The Ron-A-Thon at the Poplar Lounge (2586 Poplar):
This is happening from August 31-September 2. Go out and support a good dude who runs an amazing local business…Cheapskates (1576 Getwell Rd.)! Check the Facebook event here for a full line-up! This one is $10 a night, or you can pay $25 for a three day pass. Music, comedy, fun…fun..fun and bid on some awesome stuff on the silent auction!
At 10:30 tonight the Hosoi Bros wanna play a free show for you at the Hi-tone (1913 Poplar Ave.), but if you want to throw some cash their way, I’m sure they’d accept. The Hi-tone is an 18 and up venue.
Also…
September 1. The Lamplighter Lounge (1702 Madison Ave.) Puffy Areolas, Limes, Dbl BBQ (Chicago, members of Jerusalem and the Starbaskets). $5, 10pm, 21 and up.
September 1, Shangri-La Records (1916 Madison Ave.), celebrate 901 Day with a free show from 3-5 featuring Jeff Hulett, Chad Nixon, and Caleb Sweazy. Hear some great tunes from three of Memphis best songwriters, and pick up some new records!
Sunday, September 2, St. Louis’ Hope and Therapy will be playing The Buccaneer Lounge (1368 Monroe Ave.). They’ll be joined by locals Woodenmouth and Victor and the Spoils! $5, 10pm, 21 and up! Be there!
Here’s another reminder for tonight’s show at The Lamplighter featuring Philadelphia’s Br’er and Anderson Special (a new Memphis band). Check out this video from Br’er…..
This show is free, but put back a little of your cash to donate to Br’er since Philadelphia is a bit of a drive!
Looking for more shows? Check out April’s extensive list at Tennessee Trash!
Looking for a little trouble to get into this evening?
Woodenmouth, Unstoppable Juggernaut, and Bombay Alleys
Check out the interview I posted on Thursday with Woodenmouth, and head to Murphy’s (1589 Madison) to see them play tonight! The band will be taking a brief hiatus, so this might be the last chance you get to see them until the summer months. Unstoppable Juggernaut will also be playing, and if you haven’t seen these guys yet you are in for a treat. Seriously, two people should not be able to make sounds like that! Slacker rockers The Bombay Alleys will also be playing. Want to know a little more about them? Check out this interview I did back in August. This show starts at 10pm, is $5, and 21 and up.
Chris Davidson Benefit Featuring The Subteens, No Comply, Youniverse
Many of you probably remember the story of Chris Davidson who while riding his bicycle home back in August was hit by an automobile and died later in the evening. Tonight, the Hi-tone (1913 Poplar Ave.) has put together another benefit concert for his family, to help pay for his headstone. The bands that have been listed to play are The Subteens, No Comply, and Youniverse (though I have a feeling more than that are playing). Much like the last benefit show for Davidson, this is a free show with donations taken at the door. If you have other plans and can’t make it by the Hi-tone tonight, a website in Davidson’s honor has been set up that also accepts donations!
Richard James & The Special Riders, Modern Convenience, and Anne Schorr
Tonight at The Beauty Shop (966 S. Cooper), Richard James & The Special Riders will be bringing their brand of dirty rock and roll to an otherwise classy venue. Modern Convenience will also be performing and Richard’s trusty bass player (and wife) Anne Schorr will do one of her solo sets. If you haven’t seen Anne perform by herself, expect something radically different than the Special Riders, and also expect to be blown away! This is also a birthday party for Lindsey and Tia. The show starts at 10:00, is $5, and 21 and up.
Also……
Tomorrow night (November 20th) at The Lamplighter (1702 Madison Ave.), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s Br’er will be we playing.
I’m very curious about how these guys are going to sound in a room as small as The Lamplighter! Locals Anderson Special will be opening this set, and it is their first show! This show is free, but please bring some money to donate to the out of town band. Gas isn’t cheap and Philadelphia is a long drive….. Also, thanks to Jack Katze for cluing me in that this show is happening.
Finally…..
Ever looking to see if a show is going on one evening, checked this site, and realized I’ve been slacking on the job? Thank God for April Novak! She’s been compiling a very extensive show list on her blog Tennessee Trash! Honestly, if it isn’t on her list, then it probably isn’t happening.
