These are busy days at PoB HQ; lots going on with releases, press, and tours. Here’s an overview of some recent news and truths from our artists and friends.
Steve Gunn
Steve has begun playing guitar with Kurt Vile and the Violators in advance of the proper tour that begins on May 7 in Los Angeles. Here’s a shot of Steve onstage with the Violators at Coachella, channelling Dickie Silk.
Steve’s new album Time Off releases on June 18. Stay tuned here and on our Facebook page and Twitter feed for details about the premier of songs from the record as well as pre-orders, both of which will happen in early May. We’ll have some special deals on offer for sure, including entry in a drawing for the Golden Gunn LP, in case you missed it on Record Store Day. In June you’ll be able to check out another single from Time Off on Uncut’s covermount CD.
Our pal Daughn Gibson has this to say about Steve’s album:
“Sunday morning driving music. Beautiful repetitions, incredible guitar playing, memorable songwriting. On repeat.”
We agree! Daughn and Steve will be touring together this summer. Check it out:
| Thu-Jul-18 | Detroit,MI | Magic Stick Lounge |
| Sun-Jul-21 | Madison,WI | High Noon Saloon |
| Mon-Jul-22 | Minneapolis,MN | Triple Rock |
| Tue-Jul-23 | Fargo, ND | The Aquarium |
| Thu-Jul-25 | Vancouver | Biltmore Cabaret |
| Sat-Jul-27 | Seattle, WA | Capital Theater (Backstage) |
| Sun-Jul-28 | Portland,OR | Doug Fir Lounge |
Hiss Golden Messenger
HGM at the Nightlight 4/22. Slides by Jina Valentine. Photo by Melvin Pena.
Speaking of Daughn, Hiss Golden Messenger will be touring with him this summer, which is very exciting. Gibson’s new album for Subpop is sounding pretty incredible, and it promises to be a compelling pairing with Haw. Those guys will surely have much to discuss on the subject of obscure 70s country records.
08/11/2013 Nashville, TN / The Stone Fox
08/12/2013 Atlanta, GA / The Earl
08/13/2013 Charlotte, NC / Milestone Club
08/15/2013 Washington, DC / Black Cat
08/16/2013 Philadelphia, PA / Johnny Brenda’s
08/17/2013 Brooklyn, NY / Glasslands Gallery
Don’t miss these more imminent dates in North Carolina, the UK, and Ireland, many of which feature Haw axeman William Tyler, whose new Impossible Truth album is a marvel.
Apr 27: BoCo Music Festival, Washington, NC
U.K. and Ireland (Practically Friends tour with William Tyler)
03 May 2013 The Palmeira, Brighton 8 PM
04 May 2013 Red Lecture Theatre, Edinburgh 8 PM
05 May 2013 The New Oxford, Manchester Time TBA
06 May 2013 Crane Lane Theatre, Cork 4:30 PM
07 May 2013 McHugh’s, Belfast 8 PM
08 May 2013 Whelan’s, Dublin 8 PM
09 May 2013 10 Feet Tall, Cardiff 7 PM
10 May 2013 Beerwolf, Falmouth 7:30 PM
11 May 2013 The Barrel House, Totnes 8 PM
12 May 2013 The Railway, Winchester 7:30 PM
13 May 2013 Cafe Oto, London 8 PM
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July 31, 7pm: Duke Performances, Durham, NC: Music in the Gardens
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The incredibly positive press for Haw keeps pouring in, which is humbling and gratifying. Here are some choice recent nuggets, in the order of their appearance:
“It’s hard not to be converted.”
– Andy Gill, The Independent (UK)
“Undeniably great – 12 amazing and expertly rendered plain-spoken songs about life and death and how hard the time between can be.”
– David Menconi, The News and Observer
“A shining example of contemporary American country blues. Haw has the potential to reach out and convert music lovers who have never truly appreciated country music.”
– Rachel Quin, Music OMH
“A finely crafted work of spiritual Americana.”
– Today’s Zaman (Istanbul)
“An utterly solid beauty of an album.”
-BuffaloBlog
“The Bob Dylan fan who is drawn back to John Wesley Harding may find a pleasing refuge in Haw… Veers abruptly from authentic folk to postmodern game. Staggering in both senses of the word.”
– The Sunday Times (UK)
“Spectral country. Recalls anyone from The Band to late Tom Rapp, but Taylor has built a strange, lost world of his own, peppered with lightning-split trees, old time religion, raw emotion, and underlying hope. This often time-stopping album has joined the year’s understated greats.”
– Kris Needs, Shindig
9/10. “If the success of songwriters can be measured by their ability to create a world in song that is theirs and theirs alone, Haw marks the point where singer/guitarist M.C. Taylor – alongside multi-instrumentalist Scott Hirsch, the mainstay of the Hiss Golden Messenger collective – has well and truly arrived. It’s hard to tear your attention away from songs as evocative, imaginative, multi-faceted and uniquely pitched as the stuff Haw is made of. Such air of mystery, malleability to individualised interpretations, and the ability to respect the traditions without bothering to adhere to their predictabilities is where much of Haw‘s power lies.”
– Janne Oinonen, The Line of Best Fit
Chris Forsyth
Photo by Constance Mensh.
We’re gearing up for the release of Chris Forsyth’s mind-blowing Solar Motel album this fall, and he’s alerted us to a few upcoming performances of interest. We strongly encourage you to attend one of these shows.
CHRIS FORSYTH & THE SOLAR MOTEL BAND
Thu 4/25
@ Johnny Brenda’s
Philadelphia
also: Akron/Family & M Geddes Gengras
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CHRIS FORSYTH
Sat 4/27
@ WBAR-B-Q
Lehman Lawn, Barnard College
3009 Broadway, NYC
also: Waxahatchee + many more
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SPACIN’
BITCHIN’ BAJAS
CHRIS FORSYTH
Sun 5/12
@ Little Berlin
Philadelphia
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CHRIS FORSYTH w/ Paul Sukeena
Thu 5/30 – ARLINGTON, VA – CD Cellar w/ Jeff Barsky
Fri 5/31 – PITTSBURGH, PA – Eternal Sound Series #6
Sat 6/1 – STATE COLLEGE, PA – Schlow Center Region Library
Sun 6/2 – HUDSON, NY – Spotty Dog w/ Alexander Turnquist
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CHRIS FORSYTH & THE SOLAR MOTEL BAND
JUNE RESIDENCY @ ORTLIEB’S, PHILADELPHIA
Thu 6/6 also: Mary Lattimore + Jeff Zeigler
Thu 6/13 also: Mild Time
Thu 6/20
Thu 6/27
The Red Rippers
Thurston Moore and Byron Coley have these kind words for the Red Rippers reissue in their Bull Tongue column in the April issue of Arthur Magazine:
“Strangely compelling reissue of a 1983 LP originally releases on a small Florida label by Vietnam vet Ed Bankston. Most Viet vet LPs are in the bar-boogie vein and refer to overseas experiences only in small ways. Over Here, however, is a suite of songs Bankston wrote from `72 on, and most of them refer quite specifically to his war experiences… The tunes themselves are pretty explicit lyrically, and that’s the stuff that’s really compelling. “Firefight,” “Vietnam Blues,” “Body Bag,” and the like are their titles, and the thing’s been stuck to the turntable for a few days now. Excellent liner notes as well.”
Chance
Above: Chance with Bobby Bare at Bobby and Cowboy Jack’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Below: Chance as photographed by Johnny Cash while deep-sea fishing in Jamaica. Johnny gave him the hat. Nuff said.
