A few months back, we gave Dreamers of the Ghetto’s, “Tether,” Jam of the Day honors for a simple reason: the song freaking kills. Then, we stood front row at the Hopscotch Music Festival as they did the impossible by more-than-holding their own as one of the opening slots for the mind-fuck that is a … Read more
Photo by Agatha Donkar Spider Bags are one of the most changeable bands of the Triangle scene; they can be just about anything. Under the direction of frontman, songwriter, and guitarist Dan McGee, the three piece has just released their third full-length LP, and while there are constants in ever songs — the stalwart rhythm … Read more
After covering the two previous Hopscotch Music Festivals, and mapping out the blog’s schedule for attending this year’s festival, I can safely say that the biggest reoccurring theme, outside hangovers and sleep deprivation, seems to be CME, or continuing musical education for the non-acronym inclined. See, what you guys may not realize is the festival … Read more
The first night of the Hopscotch Music Festival can be tough. If you don’t take the entire day off – you spend the daylight hours working your normal 9 to 5, then do your best to turn into the 21 year-old you, and stay up and alert until after 2:00 am. In the past, those … Read more
For the final installment of our Tuesday Hopscotch Music Festival preview, we bring you one of the most interesting babies our research birthed – Louisville’s Nerves Junior. We literally took a whip to ourselves, Illuminati style, for not knowing about them earlier than this. We wasted a whole year of our musical lives – the … Read more
The Roots : Photo by Aggie Donkar Jane Jane Pollock Going to a bar you frequent, usually after 10:00 pm, in the middle of the day is always a weird feeling. But walking in to a sun-drenched Kings Barcade at around two in the afternoon proved to feel just like home. Especially given Jane Jane … Read more
Gross Ghost : Photo by Aggie Donkar Day One: Thursday Brief Setup: Raleigh’s Hopscotch Music Festival is curated by Pitchfork contributor, and hometown artsy-newspaper editor Grayson Currin. It’s the only festival of it’s kind – featuring tons of the best local acts, wedged between a plethora of up-and-coming bands that will soon be indie-household names. The … Read more
Photo by Agatha Donkar Lilac Shadows lists just four words on their Bandcamp page in regards to their Shallow Madness EP. Bright. Dark. Quiet. Loud. And from what we’ve heard, the description is fitting. It’s this ability to mix opposites that sets our Jam of the Day apart from other shoegaze wannabes attempting to make … Read more
I’ve listened to Exitmusic’s debut LP, Passages, twenty times probably. And I’ll be damned to find out this morning, when prepping this little post, that the voice I’ve been listening to on record is the same voice I’ve heard hundreds of times on HBO. See, Aleksa Palladino, who is one-half of the the duo comprising … Read more
As a music blogger, it’s a bit tough to admit this – the reason I picked up Gross Ghost’s new LP, Brer Rabbit, is it has a really pretty cover. There. My soul is now free. Luckily, my post-purchase experience with it was even more pleasurable, even beyond the clear vinyl that the awesomely-designed sleeve … Read more
Photo by Derek Branscombe I woke up on an island this morning, but not one of those deserted kinds – it’s the inhabited kind we have here in the southeast, packed with equal parts Yankee and redneck. Anyway, I got out of bed, wanting something to soundtrack my morning. Everyone else in the house was … Read more
Each and every track that has either been leaked or officially posted from Dan Deacon’s soon-to-be-released LP, America, is freaking Awesome with a capital A. Today’s Jam of the Day, “LOTS,” is no exception. It walks the line between an all out rock assault and one of those songs that sounds like something I would … Read more
Ever look around a meeting and wonder what’s going on inside the heads of the people who surround you? They appear to be mentally present, and cognizant of the meaning of the words they are nodding their heads to, but I have a feeling that most of them are either: A) recounting the previous night’s … Read more
Active Child’s new single “Playing House” has been receiving a lot of love online since it dropped last Tuesday, but we just want to remind all you readers that we were giving choirboy-turned-indie-pop musician Pat Grossi props since we checked him out at last year’s Hopscotch Music Festival. On that particular night, he and his … Read more
Image taken at Hopscotch 2010 by The Independent Weekly As someone who prides myself on never listening to the radio, I have recently been forced to flip it on at the most inopportune times, now that my kid is all smart and steals my iPhone from me each time we get in the car so … Read more
