Friday, April 19, 2002 Denison and I were all decked out for the Philadelphia City Paper Music Awards. Unfortunately, he didn't win, but we still had a lot of fun being there. I got some super swank screen printed posters for Ester Drang to use for their late Spring and Summer dates. Look for the band and the posters to roll into your town. Hopefully we'll have some touring details soon. I'm listening to a lot of Denison's March tour recordings today. The plan is to select the best recordings and have Douglas Witmer compile the songs and do some artwork for a special cd that will be available only at live shows, not even through the on-line store. Hopefully this should come together for a late June/early July release. Denison's River Bends album will soon be re-issued through btv. Our friend Andy is working on the design; he's the mastermind behind the current website and a few of the btv releases. Mirah : Advisory Committee (K Recs) is blowing me away by its brilliance. Think Cat Power, but with a more intimate and experimental approach. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 01:17 PM CST Thursday, April 18, 2002 Tonight is the night for the Philadelphia City Paper Music Awards. Denison and I will be in attendance in our formal attire to find out how he fares for his nomination as Best Folk Performer/Group. If we finish in time, I might take life into my own hands and check out the Locust who are playing at the First Unitarian Church tonight. Circle of Birds artwork is underway. Oakland artist Jamie Hunt will be doing drawings for the release, his work was featured in Little Engines #2 (an excellent magazine that I highly recommend). Final mixing will happen after Johnathon, Casey, and Dave are all back from the Pedro the Lion/Damien Jurado/T.W. Walsh tour. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 11:47 AM CST Wednesday, April 17, 2002 Denison Witmer is now opening for The Church next Tuesday, 23 April, at the Trocadero in Philadelphia. Awesome! Hope to see you there. I am choking in indie rock fantasy baseball, down to 6th place, bringing shame to the btv name. Some interesting news about David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar making friends again. And I thought stuff like that only happened on VH1 these days. Soul Junk 1957 LPs are now available on-line. Don't forget the new Pedro the Lion Control specials. The first few orders will get a free poster. hey hey. Some new releases have also been added to the on-line store, including a Jade Tree compilation with unreleased tracks from Jets to Brazil, Pedro, and others. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 01:40 PM CST Monday, April 15, 2002 Boston was an enjoyable place to go, plenty of wandering and eating and drinking and record shopping, etc ,visits to Back Bay, Harvard Square, and the historical spots. Props to Newbury Comics on Newbury Street for having several btv releases in stock. I do wonder why the T trolleys say they only accept coins and no dollar bills? This is the great mystery. Denison Witmer was nominated for the Philadelphia City Paper Music Awards in the Best Folk Performer/Group category. Denison and I will be at the Trocadero Theatre on Thursday for the awards ceremony. Denison and the Six Parts Seven have added almost all of the tracks for Philadelphia Songs. There are some small additions and vocals to be added which will happen in the first week of may. Incidentally, Edan Cohen, who has recorded many of the extra parts and will man the healm during mixing is one of the City Paper Music Awards nominees for Best Producer, as is Brian McTear who recorded The Trouble with Sweeney's Dear Life full-length. Denison is playing two shows in Virginia, one tonight and one tomorrow. Hope you catch him. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 11:22 AM CST Friday, April 12, 2002 I'm in a fantasy baseball league organized by Mike from basement-life representing Burnt Toast Vinyl (inherently good) against other indie rock labels/bands (all inherently evil). I was in first place before yesterday's games, until the Mendoza Line out statted me to move into first. Who can blame them, their prowess is most certainly due to their obscurely baseball related band name? And their latest record being so hot, of course? By the way, basement life records is releasing an ep from The Trouble with Sweeney on 23 April. We'll have these available on-line. There's a cover of one of my favorite Simon & Garfunkel songs, "Only Living Boy in NY" as well as the new crowd favorite "Karen" and an avante-garde instrumental with spoken French lyrics. C'est bon, n'est-ce pas? Dario Argento's Suspiria is a highly recommended thriller/slasher flick. Very intense, owing much to the Goblin soundtrack (in case you were wondering about that). Off to Boston later this afternoon. The Six Parts Seven are arriving sometime today from Ohio to rock hard, or try hard at rocking soft, on Denison's record. For sure "Philadelpiha Songs" will feature added lap steel, possibly some of Brad's lyrics about a unicorn, one never knows. Send them my love if you see them wandering the streets of Philadelphia. Tour dates for Pedro the Lion/Damien Jurado/T.W. Walsh are up. 6 May everyone will be in Philadelphia playing at the TLA. 5 May the show is in NYC at the Bowery Ballroom. As far as connecions to the label, Johnathon from Unwed Sailor is playing with both Pedro and Damien and Damien's Four Songs is the first in the one-sided LP series that will eventually feature a T.W. Walsh one-sided LP. There is no valid excuse for missing a show on this tour. