palaces Kelli Schaefer Sound on the Sound Presents
blackup

 

 

Now that we’ve reached the top of our favorite local records countdown, we wanted to have links to all the reviews in one convenient place.

While yes, all these albums were released by either Portland or Seattle bands, we hope you don’t get stuck on “local” as the important part of the descriptor. Because no one outside of the Pacific Northwest released records we loved more than Fleet Foxes, Shabazz Palaces or Zoe Muth and The Lost High Rollers. So please, focus instead on “favorite.”

It was such a rich year for albums from the Pacific Northwest we couldn’t possibly only share ten records we loved, nor could we enumerate what our 31st or our 23rd favorite records. So next week we’ll be sharing 25 more local records released in 2011 you shouldn’t miss, in much more manageable alphabetical order.

 

 

#1 Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues

#2 Shabazz Palaces – Black Up

#3 Zoe Muth and Her Lost High Rollers – Starlight Hotel

#4 Cataldo – Prison Boxing

#5 Bryan John Appleby – Fire on the Vine

#6 Radiation City – The Hands That Take You

#7 My Goodness – s/t

#8 Wild Flag – s/t

#9 Kelli Schaefer – Ghost of the Beast

#10 Gold Leaves – The Ornament

December 14, 2011

Abbey’s Favorite (Almost Entirely Local) Songs of 2011

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Bryan John Appleby Cataldo Charles Bradley Curtains For You Dan Mangan David Bazan Dolorean Fleet Foxes Gold Leaves Grand Hallway Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground Kelli Schaefer Lemolo My Goodness Pickwick Quiet Life Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside Shenandoah Davis The Head and the Heart Zoe Muth Radiation City Dude York Wild Flag

 

Kelli Schaefer ::: photo by Dylan Priest

 

 

Having fallen deep down a used-vinyl sized hole this year, I managed to completely miss most of the national blog buzz bands and mp3s making the press release copy&paste rounds of 2011, those things that so often fill end of the year lists. But considering the immense output from our little corner of the country, I don’t feel I suffered or starved for new songs to keep me company. These are the forty songs from 2011 that were my soundtrack and that I played on repeat. I’m not bold enough to say they are the best songs of 2011, but they are my favorites.

While this list is not enumerated, my very favorite song of the year, Kelli Schaefer’s heart-aching-to-the-point-of-breaking “Gone in Love,” is at the top with some other absolute favorites. “Gone in Love” is a song that has not lost its emotional wallop despite hundreds of listens and many live performances over the last 12 months. And every time I see Kelli sing it, I can’t stop my chin from quivering. “Gone in Love” isn’t just one of my favorite songs of 2011, it is one of my favorite songs.

That’s hardly true for every song on this list. Every year has its one-hit wonder and I have no shame in saying I played the hell out of 2011′s. Whether its a song that stays with you for decades or a song you only blast until the end of the year, I hope you might discover a new favorite of your own by taking a listen to some of mine.

 

 

“Gone in Love” – Kelli Schaefer “Before the Night is Gone” – Zoe Muth and Her Lost High Rollers “Montezuma” – Fleet Foxes “Letters” – Lemolo “I’m Not Leaving” – Big Sur

“I Found You” – Alabama Shakes “I’m Losing Myself” – Robin Pecknold / Edward Droste | download “Father’s Clothes” – Grand Hallway “Leaves, Trees, Forest” > “Rows of Houses” – Dan Mangan “Boys” – Bryan John Appleby

“The Round” (From the Basement) – Pickwick “Park” – Radiation City “Twins” – Gem Club | download “Mute” – Joshua Morrison “My Silver Hand” – Case Studies | download

The rest of my favorite (almost completely local) songs of 2011 (more…)

October 25, 2011

Zoe Muth and Her Lost High Rollers and Big Sur at The Tractor [photos]

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Zoe Muth Star Anna Tractor Tavern

 

Zoe Muth and Her Lost High Rollers ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Last Saturday, despite fierce competition from the final night of City Arts Fest Zoe Muth and Her Lost High Rollers packed the Tractor Tavern wall-to-wall for her Ballard homecoming. Muth and her band have been road-warriors for much of 2011, touring coast-to-coast in support of her excellent sophomore release, Starlight Hotel. After playing shows in small towns where people have literally ridden their horses to shows and she’s played to barrooms with five people, Muth seemed pleasantly shocked to play a packed Tractor that sang along and two-stepped to her tunes.

As evidenced by the long merch line and the steady stream of audience members congratulating Big Sur’s Jake Hemming on a job well done, the evening’s opener seized the opportunity to play to a sold-out crowd and succeeded.