Even if you haven’t seen Woodenmouth perform before, chances are you’ve seen their members play live. Vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist Jason Dawson, guitarist, vocalist Darcie Polson, and drummer Steve Langford all perform together in The Collected Works. Bassist Chris Seaton and Langford perform together in Twin Pilot, and Polson can also be seen playing drums with The Burning Sands. Though their debut album, Grief. Good Grief, had been floating around awhile on mp3 and as a flash drive that they sold at shows, earlier this year the band gave the record a proper CD release (which was thankfully available in time for their opening slot with Cursive at the Hi-tone). This Saturday, November 19th, Woodenmouth will be playing at Murphy’s with The Bombay Alleys (who I interviewed back in August) and Unstoppable Juggernaut. This show will be $5, starts at 10pm and is 21 and up, and will be one of their last before a very brief hiatus. I sent the band a few questions, which they answered collectively.
MRC: You guys are all (or have been) a part of different projects that sound radically different from Woodenmouth. What in the songwriting process do you think accounts for Woodenmouth’s sound?
Woodenmouth: It’s like the old proverb of blind men and the elephant, but in reverse; we all compose the elephant by feeling the different parts of it, and never does any one of us realize that it is an elephant. Songs always start with something that someone put together individually, but that could be as simple as a riff or a complete song with structure. No matter how much they are already put together, though, we all throw in our own pieces, make changes, and rewrite parts. It is scary to write music for Woodenmouth sometimes, because you know it is going to be completely re-written. At the same time, that always seems to make it better. It is true that we listen to and play drastically different kinds of music outside of Woodenmouth, and allowing all of those diverse voices to have equal contribution to songwriting exhibits the ‘amalgamist’ style we embrace.
MRC: Tell me a little bit about the insect songs. What inspired them? Will we see more insect songs on future Woodenmouth releases?
Woodenmouth: We had this idea a while ago to write a series of songs, one named after each insect order, called “music about insects about people.” The idea is that each song is about a human characteristic that is symbolized by a kind of insect, and the song pulls pieces from both the insect and characteristic. For instance, “Coleoptera” is about defense mechanisms, and the lyrics make that pretty clear.
We’d like to finish “music about insects about people,” writing and recording one song for each of the 32 insect orders. We’re working on two more right now.
MRC: You guys were already well into the writing process of your second album when Grief. Good Grief. was released. What is the progress of this record? What can we expect out of its sound?
Woodenmouth: We’ve written about half of it, and the rest of it is in different stages of development. The sound is just as eclectic as the first record while being more cohesive. We’ve grown and changed a lot since the writing sessions that produced ‘grief,’ which has led to us being better at working with one another and tackling more ambitious songwriting.
MRC: How did the four of you come together to form this band? What is the chemistry like between you guys? (specifically with each of you contributing to the songwriting process and all of your varied music tastes).
Woodenmouth: Steve and Jason had been jamming some and coming up with unique sounds. They wanted to get some unique individuals to accompany their attempt to carve out something new. Once we all entered the little building behind Jason’s house in Cooper Young, we started melding into a unit immediately. We are often at one another’s throats; everyone’s tastes, opinions, styles, and motivations often clash, but that leads to what has become our sound. Jason is poetic, sappy, theory-driven, and controlling. Steve scorns poetic, sappy stuff, is more shoot-from-the-hip Rock and Roll, and is also controlling. Chris is a methodical and deliberate math-rock and post-rock enthusiast, and is as well controlling. Darcie is spirited and organic, has a garage-rock sensibility, and, at times, can be controlling.
MRC: Where can people get Woodenmouth’s music if they want it? What can we expect to see from Woodenmouth in the near future?
iTunes and most other online distributors, as well as local retailers Shangri-La, Goner, and Spin Street.
This spring, we’ll be playing out more frequently with new material we’re currently fine-tuning. We are planning to record the follow-up to grief’ this summer.
Also….Today is Jason Dawson’s birthday, so make sure you say “Happy Birthday” to him when you see him at the show Saturday night.
This is happening from August 31-September 2. Go out and support a good dude who runs an amazing local business…Cheapskates (1576 Getwell Rd.)! Check the Facebook event here for a full line-up! This one is $10 a night, or you can pay $25 for a three day pass. Music, comedy, fun…fun..fun and bid on some awesome stuff on the silent auction!
At 10:30 tonight the Hosoi Bros wanna play a free show for you at the Hi-tone (1913 Poplar Ave.), but if you want to throw some cash their way, I’m sure they’d accept. The Hi-tone is an 18 and up venue.
Sunday, September 2, St. Louis’ Hope and Therapy will be playing The Buccaneer Lounge (1368 Monroe Ave.). They’ll be joined by locals Woodenmouth and Victor and the Spoils! $5, 10pm, 21 and up! Be there!
Also, don’t forget that the good folks at Trashy Creatures Records has a sale going on until September 4. CDs and t-shirts are $6 and cassettes are $3! Show your local pride by buying music from Tiger High, Hot Freak Nation, and The Late Show!
Memphis Rock City! 