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 09:48 AM CST Thursday, April 11, 2002 Last night, I was in NYC to see Early Day Miners and Songs:Ohia play the Knitting Factory. Early Day Miners opened, playing songs from their forthcoming record, Let Us Garlands Bring, and their first full-length, Placer Found. Definitely a great set. Early Day Miners will be releasing a one-sided LP as part of the btv series sometime during this year. Jason Molina played solo as the Songs:Ohia set, which was very enjoyable, better than the full-band set I had seen last summer. Denison is in the recording studio today adding in some additional piano parts for Philadelphia Songs. Incidentally, this will be the first Burnt Toast Vinyl full-length to appear on vinyl, which makes us all very excited. The master for the Reels of White Softly Flow live LP is being sent off tomorrow and cover art design is underway. The master for a White Trash Inc. (Orchestra) 7" for Norway's Milk & Honey records has been sent off, as well. I'll be adding Soul-Junk's 1957 LP to the on-line store by the weekend. 1957 is a more hip hop oriented release from this difficult to categorize, often lo-fi indie rock, sometimes hip hop band. The vinyl sounds smooth and sweet and is packaged in recovered LP jackets with strange collage artwork overlaid. I'm working on an article for Sound Collector, one of my favorite music magazines, about Goblin, an Italian instrumental band who composed soundtracks for Dario Argento horror flicks in the '70s. Ethan of Reels of White and I have been getting more involved in this sort of prog rock/experimental band. For fun, go check out the goblin fansite. Tonight, as part of the research, we will be watching the Suspiria DVD, arguably the pinnacle of Goblin musical expertise. Have I ever mentioned how much I like the Destroyer album Streethawk : A Seduction? I'll be going to Boston tomorrow for the weekend as a little farewell trip to my good friend Scott who will be getting married at the end of the month. Maybe you'll see us wreaking havoc throughout the city. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 02:49 PM CST Tuesday, April 9, 2002 Huntingtons meet Ozzy, check it out here. Apparently Denison has been recording piano parts for Philadelphia Songs in swank hotels downtown, using a rogue technique involving a mini disc recorder and the assumption that he and our friend Devin really do belong there playing the piano. So, the next time you're having your coffee and/or martini in the Four Seaons or Ritz Carlton or wherever, be on the look out for crazed musicians whose record label is too cheap/poor to rent a grand piano. I updated the on-line store with several new titles, be sure to search around. Check out the deals involving the new releases from Pedro the Lion and Damien Jurado. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 09:33 AM CST Monday, April 8, 2002 Later today, I am adding Pedro the Lion : Control to the on-line store with special packages to get the release at a discounted price with the purchase of specific btv titles. So, check on that. The album is officially released tomorrow and orders will ship out soon after. This weekend was extremely busy, catching the Phillies home opener after fighting the crazy traffic jams around that stadium due to lack of parking lots and my stupidity to actually drive to the stadium instead of taking the subway. C'est la vie. Later that night, got to see Douglas Witmer's incredible art opening. If you are in Philadelphia, be sure to stop by the Peng gallery and check out his work. Saturday was a marathon of rock and roll shows. We jetted to NJ to see Half-Handed Cloud, Singing Mechanic, Soul-Junk, and Danielson Famile. Some amazing lo-fi pop/rock brilliance. We left right before the Famile to catch Hayden at the Fire in Philadelphia. Hayden delivered the goods, an extremely long 1h 45m set of new songs and all of the old favorites. Definitely worth the effort to go. Denison is back in Philadelphia finishing the extra parts for his Philadelphia Songs album. The Six Parts Seven arrive from Kent on Friday to add their instrumental genius and expertise to the record. Final mixes will begin starting next week. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 11:58 AM CST Friday, April 5, 2002 Today is the Phillies's home opener. Maybe I'll see you in the stands. I grew up being a Los Angeles Dodger fan because my Dad was a fan. I'm still a Dodger fan, even though they're getting spanked in the season so far, but try to root for the Phils until LA rolls into town. I got to see the Dodgers play the Padres in San Diego last year during the season opening series. Somehow, spring comes sooner once baseball is mixed into the equation. I also have this theory that fans of indie rock and baseball often overlap. Basement-life.com shares that opinion, as well, and a few indie rock record label and band people are in their fantasy baseball league. They'll be updating this on their site throughout the season, so check in occassionally and see how I fare. Also, tonight is Douglas Witmer's art opening during First Friday in Philadelphia. Douglas is an amazing painter and it's well worth the effort to stop in, take notice, and shell out a couple of grand to buy some paintings. Here is a capsule of the info (you can go back through the March archives to find more details, if you'd prefer): Douglas Witmer : Recent Paintings, April 1-27, 2002 Reception: First Friday, April 5, 6:00-8:00 pm PENG GALLERY 35 S 3rd Street Philadelphia PA 19106 215.629.5889 penggallery.com Witmer's large-scale works take their cues as much from early Renaissance devotional panels as they do from high Modernist color-field painting. Pared down to simple shapes, his abstract compositions create sensations of architectural spaces receding away from the viewer. They may evoke images such as rooms, doors, and stairs; or ideas of dwelling or passage. But through the choice of color and an emphasis on the physicality of contrasting surfaces, they are painted in such a way so as to make any illusion fail easily. By the way, our friend Willie just got to see Godspeed you black emperor in Copenhagen and had good things to say. My friend Krister also saw them in Sweden earlier in the week and was definitely more excited, since this was his first chance to see them and Willie is spoiled, having seen them at least a couple of times previously. Willie got busted trying to bootleg the show for me on his minidisc. Lighten up europe! I'm still waiting to hear his Spiritualized bootleg. I think the live recordings are important to increase devotion among fans. I've become hooked on bands I've seen live just as much as bands whose records I've purchased. I could listen to GYBE bootlegs all day long and not tire. Enough ranting. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 11:28 AM CST Tuesday, April 2, 2002 Today, I am mourning the loss of Indiana in the NCAA finals. It was a better season than any fan could have hoped for at the beginning of the tournament. Burnt Toast Vinyl cds are available now at the following independent stores: Amoeba Records, Hollywood, CA|San Francisco, CA Baker & Taylor, Bridgewater, NJ|Momence, IL|Reno, NV Birdland, Virginia Beach, VA Cactus Music And Video, Houston, TX Crow's Nest, Cresthill, IL Dearborn Music, Dearborn, MI Dimple Records, Roseville, CA Ear X-Tacy, Louisville, KY Fingerprints, Long Beach, CA Gate City Noise, Greensboro, NC J & R Music World, New York, NY Lou's Records, Encinitas, CA Music Millenium, Portland, OR Norwalk, Anaheim, CA Plan 9, Richmond, VA Rhino Records, Los Angeles, CA Schuler Books & Music, Grand Rapids, MI Silver Platters LLC, Bellevue, WA Wax Trax Main Store, Denver, CO ZIA Records, Tempe, AZ and the following national chains: Borders Books And Music The Exclusive Co. Tower Records Virgin Megastores thanks, :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 11:09 AM CST Monday, April 1, 2002 Here are some confirmed dates for The Trouble with Sweeney : 24 April : Philadelphia. Tritone. RECORD RELEASE PARTY w/ Sisterhood of Convoluted Thinkers & 14 Iced Bears. 25 April : New York City. RECORD RELEASE PARTY. Joey Sweeney confirmed solo dates with Bill Riccini: 27 April : Wilmington, NC. Man Freddies. 28 April : Jacksonville, FL. The Imperial Lounge w/ Tracy Shedd. 29 April : Gainesville, FL. Common Grounds. 4 May : San Diego, CA. Scolari's. 15 May : Denver, CO. 15th Street Tavern. 18 May : Chicago, IL. Schuba's EARLY SHOW. 21 May : Detroit, MI. Lager House. 22 May : Lexington, KY. High On Rose. 23 May : Nashville, TN. Springwater. For those who remember Octane Blue, an early Burnt Toast Vinyl band, some of their unreleased tracks are now available at: www.mp3.com/octaneblue. Also, apparently All American Radio has not died. Tim was at the Denison Witmer/Six Parts Seven show in Lancaster on Friday and said that the band is still working with a new drummer, the latest in a string of attempted drummer replacements. More word on AAR action as soon as it's available. Men's NCAA basketball excitement tonight at 9PM. Go Hoosiers. :::scott::: Posted by Scott @ 01:11 PM CST [ Archives ]