 

Big Sur ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

 

Big Sur ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

 

Zoe Muth and Her Lost High Rollers ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

 

Zoe Muth and Her Lost High Rollers ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

October 20, 2011

So, You’re Not Going to City Arts Fest …

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The Head and the Heart Zoe Muth

 

Zoe Muth and Her Lost High Rollers ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

So, you’re not going to City Arts Fest this weekend or at least not all of the weekend. Fear not! There are actually local venues that are hosting non-City Arts related shows this weekend and there’s another festival happening entirely, Earshot Jazz Festival. Here are some recommended options for non-City Arts Fest weekend.

Thursday:

Swingset Showdown, Shitty Dudes, My Posse Don’t Do Homework, VD at The Funhouse Earshot Jazz Festival

Friday:

 

 

Koko & The Sweetmeats at the Benbow Room Lonesome Shack at Cafe Racer Northwest Folklife Presents Spoonshine, Chris Cunningham, Cahalen Morrison & Eli West & more at Columbia City Theater Stickers, Low Headaches, Pony Time at The Blue Moon Earshot Jazz Festival

 

 

 

 

Saturday:

 

 

Zoe Muth and Her Lost High Rollers and Big Sur at The Tractor Tavern Death Cab for Cutie and The Head and The Heart at Key Arena Dyme Def, Hopscotch Boys, The Cold Cold Ground at Sunset Tavern Earshot Jazz Festival

May 16, 2011

Why We’ll Be in Ballard All Day on Friday: KEXP

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David Bazan Shabazz Palaces Zoe Muth KEXP

 

Country Dave Harmoson of the Lost High Rollers ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

 

 

KEXP is giving Seattle residents a mighty fine reason, lots of them actually, to set up camp in Ballard early Friday morning and stay all day and all night. During their last pledge drive it was Ballard who came through in the clutch, donating more than any other neighborhood and to celebrate, KEXP is throwing an all-day party that we can all enjoy, even if 98107 isn’t our zip code.

We’ll see you bright and early for Dave Bazan’s 7am at The Sunset … you’ll bring the coffee, right?

Live Broadcast from the Sunset Tavern (6:00am-9:00pm):

7:00am – David Bazan 9:00am – Yuni In Taxco 11:00am – Point Juncture, WA 1:00pm – Buffalo Tom 3:00pm – Joan As Police Woman 5:00pm – Shabazz Palaces 6:30pm – The Black Crabs 8:30pm – Marshall Scott Warner

With live DJ sets from John Richards, Cheryl Waters, Kevin Cole & Shake the Shack with Dr. Leon Berman. This event is free, open to the public and all-ages.

Afternoon Acoustic Performances at Cupcake Royale

2:30pm – Jason Dodson of The Maldives 4:00pm – Eric Elbogen of Say Hi 5:30pm – BOAT

Featured Evening Showcases at Various Ballard Venues

The Sunset Tavern – 9:30pm / 21+ / $8 Public /$6 KEXP Donors

Point Juncture, WA Joshua Morrisson Yuni In Taxco Hosted by KEXP’s DJ Tim

Tractor Tavern – 9:30pm / 21+ / $10 Public / $8 for KEXP Donors

The Cops STAG The Golden Blondes The Chasers

A Benefit for Keith Bartoloni of Hazelwood, hosted by KEXP’s Hannah Levin & Kurt Bloch

Conor Byrne – 9pm / 21+ / $8 Public / $6 KEXP Donors

Zoe Muth and the Lost High Rollers [Two Sets] Ghosts I’ve Met

Hosted by Kurt Reighley & Hans

KEXP DJ’s Spinning at Various Ballard Drinking Establishments

Hazelwood – DJ Mr. West: 8pm – 10pm (FREE)

BalMar – Bike to Work Day After Party with Wo’ Pop, Darek Mazzone and DJ Rhythma: 5pm – 8pm (FREE)

Ocho – Quilty 3000: 9pm – 11pm (FREE)

Portalis Wine Shop & Bar: Larry Rose, DJ Shani – 8pm – 11pm (FREE)

Hattie’s Hat: Greg Vandy (Guest Barender from 5 to 8pm), Don Slack & Marji Makers DJing 8-10pm (FREE)

November 15, 2010

Zoe Muth Signs to Signature Sounds

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Zoe Muth

 

Zoe Muth ::: photo by Josh Lovseth

We’ve mused and made bets here at Sound on the Sound that Zoe Muth was most likely to get snapped up by Nashville and the local artist most likely to be covered by others in 50 years. Without question, Zoe Muth is one of the finest songwriters in Seattle.

And while it wasn’t Nashville that’s coming a-knocking at the moment, Zoe has been signed to Signature Sounds and her sophomore full length is set to be released in April 2011. Home to Eileen Jewell and Josh Ritter, Zoe is in good company and we hope this means she’ll get some of the national attention she so richly deserves.

