EchoBooming in Birmingham

Well, I missed out on the Pinback show since I failed to buy tickets in advance

I knew that show was going to sell out but did I buy a ticket in advance, hell no!

Anyway, since I didn’t go to the show I did have a chance to hang out with the guys from The Ugli Stick at the Kudu while they set up for the show. They let me take a listen to a few of the tracks from their upcoming album. 7 or so of them have been fully mixed and are ready for mastering, and one of them still needs to be mixed. The new stuff sounds incredible, especially the track that I think is called “Nobody’s Calling Your Name”. I’ll ask the band if they mind if I post at least a sample of the song…

And speaking of the Stick.. They got a mention in The Boston Globe in an article about Rick Hall’s Fame Recording studios where they are recording…. Link to article

It was really great to be able to sit in the shade in the middle of Rushton Park and listen to some great Irish tunes with my wife and my baby. It was a great start to an incredible day that we spent with my parents, my sister and her husband.
Shillelagh Law, Do Dah Day, Surin West, The McWayne Center, and Family… Can’t ask for much better…..

First off Pinback plays @ the Rock N Horse (at the Rock N Horse? since when did they get mid level touring acts???) Friday May 19th @ 8ish.
Sample:

After that, my favorite local band, The Ugli Stick (myspace link), will be playing at The Barking Kudu. They’re just about done with their new album and it is awesome. The new stuff is nearly indescribable, but not so weird where it won’t find a big audience. Here’s a sample from their last album:

Then Saturday is DoDahDay, and I’ll finally get to see a band I haven’t seen in about 2 1/2 years. Shillelagh Law. Traditional Irish music at its finest. 11:30am (Guinness, it’s not just for breakfast anymore!) in Rhodes Park on Highland Avenue (sorry, I couldn’t find any sample music for these guys, but if you like traditional Irish music, they’re not to be missed).

WRAX has been tanking ever since Dave Rossie (I think that’s how you spell his last name) left IMO.

The current PD and management tried to bring back some of the X’s past luster with a move to a mix of Alt Rock, AAA, and pop about 2 months ago. That change lasted all of about 2 weeks before Citadel’s upper management came down from on high to put the nix on that. According to my source, they basically said “You can’t do that, we didn’t say you could do that.” And who knows what the people of Birmingham want to hear better than the corporate dudes in Las Vegas, right?

Well, they’re bringing in a new PD Steve Robison formerly of KTBZ 94.5 “The Buzz” out of Houston. A quick glance at their Top 95 of 2005 shows that they play pretty much the same format that drove WRAX into statistical oblivion (something like a 1.5 share, meaning only 1.5 radios out of 100 were tuned to the X) during the last half of 05.

I honestly only listen to my iPod now. Beaner and Ken just don’t have the same luster they once did, thanks to a combination of the lack of any local content (since their home station is now in Syracuse, NY) and what has to be the worst engineer on the planet running their recorded/delayed show here in Birmingham (the Windows “ding” and Internet Explorer “click” noises can be heard constantly throughout the broadcast thanks to the engineer’s web surfing or something).

So, we’ll see what happens next.

Bain Mattox will be playing WorkPlay this evening. (big thanks to helluva for reminding me of such). This is the Birmingham CD release party for his new album “Prizefighter”.

Bain is the front man of what has become a bit of a revolving back up band. Their support of his music (which is mainly written for single instrument accompaniment) brings ROCK to an artist otherwise categorized as a “singer/songwriter”.

Mattox uses instruments such as the accordion, mandolin, banjo, and oddly tuned guitars to break the monotony of the everyday crap you hear on the radio.

Five Star Iris will be the supporting act, and the show gets started around 8.

Hopefully I’ll be able to make it as I completely forgot about the show :-/

The Arcade Fire is proof that the best thing to happen to the independent music industry is the Internet. This band went from nothing to on the cover of the Canadian Time Magazine in less than 2 years with no help from a “record deal”.

Their debut full length album “Funeral” was released in late 2004 by Merge Records (an idie label out of Durham, NC). The band is one of those indescribable bands. Lead male vocals a-la the Frank Black of the Pixies, and a myriad of instruments from which they create their sound. From their wikipedia article:

The band employs a vast array of instruments—mainly guitar, drums, and bass guitar—but also piano, violin, viola, cello, xylophone, keyboard, accordion, and harp. With several able musicians, the Arcade Fire takes most of its instrumental diversity on tour, with band members switching instrumental duties between songs.

I stumbled across this band at the Nick one night (2005/06/11) after getting dragged in there to watch a friends local band (they were on the opening bill). I remember sitting outside talking with my friends after their set and thinking… “Wow, those guys are really freaking good.” After seeing them perform one song, I was amazed. They weren’t just good, they were awesome; talent incarnate, in my opinion.

Anyway, they got a nod for “Best Alternative Music Album” along with Beck, Death Cab For Cutie, Franz Ferdinand, and The White Stripes. Not bad company to be in IMO.

Here’s a link to a live performance that was broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio (yes those same great folks that bring us “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me”, and “A Prairie Home Companion”): Link (it’s actually two songs and a funny botched intro)