Photo by Graham Tolbert “Baby Missiles” perfectly illustrates everything I adore about musical juxtaposition. ’80s synth pop mixed with country-rock? Yes, please. I’ll have that. The War On Drugs frontman, Adam Granduciel, has a purposefully wobbly delivery on “Baby Missiles” that reminds me a little bit of Mark Knopfler on Dire Straits’ “Walk of Life.” … Read more
Dreamers of the Ghetto are a family band from Indiana, consisting of brothers Luke and Jonathan Jones, Luke’s wife, Lauren, and then some guy named Marty. After teasing us blogs with kick ass, homemade video clips for the past year, they have quickly become one of the most eccentric, but perhaps promising bands out there … Read more
Fertile ground can be found outside the heartland, folks. Just follow my gaze east, now south, yeah, that’s it. All the way down to The Port City, good ole’ Wilmington, North Carolina, where the soil is sandy, and cotton grows like those potatoes do in other places not surrounded by salt water. What’s cropping up … Read more
Goooood Lawd! This little blog cannot BELIEVE it is almost the start of September – that means the 2011 Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina is quickly approaching! Two out of the four of us just celebrated the dawning of LouFest II in Saint Louis. Now, it’s time to start doing liver calisthenics, training … Read more
Robert Pollard of Guided by Voices | Photo by Aggie Donkar Much, much more coming, but here is a taste of what we’ve seen thus far at the 2011 Hopscotch Music Festival. It’s been a blast thus far, and even though our heads hurt, our ears are still ringing, and our feet are KILLING us, … Read more
I’m going to level with everyone. The Hopscotch Music Festival kicked off last night in Raleigh, North Carolina – and at least one blogger I know, ahem, acted like he was twenty-one again. Drinking his way through seven bands until the wee hours of the morning. Was it fun? Hell yes. Did he just get out … Read more
The Flaming Lips | Photo by Aggie Donkar The 2011 Hopscotch Music Festival is over, dammit, and I now have a new way to gauge my experience. When getting ready for work this morning, I had to move my belt to the next largest size. No shit y’all – I drank, and ate, THAT much … Read more
A braid is “a complex structure or pattern formed by intertwining three or more strands of flexible material such as textile fibers, wire, or human hair.” Braids is a band who makes complex musical structures or patterns by intertwining three or more elements such as guitars, vocals, drums, and synthesizers. Who would have thunk it … Read more
All Photos by Aggie Donkar Unless Noted Lonnie Walker I’ve seen Lonnie walker 6,654 times now. More than anyone has seen any band in the entire world. Hell, I’ve seen Lonnie Walker more times than the number of shows Lonnie Walker has played. Chew on that for a second. So while Lonnie Walker’s set in City Plaza … Read more
Here’s this week’s Speakers in Code endorsed live shows in St. Louis and The Triangle, from now until October! Saint Louis 7/4 – Joe Pug + Rayland Baxter @ Off Broadway [buy tickets] 7/6 – Maps and Atlases + The Cults + The Globes @ The Firebird [buy tickets] 7/8 – Sarah Borges & The … Read more
Here’s this week’s Speakers in Code endorsed live shows in St. Louis and The Triangle!Saint Louis6/12 – Twangfest: Ha Ha Tonka + Jason and the Scorchers @ Blueberry Hill [buy tickets]6/14 – Dawes + Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros @ The Pageant [buy tickets]6/15 – Mumford & Sons @ Off Broadway [sold out]6/15 – … Read more
Daaaamn! It’s almost September, and us cool-music loving people in the Triangle are starting to get fully pumped for the inaugural three-day festival that is the Hopscotch Music Festival. It takes place September 9th, 10th, and 11th all over downtown Raleigh and has some pretty amazing bands (full schedule here) taking to small stages for … Read more
The inaugural Hopscotch Music Festival is almost here, party people of the Triangle, and while laying out the official Speakers in Code endorsed track, this guy just got officially giddy for the festivities to begin. I even geeked-out enough to give you a back-up plan just in case the show of your choice is all … Read more
Well y’all, Hopscotch just announced their lineup for the 2013 festival, and we are beyond excited. Uber-excited if you will. True to form, they’ve handpicked new and old (more seasoned) performers across pretty much every musical genre in existence. From rap to bluegrass, they molded a festival this year that in my opinion, will be … Read more
Don’t you just love songs that come completely out of left field? Those seemingly out of place, yet totally amazing tunes that catch you off guard at first, but quickly become the most intriguing part of the artist’s catalog. Yeah, those are my favorite kind of songs. Magik Markers are a noise rock band from Hartford, CT, … Read more