[Tip of the hat to Sara Brickner from The Seattle Weekly.]

August 30, 2010

Bumbershoot 2010: Day One Preview

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Neko Case ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

Oh, the cruel games we play.

Do you enjoy mind-stimulating activities such as Soduku, New York Times Crossword Puzzles and/or Apples to Apples? If so, then you deserve a pat on the back and possibly an invitation to tutor me in a few of those areas. Especially in regard to crossword puzzles, I’m so terrible I don’t ever see myself leaving the “word find” circuit.  Luckily for people like me, there is alternative mind-stimulating game that accurately judges the content of someone’s character in three simple words. Marry. Fuck. Kill. If you want to call into question a friend’s lack of taste in other human beings, flawed thought process or how well they react under pressure, you play this game.

If you’re not familiar, let me clue you in.  You are given three options and you select “marry, fuck, kill” depending on what fictional scenario you may or may not want to happen in reality. However, I’m going to change some of the terminology. America is founded on Puritan belief (and the decimation of native populations) and I feel like we all need to get back to our Puritan roots. In keeping with the Puritan tradition, I’m changing “fuck” to “copulate with genuine feelings of desire” and I’m changing “kill” to “feverishly ignore.” Puritans had no problems with the idea of marriage, so I’m going to leave that be. I know I should have created more of an accurate “Marry.Fuck.Kill.” scenario using spreadsheets with color coded cells to signify scheduling conflicts, but those plans didn’t fit in my budget. Below the musical acts are broken down into the following categories. Some acts will just be listed while others will have brief descriptions. Enjoy.

Bands you want to “Marry” – These are bands you’ve already loved (or should have loved) for a long time,  now you’re ready to make that everlasting commitment.  You have long ignored all the flaws and blemishes related to these acts due to your blinding love for them.  They might have disappointed you with a few bad songs, a bad album or a lackluster live performance, but you stand by them because you’re suffering from the most fortunate chemical imbalance there is, love.

Bands you want to “Copulate with Genuine Feelings of Desire” – These are the bands that you’re just killing time with. Maybe you’re waiting for a more desirable band to start their set or maybe you’ve had one too many PBR’s and suddenly that bassist with the nose ring is looking hot! Easy tiger, keep your cool. You don’t want to wake up in the morning with schwag from a band that you’re not sure you like.  I’m not saying these bands aren’t worth your undivided attention, I’m just not sure you’ll have a long-term relationship with them.  Make no mistake if you find love here, I’ll be happy for you.

Bands you want to “Feverishly Ignore” – I’m not saying these bands suck, but now might be the perfect time to pretend to be having a meaningful text message conversation far away from the stage.

(more…)

July 7, 2010

Sound on the Sound Presented a Grand Opening Show with the Maldives

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The Columbia City Theater ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

If you build it, will they come? This was the question that no one was quite sure of going into the grand opening weekends at the Columbia City Theater. Our last (and only other) Sound on the Sound Presents show to happen at the Theater, over a year ago with the yet to be discovered Local Natives, was a flop. Though it’s a straight shot from downtown and Capitol Hill to Columbia City down Rainier Avenue, it had become the neighborhood that live music fans forgot, and hardly a place that might enter into any nightlife plans.

From the beginning though, Friday night was different. At 9:15 as I arrived at the door, just as my ID is being checked, the owner walks up to say the place is already basically at capacity. What?! At 9:15? I’ve got friends who are behind me leaving a rainy BBQ session who are now going to be shut out. Yikes! Thankfully they took my sheepish text messages like champs, because they realized this meant success beyond our expectations. How times have changed! Before the show had even started, this showing had provided the most emphatic answer to our question yet. If you build it, they will most definitely come. In a line down the block and around the corner.

For those who showed up early and did make it in, both of the night’s bands took the opportunity to showcase long sets of mostly new songs. Zoe Muth & Her Lost High Rollers had an album’s worth of vintage sounding country I hadn’t heard yet, with Muth mid-show revealing they were trying to head to the studio in October. The Maldives have practically a full record worth of new material themselves, which with the benefit of CCT’s top notch audio sounded very ready to lay to tape. Snuck amongst the unrecorded material was a rare move that could’ve been engineered entirely just to make my day: the band played both of their epic crowd-pleasers “Blood Relations” and “Walk Away.”

Sound on the Sound Presents shows at the Columbia City Theater on the first Friday of every month, and we can only hope each one is as packed and successful as last Friday. On August 6th we present Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground with the Head and the Heart opening (tickets are $12). Once that time rolls around and summer has truly arrived, the promise of a high-ceilinged, air-conditioned room with a Mint Julep cooling my hand will sound just about perfect.


Zoe Muth & Her Lost High Rollers ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Zoe Muth & Her Lost High Rollers ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

The Maldives ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

The Maldives ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

The Maldives ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth

Flickr: Sound on the Sound Presents: The Maldives, Zoe Muth & Her Lost High Rollers at the Columbia City Theater

June 12, 2010

Is it July 2nd Yet?

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The Maldives Zoe Muth Columbia City Theater Sound on the Sound Presents
columbiatheater

Just had to share this beauty of a poster courtesy of Bradley James Lockhart for out first showcase at Columbia City Theater on July 2nd.

Hopefully you’ve already saved the date for us, The Maldives, Zoe Muth and Her Lost High Rollers and your new favorite local venue. It’s a free show, with some of our very favorite bands, so show up early to celebrate with us!

June 1, 2010

Bumbershoot Line-Up Announced: Bob Dylan, Neko Case, The Decemberists & More

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Zoe Muth The Thermals The Maldives The Moondoggies Neko Case Fresh Espresso David Bazan Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival

Bumbershoot ::: photo by Abbey Simmons

We’ve just returned from the first big Northwest summer music festival to arrive home to the line-up of Bumbershoot, the fest that marks the end of summer and the festival season. It’s Bumbershoot’s 40th Anniversary and they’re pulling out all the stops, booking big name headliners like Bob Dylan, Mary J. Blige, Neko Case and the return of Hole.

As exciting as Bob Dylan is, his shows are hit and miss. (I saw him about 10 years ago and couldn’t decipher “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue” until the third chorus) But the best thing about Bumbershoot is you could avoid the Mainstage all weekend and still see tons of great bands. I know, because that’s what I’ve done the past few festivals. Off the big stage there’s still plenty of talent to get excited about including: Justin Townes Earle, Dave Bazan, The Thermals, Japandroids, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Atlas Sound and many more.

As usual, the festival has done a great job booking local bands as well. You can see a few Sound on the Sound favorites at the fest including: The Moondoggies, The Maldives, Hey Marseilles, People Eating People,  Zoe Muth and Her Lost High Rollers and Fresh Espresso.

Here’s the full line-up so far:

Headlining: Bob Dylan / Mary J. Blige / Weezer / Hole / Rise Against / Neko Case / The Decemberists / J. Cole

Also Playing (we’ve bolded the bands we’re most excited for):

LMFAO / Billy Bragg / Ozomatli / Angelique Kidjo / Solomon Burke / The Dandy Warhols / Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros / Jenny and Johnny (featuring Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice) / Jamie Lidell / The Raveonettes / Balkan Beat Box / Motion City Soundtrack / The Thermals / Ra Ra Riot / The English Beat / Justin Townes Earle / Booker T. / Surfer Blood / The Bouncing Souls / Japandroids / Bob Schneider / Anvil / Bomba Estereo / Jay Electronica / Aterciopelados / Baroness / James Cotton “Superharp” Blues Band / David Bazan / Meat Puppets / Crash Kings / This Providence / Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express / The Moondoggies / The Whigs / Greg Laswell / Civil Twilight / Trampled By Turtles / The Clientele / Atlas Sound / Laura Veirs & The Hall of Flames / The Budos Band / Bobby Bare Jr. / Horse Feathers / Vienna Teng Trio / HEALTH / Plants and Animals / Georgia Anne Muldrow & Declaime / Wheedle’s Groove / Hey Marseilles / Kings Go Forth / Sweet Water / Delorean / JEFF the Brotherhood / Chris Pureka / Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra / Garotas Suecas / The Maldives / The Constellations / Coryell, Auger, Sample Trio / Grynch / Visqueen / Victor Shade / Star Anna & The Laughing Dogs / Fresh Espresso / Pete Molinari / Sista Monica’s “Singin in the Spirit” / Lay Low / Unnatural Helpers / Idiot Pilot / The Round / Wild Orchid Children / The Cute Lepers / Feral Children / Fences / Caspar Babypants / The Tripwires / Fatal Lucciauno / Loch Lomond / The Physics / THEESatisfaction / School of Rock All Stars / See Me River / Zoe Muth and The Lost High Rollers / People Eating People / Eldridge Gravy & The Court Supreme / Brent Amaker & The Rodeo / Born Anchors / Slender Means / BOAT / McTuff Trio / Parlour Steps / The Redwood Plan / Helladope / Lisa Dank / Greta Matassa Quartet / The Lonely H / Matt Jorgensen Quintet / Becki Sue & Her Big Rockin’ Daddies! / Great Waves / Brian Vogan / Johnny Bregar with more to come, including comedy, performing arts, film, literary and visual arts!

You can check out the line-up by day HERE.